Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 30 (2007) 108–112

www.elsevier.com/locate/jaes

A new genus of Pergamidiidae (Bivalvia) from the Late Triassic

of the Changtai-Gacun area, eastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, China
Li Lin a, Lidong Zhu a, Yancun Pang a, Jingeng Sha b,*

a
Institute of Sedimentary Geology, Chengdu University of Technology, 1 Erxianqiao, Dongsan Road, Chengdu 610059, China
b
LPS, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China

Received 5 January 2006; received in revised form 3 July 2006; accepted 15 August 2006

Abstract

The new epi-byssate bivalve Parapergamidia changtaiensis gen. et sp. nov. of the family Pergamidiidae occurs in the Upper Triassic (?
Late Carnian–Early Norian) Tumugou Formation of the Changtai-Gacun area, eastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, China. During the Late
Triassic, this area was an intra-arc rift of the Yidun Island Arc along the eastern margin of the Tethyan seaway. The new taxon has a big
byssal gape, prominent byssal retractor muscle scars, and anteriorly oblique and posteriorly to posteroventrally elongated shape. The
thin shell is distinctly longer than high.
Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Parapergamidia gen. nov.; Bivalvia; Late Triassic (?Late Carnian–Early Norian); Changtai-Gacun rift; Eastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau

1. Introduction of Sichuan Bureau of Geology and Nanjing Institute of

The Changtai-Gacun area (Fig. 1), with an average alti-
tude of more than 4000 m above sea level, is located in wes-
tern Sichuan, eastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, China.
However, during the Late Triassic, the Changtai-Gacun
area was an intra-arc rift of the Yidun Island Arc situated
on the eastern margin of the Tethys (Regional Geological
Survey of Sichuan Bureau of Geology and Nanjing Insti-
tute of Geology and Palaeontology, 1982).
The Upper Triassic rocks of this area consist, in ascend-
ing order, of the Qugasi Formation, the Tumugou Forma-
tion (=Gacun Formation), and the Lanashan Formation.
The Qugasi Formation mainly consists of basalts, ande-
sites, rhyolites, and phylites, with sandstones, slates, and
limestones. This formation yields various fossils including
ammonites Discophyllites ebneri, Joannites, Proarcestes,
Lobites and Sturia, and bivalves Halobia austriaca, H. yun-
nanensis, and H. convexa. The Regional Geological Survey
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 2583282101; fax: +86 2557714437.
E-mail address: jgsha@nigpas.ac.cn (J. Sha).
Geology and Palaeontology (1982) concluded that both
the ammonites and bivalves indicate a Late Triassic Car-
nian–Early Norian age. Globally, however, the Halobia
assemblage of H. austriaca–H. yunnanensis–H. convexa is
Carnian in age (Sha and Grant-Mackie, 1996). The Qugasi
Formation, therefore, is mainly Carnian.
The Tumugou Formation (=Gacun Formation), dis-
conformably sitting on the Qugasi Formation, is mainly
composed of andesites, rhyolites, and tuffs, associated
with tuffaceous sandstones, siltstones, slates and lime-
stones, and with a basal conglomerate. It also contains
various fossils including the ammonites Juvanites and
Griesbachites, and bivalves Halobia yandongensis, H. dila-
tata, Pergamidia eumenea, P. attalea, Parapergamidia
changtaiensis gen. et sp. nov., Triaphorus? sp., and Pleuro-
maya markamensis. The ammonites above represent a
Carnian–Norian age (Regional Geological Survey of Sich-
uan Bureau of Geology and Nanjing Institute of Geology
and Palaeontology, 1982). However, Halobia yandongensis
and H. dilatata are Norian (probably early Norian) in age
(Sha and Grant-Mackie, 1996), Pergamidia is a Norian
bivalve genus (Bittner, 1891; Diener, 1923; Cox, 1969)

1367-9120/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jseaes.2006.08.005
 L. Lin et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 30 (2007) 108–112 109

Fig. 1. Geological map of Changtai-Gacun.

