Palynological dating (acritarchs and chitinozoans) of Lower Paleozoic phyllites from the Black Forest/southwestern Germany

The Black Forest (southwestern Germany) comprises two phyllite-bearing low- grade metasedimentary units, which are separated by the Central Schwarzwald Gneiss Complex. Both zones have been subjected to palynological investigat ion. In the north, the phyllites of the zone of Baden-Baden-Gaggenau, until now believed to be unfossiliferous, yielded a poorly preserved acritarch a ssemblage, indicating an age ranging from the Upper Cambrian to the Lower O rdovician. These phyllites may be equivalent to the Ville slates of the Vos ges mountains (eastern France). In the south, the phyllites of the zone of Badenweiler-Lenzkirch contain chitinozoans of Silurian age. (C) 2000 Academ ie des sciences / Editions scientifiques ct medicales Elsevier SAS.