Paleozoic • Permian formation In GSP lexicon

Panjshah Formation

Middle Permian (Wordian)

Karakoram-Hindukush Basin · Central Karakoram Batholith

Cited in 6 sources Last reviewed Aug 20, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: formation
Status: Published
Age: Paleozoic · Permian · GuadalupianMiddle Permian (Wordian)
Named by: Gaetani et al. (1995)
Type locality: Panjshah
Thickness: about 230–260 m
Lithology: Lower part of interbedded dark shale, siltstone and cross-laminated feldspathic quartzarenite; upper part of fossiliferous dark grey limestone and marl interbedded with marly limestone.
Synonyms: Not recorded

A Middle–Late Permian shale-and-limestone unit of the Chapursan Group, sitting between the Lupghar and Kundil formations.

Panjshah formation is named after Panjshah village in the lower part of Chapursan valley by Gaetani et al. (1995), presented lower member include shales, siltstone and feldspathic quartzites and upper member include limestone and marl of Late Permian age.

Fossils

Stenoscisma armenica Chapursania tatianae Retimarginifera sp.Elivina chapursani Darbandia vagabunda Anchorhynchia cimmerica

Contacts

In the Karakoram column

MixedShale / mudMetamorphicLimestoneFossils 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

Karakoram

Basin: Karakoram-Hindukush Basin
Region: Central Karakoram Batholith
Depositional environment: marine, shallow marine
Coordinates: Not recorded

Correlation

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

Economic significance

Not recorded

Remarks

Middle formation of the Chapursan Group; its fauna indicates a Kubergandian–Murgabian (Middle Permian) to Late Permian range, and it is conformably overlain by the Late Permian Kundil Formation.

Research notes (5)

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 (2)

Gaetani et al. (1995): the Panjshah Formation spans the Kubergandian to Murgabian and possibly Midian - Member 1 carries the Waagenoconcha (Gruntoconcha) macrotuberculata-Callytharrella sinensis brachiopod assemblage zone (C. sinensis indicating Kubergandian), and Member 2 the Stenoscisma armenica-Chapursania tatianae zone (suggesting Midian or younger), though conodonts at the base of the overlying Kundil Formation still indicate late Murgabian-early Midian. Solitary Paracaninia corals of cold-water Gondwanan affinity (shared with the Tethys Himalaya and Lhasa Plate) occur in Member 2.

Gaetani, M., Angiolini, L., Garzanti, E., Jadoul, F., Leven, E.Ya., Nicora, A. & Sciunnach, D. (1995)
Refined from "Permian" to Upper Wordian (Guadalupian, Middle Permian): the brachiopod assemblage from Member 2 of the Panjshah Formation (Stenoscisma armenica, Chapursania tatianae, etc.) is attributed to the upper Wordian and indicates Cimmerian (Neotethyan) palaeobiogeographic affinity (Angiolini 2001).

Angiolini, L. (2001)

Fossils & biostratigraphy (1)

Member 2 (upper part, Late Wordian / Guadalupian) yields the Elivina chapursani-Chapursania tatianae Assemblage Zone (Angiolini), correlated with the Gnishik Formation of Armenia and the basal Takhtabulak Formation of SE Pamir; a transitional Tethyan-Gondwanan-Cimmerian (Transhimalayan Province) fauna. Corrected the spelling 'Chapursania talianae' to 'Chapursania tatianae' and added the three new species.

Angiolini, L. (2001)

Geological significance (1)

Gaetani et al. (1995): the Panjshah Formation (Chapursan Group) is emended here to comprise only the former member 3 of the informal 'Panjshah fm.' of Gaetani et al. (1990), now subdivided into two members; the type section lies above the Panjshah Shrine in the lower Chapursan valley. Member 1 (70-100 m) is calcareous siltstones and marls with lenticular mature feldspathic quartzarenites; Member 2 (up to ~160 m in lower Chapursan, ~130 m in Shimshal) is a terrigenous-carbonate unit with three fossiliferous limestone horizons. Its sharp top is drawn at the first channelized calcarenites-rudites with reworked fusulinids of the overlying Kundil Formation.

Gaetani, M., Angiolini, L., Garzanti, E., Jadoul, F., Leven, E.Ya., Nicora, A. & Sciunnach, D. (1995)

Sources (7)

Malkani, M.S. & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 24.
Kazmi, A.H. & Jan, M.Q. (1997). Geology and Tectonics of Pakistan. Graphic Publishers, Karachi.
Angiolini, L. Permian Brachiopods from Karakorum (Pakistan). Part 3. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia. https://doi.org/10.13130/2039-4942/5438
Angiolini, L. (1996). Permian Brachiopods from Karakorum (Pakistan). Part 3. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 102(1). https://doi.org/10.13130/2039-4942/5438
Shah, S.M.I. (2009). Stratigraphy of Pakistan. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Memoir Vol. 22.
Kazmi, A.H. & Abbasi, I.A. (2008). Stratigraphy and Historical Geology of Pakistan. Department & National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. 524 pp. ISBN 978-969-9119.
Gaetani, M., Angiolini, L., Garzanti, E., Jadoul, F., Leven, E.Ya., Nicora, A. & Sciunnach, D. (1995). Permian stratigraphy in the Northern Karakorum, Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 101(2), 107-152.

Reviewer confidence: high

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). Panjshah Formation. In Pakistan Stratigraphy Dataset [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21363991

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_panjshahformation,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Panjshah Formation} --- 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/panjshah-formation (accessed October 29, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Gaetani et al. (1995).

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