Keele Research Repository

The boundaries of the Upper Arnsbergian, Chokierian and Alportian (late E2b1- H2c inclusive) are established in the North Staffordshire Basin. The faunal bands in the interval late E2b1 - H2c (inclusive) are recognised and the faunas present are identified.
The position of the sediments in the Basin is defined within the established biostratigraphical framework. Sedimentary units present are placed in lithofacies and sublithofacies on the basis of analysis and interpretation of external and internal structures.
Microfaunas of selected bullion horizons in the Basin are examined and three new subspecies of the Family Ceratoikiscidae (Holdsworth, 1969) are recognised. The distribution of the Ceratoikiscidae and their possible evolutionary trends are discussed.
Distribution of the faunal elements in the faunal bands of the Basin and the implications of this distribution are discussed. Faunal bands are suggested to have either "deep" or "shallow water" genesis. Groupings of "deep" and "shallow" faunal bands alternate and a megacyclic succession is proposed for the Basin in the interval late E2b1 - H2c. Coarse clastic sediment is present only in the "shallow" megacyclic intervals.
Marked vertical changes or breaks are recognised in the faunal phase distribution "pattern" in the Ashover Succession, which are seen to be synchronous with the interval junctions in the Basin. Eustatic control of sea level is suggested as the mechanism producing this synchronisation. Variations in the faunal record are related to eustatic fluctuations in sea level with variable maxima, and the influence of local epeirogeny in
the Ashover area is discussed.
Lithofacies relationships and environmental interpretations in the interval late E2b1 - H2c are considered in the light of the previously discussed sedimentary and palaeontological evidence.