Neuropterid fossil plants from the basal part of the Middle Carboniferous Manhang Formation in the Taebaek area, Korea and their significance

Some well-preserved neuropterid fossil plants were abundantly found in dark gray shale beds of lowermost basal part of the Middle Carboniferous Manhang Formation, which occur in the road cuts of Route 35 near the Hyeobsim Bridge in the Jangseong area, Taebaek City, Gangwon Province, Korea. The fossil plants include three species of Paripteris Gothan: P. gigantea (Sternberg), P. kaipingiana (Sze), and P. otozamioides (Sze and Lee). The latter two species were newly discovered and firstly described from the Korean Peninsula. The present fossil plants are the oldest land vascular plant fossils in the Republic of Korea. Based on the world-wide geologic range of these fossil plants, the basal part of the Manhang Formation in the Taebaek area corresponds to the upper Namurian stage of the Middle Carboniferous Period in age. This age assignment means that the deposition of the Manhang Formation started when the Middle Carboniferous sea transgressed on the Sino-Korean Craton.