The 30th International Geological Congress was held in Beijing, China in August 1997. Leadings scientists convened to present their findings and views to the international geological research community. Volume 12 of 26 focuses on paleontology and historical geology. All articles in the proceedings have been refereed and keynote papers have been included in Volume 1. These proceedings aim to present a view of contemporary geology and should be of interest to researchers in the geological sciences.
An introduction to the symposia on "Palaeontology and Historical Geology", Jin Yu-Gan; a hierarchical framework of Permian global marine biogeography, T.A. Grunt and Shi Guangrong; ammonoid palaeobiogeography of the south Kitakami Palaeoland and palaeogeography of eastern Asia during Permian to Triassic time, Masayuki Ehiro; palaeobiogeographic evolution of Permian brachiopods, Jin Yu-Gan and Shang Qing-Hua; notes on the historical biogeography of the osteoglossomorpha (teleostei), Li Guoqing; sequence of events around the K/T boundary at El Kef (NW Tunisia), P. Donze et al; comparative faunal content of Strunian (Devonian) between Etaoucun (Guilin, Guangxi, South China) and the stratotype area (Etroeungt, Avesois, North France), B. Milhau et al; palynological study of the Devonian - Carboniferous boundary in the vicinity of the International Auxiliary Stratotype Section, Guilin, China, Yang Weiping and R. Neves; shallow-marine benthic palaeoecology of the Late Pleistocene Paleo - Tokyo Bay - a moderately sheltered bay fringed with barrier islands, Yasuo Kondo et al; freshwater molluscan fauna of the Miocene-Pliocene Churia (Siwalik) Group of Nepal and their palaeoecological implication, D. Gurung et al; the significance of freshwater malacofauna of the Churia (Siwalik) Group in Nepal and the Himalayan upheaval, Katsumi Takayasu et al; the change of Late Cenozoic marine microfauna in the eastern margin of the Sea of Japan, Iwao Kobayashi et al; palaeosynecological development of upper Anisian (Middle Triassic) communities from Qingyan, Guizhou province, China - a preliminary summary, F. Stiller; shell preservation of Pleistocene freshwater bivalvian mollusc from China, Iawo Kobayashi and Qingshan Yu; first discovery of Tertiary fishes (Teleostei) from Tarim Basin, Xinjiang, China, Zhang Jiangyong; ultra-microfossils in manganese stromatolites from the East Pacific Ocean, Bian Lizeng et al.