The age of the plant fossil assemblage in the Liuqu Conglomerate of southern Tibet and its tectonic significance

The Liuqu Conglomerate, situated to the south of Yarlung Tsangbo Suture Zone (YTSZ), is a suit of molasse formed in a foreland basin of the Himalayan orogenic belt after the collision between the two plates of the Indian and Eurasion. It is of great significance in constraining the younger limit time of the collision of the two plates and providing stratigraphic evidence to reveal the post?collisional tectonic evolution and uplifting history of the Tibet plateau. However, the age of this molasse suit and its correlation to other synchronous strata distributed in southern Tibet have been in great disputes for a long time. Especially in recent years, argues on its ages are growing violently with the recognition of the great sedimentary tectonic significances of this molasse. During the field work carried out recently on this molasse suit, a lot of plant fossils were found preserved in fairly good conditions in the upper part of this strata, which is of great help in determining its age. By identification, the assemblage of the plant fossils belongs to a tropic to subtropic flora developed in the southern margin of the Northern Hemisphere supercontinent during the Middle to Later Eocene, which can provide good constraint on its formation age. This paper is to give a brief introduction of the plant assemblage and its age, and to discuss their tectonic significances.

The age of the plant fossil assemblage in the Liuqu Conglomerate of southern Tibet and its tectonic significance

The Liuqu Conglomerate, situated to the south of Yarlung Tsangbo Suture Zone (YTSZ), is a suit of molasse formed in a foreland basin of the Himalayan orogenic belt after the collision between the two plates of the Indian and Eurasion. It is of great significance in constraining the younger limit time of the collision of the two plates and providing stratigraphic evidence to reveal the post?collisional tectonic evolution and uplifting history of the Tibet plateau. However, the age of this molasse suit and its correlation to other synchronous strata distributed in southern Tibet have been in great disputes for a long time. Especially in recent years, argues on its ages are growing violently with the recognition of the great sedimentary tectonic significances of this molasse. During the field work carried out recently on this molasse suit, a lot of plant fossils were found preserved in fairly good conditions in the upper part of this strata, which is of great help in determining its age. By identification, the assemblage of the plant fossils belongs to a tropic to subtropic flora developed in the southern margin of the Northern Hemisphere supercontinent during the Middle to Later Eocene, which can provide good constraint on its formation age. This paper is to give a brief introduction of the plant assemblage and its age, and to discuss their tectonic significances.