Ostracods (Crustacea) as shelf to basin indicators: evidence from Late Devonian Yangdi and Nandong sections in Guangxi, South China

Abstract. Forty-eight ostracod species belonging to 28 genera from the Late Devonian of Guangxi in South China are described and figured. The ostracod assemblage from the Nandong section can be attributed to the rhenana–linguiformis conodont zones. The ecological assemblages of ostracods from the Yangdi section correspond to a smooth-podocopid association accompanied by some pelagic entomozoids. This mixed assemblage is indicative of an environment of carbonate platform to slope during an ongoing regression. The ostracod faunas from the Nandong section are on the contrary composed of both pelagic and benthic ostracods and pelagic forms dominate in number of specimens suggesting a basin environment.