GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA, DECEMBER 2008, 59, 6, 491—502
www.geologicacarpathica.sk
Introduction
Geological mapping in the Bükk Mountains of NE Hungary
led to the identification of important Permian-Triassic (P-T)
boundary sections, targets of intense stratigraphic, paleonto-
logical, sedimentological, mineralogical, and geochemical
investigations in the last decades (Kozur 1985, 1989; Haas et
al. 1988; Fülöp 1994; Hips & Pelikán 2002; Haas et al.
2004; Posenato et al. 2005; Hips & Haas 2006; Haas et al.
2006; Haas et al. 2007). These studies have demonstrated
continuity of marine conditions through the boundary se-
quence with the presence of macro- and microfossils of cru-
cial importance (Haas et al. 2004). A salient negative carbon
isotope peak, considered to be the chemostratigraphic mark-
er of the boundary, was found within the ‘Boundary Shale
Bed’ (BSB) (Haas et al. 2006). The classic marine P-T
boundary successions in the Dolomites (Italy) and in the
Carnic Alps (Austria and Italy) were deposited in shallow in-
ner ramp situations (Farabegoli et al. 2007, with references),
whereas the boundary sections in the Bükk Mountains repre-
sent a deeper ramp, unique in Europe. This paleogeographic
setting provides potential for enhanced comparison of the
boundary sections of the Bükk Mountains with those else-
where in the Tethyan realm where detailed biostratigraphies,
vital for precise correlations, have been established. Con-
odonts are pivotal for this because definition of the P-T
boundary is based on the first appearances of conodont taxa.
This paper presents the results of micropaleontological stud-
ies of the most important boundary sections in the Bükk
Mountains, focused primarily on conodonts, and the con-
odont zonation inferred from these data.
Conodonts across the Permian-Triassic boundary
in the Bükk Mountains (NE Hungary)
MILAN SUDAR
1
, MARIA CRISTINA PERRI
2
and JÁNOS HAAS
3
1
Department of Paleontology, Faculty of Mining and Geology, University of Belgrade, Kamenička St. 6, P.O. Box 227, 11000 Belgrade,
Serbia; sudar@eunet.yu
2
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geologico-Ambientali, Universit
a
di Bologna, Via Zamboni 67, I-40126 Bologna, Italia;
mariacristina.perri@unibo.it
3
Geological, Geophysical and Space Science Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University,
Pázmány P. sétány 1/C, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary; haas@ludens.elte.hu
(Manuscript received January 28, 2008; accepted in revised form June 12, 2008)
Abstract: The results of micropaleontological studies, especially of conodonts, across the Permian-Triassic (P-T) bound-
ary interval in the Bálvány-North, Bálvány-East and Gerennavár sections of the Bükk Mountains (NE Hungary) are
presented. Conodont zones for the boundary interval have been identified on the basis of biostratigraphic data for
conodont taxa (Hindeodus parvus, H. praeparvus, Hindeodus sp., Isarcicella cf. prisca, Hindeodus/Isarcicella sp.) and
the FOD of H. parvus. The praeparvus Zone possibly the Late praeparvus Zone (uppermost part of Changhsingian, Late
Permian) in the Nagyvisnyó Limestone, inclusive of the ‘Boundary Shale Bed’, and the parvus Zone (earliest Induan,
Early Triassic) in the Gerennavár Limestone are discriminated.
Key words: Permian-Triassic boundary interval, Bükk Mountains, NE Hungary, biostratigraphy, conodonts.
Geologic and stratigraphic settings
The Bükk Mountains are located in northeastern Hungary,
south of the Inner Western Carpathians (Fig. 1). Recent pa-
leogeographic reconstructions show that the P-T boundary
sections studied in the Bükk area are within the distal part of
a carbonate ramp developed on the western Tethys margin
(Haas et al. 2007). It was situated near the depositional areas
of the Southern Alps, the Southern Karavanke Mountains,
and the Sana-Una Unit and the Jadar Block of the present
Vardar Zone (Protić et al. 2000; Filipović et al. 2003).
The Bükk Mountains consist of the Bükk Parautochthon
Unit tectonically overlain by nappes containing elements of
the Neotethys accretionary complex (Csontos 1999). The
Bükk Parautochthon Unit consists of Paleozoic—Mesozoic
(Carboniferous to Jurassic) formations affected by multi-stage
folding and predominantly anchizonal metamorphism (Árkai
1973, 1983; Pelikán et al. 2005). Its structure is characterized
by four east-west-striking, southward recumbent anticlines
(Csontos 1999; Pelikán et al. 2005). The grade of metamor-
phism significantly varies within the structural unit from epi-
zonal to the lower temperature part of the anchizone or in
some areas to medium-deep diagenesis (Árkai 1983; Fülöp
1994). Metamorphism occurred in two episodes in the Creta-
ceous, at 120 and 90 Ma, respectively (Árkai et al. 1995). The
metamorphosed series are overlain by non-metamorphosed
Paleogene—Neogene formations (Pelikán et al. 2005).
