Journal of Southeast Asian Earth Sciences, Vol. 9, No. 1/2, pp.

29-43, 1994
Printed in Great Britain

0743-9547/94 $6.00 + 0.00

"f~ 1993 Pergamon Press Ltd

Cretaceous radiolarians from the Luk-Ulo Melange Complex in the

Karangsambung area, central Java, Indonesia
KOJI WAKITA,* MUNASRIt and WIDOYOKO BAMBANG~"
*Geological Survey of Japan, 1-1-3 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305, Japan; and tResearch and Development
Center for Geotechnology, LIPI, Jl. Cisitu No. 21/154D, Bandung 40135, Indonesia
(Received 12 January 1992; accepted for publication I1 November 1992)
Abstract--The Luk-Ulo Melange Complex is a chaotic mixture of various kinds of sedimentary, igneous and
metamorphic rocks, and is unconformably overlain by the Eocene Karangsambung Formation.
Cretaceous radiolarians were extracted from shale and chert which are main constituents of the complex in
the Karangsambung area, central Java. They are grouped into five assemblages (I-V).
From the radiolarian data, the siliceous and argillaceous rocks of the Luk-Ulo Melange Complex are considered
to have been deposited in Early to Late Cretaceous time, and acereted at a subduction trench during middle to
latest Cretaceous or earliest Paleocene. As the complex is unconformably overlain by the Eocene, the
fragmentation and mixing of these rocks with schist and quartz porphyry must have occurred during Paleocene
time.

INTRODUCTION
PRE-EOCENE melange complexes, chaotic mixtures of
various kinds of sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic
rocks, are distributed in the western and central parts of
Java Island (Ketner et aL 1976, Hehuwat 1986) (Fig. l).
Among them, the Luk-Ulo Melange Complex (Asikin
1974) of the Karangsambung area, central Java, has
been best investigated, but its detailed age remains
unknown.
Ketner et al. (1976) reported the late Early Cretaceous
foraminifer Orbitolina from limestone in the Luk-Ulo
Melange Complex, and showed that the K-Ar age of
schist is late Early Cretaceous, and that the average
fission track age of a quartz porphyry is latest Cretaceous or earliest Paleocene. These rocks occur as blocks
in the melange complex. No fossils have been obtained
from the clastic rocks of the complex.
The authors collected 91 samples of shale, chert,
limestone and tuff for radiolarian extraction from the
Luk-Ulo Melange Complex, and obtained diagnostic
radiolarians from 21 samples of shale and chert. The
purpose of this report is to discuss the age of sedimentation of the argillaceous and siliceous rocks on the basis
of radiolarian data, and to infer the age of mixing
of these sedimentary rocks with other rock types in
the Luk-Ulo Melange Complex in the Karangsambung
area.

The Luk-Ulo Melange Complex is unconformably

overlain by the Karangsambung Formation yielding
Eocene foraminifera (Natori et al. 1978). The complex
consists of shale, pebbly shale, sandstone, schist, basic to
ultrabasic rocks, limestone, rhyolite, marble, phyllite
and conglomerate. Sandstone usually alternates with
shale, while chert is often interbedded with limestone.
These constituents of the complex occur in tectonic
blocks and slabs. The long axes of these blocks and
slabs trend ENE-WSW, parallel to the strike of sedimentary rocks occurring as slabs. The large tectonic
slabs consisting of dismembered ophiolite (Suparka
1988) are distributed in the central part of the complex
(Fig. 2).

RADIOLARIA

Radiolarians were extracted from shale and chert

(Figs 3-7, Table 1). The route maps around the sample
localities are shown in Figs 8 and 9.
Shale is dark grey, grey and reddish brown in colour.
Dark grey silty shale usually alternates with sandstone,
and constitutes a matrix of pebbly shale, or occurs as
clasts in pebbly shale. Reddish brown shale sometimes
grades into greenish grey or grey shale. Laminated grey
shale is composed mainly of fine-grained detritus derived
from intermediate to basic volcanic rocks. Chert is
reddish brown or grey in colour, and reddish brown
chert is sometimes interbedded with light grey or pinkish
grey limestone.

