Distribution of the Permian Monodiexodina in Karakorum and Kunlun and its Geological Significance

: The Permian fusulinoidean genus Monodiexodina is widely distributed in east Tethys. The genus might be an important indicator for the northern margin of Gondwana in northwestern China, but this is disputed. Monodiexodina-bearing areas can be restored as in either northern or southern middle latitudes with a symmetrical distribution between a high latitudinal, cool/cold water climatic realm and a paleotropical, warm water realm. Permian strata bearing Monodiexodina in Karakorum, Muztag Pear, and Buka Daban Pear of the east Kunlun Mountains can be correlated with each other. Faunal analyses and the stratigraphical position of Monodiexodina-bearing strata indicate that both Karakorum, east Kunlun, and the Pamirs were formed in a cool temperate sea area of the northern hemisphere in middle latitudes during the Permian, rather than at the Gondwana margin.