The Paleozoic and Early Triassic formations, and conse-
quently the P-T boundary sequences, are known only from
the northern part of the mountains, in the North Bükk Anti-
cline. The core of this anticline is formed by a middle Car-
à
492
SUDAR, PERRI and HAAS
boniferous distal flysch-type series overlain by a Pennsylva-
nian molasse-type shallow marine succession. It is followed,
after a gap by Middle Permian siliciclastic coastal plain depos-
its. Carbonate ramp facies typifies the Late Permian extending
into the Early Triassic. Among the P-T boundary sections, the
Bálvány and Gerennavár ones are located on the southern
limb, whereas the Kemesnye section occurs on the northern
limb of the North Bükk Anticline (Fig. 1B,C).
The Late Permian is represented by the Nagyvisnyó Lime-
stone, consisting of 250—280 m of black and dark grey,
thick-bedded limestone with dolomite in the lower part, and
mainly of marl with nodular marl interbeds in the uppermost
60—80 m (Balogh 1964; Fülöp 1994). The Nagyvisnyó
Limestone contains a rich microflora as well as a micro- and
macrofauna, with calcareous algae, sponges, anthozoans, bi-
valves, gastropods, nautiloids, ostracods, trilobites, brachio-
pods, bryozoans, echinoderms, scolecodonts, conodonts, and
foraminifers (Schréter 1963, 1974; Balogh 1964; Kozur
1985; Pešić et al. 1988; Fülöp 1994). It is Capitanian to
Changhsingian in age (Kozur 1988, 1989).
The Nagyvisnyó Limestone is overlain by nearly 1 m of
clayey marl (BSB) overlain in turn by 8.5 m of dark grey,
thin-bedded, mostly stromatolitic limestone representing the
lowest part of the 110—140 m-thick Gerennavár Limestone
(Hips & Haas 2006). The next 17.5 m of this unit consist of
thick- to thin-bedded mudstone. Bioclastic grainstone inter-
beds, gradually increasing in thickness, appear up-section,
followed by oolitic limestone that makes up the bulk of the
Gerennavár Limestone (Hips & Pelikán 2002). In the layers
overlying the stromatolitic interval, the ostracods Hollinella
tingi and Langdaia sp. were found (Kozur in Fülöp 1994).
An advanced form of Hindeodus parvus was reported by Ko-
zur from 14 m above the ‘Boundary Shale Bed’ (BSB).
From among several P-T boundary sections identified during
geological mapping in the northern part of the Bükk Mountains,
the most complete ones were found on the northern slope of
Mount Bálvány and referred to as Bálvány-North and Bálvány-
East (Haas et al. 2004). The lower part of the 3 m-thick
Bálvány-North section (Fig. 1C) is composed predominantly of
dark grey, thin-bedded limestone of the Nagyvisnyó Limestone.
It is overlain by the BSB that, in turn, is overlain by laminated
limestone of the Gerennavár Limestone.
The Bálvány-East section is located about 500 m from the
Bálvány-North section (Fig. 1C); it exposes the same inter-
Fig. 1. Geology of the studied area (modified from Hips & Haas 2006). A – Schematic terrain map of the Circum-Pannonian region with
location of the Bükk Mountains (dark rectangle) (Kovács et al. 2000): 1 – Flysch Belt, 2 – Pieniny Klippen Belt, 3 – Northern Calcare-
ous Alps, 4 – Early Alpine units related to the European continental margin, 5 – Early Alpine shelf sequences related to the Apulian (South-
ern Alps and Outer Dinarides) continental margin, 6 – Ophiolites of the Penninic Ocean, 7 – Ophiolites of the Vardar Ocean, 8 – Major
strike-slip zones. B – Simplified geological map of the Bükk Mountains, Cenozoic cover omitted (after Less et al. 2002): 1 – Kis-
fennsik Nappe, 2 – Szarvaskő-Mónosbél Nappe, 3 – Parautochthon, 4 – Nappe boundary, 5 – Faults. C – Geology of the northern
part of the mountains (rectangle on B) with locations of the studied sections (after Less et al. 2002); P-T boundary sections: 1 – Gerennavár
section, 2 – Bálvány-North section, 3 – Bálvány-East section, 4 – Kemesnye Hill section; Carboniferous formations: 5 – Szilvásvárad
Siltstone, 6 – Zobóhegyese Formation, 7 – Mályinka Formation; Permian formations: 8 – Szentélek Formation, 9 – Nagyvisnyó
Limestone; Early Triassic formations: 10 – Gerennavár Limestone, 11 – Ablakoskovőlgy Formation, 12 – Other Triassic formations,
13 – Cenozoic cover, 14 – Synclinal structure, 15 – Major tectonic lineaments.
