Discovery of Paleogene Sporopollen from the Matrix Strata of the Naij Tal Group‐Complex in the Eastern Kunlun Orogenic Belt

The Naij Tal Group-complex is a suite of tectonic-sedimentary melange aggregation of the Eastern Kunlun orogenic belt, which is composed of two parts, i.e. the exotic blocks of various ages and the matrix strata. On the basis of coral, brachiopod and gastropod fossils found in the exotic blocks, the age of this group-complex was once defined to the Late Ordovician or the Paleozoic. This paper reports for the first time 44 genera and 31 species of Mid-Late Oligocene sporopollen in samples from the matrix strata in this group-complex and the Paleogene Quercoidites-Persicarioipollis assemblage is named. The paper aims to provide some detailed evidence for determining the age of the matrix strata in this group-complex based upon a study at the Caiyuanzigou section, which would be of great geological significance for further understanding this group-complex as a suite of tectonic-sedimentary melange aggregation. The new finding will certainly benefit from now on the investigation of formation and evolution mechanism for the Eastern Kunlun orogenic belt.