Mohd Shafeea Leman

Middle Permian brachiopods from central Peninsular Malaysia — faunal affinities between Malaysia and west Cambodia

A moderately diverse Permian brachiopod fauna is described from a new rock unit, the Bera Formation, in the Bera District, central Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia. The fauna consists of 19 taxa, including 14 genera and 17 (both identified and unidentified) typically Tethyan species. The fauna appears to be correlative on the basis of brachiopods with the Neoschwagerina-Yabeina fusulinid Zones in Indochina and South China. In particular, it has strong linkage to Member C (Yabeina beds) of the Sisophon Limestone, west Cambodia. This is indicated by three of the Bera species — Urushtenoidea chaoi (Ching), Spyridiophora gubleri Termier and Termier, and Transennatia termierorum sp. nov., being shared with the Cambodian fauna. A possible early Capitanian (Middle Permian) age is proposed for the Bera brachiopod fauna.

The Leptodus Shales of central Peninsular Malaysia : Distribution, age and palaeobiogeographical affinities

The terms ‘Leptodus Shales’ and ‘Leptodus Beds’ have been used to describe a rich brachiopod bearing unit within the Permian argillaceous facies of the Central Belt of Peninsular Malaysia. To date there has been no formal description of this unit regarding its age, spatial distribution or faunal composition. A review of previous literature, backed by recently collected data from our field surveys and biostratigraphical studies reveals that there is a sequence of fossiliferous assemblages within the Leptodus Shales, which range in age from Middle Permian to possibly early Late Permian and extend geographically from southern Kelantan to southern Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia. These assemblages are found in argillaceous sediments which are often highly tuffaceous, and in northern Pahang are associated with pyroclastic volcanics of probable island-arc origin. The faunas are of Palaeo-equatorial affinity and are taxonomically close to faunas in Indochina, such as the Sisophon fauna in Cambodia. Typical elements include Vediproductus cf. punctatiformis (Chao), Transennatia gratiosa (Waagen), T. termierorum Sone, Leman and Shi, Uncuninellina timorensis (Beyrich), Leptodus richthofeni Kayser, L. cf. tenuis (Waagen), Leptodus nobilis (Waagen), Gubleria aff. ninglangensis Fang and Jiang, and Spyridiophora gubleri Termier and Termier.

Middle Permian cephalopods from central Peninsular Malaysia: implications for faunal migration through the southern Tethys

Abstract A Wordian (Middle Permian) cephalopod fauna consisting of four ammonoid species, Tauroceras aff. scrobiculatum (Gemmellaro), Agathiceras sp., Bamyaniceras orientale n. sp. and Pronoritidae gen. and sp. indet., and two nautiloid species, Tainoceras sp. and Orthocerida fam. indet., were recovered from the Bera South area, southern Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia. The outcrop represents the southernmost extent of the Bera Formation. Bamyaniceras and Tainoceras are recorded in Malaysia for the first time. The presence of T. aff. scrobiculatum suggests a regional correlation with an ammonoid-bearing bed of Sungai Cheroh, western Pahang, and permits global correlations with strata of northeastern Iraq, northern Oman and Sicily (Italy). A possible eastwards faunal migration through the southern Tethys is suggested.

Palaeobiogeographic implications of Middle Permian brachiopods from Johore (Peninsular Malaysia)

A new Middle Permian locality in northern Johore, Peninsular Malaysia, yields a small-sized, but compositionally unique, brachiopod fauna consisting of eight species: Pseudoleptodus sp., Caricula cf. salebrosa Grant, Neochonetes (Nongtaia) aff. arabicus (Hudson & Sudbury), Karavankina sp., Transennatia cf. insculpta (Grant), Hustedia sp., Orthothetina sp., and martiniid indet. The first four genera are new records for Malaysia; in particular, the rare taxa Pseudoleptodus and Caricula characterize the fauna. The brachiopods occur together with the ammonoid Agathiceras sp., the nautiloid Foordiceras ? sp., bivalves, and crinoid stems. The locality belongs to the East Malaya terrane of the Cathaysian biotic region, but some affinities to species of the Sibumasu province are recognized. The Malaysian forms of Pseudoleptodus, Caricula and Transennatia are similar to those of the Ratburi Limestone (southern Thailand). A Roadian–early Wordian age is interpreted for the Johore fauna. The similarity of brachiopods reported here with those from the Ratburi Limestone suggests that there was species interchange or one-way migration between shallow waters of East Malaya and Sibumasu across the main Palaeo-Tethys. The Tethyan seaway between the two terranes must have been narrower than previously interpreted by some authors to allow such faunal traffic during the Roadian–Wordian time period.

Triassic nautiloid Sibyllonautilus from Gua Bama, Peninsular Malaysia and its regional stratigraphic implications

Coiled nautiloid Shells referred to Sibyllonautilus bamaensis Sone sp. nov. are reported from the top of the Gua Bama limestone hill in Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia. This is the first record of the genus in Southeast Asia; a pre-Ladinian, Triassic age is indicated for the occurrence. Based on the presence of Sibyllonautilus and previously reported Late Permian (Lopingian) foraminifers and algae, the Gua Bama limestones are interpreted to range from the Late Permian to the Triassic. It further seems plausible that some parts of Gua Bama are stratigraphically correlated to those of the nearby Gua Sei limestone hill, which has yielded basal Triassic conodonts, and that either or both the Gua Bama and Gua Sei hills may contain yet unconfirmed successions of the Permian-Triassic boundary.

Discovery of an Early Permian (Late Sakmarian) ammonoid from Langkawi Island, Malaysia

This paper describes a single specimen of Metalegoceras sp. recently discovered from the upper part of the Singa Formation at Batu Asah on the main Langkawi Island off the northwestern coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The discovery represents the first report of a Permian ammonoid from the island and from the Singa Formation and confirms a Sakmarian (Early Permian) age for this part of the formation suggested by brachiopods.