493
CONODONTS ACROSS THE PERMIAN-TRIASSIC BOUNDARY (NE HUNGARY)
val but is structurally more disturbed. However, it usefully
complements the Bálvány-North section as it exposes a
thicker section of the overlying stromatolitic beds.
Another important exposure of the P-T boundary interval,
the Gerennavár section (Fig. 1C), is located beside the mo-
torway between Szilvásvárad and Jávorkút, 8 km from Szil-
vásvárad. The boundary is exposed at the foot of a cliff. In
this section, the facies succession of the uppermost Nagyvis-
nyó Limestone is very similar to that of the corresponding
interval in the Bálvány-North section, but the argillaceous
limestone bed (Bed N 4) is missing. The most significant dif-
ference between the Bálvány and the Gerennavár sections is
the much reduced thickness of shale bed (BSB) in the latter
section, most probably due to tectonic disturbance. Litho-
and biofacies characteristics of the platy limestone directly
overlying the shale bed are very similar in the Bálvány and
the Gerennavár sections.
The 4 m-thick boundary section on the steep southeastern
slope of Kemesnye Hill was also studied; it is located in the bas-
al part of a 25 m-high cliff (Fig. 1C). It consists of limestone
beds of the Nagyvisnyó Limestone and Gerennavár Limestone,
but compared with the other investigated P-T boundary sec-
tions, it appears to be less complete; the uppermost half-meter
of the Nagyvisnyó Limestone and the shale bed (BSB) are com-
pletely missing due to tectonic disturbances (cf. Haas et al.
2004). This section is not suitable for detailed study of end-Per-
mian events and the P-T boundary interval.
Litho- and biofacies of the studied sections
Bálvány-North section
The beds exposed in the lower part of the Bálvány-North
section (Beds N 1 to N 6) including the ‘Boundary Shale
Bed’ (Bed N 7) belong to the Nagyvisnyó Limestone, where-
as the overlying 0.65 m-thick platy limestone interval, repre-
sented by Bed N 8, corresponds to the Gerennavár
Limestone (Fig. 2).
The lowest part of this section (Beds N 1—3) consists of
dark grey to black limestone of bioclastic wackestone texture
(Fig. 2). Crinoid detritus is predominant; fragments of shells
and spines of brachiopods, bivalves, gastropods, foramini-
fers, ostracods, and dasycladacean algae also occur locally in
large numbers.
The next bed (Bed N 4) is composed of alternating dark
grey limestone (bioclastic wackestone) and layers of purple
to reddish-brownish calcareous marl with limestone nodules,
0.5—5 cm in diameter. The bioclasts are usually smaller than
in the underlying beds, typically in the medium to fine sand
to silt size range.
Bed N 5 is a dark grey limestone of patchy, bioturbated
bioclastic wackestone texture. Small gastropods are com-
mon, fragments of thin-shelled bivalves, echinoderms, bra-
chiopod spines, ostracods and a few foraminifers also occur;
marine acritarchs and bisaccate and striate pollen grains were
found in this bed (Haas et al. 2004).
The next layer (N 6.1) is relatively coarse-grained grey,
platy, argillaceous limestone and calcareous marl of bioclas-
tic wackestone—packstone texture. Fragments of molluscs
and brachiopods predominate; echinoderm detritus and os-
tracods are common. The key biofacies feature of this layer
is the abundance of the foraminifer Hemigordius.
The amount of biogenic components decreases consider-
ably in the next two thin layers (N 6.2 and N 6.3), although
no striking lithological change is apparent. These gray
argillaceous and silty limestone layers contain only a small
amount of fine sand- to silt-sized bioclasts: fragments of
echinoderms, ostracods, and the foraminifer Hemigordius.
A carbonate mudstone layer (Bed N 6.3) is directly over-
lain by 94 cm of brownish-grey silty marl (BSB – Bed N 7).
Well-preserved bivalves (Bakevellia cf. ceratophaga, Eu-
morphotis lorigae, Entolium piriformis, Pernopecten latan-
gulatus) and brachiopods (Orthothetina ladina, Ombonia
tirolensis, Orbicoelia tschernyschewi) were found in the
BSB (Beds N 7.1, N 7.2) (Posenato et al. 2005). In thin sec-
tion it contains quartz-mica siltstone laminae and relatively
few bioclasts: fragments of echinoderms predominate with a
few ostracods and brachiopod fragments. Pyrite is abundant
in stripes, patches, and mold-fillings.
