Paleozoic • Permian group In GSP lexicon

Zaluch Group

Permian

Kohat-Potwar Basin

Cited in 6 sources Last reviewed Aug 2, 2026

Unit summary

Rank: group
Status: Published
Age: Paleozoic · Permian · Early–Late Permian (Cisuralian–Lopingian)Permian
Named by: Teichert (1966)
Type locality: Amb32.5084°N, 71.9365°E
Thickness: Not recorded
Lithology: Marine limestone, dolomite, sandstone and shale — the Amb, Wargal and Chhidru formations (formerly the lower, middle and upper Productus Limestone).
Synonyms: Not recorded

The Permian Zaluch Group of the Salt Range — the Amb, Wargal and Chhidru formations, the famous fossil-rich 'Productus Limestone' that reaches the great end-Permian extinction boundary.

Named by Teichert (1966) after the Zaluch Nala, the Zaluch Group comprises the Amb, Wargal and Chidru formations (formerly the lower, middle and upper 'Productus Limestone'). It ranges from Early to Late Permian, marked by Monodiexodina kattaensis in the lower part and Cyclolobus oldhami near the top (Shah, 2009). The basal Amb Formation (Teichert, 1966; type at Amb village) is fusulinid-bearing sandstone, limestone and shale with abundant brachiopods and a Glossopteris–Gangamopteris flora.

Fossils

Brachiopods (productids)Fusulinids Bryozoa

Contacts

In the Kohat Basin column

SandstoneLimestoneFossils recordedConformableUnconformity

Band colour = period; texture = dominant rock type. Lines between bands mark the contact type (wavy = unconformity inferred from a missing period). 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.

Constituent units

Formations that make up this group, in stratigraphic order (youngest at top, as in the column).

Distribution & setting

Kohat Basin

Basin: Kohat-Potwar Basin
Region: Not recorded
Depositional environment: shallow marine
Coordinates: 32.5084°N, 71.9365°E

Google Maps ↗ OpenStreetMap ↗

Correlation

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

Economic significance

Cement & lime Building stone

The Productus limestones are used for cement and building stone.

Remarks

The marine Permian succession of the Salt Range, comprising the Amb, Wargal and Chhidru formations (the classic 'Productus Limestone'); its richly fossiliferous beds span the Early to latest Permian and provide a key section for Permian biostratigraphy and the Permian–Triassic transition.

Sources (6)

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.
OpenStreetMap contributors and GEOnet Names Server (public geographic gazetteers), used to geolocate named GSP type localities to approximate decimal coordinates.
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.
Gee, E.R. (edited by Gee, D.G.) (1989). Overview of the geology and structure of the Salt Range, with observations on related areas of northern Pakistan. In: Malinconico, L.L. & Lillie, R.J. (eds) Tectonics of the Western Himalayas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 232, 95-112.

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.

Cite this unit

APA

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

BibTeX

@misc{stratigraphypk_zaluchgroup,
  author    = {Qudsi, Lareb},
  title     = {{Zaluch Group} --- 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/zaluch-group (accessed September 5, 2026).

To cite the unit's original definition instead, see: Teichert (1966).