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Biocoenosis is an assemblage representing the living
assemblage of any particular environment. This is a
natural assemblage which is reliable for
biostratigraphy.
Thanatocoenosis is an assemblage which undergone
transportation or reworked. This assemblage cannot
be used for age determination.
Fundamentals of biostratigraphy
Biostratigraphy is the branch of stratigraphy that deals with
the distribution of fossils in the stratigraphic record and
the classification of bodies of rock or rock material into
biostratigraphic units based on their contained fossils.
• Biostratigraphic units are distinct from all other kinds of
stratigraphic units because their contained fossils record
the unidirectional process of organic evolution.
• The stratigraphic record as a whole contains an
unrepeated sequence of fossil taxa that may be used to
determine the relative age of their enclosing strata.
• The biostratigraphy is based on the biostratigraphic
events which includes the first appearance and
disappearance from the geologic record.
Biostratigraphic events
• Fossil events are the result of the continuing evolutionary
trends of life on earth; they differ from physical events in
that they are unique, non-recurrent, and that their order
is irreversible.
• Events that usually utilised in biostratigraphy are
– First appearance
– Last occurrence
– Rapid increase in population
– Rapis decrease in population
Boundaries
• The boundaries of a biozone are drawn at surfaces that
mark the lowest occurrence, highest occurrence, limit,
increase in abundance, or decrease in abundance of one
or more components of the fauna or flora.
• Furthermore, the base or top of one kind of biozone may
not, or need not, coincide with the base or top of another
kind of biozone.
Index fossils
• Characteristic of Index fossils
– Well preserved and easily retreived, particularly
microfossils.
– Short stratigraphic range
– wide geographic distribution, free from facies. can be
found in many rock types e.g. planktonic forms
– abundant
– Distinctive & easily recognized forms
Nature of Biostratigraphic Units
• A biostratigraphic unit is a body of rock that is defined or
characterized by its fossil content.
• Most fossils are contemporaneous with the body of rock
that contains them, including those derived from different
but coeval sedimentary environments.
• Fossils not contemporaneous with the enclosing body of
rock should not be used to define, characterize, or
identify a biostratigraphic unit.
• Biostratigraphic units are based on criteria that differ
fundamentally from those used for lithostratigraphic units
• The boundaries of most biostratigraphic units, are both
characteristically and conceptually diachronous.
Fundamental Unit
FAD
• For example
• Globorotalia
pseudomenardii zone
Concurrent-range biozone
• A concurrent-range biozone is a body of rock including
the concurrent, coincident, or overlapping part of the
ranges of two specified taxa.
• Lower boundary is marked by first occurrence of a taxon
and the top is marked by last occurrence of ather taxon
Partial range biozone
• Partial range biozone is a body of rock located between
the last appearance of a taxon and the first appearance
of another taxon.
• The lower boundary is marked by last appearance and
the upper boundary is marked by first appearance.
Interval biozone
• An interval biozone is a body of rock between
two specified biostratigraphic biohorizons
(surfaces)
• Two types of interval biozones
– The boundaries are based on
first appearance
– The boudaries based on last
appearance
Interval biozones
• Based on last appearances
• eg.
• Globorotalia velascoensis
• Based on first appearances
• eg.
• Globorotalia psuedobulloides
Lineage biozone
• A lineage biozone is a body of rock
containing species representing a specific
segment of an evolutionary lineage.
Assemblage biozone
• An assemblage biozone is a body of rock characterized
by a unique association of three or more taxa, the
association of which distinguishes it in biostratigraphic
character from adjacent strata.
• An assemblage biozone may be based on a single
taxonomic group, for example, trilobites, or on
more than one group, such as acritarchs and
chitinozoans
Abundance (acme) biozone
• An abundance biozone is a body of rock in which the
abundance of a particular taxon or specified group of taxa is
significantly greater than in adjacent parts of the section.
• Abundance zones may be of limited, local utility because
abundances of taxa in the geologic record are largely
controlled by paleoecology, taphonomy, and diagenesis
Lower boundary is marked by the
increase of population of taxa
The upper boundary is marked by the
decrease of population of taxa.
e.g. Emiliania huxleyi biozone
Name
• The name of a biozone consists of the name of one or
more distinctive taxa or parataxa (for trace fossils) found
in the biozone, followed by the word ‘‘Biozone.’’ (e.g.,
Turborotalia cerrozaulensis Biozone or Cyrtograptus
lundgreni-Testograptus testis Biozone).
• The name of the species whose lowest occurrence
defines the base of the zone is the most common choice
for the biozone name.