Monday, September 15, 2008

Outline Geology of Peninsular Malaysia

Malaysia is a country which consists of two parts, peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia (Sabah & Sarawak or Borneo). The capital of Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur and divided into 12 states, each having own capital town. The climate is tropical characterised by uniformly high tempaerature and seasonal rainfall. Most of the region is covered by a tropical rain forest.
Up to 1903, all geological work had been reconnaissance. In 1903, J.B. Scrivenor was appointed as the first government geologist and this begun the new era of geological work in Peninsular Malaysia. Systematic mapping by the Geological Survey was started in the 1930's. Since the 1970's there has been a rapid increase in the geological knowledge of Peninsular Malaysia. The latest geological map (1:50,000) of Peninsular Malaysia was published in 1985 by the Geological Survey of Malaysia (now known as Minerals and Geoscience Department Malaysia).
On the basis of tectonostratigraphic terrains, Malaysia is a part of Sibumasu block and East Malaya block. Peninsular Malaysia can be divided into three belts; West Malaya, Central Malaya and East Malaya. Each of these three belts is characterised by its own stratigraphy, igneous suite and geological history.

In West Malaysia, the oldest rocks exposed are Cambrian in age, consisting of about 3000m of predominantly sandstone-shale deposited in a shallow water and deltaic environment. This rocks well expose in northwest Peninsular Malaysia and are conformably overlain by the thick sequence of shallow water limestone of Ordovician to Silurian age. Both sequences then overlies by the rock of Upper Devonian to Lower Carboniferous which is dominated by mudstone, sandstone and thin of pebbly mudstone. Limestone and siliciclastic of Triassic age are best developed in northwest Peninsular Malaysia and were intruded by granite of latest Triassic to Jurassic age.

In Centrel Malaya, the oldest rocks exposed are Silurian-Devonian rocks called as Bentong Group. These rocks exposed in a narrow zone and consists of schists, amphibolites, conglomerates and other siliciclastic deposits with some bodies of serpentinite and melange deposits. During Triassic period, deposits are dominated by marine sediments and overlain in some areas by Jurassic-Cretaceous continental deposits. Marine Permian and Triassic rocks were deposited over the Bentong Group and cover the greater part of the Central Malaya.

East Malaya is dominated by Carboniferous and Permian clastics, carbonates and volvanics. Triassic sediments absent and Upper Jurassic continental rocks lie unconformably on the Carboniferous-Permian sequence.

The main intrusive body in west Malaya is the Main Range Granite (S-type) extending 3000km from the southern tip of Peninsular Malaysia to Northern Thailand. In Central Malaya granitic intrusives extend from the Thai border southwards to Johore. In East Malaya, granites are abundant froming elongated north-south ternding bodies. These granites are classified as I-type. Source- Dr. Kamal Roslan, UKM









Thursday, September 11, 2008

Upper Triassic Halobia From, Aring, Gua Musang































The photos of Daonella from Daonella bed at Locality QZ480, Aring. The species of this Daonella is indeterminable. This fossil found closed to the Anisian ammonoids .

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Middle Triassic ammonoids from QZ480, Aring, Kelantan

Locality: QZ480, Telong Formation, vacinity of Aring, south of Kelantan, Malaysia
Biostratigraphy: Balatonite Zone (Tethyan affinity)
Age: Anisian, Middle Triassic
Ammonoid Fauna : Danubites cf. kansa, Danubites sp., Kellnerites samneuensis, Balatonites sp., Tetsaoceras sp., Acrocordiceras sp.






un-identified ammonoid





Kellnerites samneuensis
(Mansuy)





Tetsaoceras sp.

Un-identified ammonoids from QZ467, Aring

There are some undeterminated ammonoids from Locality QZ467 which is assigned to be Regoledanus Subzone or Canadensis Subzone
(Any suggestion?)



Photo # 1



Photo #2



Photo # 3


Photo #4

Middle Triassic Ammonoids from QZ467, Aring, Kelantan

Location: QZ467, Telong Formation, vacinity of Aring, south of Kelantan, Malaysia
Biostratigraphy: Regoledanus Subzone of Protrachyceras Zone (Tethyan affinity)
Age: Longorbardian, Upper Ladinian, Middle Triassic
Ammonoid Fauna: Frankites regoledanus, Frankite apertus, Protyrachyceras costulatum, ?Daxatina sp., Anolcites sp., Joannites sp., Asklepioceras sp., Clioninites sp., Arcestes sp., Zestoceras sp. and Megaphyllites jarbas.






Frankites regoledanus (Mojsisovics)


Frankites apertus (Mojsisovics)




Protrachyceras costulatum (Mansuy)




?Daxatina sp.





Anolcites sp.




Joannites sp.




Asklepioceras sp.




Clionitites sp.



Arcestes sp.




Zestoceras sp.




Megaphyllites jarbas (Mojsisovics)

Anisian Bivalves From QZ480, Aring, Kelantan




Anadontophora
sp.






Neoschizodus
sp.







Frenguelliella
sp.






Daonella
sp.





Costatoria pahangensis (Kobayashi)

Location: QZ480, Anisian, Middle Triassic
Telong Formation, Aring, Gua Musang
Kelantan, Malaysia





Plant Fossils From Jerantut, Pahang













Satu lapisan kaya fosil tumbuhan telah ditemui di sebuah tapak pembinaan di Simpang Kota Gelanggi, Jerantut, Pahang. Himpunan fosil tumbuhan ini dinamakan sebagai Flora Gelanggi yang mengandungi Cladiophlebis sp., Taeniopteris sp., Otozamites sp., Equisetum sp. dan Neocalamites sp.. Usia Flora Gelanggi ini dianggarkan berusia Trias Akhir ke Jura Awal (228-175 juta tahun).

A rich plant fossils bed was discovered in a construction site at Simpang Kota Gelanggi, Jerantut, Pahang. The assemblage of these plant fossils was called as Gelanggi Flora included Cladiophlebis sp., Taeniopteris sp., Otozamites sp., Equisetum sp. and Neocalamites sp.. The age of Gelanggi Flora can be assigned to the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic (228-175 m.a).