A 2 cm-thick light grey, argillaceous—silty limestone inter-
layer containing a 4 mm-thick graded crinoid coquina micro-
layer (N 7.2) occurs within the BSB. It is overlain by grey
marly silt, becoming more limy and silty up-section (N 7.3).
In the lower part of this interval, bioclasts including fine
echinoderm detritus, fragments of foraminifers, molluscs
and ostracods still occur, but in much reduced numbers. The
last determinable bivalves and brachiopods were collected
from the lower part of this interval.
Alternating calcareous marl and siltstone laminae occur in
the next thin interval, almost without bioclasts (N 7.4). Only
a few small echinoderm fragments occur, along with calci-
spheres, ostracods, and fragments of foraminifers.
A 4 cm-thick light grey, sandy marl layer occurs in the up-
per part of the BSB (N 7.5). It is overlain by 2 cm of marly
silt (N 7.6) forming the uppermost part of the BSB. Numer-
ous small cavate spores were found in a sample from the up-
permost 30 cm of Bed N 7 (Haas et al. 2004).
The BSB is overlain by 0.65 m of platy limestone (individu-
al plate thickness is 1—3 cm) with very thin (0.5 cm) shale in-
terbeds (N 8.1) of the Gerennavár Limestone. The limestone
layers are made up of micrite with small amounts of bioclasts
and silt-sized siliciclasts (quartz and mica). Fragments of bra-
chiopod spines are relatively common; ostracods, calci-
spheres, and foraminifers (nodosariids and Earlandia) also
occur. A horizon rich in fine sand-sized siliciclasts (quartz and
mica) was found 25 cm above the base of the bed.
Bálvány-East section
In the basal part of the Bálvány-East section, the upper-
most 2.40 m of limestone of the Nagyvisnyó Limestone and
the BSB are exposed (Fig. 3).
The BSB is overlain by limestone of the Gerennavár Lime-
stone. The basal 0.5 m (Bed E 4) of this formation consists
of grey platy limestone corresponding to Bed N 8.1 in the
Bálvány-North section. It consists of an alternation of 0.5 cm
silty limestone layers with a few mm thick marly silt inter-
494
SUDAR, PERRI and HAAS
beds. The limestone layers are characterized by bioturbated
mudstone texture with a few ostracods and foraminifers.
This is overlain by thin-bedded and evenly laminated stro-
matolite (Fig. 3). Thick-bedded stromatolite with crinkle
lamination occurs in the higher part of the exposed interval
(Hips & Haas 2006) but due to tectonic disturbances estab-
lishment of the exact stratigraphic succession of this part of
the section is ambiguous.
Gerennavár section
An approximately 1.7 m-thick interval of Nagyvisnyó
Limestone is exposed in the lowermost part of the section
(Beds Ge 140—Ge 134). The beds consist of dark grey or
black limestone (Fig. 4) typically bioclastic wackestone in
Fig. 2. Geological column of the Permian-Triassic boundary interval of the Bálvány-North section, Bükk Mountains, NE Hungary.
texture. Fragments of crinoids, bivalves, gastropods, brachi-
opods, calcareous algae, ostracods and foraminifers occur in
various proportions. The microfacies of these beds resembles
the lowermost bed of the Bálvány-North section, but the
coarse bioclast fraction is more pronounced here.
Indications of a bedding-parallel thrust were encountered on
top of the uppermost bed (Bed Ge 133) of the Nagyvisnyó
Limestone. It consists of four dark grey to black limestone
layers, 10 to 15 cm in thickness. The typical texture of the
lower three layers is bioclastic wackestone. There is no signif-
icant change in composition of the biota, but the size of the
bioclasts is smaller than in the lower beds. The microfacies
characteristics of these layers are akin to those of Bed N 2 in
the Bálvány-North section. There is no fundamental change in
texture of the topmost layer (Ge 133.1), but a large number of
495
CONODONTS ACROSS THE PERMIAN-TRIASSIC BOUNDARY (NE HUNGARY)
Fig. 3. Geological column of the Permian-Triassic boundary interval of the Bálvány-East sec-
tion, Bükk Mountains, NE Hungary.
Hemigordius were encountered. A
similar biofacies was found in layer
N 6.1 in the Bálvány-North section,
below the base of the shale bed.
A 6 cm-thick, dark grey, silty
calcareous marl layer overlain by
5 cm of dark grey clay occurs
above the limestone beds. Under
the microscope, 1—3 mm siltstone
clasts were noted in the calcareous
marl-interpreted as a result of bed-
ding-parallel thrusting. These two
beds correspond to the BSB at the
top of the Nagyvisnyó Limestone.
The thin clayey horizon is over-
lain by the Gerennavár Limestone.