GEOLOGIC SETTING
The Karangsambung area is underlain not only by the
Luk-Ulo Melange Complex but also by Eocene to
Miocene volcanic and clastic rocks. The Tertiary sequence is gently folded with an E-W trending vertical
axial plane, and is divided into the Karangsambung,
Totogan, Waturanda, Penosogan and Halang formations in ascending order (Fig. 2).
SEAES9~,.2--~

Loning River

Shale and bedded chert are exposed about 1.5 km

north of Sadang Wetan, along the Loning River
(Fig. 8a). Reddish brown shale (R55443) and light grey
shale lens (R55444) embedded within dark grey shale
yielded poorly preserved radiolarians. Sample R55443
29

30

K. WAKITA et al.

KALM
I ANTAN1

o
JAVA

,qP

Bayat

0
i

100
I

200
i

300 km
I

Fig. 1. Map showing (black) the distribution of pre-Eocene melange complexes in Java Island and Kalimantan.

contains Sethocapsa (?) sp. indicating an Early Cretaceous age, while sample R55444 yields Archeodictyomitra spp., and Dictyomitra koslovae Foreman which
indicates a Late Cretaceous age.
Muncar River
Basaltic conglomerate (Wakita et al. 1991), pebbly
shale, shale, sandstone, chert, chert interbedded with

limestone, basalt pillow lava are exposed along the

Muncar River (Fig. 8b). Reddish brown bedded chert
(R55455) contains Early Cretaceous radiolarians such as
Pseudodictyomitra carpatica (Lozynyak) and P. leptoconica (Foreman). Reddish brown bedded chert is adjacent to reddish brown chert alternating with light grey
limestone which is intimately associated with pillow lavas.
Sample R55456 from grey shale with thin interbeds
of sandstone yields middle Cretaceous radiolarians

Fig. 2. Geologic map of the Karangsambung area. 1: Luk-Ulo Melange Complex, 2: ophiolite complex, 3: diabase (Tertiary),
4- Karangsambung Formation, 5: Totogan Formation, 6: Waturanda Formation, K: Karangsambung Campus of R.D.C.G.
for geological training.

Cretaceous radiolarians from the Luk-Ulo Melange Complex

Curug d yl/

-~r . . ~ = .

~iver
Sigoban

Melipitan~

"

L.,W@~I
kwatubarut

/l ~

/
~

. -Lokidang River

,1~ - ~ %

R55467 --/~r - "~.,,,..[R5~462 (

R55468 ~
'-'~l
)

.....~ Wagir - ~ - R 5 5 4 7 4 t ~ l ~
'
Sambeng ~ k ~

Munc~River )
h
~
R55455-~ / . 2 /
R55456
R55449

31

Seb..}'-;-,'~

/
~"'~( //

II
Y

/
/ Sedan,
/__ Wet,

~,

2kin

~
Luk U10 River

Nature Laboratory
For Geology

01.
'

Fig. 3. Localitiesof samples yieldingradiolarian fossils.

including Archaeodictyomitra spp., Dictyomitra sp. and
Cryptamphorella conara Foreman.
Poorly preserved radiolarians were extracted from a
shale clast (R55449) in pebbly shale.

and Stichomitra communis Squinabol. These radiolarians

belong to the youngest assemblage in this area, showing
Late Campanian to Maestrichtian in age.

Sigoban
Lokidang
In the Lokidang area coarse-grained clastic rocks are
associated with shale (Fig. 8d). Four shale samples
(R55462, R55467, R55468, R55469) yielded radiolarians. Two samples (R55468, R55469) are from greenish
grey shale which grades into red shale, while the others
(R55467, R55462) are from dark grey shale with thin
interbeds of sandstone. Three samples R55467, R55468
and R55469 dominantly contain Archaeodictyomitra
including Archaeodictyomitra simplex Pessagno and A.
sp. cf. A. vulgalis Pessagno associated with Thanarla
praeveneta Pessagno. Sample R55462 yields Dictyomitra
formosa Squinabol and D. (?) sp. A of Teraoka and
Kurimoto (1986). The former three samples are of
middle Cretaceous age, while the latter sample is of early
Late Cretaceous.

Medana River

In the Sigoban area along the Curugdayu River a

sequence consisting of bedded chert occurs with bedded
siliceous shale, shale with thin interbeds of sandstone,
and pebbly shale between a schist block to the north and
an ophiolite block to the south (Fig. 8c). A grey chert
sample R55515 yielded early Late Cretaceous radiolarians such as D. formosa Squinabol, Cryptamphoreila
sphaerica (White) and Praeconocaryomma sp.
A dark grey siliceous shale sample R55510 contained
Dictyomitra sp. cf. D. koslovae Foreman, while a dark
grey shale (R55508) with thin interbeds of siltstone
yielded D. koslovae, D. formosa Squinabol, Williriedellum sp. These two samples range in age from Coniacian
to Campanian.

