Carboniferous-Triassic conodont biostratigraphy, Nechako NATMAP project area, central British Columbia

Fifty-seven new conodont collections from the Nechako NATMAP area contribute to a conodont biostratigraphic framework for the region. Most collections are from the Pope unit of the Cache Creek complex and are early Late Carboniferous (Bashkirian-Moscovian) to Middle Permian (Wordian). The most extensive carbonate buildup is Bashkirian-Moscovian, whereas latest Carboniferous to Permian limestone is much less common and Middle Permian buildups are known only in the north. The Sowchea clastic-volcanic unit is Late Permian to Late Triassic (Norian); it includes unique records of (?)Changshingian, Griesbachian, and Smithian fauna, and the first records of Middle Triassic Tethyan Gladigondolella in Canada. At two widely separated localities, breccia containing mixed conodont faunas show that Paleozoic and Triassic strata were reworked during or after the Late Triassic. Late Triassic conodonts are also reported from the Tezzeron unit and adjacent Takla Group.