Medium grey, slightly wavy, platy
limestone punctuated by millime-
ter-thick calcareous marl laminae
characterizes the basal part of this
succession (Fig. 4 displays only
this part of the formation). In the
thicker microsparite stripes a few
silt-sized bioclasts occur: Earland-
ia, ostracods, and calcispheres.
The overlying 4.5 m-thick suc-
cession is made up of stromatolite
punctuated by thin-bedded massive
mudstone containing thin wacke-
stone or crinoidal grainstone inter-
calations. Crinkle lamination is
ubiquitous and typical of the upper
stromatolite level. Ostracods, calci-
spheres, echinoderm fragments, and
foraminifers occur rarely.
The stromatolite beds are over-
lain by a 16.5 m-thick mudstone
interval, very poor in fossils; only
rare ostracods were encountered. It
is overlain by oolitic grainstone
beds of the Gerennavár Limestone.
Conodont fauna and
biostratigraphy
Only eight of 120 limestone sam-
ples, acid-leached for conodonts,
proved productive: three in the
Bálvány-North section, three in the
Bálvány-East section and two in the
Gerennavár section (Figs. 2—4, Ta-
ble 1). Four other samples yielded
ostracods, crinoids, holothurian
sclerites, foraminifers, fish teeth,
placoid scales and fragments of bra-
chiopod spines. No conodonts were
obtained from samples from the
Kemesnye Hill section.
496
SUDAR, PERRI and HAAS
SEM photographs were prepared at the Faculty of Biology,
University of Novi Sad, Serbia. The figured and other conodont
specimens are housed in the collections of the Department of
Paleontology, Faculty of Mining and Geology, University of
Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia, under sample numbers N 1, N 3,
N 8.1, E 4.3, E 10, Ge 136, Ge 133 and Ge 132.1.
Conodont dating, biostratigraphy and Colour Alteration
Indices (CAI) of the studied sections
The conodont faunas from the Bükk Mountains have simi-
lar associations of representatives to the Hindeodus—Isarci-
cella populations (Figs. 5, 6); gondolellids are absent, with
the exception of a fragment from 6 m above the base of the
Gerennavár Limestone in the Bálvány-East section (Fig. 3).
Fig. 4. Geological column of the Permian—Triassic boundary interval of the Gerennavár section, Bükk Mountains, NE Hungary.
Table 1: Numerical distribution of conodonts from the P-T sections
in the Bükk Mountains, NE Hungary.
497
CONODONTS ACROSS THE PERMIAN-TRIASSIC BOUNDARY (NE HUNGARY)
Such faunas across the Permian-Triassic boundary interval
characterize restricted marine environments (Perri et al.
2004) and have proved to be of great importance for the bio-
stratigraphy of the latest Permian and earliest Triassic. In the
present paper the ranges of identified conodont taxa and the
inferred conodont zonation of the Late Permian and Early
Triassic were established according to the biostratigraphic
data of the Southern Alps (Italy) presented by Perri & Fara-
begoli (2003) for the Tesero section and most importantly
for the Bulla section considered by Farabegoli et al. (2007)
as the P-T boundary parastratotype for the shallow marine
environments of western Tethys. This high-resolution biozo-
nation is the result of intensive study of conodonts across the
P-T boundary interval into the Early Triassic of the Southern
Alps; it resulted in the discrimination of eight conodont bio-
zones. Comparison was also made with conodont data from
P-T boundary intervals from elsewhere in Europe and from
Pakistan, Kashmir, Iran, Tibet, China and western North
America. The elaboration of the sedimentary and biotic evo-
lution of the 190 m of shallow marine and lagoonal facies in
the Bellerophon and Werfen Formations at Bulla in the
Southern Alps has permitted comparison between western
and eastern Tethys, including comparison of the conodont
biozonation based on data from Bulla with the conodont se-
quence as presently known from the Meishan D stratotype
(Farabegoli et al. 2007).
In order to establish the main biostratigraphic conclusions
for P-T boundary sections in the Bükk Mountains, special at-
tention was focused on the following:
first occurrence datum (FOD) of H. parvus, the diagnos-
tic species and globally recognized marker defining the base
of the Triassic System (Yin 1993; Yin et al. 1996, 2001);
determining the vertical distributions of taxa of the
Hindeodus—Isarcicella fauna for discriminating zones in the
investigated P-T boundary interval.
Since the main focus of the present conodont investiga-
tions in the Bükk area was to biostratigraphically constrain
determination of the P-T boundary, only conodont zones im-
mediately below and above the boundary (praeparvus and
parvus Zones) were taken into account.
