Paleozoic • Silurian–Devonian In GSP lexicon

Lun Shale

Silurian to Late Devonian (structurally disrupted mélange)

Cited in 7 sources Last reviewed Jul 30, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: Not recorded
Status: Published
Age: Paleozoic · Silurian–DevonianSilurian to Late Devonian (structurally disrupted mélange)
Named by: Not recorded
Type locality: Lun, Chitral
Thickness: 200-500 m
Lithology: Slates and shales with subordinate quartzarenites and limestones, structurally disrupted (a stratigraphic mélange)
Synonyms: Not recorded

A structurally disrupted (mélange) unit of slates and shales in Chitral, named after Lun village; its rocks range from Silurian to Late Devonian in age, and it was formerly mis-assigned to the Permian–Triassic.

Named after Lun village, Chitral. A problematic, structurally disrupted (mélange) assemblage of slates with subordinate arenites and limestones, containing rocks ranging in age from Silurian to Late Devonian. Formerly assigned a Permian–Triassic age; reclassified as Siluro-Devonian on conodont and graptolite evidence (Talent et al. 1999; Feist et al. 2001).

Fossils

Ammonoids (rare)Bivalves

Contacts

In the Hindukush-Chitral column

MixedMetamorphicSandstoneFossils recordedContact not recorded

Band colour = period; texture = dominant rock type. Lines between bands mark the contact type; dotted = no contact recorded in the sources (not a claim of conformity). True scale makes height ∝ recorded thickness; hatched = thickness not recorded. Ages approximate, for ordering.

This unit (highlighted) within its province column; faded ends continue above and below. Line style marks the contact type.

Distribution & setting

Hindukush-Chitral

Basin: Not recorded
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: Not recorded
Coordinates: Not recorded

Correlation

Not recorded. Compare this unit against other basins on the correlation panel →

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

A problematic, faulted assemblage in the Reshun–Kurâgh area of Chitral, applied by Desio (1966) to slates with subordinate arenites and limestones. Conodonts and graptolites show it to be a stratigraphic potpourri/mélange of Silurian (monograptids at the top of Mt Shogram) through Early Devonian (Emsian) and Late Devonian rocks — not a Permian–Triassic unit. The name has also been applied inconsistently (Buchroithner 1998 mapped a 'Lun Shale' tract next to the Cretaceous Krinj Limestone), so no single clean age applies.

Research notes (6)

Field-by-field findings drawn from the cited literature. Every statement is traced to a registered source — follow a citation for the full reference.

Name & nomenclature (1)

Attested in Shah (2009), Geological Survey of Pakistan Memoir 22 - the Stratigraphic Committee of Pakistan's compiled lexicon (listed in the memoir's contents). Adds the definitional GSP/SCP lexicon citation.

Shah, S.M.I. (2009)

Age & correlation (5)

AGE CONFLICT: Gaetani et al. (1996) report Early Devonian (early Emsian) conodont horizons in the Lun Shale of the Reshun-Tirich Mir belt, whereas the dataset lists Permian-Triassic. Unit corroborated; the age needs review (the Tirich Mir report also speculates Permian-Jurassic). Literature-search-derived.

Gaetani, M., Le Fort, P., Tanoli, S., Angiolini, L., Nicora, A., Sciunnach, D. & Khan, A. (1996)
Kazmi & Jan (1997): the Lun Shales (Desio; = Sarikol Slate of Hayden 1915) are a thick sequence of grey splintery slaty shale with quartzite, dolomite and limestone between the Tirich and Reshun Faults (NW Chitral), overlying the Shogram Formation and truncated by the Tirich Fault. The book gives a wide/uncertain range — largely Permo-Carboniferous, but possibly Devonian(?) to Late Jurassic (Permian fusulines and, in the Rosh Gol upper part, Middle–Late Jurassic ammonites) — bracketing the curated 'Permian–Triassic'.

Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997)
Feist, Talent & Mawson (2001) AGE FLAG: this paper lists the 'Lun Shale' among the older Middle Palaeozoic units of Chitral (with the Charun Quartzite and Chilmarabad Formation) that underlie the Devonian (Givetian–Famennian) Shogrâm Formation — implying a Silurian–Devonian (Middle Palaeozoic) age, which CONFLICTS with this record's curated 'Permian–Triassic (Mesozoic)' age. Given the curated age is itself attributed to Gaetani et al. (Chitral 1996) and Kazmi & Jan (1997), the discrepancy likely reflects either a homonym or a mis-correlation and is flagged for reconciliation against the primary Chitral Devonian literature; not overwritten.

Feist, R., Talent, J.A. & Mawson, R. (2001)
Talent et al. (1999) STRONG AGE FLAG (with Feist et al. 2001): the 'Lun Shale' (Desio 1966) is documented as a PROBLEMATIC stratigraphic potpourri / tectonic mélange of rocks of various ages — Silurian (monograptids at the top of Mt Shogram), Early Devonian (Emsian; this report) and Late Devonian — NOT a Permian-Triassic unit. Hayden (1915) and Desio (1966) had thought it Carboniferous; the name has also been applied inconsistently (Buchroithner 1998 mapped a 'Lun Shale' tract adjacent to the Cretaceous Krinj Limestone). This directly contradicts this record's curated 'Permian-Triassic (Mesozoic)' age and its 'Permo-Triassic extinction' description — two independent primary sources (Talent et al. 1999 conodonts/graptolites; Feist et al. 2001) place it in the Silurian-Devonian (Middle Palaeozoic). Given the unit's mélange character, no single clean age applies; strongly flagged for reclassification (Paleozoic, Siluro-Devonian) pending author decision — NOT auto-overwritten because it flips the era badge.

Talent, J.A., Gaetani, M., Mawson, R., Molloy, P.D. & Conaghan, P.J. (1999)
RECLASSIFIED (author-approved 2026-07-30): age changed from 'Permian–Triassic' (Mesozoic) to Silurian–Late Devonian (Paleozoic), era badge flipped Mesozoic→Paleozoic, on two independent primary sources — Talent et al. (1999) conodonts/graptolites and Feist et al. (2001) — which document the Lun Shale as a Siluro-Devonian structurally disrupted mélange. The earlier 'Permo-Triassic extinction' description was a mis-correlation (partly a conflation with the Chitral Slates) and has been removed.

Talent, J.A., Gaetani, M., Mawson, R., Molloy, P.D. & Conaghan, P.J. (1999)

Sources (6)

Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.
Gaetani, M. and others (1996). Reconnaissance geology in Upper Chitral, Baroghil and Karambar districts (northern Karakorum, Pakistan). Geologische Rundschau, 85, 683-704.
Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.
Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.
Feist, R., Talent, J.A. & Mawson, R. (2001). Devonian trilobites from the Shogrâm Formation, Kurâgh, Chitral (NW Pakistan). Alcheringa, 25(2), 107-115.
Talent, J.A., Gaetani, M., Mawson, R., Molloy, P.D. & Conaghan, P.J. (1999). Early Ordovician and Devonian conodonts from the Western Karakoram and Hindu Kush, northernmost Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 105(2), 201-226.

Reviewer confidence: medium

Every fact on this page is source-cited. This entry is part of the peer-archived Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset (doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991, CC‑BY‑4.0).

Lexicon status: Name attested in the Shah (1977/2009) Geological Survey of Pakistan compilation — the national stratigraphic lexicon. This records where the name is documented; it is not an endorsement of the unit’s definition, age or figures.

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Cite this unit

APA

Qudsi, L. (2026). Lun Shale. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_lunshale,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Lun Shale} --- Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset},
  year      = {2026},
  publisher = {Zenodo},
  doi       = {10.5281/zenodo.21363991},
  url       = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991}
}

Archived dataset: doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991 (CC‑BY‑4.0) · Direct link to this entry: https://stratigraphy.pk/formation/lun-shale (accessed October 29, 2026).

Below · older

Shogram Formation

Devonian

Above · younger

Reshun Formation

Cretaceous