The first discovery of Permian conodont fauna from peri-Gondwana cool water facies in Tibet, China

The Angjie Formation and Xiala Formation, present in the Shiquanhe area of Gar County in the western part of Gangdise, Tibet, belong to the Gangdise stratigraphic subregion. Conodonts have been found in the Angjie Formation, and they permit an age determination of Early to Middle Permian for that formation. The age of the Xiala Formation could be late Middle Permian. Whether the Late Permian marine deposits are present in this area still needs to be determined, but it is possible that the lower part of the Xiala Formation overlaps partly the upper part of the Angjie Formation. More importantly, the study has brought about a finding of typical peri-Gondwana cool water facies conodonts, namely, Vjalovognathus sp. nov. x. This is the first report and brief description of a conodont fauna from peri-Gondowana cool water facies in China. It indicates that the Gangdise stratigraphic subregion can be subdivided; the western part belongs to peri-Gondwana cool water facies, and the eastern part belongs to Tethys.