Biostratigraphic Subdivision and Correlation of the Devonian in the Paraná Basin

The Devonian sequence in the Paraná Sedimentary Basin of southern Brazil was subdivided into five main biostratigraphic intervals. This subdivision was based mainly on the stratigraphic range of Chitinozoa. For this purpose only those chitinozoan species were selected which allied a restricted vertical range to a widespread geographical distribution, thus providing means of correlation with other regions. Six genera of Chitinozoa, one of which new, comprising 12 species (two new) and 3 species of Navifusa (Acritarcha) are described in the systematic part. Once the biostratigraphic intervals had been established, it was possible to correlate the units across the Devonian outcrop and subsurface area in the basin, from Mato Grosso and Goiás in the north to Santa Catarina in the south. The correlation of the microfossils with forms from other regions provided the basis for the age determination of the Devonian sequence in the Paraná Basin, which ranges from late Lower Devonian (Emsian) to early Upper Devonian (Frasnian). Further information derived from this investigation regard the extension and subdivision of some of the lithostratigraphic units, the lateral interfingering between the Furnas Sandstone and the Ponta Grossa Shale, the connection of the Paraná Basin with other Devonian basins of northern Brazil, and other information which have a bearing on the paleogeographic development of the Paraná Basin during the Devonian.