Binangun

Two samples of chert at Bina.~gun, west of Karansambung campus yielded radiolarians (Fig. 3). Light greenA black siliceous rock, that is, chert to siliceous ish grey bedded chert (R55472) crops out south of
shale, is exposed just north of the ophiolite sequence at Binangun along the Cacaban River, and yielded wellMelipitan along the Medana River (Fig. 3). The lower preserved Late Cretaceous radiolarians including D.
part of the siliceous rock looks cherty, and its upper part formosa Squinabol, D. koslovae Foreman, T. urna (Foreis siliceous shale, including more terrigenous materials. man), T. salillum Foreman, and Praeconocaryomma
The lower part (R55517) yields well-preserved radio- universa Pessagno.
larians including Theocampe urna (Foreman), DiaReddish brown bedded chert is exposed north of
canthocapsa sp., Acaeniotyle sp. aft. A. umbilicata (Rfist) Binangun along the Luk Ulo River. A chert sample

32

K. WAKITA et al.

R55484 yielded Dictyomitra sp. and Novixitus sp. of late

Early Cretaceous.

Cacaban River
Along the Cacaban River, are exposed various types
of rocks, that is, pebbly shale, turbidite, massive to
thick-bedded sandstone, broken formation, red shale,
laminated shale, chert, reddish brown chert alternated
with light grey limestone, pillow basalt, rhyolite and
schist (Fig. 9). Reddish brown bedded chert (R55522)
contains Archaeodictyomitra sp. and Praeconocaryomma
sp. Grey laminated tuffaceous shale (R55503) yielded
Archaeodictyomitra spp., Dictyomitra sp., Amphipyndax
sp., Williriedellum (?) sp. and Pseudodietyomitra (?) sp.
Reddish brown-pale grey shale (R55526) yielded wellpreserved Late Cretaceous radiolarians such as D. formosa Squinabol, D. koslovae Foreman, S. communis
Squinabol, Amphipyndax (?) conicus Nakaseko and
Nishimura, T. urna (Foreman), T. salillum Foreman,
Pseudoaulophacus sp. cf. P. pargueraensis Pessagno,
Pseudoaulophaeus sp. cf. P. lenticulatus (White) and
Cryptamphorella macropora Dumitrica. Radiolarians in
reddish brown shale (R55521) were poorly preserved,
but include Dictyomitra sp. cf. D. formosa.

Very good outcrops of reddish brown chert alternate

with grey limestone at Wagir Sambeng. A chert sample
(R55474) from Wagir Sambeng contains middle Cretaceous radiolarians such as C. sphaerica (White), Spongocapsula sp., Novixitus sp. and Alievium sp.

RADIOLARIAN ASSEMBLAGE

Five radiolarian assemblages are recognized in the

Karangsambung area as shown in Table 1.
Assemblage I from sample R55455 includes P. leptoconica (Foreman) and P. carpatica (Lozynyak). These
species indicate Early Cretaceous age (up to Barremian).
This assemblage is the oldest in the radiolarian assemblage obtained from this area.
Assemblage II is characterized by the dominance of
the Archaeodictyomitra and Thanarla, such as Archaeodictyomitra sp. cf. A. apiarium (Riist), A. sp. cf. A.
pseudoscalaris (Tan Sin Hok), A. simplex Pessagno, A.
sp. cf. A. vulgalis Pessagno and T. praeveneta Pessagno.
The radiolarians of this assemblage are extracted from
samples R55474, R55484, R55468, R55469, R55503,
R55467 and R55456. Pessagno (1977) showed that T.
praeveneta and A. simplex occur in the Albian and

Fig. 4. Early Cretaceous radiolarians of assemblage I (1-5) and middle Cretaceous radiolarians of assemblage II (6-20)
A, B or C: scale bar (0.1 mm), (R . . . . . . ): sample number.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

7.
8.
9.
I0.
I1.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.

