Discovery of an early Late Jurassic charophyte assemblage in Yunnan

Two major advances have been made in recent years in the stratigraphic study of the Lufeng area,Yunnan,i.e.:the successive discoveries of the Middle Jurassic Chuanjiesaurus fauna and Late Jurassic dinosaurs above the Lufeng prosauropod fauna in the Chuanjie basin,and the erection and revision of the local Jurassic lithological units according to the international Stratigraphical Guide.Recently the Middle Jurassic charophyte Aclistochara maanshanensis-Aclistochara abshiriri-Aclistochara karierica assemblage and the early Late Jurassic charophyte Aclistochara jaisalmerensis-Aclistochara karierica-Mesochara voluta assem-blage have been identified in the Chuanjie Formation(the lower part of the Shanglufeng Formation)and the"vine-red beds"(Madishan Formation)respectively.The latter was first discovered in China.