while Triaphorus and Pleuromaya markamensis are Late
Triassic. The Tumugou Formation thus mainly belongs
to the Lower Norian Stage, but probably extends down-
wards into the Upper Carnian.
The Lanashan Formation has andesites, rhyolites, and
tuffs in the lower part, and slates and sandstones, interca-
lated with marbles, and occasional lenses of muddy lime-
stone, in the upper part. It rests conformably on the
Tumugou Formation and yields numerous fossils including
Norian ammonites such as Arcestes, and bivalves including
H.dilatata, H. cf. norica and Pergamidia timoensis (Regional
Geological Survey of Sichuan Bureau of Geology and
110 L. Lin et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 30 (2007) 108–112
Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, 1982).
This formation has been dated as Norian in age (e.g.,
Zhang and Yang in Editorial Committee of Stratigraphical
Dictionary of China, 2000).
In this area, the Upper Triassic rocks yield lead–zinc–
copper deposits, e.g., the Gacun deposits (Fig. 1), which
belong to the Tumugou Formation (Hu et al., 1992).
In the course of the last 3 years’ field investigations in the
eastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, the Tibet Research Group
consisting of Yancun Pang, Xiugeng Fu, and Xinli Wang,
headed by Professor Doctor Li Lin, found many bivalves,
mainly Pergamidia, Parapergamidia gen. nov., Triaphorus?,
Pleuromya and debris of Halobia, in the siltstones and
slates of the Tumugou Formation of western Changtai
and Gacun, western Sichuan (Fig. 1).
In the following, we describe the new genus
Parapergamidia.
2. Systematic palaeontology
Phylum Mollusca Linné, 1758
Class Bivalvia Linné, 1758
Subclass Pteriomorphia Beurlen, 1944
Superfamily Pteriacea Gray, 1847
Family Pergamidiidae Cox, 1969
Diagnosis. Ovate or mytiliform, hinge margin straight,
posterior wing obtuse, anterior auricle present but some-
Fig. 2. Parapergamidia changtaiensis gen. et sp. nov. (A) Right internal mould (CDLGDM 00001), (B) left internal mould (CDLGDM 00002), and (C) left
valve (holotype, CDLGDM 00003). aa, anterior auricle; bg, byssal gape; brms, byssal retractor muscle scar; cgl, commarginal growth line; cgrg,
commarginal growth rugae; ub, umbo. Scale bar: 10 mm.
times not prominent, byssal gape pronounced, ligamental
area triangular, external or subinternal, single ligamental
pit triangular, hinge edentulous or with weak posterior lat-
eral tooth; monomyarian.
Age. Late Triassic–Early Jurassic.
Genus Parapergamidia gen. nov.
Etymology. From Para (Latin, adjective, equal to near,
similar to, etc.) and Pergamidia Bittner, which has the same
byssal gape and hinge features but differs in other details
including the shape of the retractor muscle scars and thick-
ness of shell.
Type-species. Parapergamidia changtaiensis gen. et sp.
nov. (Figs. 2A–C); Late Triassic (? Late Carnian–Early
Norian) of Changtai, western Sichuan, southwestern China.
Diagnosis. Like Pergamidia, but anteriorly oblique and
elongated posteriorly to posteroventrally, markedly longer
than high, with prominent byssal retractor muscle scars
which are spindle-shaped, and a thinner shell. Judging
from the Mytilus-shaped outline, the very prominent ante-
rior auricles which are well demarcated from the rest of the
shell, and the fairly large byssal gape, this new taxon is rep-
resentative of Pergamidiidae Cox (1969) without doubt.
Remarks. The new genus is characterized by being dis-
tinctly prosocline, posteriorly, and posteroventrally elon-
gated, and longer than high. In this respect, it differs
markedly from other pergamidiids such as Pergamidia,
Krumbeckiella, Manticula, and Semuridia (Cox, 1969; Sha
et al., 2005), which are always higher than long and not
 L. Lin et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 30 (2007) 108–112
oblique. The distinct byssal retractor muscle scars indicate
that Parapergamidia closely and firmly attached by means
of its byssus, in the manner of modern Modiolus and
Bathymodiolus.
Age and distribution. Late Triassic (? Late Carnian–Early
Norian); southwestern China.
Parapergamidia changtaiensis gen. et sp. nov.
Material. Dozens of single valves, most of them internal
moulds of isolated left and right valves, occasionally asso-
ciated with remains of shell.