P. capatica (Lozynyak)
Novixitus sp.
P. leptoconica (Foreman)
Alievium sp.
Praeconocarvomma (?) sp.
A rchaeodict vomitra sp.
A rchaeodict vomitra sp. cf. A. vulgaris Pessagno
Archaeodictvomitra sp.
Archaeodictvomitra sp.
A rchaeodict yomitra sp.
Archaeodict~omitra sp. cf. A. apiarum (Riist)
Archaeodictyomitra sp. cf. A. pseudoscalaris (Tan Sin Hok)
A rchaeodict vomitra sp.
Amphipyndax sp.
C. conara (Foreman)
Pseudodictyornitra (?) sp.
Nassellaria, gen. and sp. indet.
Acaeniotyle sp.
Williriedellum (?) sp.
C. sphaerica (White)

C (R55455)
B (R55455)
B (R55455)
B (R55455)
B (R55455)
B (R55467)
A (R55467)
A (R55467)
A (R55467)
A (R55467)
A (R55467)
C (R55467)
B (R55503)
A (R55503)
A (R55456)
B (R55503)
B (R55456)
B (R55456)
A (R55503)
A (R55474)

Fig. 5. Early Late Cretaceous radiolarians of assemblage III A, B or C: scale bar (0.1 mm), ( R - I.

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
I0.
I 1.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.

D. jbrmosa Squinabol
D. formosa Squinabol
D. formosa Squinabol
Archaeodictyomitra sp.
Archaeodictyomitra sp.
Archaeodictyomitra sp.
Archaeodictyomitra sp.
Archaeodictyomitra sp.
Archaeodictyomitra sp. cf. A. apiarum (Riist)
Archaeodictyomitra sp.
Stichomitra sp.
Theocampe sp.
Nassellaria, gen. and sp. indet.
Nassellaria, gen. and sp. indet.
Praeconocaryomma sp.
Praeconocaryomma sp.
C. sphaerica (White)
Cryptamphorella sp.

B (R55515)
C (R55515)
B (R55462)
A (R55462)
C (R55515)
A (R55462)
A (R55462)
A (R55462)
A (R55462)
A (R55462)
B (R55515)
A (R55515)
A (R55515)
A (R55515)
B (R55515)
B (R55515)
A (R55515)
A (R55515)

): sample number.

C~

C~

C~

~D

7~

:D

-7,

:Io

-]

7~

~
AJ

r
~

JI

,-]

Cretaceous radiolarians from the Luk-Ulo Melange Complex

Cenomanian. Schaaf (1981) showed that A. pseudoThis assemblage

indicates middle Cretaceous age.
Assemblage III in samples R55515 and R55462 is
characterized by the occurrence of D. formosa Squinabol, lacking D. koslovae Foreman. Therefore, this
assemblage is considered of early Late Cretaceous age.
Assemblage IV includes D. formosa Squinabol, D.
koslovae Foreman, T. urna (Foreman), T. salillum Foreman, S. communis Squinabol, Novixitus sp., Alievium
spp., P. universa Pessagno and Pseudoaulophacus spp.
Samples R55526, R55472, R55444, R55510 and R55508
yield this assemblage. D. formosa has more massive
costae and a deeper stricture than those described by
Pessagno (1976). T. urna and T. salillum range in age

scalaris occurs in the Barremian.

from Coniacian to middle Campanian. These fossils

indicate a Coniacian to Campanian age.
Assemblage V from sample R55517 consists of Acaeniotyle sp. aft. A. umbilicata, Archaeospongoprunum sp..
aft. A. bipartitum, Archaeodictyomitra spp., Crucella
spp., Dictyomitra multicostata Zittel, Diacanthocapsa
sp., Novodiacanthocapsa spp., Praeconocaryomma spp.,
Pseudodictyomitra spp. S. communis Squinabol, S. spp.,
T. urna (Foreman), T. spp. and Xitus spp. The assemblage contains D. multicostata Zittel but lacks D. koslovae Foreman and D. formosa Squinabol. D. multicostata
occurs in the middle Campanian to Maastrichtian of
North America (Pessagno 1976), while D. koslovae occurs from Santonian to late Campanian. The occurrence
of these species suggests that these assemblages can

Fig. 6. Late Cretaceous radiolarians of Assemblage IV A, B, C or D: scale bar (0.1 mm), (R . . . .

1.

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.

