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Map of China's Triassic zones
Map of Zones of Triassic Formations in China (Athena Review)
China has three zones of exposed Triassic formations containing vertebrate fossils. One of these regions is in the south, located around the boundary of Yunnan and Gouzhou provinces. These are deposits of ancient marine or estuarine formations with an abundance of Triassic marine reptiles, fish, and invertebrates, but few terrestial animals (Benton et al 2013).
The other two regions are in the north, in the Ordos and Jungghar Basins. These contain a variety of fossils of synapsids and reptiles, as well as bony fish, with a much scarcer representation of labyrinthodont amphibians. In the northeast, the provinces of Shanxi and Shaanxi straddle the Yellow River, along whose valley many fossil outcrops are exposed (Young 1937).
In
northwestern China, significant Triassic exposures occur in the
Jungghar basin in Xinjiang province (Sun 1980). Together, these two
regions contain virtually all of the known land vertebrates or tetrapod
fossils from the Triassic. Lucas (1993) and Sun (1980) summarize the
Triassic tetrapod fauna in northern China, while Benton et al. (2013)
review findings from southern China.
References:
Benton, M.J. et. al. 2013
Lucas, S.G. 1993 Vertebrate biochronology of the Triassic of China. In Lucas, S.G. and Morales, M. (eds.). The Nonmarine Triassic. New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science Bulletin. pp. 301–306.
Sun, Ailing 1980 Late Permian and Triassic Terrestial Tetrapods of North China. Vertebrata PalAsiatica Vol XVIII, No.2 April, 1980 pp. 100-110
Young, C.C. 1937. On the Triassic Dicynodonts from Shansi. Bull. Geol. Soc. China, Vol.17, Nos. 3-4, pp. 393-412.
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