Holotype. CDLGDM 00003, left valve (Fig. 2C).
Etymology. Named after the locality of the new species,
Changtai in western Sichuan, eastern Qinghai-Xizang
Plateau.
Diagnosis. As for the genus.
Description. Specimens very large, up to 98 mm long
and 89 mm high, distinctly oblique anteriorly, longer
than high; equivalved, moderately inflated, posteriorly
to posteroventrally elongated and flattened. Anterior
margin broadly curved to almost straight, posterior mar-
gin obtusely rounded to almost straight, dorsal margin
nearly straight, and ventral margin broadly to slightly
rounded. Outline Mytilus-like, obliquely subelliptical
and subovate. Beaks terminal, umbones small and
obtuse, umbonal angles between ca. 52° and 63°. Anteri-
or auricle well demarcated from body and byssal gape
correspondingly extended (along the anterior auricle mar-
gins) and fairly large (Figs. 2A–C). Posterior auricle
large but poorly demarcated from the rest of shell. Shell
fairly thin in relation to the size of the specimens, at
most 1 mm in thickness. Ornamentation limited to widely
spaced commarginal rugae (cgrg) in the anteroventral
area and closely spaced feeble growth lines (cgl) in the
posterodorsal area (Fig. 2C). Up to four pronounced
spindle-shaped byssal retractor muscle scars near the bys-
sal gape, in a line directed posteroventrally (Fig. 2A).
Adductor scar(s) unpreserved.
Measurements (in mm).
H L UA
N 4 4 4
X 67.65 79.56 57.55
Max 84.50 97.91 63
Min 56.26 61.10 52
H, height; L, length; UA, umbonal angle; H/L, height/length ratio; N,
number of observations; X, arithmetic means; Max, maximum value; Min,
minimum value.
Remarks. The new species is invariably distinctly proso-
cline and the length–height ratio is always higher than 1.0,
distinguishing it from all other pergamidiids described ear-
lier on.
The shell surface is occasionally partly irregularly sculp-
tured with some broad but faint oblique radial folds separat-
ed by narrow and shallow radial grooves (Fig. 2C). These
irregularly spaced radial folds are most probably the frac-
111
tures caused by compaction rather than original shell orna-
mentation, because these oblique radial folds of such an
irregular nature do not fit the growth pattern of bivalves.
Localities and horizon. Changtai-Gacun area, western
Sichuan, eastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau; Upper Triassic
(? Upper Carnian–Lower Norian), Tumugou Formation.
3. Discussion
Based on the fact that Parapergamidia changtaiensis has
a fairly large byssal gape and remarkable retractor muscle
scars, and taking into account the facies association it is
suggested here that the bivalves lived very closely and
firmly attached to the substrate in deep-sea environments.
The volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Upper Trias-
sic Tumugou Formation, which yielded the bivalves, seem
to represent an association strongly influenced by tectonic
activity, resembling that of the modern Okinawa spreading
Trough and the Miocene back-arc basin of the island arc of
Japan (Hou et al., 2003). Furthermore, the lead–zinc–cop-
per deposits of the Tumugou Formation in the Changtai-
Gacun rift basin (Hu et al., 1992) may indicate that hydro-
thermal vents were active in the area colonized by Paraper-
gamidia during the Late Triassic (? Late Carnian–Early
Norian). One can therefore speculate that these large Late
Triassic byssate bivalves lived in a deep-sea environment
subjected to tectonic activity and more or less influenced
by hydrothermal waters. However, this inference and the
reasons why the bivalves described here might have been
able to colonize such a stressful habitat needs to be sub-
stantiated by further field evidence.
Acknowledgements
This work was financially supported by the National
Science Foundation of China (40372014 and 40472013),
the Cross Century Talent Fund of the Ministry of Educa-
tion, Distinguished Young Scholar of Sichuan Province.
We are very grateful to J. Li, Z. Gong, M. Zhao, and Y.
H/L Gao for their very kind help during the arduous field work,
4 and sincerely acknowledge A.L.A. Johnson, F.T. Fürsich
0.86 and J.A. Grant-Mackie for their critical and helpful read-
0.92 ing the manuscript.
0.74
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