D. formosa Squinabol
D. formosa Squinabol
D. formosa Squinabol
D. koslovae Foreman
D. koslovae Foreman
Nassellaria, gen. and sp.
Archaeodictyomitra sp.
Novixitus sp.
T. urna (Foreman)
T. urna (Foreman)
T. salillum (Foreman)
Stichomitra (?) sp.
Amphipyndax (?) conicus
Cryptamphorella sp.
C. macropora Dumitrica
P. universa Pessagno
Praeoconocaryomma sp.
Alievium sp.
Alievium sp.
Crucella sp.
Pseudoaulophacus sp. cf.
Pseudoaulophacus sp. cf.

37

indet.

Nakaseko and Nishimura

P. pargueraensis Pessagno
P. lenticulatus (White)

): sample number.

C (R55526)
C (R55508)
B (R55508)
B (R55472)
B (R55526)
D (R55472)
B (R55472)
B (R55526)
A (R55472)
A (R55472)
A (R55472)
B (R55526)
B (R55526)
A (R55526)
A (R55508)
B (R55472)
C (R55472)
C (R55526)
B (R55472)
C (R55526)
C (R55526)
C (R55526)

Fig. 7. Latest Cretaceous radiolarians of Assemblage V (sample: R55517) A, B or C: scale bar (0.1 ram).
I.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.

Archaeodictyomitra sp,
Archaeodictyomitra sp.
D. multicostata Zittel
D. multicostata Zittel
D. multicostata Zittel
Pseudodictyomitra sp.
Parvicinglula (?) sp.
S. communis Squinabol
Stichomitra sp.
Stichomitra sp.
Stichomitra sp.
Xitus sp.
Nassellaria, gen. and sp. indet.
Novodiacanthocapsa sp.
Diacanthocapsa sp.
Nassellaria, gen. and sp. indet.
Nassellaria, gen. and sp. indet.
Viturfos sp.
Pantanellium sp.
Theocampe sp. cf. T. urna (Foreman)
T. urna (Foreman)
Theocampe sp.
Theocampe sp.
Acanthocirus sp.
Acaeniotyle sp. aft. A. umbilicata (Riist)
Acaeniotyle sp.
Acaeniotyle sp.
Archeospongoprunum sp. aft. A. bipartitum Pessagno
Crucella sp.

