Western Carpathian mid-Permian Magmatism: Petrographic, geochemical, and geochronological data.

This study presents geochemical and geochronological data from rock samples collected from the Western Carpathian mountains, eastern Slovakia. Granite assemblages that intrude the Gemeric and Veporic Superunits were imaged using a petrographic microscope to determine rock textures and their mineral assemblages. Zircon grains from seven individual portions of the Gemeric granites (Hnilec, Betliar, Elisabeth Mine, Poproč plutons) and one from the Veporic unit (Klenovec pluton) were dated using Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS).

A U-Pb zircon age constraint on the oldest-recorded air-breathing land animal.

The oldest-known air-breathing land animal is the millipede Pneumodesmus newmani, found in the Cowie Harbour Fish Bed at Stonehaven, Scotland. Here we report the youngest, most concordant 238U-206Pb zircon age from ash below the fish bed of 413.7±4.