Discovery of radiolarian fossils in the Xixiang Group, the Southern Qinling, central China, and its implications

The Xixiang Group in the southern Qinling has been believed to be a Precamb rian metamorphic complex. Radiolarian fossils were found in the muddy chert interlayers of volcanic rocks in the Sunjiahe Formation of the group. The ages of the fossils are Late Devonian and Early Carboniferous in the lower member and Early Carboniferous in the middle and upper members of the forma tion. The complex in the Xixiang area can be determined as a Paleozoic-Tria ssic melange which connects with the Mianxian-Lueyang ophiolitic melange.