B
B
B
B
B
A
A
A
B
A
A
B
A
B
A
A
B
A
A
A
A
A
A
B
B
B
B
C
B

~.~ ~ ~, ~

~~~~~~~

~.~.~

.... ~.~

, ~'~ ~ = ~'~" . . . .
=_-,
' ~ ' ~~ ~ ~ ~
~.,~._~ ~ . ~ .
~'~ ~ ~ ~'~'~ ~. ~.,~ ~ ~'~

~ ~ ~
.~

~'~,.,

.~

~-~-,~
~

~,~.~
~ ' ~,.~ ~~

~.

-~ ~

~,~,=
.~
"~~ o

~-'~. ~

~-~

...~.

~
,~
~

~
' ~

,=,"~

.~ u ~

~ ~TM o'~.

, ~ . ~ : . . ~ . ~
~ =
~~o
.""~
~.~

~.~

-~ 'u "~ .~. "~'u

.,-.~~

.,-~.,~

~ ~ ' ~

~.

~'~

~ ~,.

_-~
o

OO

R55455
R55474
R55484
~u

O O O

R55468

R55469

e~

R55503
0
O

OO

OO

R55467
R55456

O
@

OO

OO

O O O

OO

OO

OO

O O O

I v Id v ~ I ~ V A ~

"~I

8~

II
i

II
t

II
s

III
c

III
s

IV
c

0
0

IV
r

0
0

IV
i

IV
b

IV
s

V
c

0
0
0

0
0

?
c

.9
r

?
r

?
f

*: cf.
Rock type--a: alternating beds of chert and limestone, c: bedded chert, i: siliceous shale, r: reddish brown shale, t: laminated tuffaceous shale, s: shale with thin interbeds o f sandstone,
f: a fragment of shale in pebbly shale.

II
i

II
i

II
c

II
a

I
c

Assemblage
R o c k type o f s a m p l e

Spongocapsula sp.
S. communis S q u i n a b o l
Stichomitra spp.
Thanarla praeveneta P e s s a g n o
T. salillum F o r e m a n
T. urna ( F o r e m a n )
Theocampe spp.
Vitorfus sp.
Williriedellum sp.
Williriedellum (?) sp.
Xitus spp.

Table l--Continued

'D

~o

40

K.WAKITA

et al.

iii

IS]

LEGEND
I ~cg

13 ~ p b

3~h

t~bc

4 ~shs

16 ~ t f

R5544;

i':

s~

"

F,pb

30
sch %

17 ~ r h y

5 [~sh

~ F
"~ rmF

sch

5OO

sch

400

~ q sch

~'sh

sch
&am

21 L ~ & a r n

9 ~Jn

"

'bC

300

pb

10 ~ c '

22 ~ b r s

2O0

11 ~ , S

23 ~

100

12 ~ p i I

24

-~

25

~ - -

:: "SS

pb~

brs

- ~ R55449

0
F
sh

100 m

80

bc

6O
40.
20-

Sigobang
p-i

~r . b c

sh~..

/J

"L

\~.~

--. .-.......-.
..

?q

/ s

"7
....

g2"" tf

ss:

" f

!?.~>

!"con *Mt.SITUMBU

sh

~,."
.!
..~"

_.

R55515

.?"
i"

F
0
I

500m
i

Fig. 8. Route maps along the Loning River (A), the Muncar River (B) and the Curugdayu River (C), and in the Lokidang
area (D). h conglomerate, 2: sandstone, 3: alternating beds of sandstone and shale, 4: shale with thin interbeds of sandstone,
5: shale, 6: reddish brown shale, 7: laminated tuffaceous shale, 8: siliceous shale, 9: chert, 10: alternating beds of chert and
limestone, I1: limestone, 12: pillow lava, 13: pebbly shale, 14: broken formation, 15: basaltic conglomerate, 16: tuff, 17:
rhyolite, 18: fault zone, 19: ophiolite, 20: schist, 21: schist with amphibolite lens, 22: brecciated schist, 23: Totogan
Formation, 24: locality of samples yielding radiolarians, 25: fault.

Cretaceous radiolarians from the Luk-Ulo Melange Complex

41

.4

0
1

05

--

1 krn

B
...shS
..:] s.s
#

~:2ch

\
?/.~"

m~
~,

R55526

"

.. ( F
pq

.,s.~

:'"' .....

sS

s
s~

,,~,rs / s..~s
Cgbf

-.:a~

Fig. 9. Route map along the Cacaban River. For explanations see Fig. 8.

be considered to be of latest Cretaceous age (Late

Campanian to Maastrichian).

DISCUSSION
The age of sedimentary rocks of the Luk-Ulo Melange
Complex are inferred from the radiolarians in this
report. Chert samples (R55517, R55455, R55484,
R55474, R55515, R55472, R55522) range in age
from Early Cretaceous to latest Cretaceous (Late
Campanian-Maastrichtian). The siliceous shale sample
(R55510) is of Late Cretaceous (Campanian). Samples
of greenish grey and reddish brown shale (R55468,
R55469, R55526, R55444, R55508) range in age from
middle Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous (Campanian).
Grey tuffaceous shale (R55503) yields middle Cretaceous
radiolarians. The dark grey shale samples (R55467,
R55456, R55462) associated with thin interbeds of sandstone range in age from middle Cretaceous to Late
Cretaceous.

These age data of melange components can reconstruct the original successions before they were disrupted
and incorporated in the melange. As the Luk-Ulo
Melange Complex is an assemblage of tectonic slices, the
protolith of the melange may be reconstructed in each
tectonic slice or in several slices associated with each
other in the field. The reconstructed successions in
different localities are shown in Fig. 10. Judging from the
relation between age and lithology, the completely reconstructed succession of the Luk-Ulo Melange Complex is composed of pillow lava, chert interbedded with
limestone, bedded chert, hemipelagic shale, and terrigenous shale and sandstone in ascending order. The
hemipelagic shale includes siliceous shale, tuffaceous
shale and greenish to reddish brown shale. Similar
sequences are reconstructed by radiolarian biostratigraphy in the Jurassic accretionary melange complex in
Japan (Wakita 1988, Matsuda and Isozaki 1991).
The upward lithologic change from chert interbedded
