Pennsylvanian correlation using blattoid insects

Abstract

The stratigraphic distribution of blattoid (cockroach-like) insect genera in the type Pennsylvanian permits the zoning of lacustrine members in this sequence. When taken with the associated floras and the intercalated marine faunas, blattoid fossils permit fine correlation between the name-type Pennsylvanian of Pennsylvania, the goniatite-bearing Upper Carboniferous of Europe, the fusuline-bearing Pennsylvanian of Kansas, and other contemporaneous sequences, especially those of exclusively limnic facies such as the Morien, Pictou, and Narragansett Basins. Application of epochal ages, developed in Europe, to the type and other regions of the Pennsylvanian is now possible. The time distribution of the major genera is presented with a time-stratigraphic plot of data control points in the type region, and a documentation of the relevant systematics is appended.