Bálvány-North section
Samples N 1 and N 3 from the lowest part of the Nagyvis-
nyó Limestone in the Bálvány-North section yielded the con-
odonts H. praeparvus, Hindeodus sp., Hindeodus/Isarcicella
sp. and Isarcicella cf. prisca (Fig. 2, Table 1). No conodonts
were found in samples (N 4—N 7) from the upper part of the
formation (including the BSB). The determined conodont
taxa and absence of H. parvus indicate that the uppermost
part of the Nagyvisnyó Limestone with the BSB of this sec-
tion possibly belongs to the Late praeparvus Zone (Late Per-
mian, uppermost Changhsingian).
The first occurrence of H. parvus, 20 cm above the base of
the Gerennavár Limestone in sample N 8.1, in association
with H. praeparvus and Hindeodus sp. in the first 65 cm of
microbialitic platy limestone of this formation (Fig. 2, Ta-
ble 1), defines the base of the Triassic and of the parvus
Zone (Early Triassic, earliest part of the Induan).
Posenato et al. (2005) identified bivalves and brachiopods
from the shale interval they regarded as the ‘basal beds’ of the
Gerennavár Limestone from the Bálvány-North section, in or-
der to determine their vertical distributions. Their ‘basal bed’
are here referred to as ‘Boundary Shale Beds’ (BSB), the up-
permost interval of the Nagyvisnyó Limestone (Figs. 2—4).
Aviculopectinids and Entolidae show strong affinities with
those from the Lower Tesero Member of the Werfen Forma-
tion in the Southern Alps. Brachiopods Orthothetina ladina
(Stache) and Ombonia tirolensis (Stache), characterizing the
‘basal beds’ (i.e. BSB), end their ranges in the upper third of
the unit, below the FOD of H. parvus. The bioevents seem
comparable with those in the Southern Alps where Ombonia
and Orthothetina underwent extinction below the first occur-
rence of H. parvus during the second extinction event E2 of
Farabegoli et al. (2007, Fig. 7), in the Lower Tesero Member of
the Werfen Formation. In Pakistan too, the Ombonia and
Orthothetina association occur only up to the latest Changhsin-
gian in the Lower Kathwai Member (Wignall et al. 1996). In the
BSB, extinctions of palynomorphs in the upper 30 cm (Haas et
al. 2004) and a sharp decrease of
δ
13
C values in the upper third
of these beds (Haas et al. 2006, 2007) have been recorded.
These events would possibly fall in the second extinction event
E2 of Farabegoli et al. (2007). In addition to the Late Permian
bivalves and brachiopods, Pelikán & Csontos-Kiss (1990), re-
ported the occurrence of dasycladacean algae (Gymnocodium
sp.) from the basal part of the Gerennavár Limestone. In the
Southern Alps gymnocodiacean algae were the last group to
undergo extinction within the Triassic layers; Gymnocodium
sp. disappears above the first occurrence of H. parvus at the
third extinction event E3 of Farabegoli et al. (2007).
In the Bálvány-North section the sequence of bioevents
across the P-T boundary can be summarized by the presence
of H. praeparvus and possibly of I. prisca in the upper part
of the Nagyvisnyó Limestone, the extinction of Ombonia
and Orthothetina in the BSB followed by the first occurrence
of H. parvus at 20 cm above the base of the Gerennavár
Limestone in a microbialitic interval with gymnocodiacean
algae. The sequence of bioevents seems comparable with
that of the Southern Alps where a more detailed conodont
biostratigraphic analysis was possible, the presence of richer
conodont faunas allowing identification of the P-T bound-
ary. Despite the scarcity of conodont-bearing layers in the
Bálvány-North section, the occurrence of H. parvus, the only
formally accepted marker for the base of the Triassic (Yin et
al. 2001), at sample N 8.1 should identify or closely approxi-
mate the FOD of H. parvus in the section and possibly in the
region – discriminating the P-T boundary.
Bálvány-East section
The conodonts H. parvus, H. praeparvus and Hindeodus sp.
were encountered in sample E 4.3 from 20 cm above the base
of the Gerennavár Limestone (Fig. 3, Table 1); it could possi-
bly be aligned with the level of sample N 8.1 in the Bálvány-
North section. Level of sample E 4.3 is assigned to the base of
the parvus Zone.
Sample E 10 from 5.80 m above the base of the Geren-
navár Limestone, and so above the tectonically disturbed in-
498
SUDAR, PERRI and HAAS
Fig. 5. Conodonts of the Permian-Triassic boundary interval in the Bükk Mountains, NE Hungary. 1—17 – Hindeodus praeparvus Kozur.
