Fig. 1.

Representative marine red beds from Ediacaran and Phanerozoic successions. a Late Cretaceous mudstone interbedded with shale (Chuangde Formation, Tibet) containing abundant plankton foraminifers, indicating a pelagic facies. b Early Jurassic limestone (Adnet Formation, Austria) with abundant ammonites, suggesting a deep water environment. c Early Triassic, interbedded grey and red limestones (offshore facies) from the Luolou Formation, South China. d Late Devonian grey and red limestone (offshore facies) from the Wuzhishan Formation, South China. e Middle Ediacaran dolostone interbedded with silty shale from Krol B, Lesser Himalaya, India