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Lower Ordovician sponge bioherms in the Makkol Formation, Taebaeksan Basin, mideast Korea

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Summary

Isolated sponge bioherms are documented from the Lower Ordovician Makkol Formation of the Taebaek Group in the Taebaeksan Basin, mideast Korea. They are formed by an association of a lithistid spongeArchaeoscyphia, a receptaculidCalathium and stromatolitic algae, and share many features with the Lower Ordovician buildups known elsewhere. These bioherms were established in an incised bottom and reached up to about 1 m in height. As the bioherms grew upward, they were more severely affected by intense wave action and frequent storms, which eventually perished the bioherms. The occurrence ofArchaeoscyphia-Calathium association suggests a close biogeographic link between Korea and North China, supporting the paleogeographic model that the Taebaeksan Basin was connected through contiguous shallow waters to North China in the early Paleozoic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School fo Earth and Environmental Sciences, Seoul National University, 151-742, Seoul, Korea

    Yi Kyun Kwon, Duck K. Choi & Sung Kwun Chough

  2. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Andong National University, Andong, 760-749, Kyongsangbuk-do, Korea

    Dong Jin Lee

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Kwon, Y.K., Lee, D.J., Choi, D.K. et al. Lower Ordovician sponge bioherms in the Makkol Formation, Taebaeksan Basin, mideast Korea. Facies 48, 79–90 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02667531

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