Lower Devonian biostratigraphy and vertebrates of the Tong Vai valley, Vietnam

38 1 June 169 186

THANH, T., JANVIER, P., PHUONG, T., TRUONG, D. 1995. Lower Devonian biostratigraphy and vertebrates of the Tong Vai valley, Vietnam. Palaeontology38, 1, 169–186.

Tong-Dzuy Thanh, P. Janvier, Ta Hoa Phuong and Doan Nhat Truong A new vertebrate assemblage is described from the base of the Khao Loc Formation at Tong Vai, Dong Van district, Ha Giang Province, Vietnam. It includes the galeaspid Polybranchiaspis liaojaoshanensis, two acanthothoracid placoderms, and the sarcopterygian Youngolepis praecursor. This assemblage is quite similar to that of the Xitun Formation of Yunnan (Late Lianhuashanian to Early Nagaolingian) and can also be correlated with the vertebrate faunas which occur at the base of the Bac Bun Formation of the Bac Bo in Vietnam. New data on the morphology of P. liaojaoshanensis are provided on the basis of this material, with special reference to the structure and ornamentation of the exoskeleton. The Palaeontological Association (Free Access)