Figs. 1—15 – Latest part of the Late Permian, Changhsingian, praeparvus Zone (? Late praeparvus Zone), Nagyvisnyó Limestone; 1—11 – Ge-
rennavár section, sample Ge 136; 12 – Sample Ge 133; 13—15 – Bálvány-North section, sample N 3. Figs. 16, 17 – Earliest part of the
Early Triassic, Induan, parvus Zone, Gerennavár Limestone, Bálvány-North section, sample N 8.1. All magnifications are 100
×.
499
CONODONTS ACROSS THE PERMIAN-TRIASSIC BOUNDARY (NE HUNGARY)
terval, yielded one fragment of Neogondolella sp. (Fig. 3,
Table 1).
Gerennavár section
The conodonts H. praeparvus, Hindeodus sp., and I. cf.
prisca were found in sample Ge 136 from the upper part of
the Nagyvisnyó Limestone, 1.10 m below the top of the for-
mation. Sample Ge 133 from the uppermost bed of this for-
mation yielded H. praeparvus and Hindeodus sp. (Fig. 4,
Table 1). No conodont was found in the 11 cm thick BSB.
The presence of the determinated conodonts possibly defines
the Late praeparvus Zone in the uppermost Nagyvisnyó
Limestone (Late Permian, latest Changhsingian).
Only H. parvus was found in sample Ge 132.1 taken from
70 cm above the base of the overlying Gerennavár Lime-
stone (Fig. 4, Table 1). The discovery of this species indi-
cates the base of the Triassic and the parvus Zone (basal
Induan of the Early Triassic) in the lowermost part of the Ge-
rennavár Limestone.
Conodont Alteration Indices
The Colour Alteration Index (CAI values sensu Epstein et
al. 1977) of the conodonts from the Bálvány-North and the
Gerennavár sections is 3, and from the Bálvány-East section
3.5; these indicate the diagenetic zone (cf. Kovács & Árkai
1987). This deviation from the CAI values in the bulk of the
Bükk Mountains, which are anchi- to epimetamorphosed
(Árkai 1983; Árkai et al. 1995) and contain Late Triassic
conodonts with CAI values of 5—7 (Sudar & Kovács 2006)
indicates that the northern part of the Bükk Mountains with
Late Paleozoic and Early Triassic formations did not reach
the lower boundary of metamorphism (cf. Árkai op. cit. and
in Fülöp 1994).
Comparison with conodont faunas of other areas
Latest Permian—Early Triassic shallow-water sequences
lacking ammonoids are widely distributed in many regions of
the world. They contain conodont associations with Hindeo-
dus—Isarcicella faunas. Gondolellids may be present or absent
in such populations. Conodont faunas with gondolellids,
thought to reflect deeper or at least more open marine environ-
ments, are present in many localities: in Pakistan (Salt Range,
Trans-Indus Range), Kashmir, Malaysia, Armenia, Iran, Tibet,
and China (see citations in Perri et al. 2004, p. 470). Other as-
sociations, lacking gondolellids and reflecting shallow-water
with restricted marine conditions, occur in the Southern Alps
(Carnic Alps to Dolomites), Pakistan (Chitral), China (Jiangxi
Province) and elsewhere (Perri 1991; Perri & Farabegoli
2003; Perri et al. 2004; Farabegoli et al. 2007).
In the uppermost Bellerophon Formation and the lower
Werfen Formation (Tesero and Mazzin Members) in the Bul-
la and Tesero sections (Dolomites, Italy) and in many other
P-T boundary sections in the Southern Alps (Carnic Alps to
Dolomites), conodont associations composed mainly of
hindeodids and isarcicellids have been found (Perri & Fara-
begoli 2003; Farabegoli et al. 2007). The absence of gon-
dolellids is ecologically noteworthy. The biostratigraphic
study of these conodont faunas, following intensive taxo-
nomic revision, highlighted morphological trends among
Hindeodus and Isarcicella and allowed the recognition of
the Early and Late praeparvus Zones (Late Permian) and
succeeding zones in the earliest Early Triassic: parvus, loba-
ta, staeschei and isarcica Zones. These data and inferences
are pivotal for correlation of the P-T boundary sections in the
Bükk Mountains studied on the basis of conodont biostratig-
raphy.
For the P-T boundary interval of the Southern Alps, the
paper of Schönlaub (1991) on a very rich conodont fauna,
collected from the Werfen Formation in the Carnic Alps in
the Gartnerkofel-1 core and in the parallel outcrop section,
has to be mentioned. Five distinct Early Triassic assemblag-
es were discriminated on the basis of the presence of H. par-
vus, H. turgidus and I. isarcica.