with limestone to hemipelagic shale through bedded
chert suggests subsidence and the gradual approach of

42

K. WAK]TA et al.
Muncar

Lokidan

Cacaban

Sigoban

Loning

Binangun Medana

iiiii iiiiii

~sh~

::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::::::::::::::::

r.-..........,v:.-.-.-.-......:..

:::::::::::::::.~.!.::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

::::::::::::::::::::::

/
:::::::::::::::::::::

Fig. 10. Reconstructed successions in the Luk-Ulo Melange Complex. The successions become younger toward the right
hand, suggesting younger accretion. The samples at Binangun seem to be derived from two different successions, sh: shale
interbedded with sandstone, rs: reddish brown shale and greenish grey shale, tf: tuffaceous shale, sil: siliceous shale, ch:
chert, cl: alternating beds of chert and limestone.

the oceanic plate towards the subduction trench (Wakita

1988, Matsuda and Isozaki 1991). These sedimentary
rocks overlay the pillow lava belonging to the oceanic
plate. The time difference between pillow lava and
terrigenous shale indicates how long it took for pillow
lava to reach the trench after its birth at the oceanic
ridge. The pillow lava of the Muncar River is of Early
Cretaceous (120-130 Myr), while the shale is of middle
Cretaceous (100-110Myr). The pillow basalt of the
Muncar River travelled for about 30 Myr until it was
accreted at the subduction trench. On the other hand,
the pillow lava of the Cacaban River (Wagir Sambeng)
is of middle Cretaceous (100-110Myr), while the
reddish brown shale is of Late Cretaceous (70-80 Myr).
The pillow lava of the Wagir Sambeng also travelled for
about 30 Myr until it reached to the trench in Late
Cretaceous time. If we assume that the rate of movement
of the subducting plate is 10 cm/yr, the distance of the
birth place of these pillow lavas from the ancient trench
was about 3000km. Further study of the Luk-Ulo
Melange Complex by paleomagnetism will be able
to decide the distance and the rate of subduction of
the downgoing plate in this region during Cretaceous
time.
The duration of subduction and accretion in the
Luk-Ulo Melange Complex can be estimated by the age
of terrigenous rocks in the accreted sequences mentioned
above. The oldest terrigenous rock is the shale of middle
Cretaceous age in the Muncar River. The youngest rock
is the siliceous shale of latest Cretaceous age in the
Medana River. As the terrigenous rocks in the accreted

sequences are usually as young as or slightly younger

than hemipelagic siliceous shale (Wakita 1988), the
youngest terrigenous rocks may be of latest Cretaceous
or earliest Paleocene age. These age data suggest that the
accretion of pillow lava and pelagic to hemipelagic
sediments in the Luk-Ulo Melange Complex occurred
during middle Cretaceous to latest Cretaceous or earliest
Paleocene time.
The Luk-Ulo Melange Complex is an assemblage of
tectonic slabs and blocks of sedimentary, igneous and
metamorphic rocks. Ketner et al. (1976) reported late
Early Cretaceous fossils in limestone, the latest Cretaceous K-Ar age of schist, and earliest Paleocene fission
track age of quartz porphyry. The Luk-Ulo Melange
Complex has been considered to be caused by tectonic
mixing during subduction (Asikin 1974, Hamilton 1979).
Normal accretionary processes, however, cannot cause
the mixing of accreted sediments with these metamorphic and felsic igneous rocks. The tectonic mixing of all
components of the Luk-Ulo Melange Complex ranging
in age from Early Cretaceous to Paleocene must have
occurred during Paleocene time, as the complex is
unconformably overlain by the Eocene Karangsambung
Formation.
Acknowledgements--This paper is one of the results of the exchange
of researchers program for the Joint-Research on the Enhancement
and Application of the Remote Sensing Technology with ASEAN
Countries.
The authors wish to thank Dr S. Suparka, Mr Suwijanto and Mr
E. D. Arsadi of the Research and Development Centre for Geotechnology, Indonesia for their helpful support during the geological
survey and for their suggestion and discussion on the geology of the

Cretaceous radiolarians from the Luk-UIo Melange Complex

Karangsambung area. We also express thanks to Dr R. Kouda of the
Geological Survey of Japan for his efforts in assisting the visit to Java,
to Dr C. Kurimoto of the Geological Survey of Japan for his advice
on the identification of radiolarians. Thanks are also extended to Dr
A. J. Barber of Royal Holloway, University of London and Dr
Teraoka of the Geological Survey of Japan for their reviews of the
manuscript.

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