Geotourism: A Tool for Sustainable Development of Geoheritage Resources

The theoretical understanding suggests that geotourism relates tourism and geology in such a way that the public can experience the earth’s geological wonders with environmental and cultural understanding, appreciation, and conservation through formal and informal education. With proper enforcement emplaced, this idea of protection through usage should lead to an increase in ecological and socio-cultural awareness and behaviour among geotourists and local guardians of geological heritage. In the prospect of geotourism, geotourists and local public are related in a way that the former play its part in geoheritage conservation through visiting geological heritages while expenditures spent by geotourists contributed to the gross income of the latter and partially to the nation through various tax structures. These economic benefit as well as environmental incentives of geotourism would encourage local public to embrace into geotourism industry and geoheritage conservation. Thus, when these mechanisms work perfectly, geotourism will offer one realistic key solution to the apparent conflict between environmental and cultural protection, and economic growth.

PERMIAN LINOPRODUCTOID BRACHIOPOD PERMUNDARIA FROM BERA SOUTH, PENINSULAR MALAYSIA

The rugose linoproductoid Permundaria Nakamura, Kato, and Choi, 1970 was stated to be a “poorly understood genus” in the new Brachiopoda Treatise (Brunton et al., 2000, p. 563). It is an uncommon genus confined to the Middle–early Late Permian Tethys Sea, and reports of it have usually been based on only a small number of specimens. In this study, some 30 samples of Permundaria were recovered from the Bera South beds (Wordian, Middle Permian) of the Bera Formation, Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia. The material represents a new species of the genus, which is here described. Its new morphological information enables taxonomic revision of this often misunderstood genus, and helps to clarify some confusion among related, or superficially similar, linoproductoid genera.nnThe sampling locality (Fig. 1) is the Bera South outcrop of Sone et al. (2001) and Locality BF1 of Leman et al. (2000), and is at 03°04′10″N, 102°41′13″E (by Garmin GPS 12XL). Note that this GPS measurement is now more accurately indicated with the newer GPS instrument than in Sone et al. (2001, p. 806), who previously coordinated 03°04′01″N, 102°41′06″E for the same locality.nnnnFigure 1 —Map of the Bera district, showing the distribution of the Bera Formation of Leman et al. (2000), and the Bera South outcrop where Permundaria perplexa n. sp. was found (modified after Sone et al., 2001)nnnnThe geological details of the Bera South outcrop were described in Leman et al. (2000) and Sone et al. (2001). Fossils are confined to beds 3 m thick, which consist of tuffaceous siltstone, and are dominated by brachiopods and, to a lesser extent, cephalopods, bivalves, trilobites, and gastropods (Fig. 2). The brachiopod Martinia sp. and the trilobite Pseudophillipsia ? sp. were illustrated in Leman et al. (2000).nnnnFigure 2 —Stratigraphic column of the …

Late Silurian cephalopods from Langkawi, Malaysia, with peri-Gondwanan faunal affinity

Nine species of late Pridoli (latest Silurian) orthocerid cephalopods are described from the Upper Setul Limestone of Pulau Langgun, Langkawi Islands, Malaysia. These are the orthoceratids Michelinoceras (Michelinoceras) cf. michelini (Barrande, 1866), Michelinoceras? sp., Kopaninoceras setulense sp. nov., Mimogeisonoceras? langgunense sp. nov., Kionoceras? sp. and Orthocycloceras sp.; the arionoceratids Arionoceras mahsuri sp. nov. and Caliceras mempelamense sp. nov.; and the geisonoceratid Murchisoniceras? sp. This is the first detailed record with taxonomic descriptions of Silurian cephalopods from Southeast Asia. The assemblage belongs to the newly defined Kopaninoceras Fauna that is interpreted to have been widely distributed along the northern (African to Asian) margin of Gondwana and around the Prototethys Ocean during the late Silurian. The Kopaninoceras Fauna includes a local assemblage from the Kurosegawa Belt of south-west Japan, which possibly represents its northernmost occurrence. The distribution of the Kopaninoceras Fauna implies that the cephalopod faunas of Kazakhstan and adjacent areas in Central Asia have closer affinities with peri-Gondwanan faunas than with Baltica or Siberia, corroborating conclusions drawn by earlier researchers based on the benthic faunas. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:DDE20872-C142-4B78-B5F2-2E604C3C8689

Sustainable Geological Heritage Development Approach in Sarawak Delta, Sarawak, Malaysia

The Sarawak Delta is located in the Kuching and Bau Districts and comprises the Bako, Santubong, Sarawak River Delta, Serapi and the Bau areas. The area is proposed as the Sarawak Delta Geopark. The delta plain has become a foundation accommodating continuous development where integration between various communities, cultures and the environment takes place. Various geological formations along with several significant geoheritage sites have been identified within and surrounding the proposed Sarawak Delta Geopark area. Despite the important roles of geology in many aspects of development, there are neither proper linkages between geology and sustainable development nor its sustainability used. Through the geoheritage concept which involves proper identification, characterisation, assessment and rank of significant geoheritage sites based on its scientific, aesthetic, cultural and recreational heritage value, now the area is proposed to be partially geoconserved for geotourism purposes. The aim of this paper is to establish further understanding of the relationship between the field of geology and sustainable development through geoheritage development of the proposed Sarawak Delta Geopark. Geoparks are a relatively new form of sustainable development which embraces geoconservation, geotourism and education. Geoparks provide a sound approach for sustainable development in the Sarawak Delta since it can enhance conservation of resources whilst at the same time promoting socio-economic benefits for the local communities.