The evolution of the Jadar Block (Vardar Zone, NW Ser-
bia) was remarkably similar to the Variscan—early Alpine
evolution of the Bükk Mountains (Protić et al. 2000; Filipović
et al. 2003). There are many studies of the Early Triassic
strata of this block but conodonts have been obtained mostly
from its higher, Olenekian, part (e.g. Sudar 1986). Con-
odonts of the H. typicalis group of the Hindeodus—Isarcicel-
la populations were found only in the P-T boundary interval
of the Komirić section (Sudar et al. 2007); they indicate the
Early praeparvus Zone (Changhsingian, Late Permian).
From the Croatian and Slovenian parts of the Dinarides
which may have been located paleogeographically close to
the Bükk area, similar P-T conodont associations were re-
ported. In the former area, representatives of Hindeodus (H.
parvus and Hindeodus sp. from the parvus—isarcica Zones)
were described from the Školski Brijeg section (Gorski Ko-
tar region, Croatia) from the lower part of the basal, dolo-
mitized, oolitic bar facies (F-1) of the lowermost Early
Triassic shallow marine succession (Aljinović et al. 2006).
In the Žiri area of western Slovenia, the P-T interval has
been identified by a rich Hindeodus—Isarcicella fauna domi-
nated by isarcicellids but, strikingly, lacking gondolellids.
The following taxa were determined: H. parvus, H. typicalis,
Hindeodus sp., I. isarcica, I. lobata, I. staeschei, I. turgida
and Isarcicella sp. A., allowing establishment of Faunas 1, 2
and, 3 respectively, on the basis of their ranges. The base of
the Triassic was identified by the first occurrence of H. par-
vus in the lowermost “Streaky Limestone Member” of the
Werfen Formation (Kolar-Jurkovšek & Jurkovšek 2007).
Conclusions
The lithostratigraphic boundary between the Nagyvisnyó
Limestone (with the BSB) and the Gerennavár Limestone
was documented in several sections in the Bükk Mountains,
Northern Hungary (Haas et al. 2004; Hips & Haas 2006;
Haas et al. 2006; Haas et al. 2007, etc.). The best sections
across the P-T boundary (Bálvány-North, Bálvány-East and
Gerennavár) were selected for detailed biostratigraphic stud-
ies. These continuous marine sections represent a deeper
ramp setting developed at the margin of the western Tethys.
500
SUDAR, PERRI and HAAS
Fig. 6. Conodonts of the Permian-Triassic boundary interval in the Bükk Mountains, NE Hungary. 1—4 – Isarcicella cf. prisca Kozur, lat-
est part of the Late Permian, Changhsingian, praeparvus Zone (? Late praeparvus Zone), Nagyvisnyó Limestone; 1, 2 – Gerennavár sec-
tion, sample Ge 136; 3, 4 – Bálvány-North section, sample N 3. 5—7, 10—21 – Hindeodus parvus (Kozur & Pjatakova), earliest part of the
Early Triassic, Induan, parvus Zone, Gerennavár Limestone; 5 – Gerennavár section, sample Ge 132.1; 6—7, 10—11 – Bálvány-North sec-
tion, sample N 8.1; 12—21 – Bálvány-East section, sample E 4.3. 8, 9 – Hindeodus sp., earliest part of the Early Triassic, Induan, parvus
Zone, Gerennavár Limestone, Bálvány-North section, sample N 8.1. All magnifications are 100
×.
The study of conodonts from these boundary successions
resulted in the determination of taxa of the Hindeodus—Isar-
cicella association, without gondolellids. Conodont taxa
identified are H. parvus, H. praeparvus, Hindeodus sp.,
Hindeodus/Isarcicella sp. and Isarcicella cf. prisca.
Biostratigraphic characteristics of the conodont assem-
blages enable establishment of the base of the Triassic at or
below 20 cm (Bálvány-North, Bálvány-East) and at or below
70 cm (Gerennavár), respectively, above the base of the Ge-
rennavár Limestone. The praeparvus Zone or possibly Late
praeparvus Zone (Changhsingian, latest Permian) was rec-
ognized in the uppermost part of the Nagyvisnyó Limestone
(including the BSB), and the parvus Zone (Induan, earliest
Triassic) in the lowermost part of the Gerennavár Limestone.
501
CONODONTS ACROSS THE PERMIAN-TRIASSIC BOUNDARY (NE HUNGARY)
The studies performed allow us to add the Bükk Moun-
tains to the list of well-known and important localities of P-T
boundary conodonts; the results may contribute to improv-
ing the precision of the Tethys-wide and even worldwide
correlation of the boundary events.
Acknowledgments: Support from the Hungarian Scientific
Research Fund (OTKA) Projects T037966 and T042802 is
gratefully acknowledged. The work of M. Sudar was sup-
ported by the Ministry of Science and Technological Deve-
lopment of the Republic of Serbia (Project No. 146009). The
authors thanks H.M. Liberman (Houston, USA) and J.A.
Talent (Sydney, Australia) for linguistic corrections.
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