Biostratigraphical correlations of the calcareous nannofossil Marthasterites furcatus in the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin and Outer Flysch Carpathians,Czech Republic

The first occurrence (FO) of Marthasterites furcatus was correlated with the FOs of other nannofossils, inoceramid bivalves and foraminifers in the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin and Outer Flysch Carpathians. The correlation showed that the FO of M. furcatus was diachronous, becoming younger from east to west. In the Silesian Unit it appears in the lower Turonian in association with Eprolithus moratus (UC6b nannofossil Zone). In the Pavlovské vrchy klippes it appears in the upper middle Turonian together with Lithastrinus septenarius (UC9 Zone). In the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin, the FO of M. furcatus was observed in the lower upper Turonian just above the FO of Liliasterites angularis. The presence of M. furcatus in Turonian strata is scarce and discontinuous up to its sudden quantitative increase (represented by 5–27% in assemblages) below the FO of the inoceramid bivalve species Cremnoceramus waltersdorfensis and C. deformis erectus in the Turonian–Coniacian boundary interval. The top of the M. furcatus acme was recorded below the FO of Micula staurophora. The second quantitative rise of M. furcatus (12% in assemblage) was found in the lower lower Campanian of the Pavlovské vrchy klippes above the FO of Broinsonia parca parca in the UC14a Zone and the last occurrence of the planktonic foraminifer Whiteinella baltica. Above this second acme M. furcatus disappears. The significantly earlier appearance of M. furcatus in the Silesian Basin may be connected with a southeast-heading surface current from the North European epicontinental sea where the species appeared in the early Turonian too.     

Correlation of late Cretaceous calcareous nannofossil zones with ammonite zones and planktonic Foraminifera: the Austrian Gosau sections

The late Turonian to early Campanian calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy of the Austrian Gosau Group is correlated with ammonite and planktonic foraminiferal zones. The standard Tethyan zonations for nannofossils and planktonic foraminifers are applied with only minor modifications. The basal marine sediments of the Gosau Group, bearing late Turonian-early Coniacian macrofossils, belong to the Marthasterites furcatus nannofossil Zone (CC13). The Micula decussata Zone (middle Coniacian to early Santonian) is combined with the Reinhardtites anthophorus Zone because of the rare occurrence of Renhardtites cf. R. anthophorus already in the Coniacian and taxonomic problems concerning the correct identification of this species. The Santonian-Campanian boundary lies within the Calculites obscures Zone (CCl7).     

Integrated biostratigraphy and palaeoenvironmental interpretation of the Upper Cretaceous to Paleocene succession in the northern Moldavidian Domain (Eastern Carpathians,Romania)

This study of the upper Maastrichtian to Danian sedimentary succession from the northern part of the Romanian Eastern Carpathians (Varniţa section) aims to establish an integrated biostratigraphy based on calcareous nannofossils, organic-walled dinoflagellate cysts (dinocysts) and foraminiferal assemblages, and to reconstruct the depositional environments of the interval. The stratigraphic record across the studied section is incomplete, considering that an approximately 16 m thick strata interval from the top of the Maastrichtian to lowermost Danian cannot be analyzed due to a landslide covering the outcrop. The upper Maastrichtian is marked by a succession of biostratigraphic events, such as the First Appearance Datum (FAD) of the nannoplankton taxon Nephrolithus frequens and FAD of the dinocyst species Deflandrea galeata and Disphaerogena carposphaeropsis, and the Last Appearance Datum (LAD) of Isabelidinium cooksoniae in the lower part of the section. These bioevents are followed by the LAD of the Dinogymnium spp. and Palynodinium grallator dinocyst markers in the top of the Maastrichtian deposits analyzed. In terms of foraminiferal biostratigraphy, the upper Maastrichtian Abathomphalus mayaroensis Zone is documented in the lower part of the studied section. Some bioevents, such as the bloom of the calcareous dinoflagellate genus Thoracosphaera and the FAD of the organic-walled dinocysts Damassadinium californicum, Senoniasphaera inornata, Xenicodinium lubricum and X. reticulatum suggest an early Danian age for the middle part of the section. From the Danian deposits in the Varniţa section, we describe a new organic-walled dinocyst species, Pentadinium darmirae sp. nov., which is until now the only species of the Pentadinium genus discovered in the Paleocene. The occurrence of the global Danian dinocyst marker Senoniasphaera inornata in the top of the section, suggests an age not younger than middle Danian (62.6 Ma) for the analyzed deposits.The palynofacies constituents, as well as the agglutinated foraminiferal morphogroups, used to reconstruct the depositional environments, show that the late Maastrichtian sediments were deposited in an outer shelf to distal (bathyal) environment, followed by a marine transgression during the Danian.     

An opportunistic trace fossil assemblage from the flysch of the Inoceramian beds (Campanian-Palaeocene), Bystrica Zone of the Magura Nappe, Carpathians, Poland

A relatively poorly diversified trace fossil assemblage from thin- and medium-bedded flysch of the Inoceramian beds in the Polish Outer Carpathians is dominated by postdepositional r-selected Chondrites, Planolites and Helminthoida. Predepositional K-selected forms are very rare. This, together with a lack of evidence for bottom erosion and the relatively dark colour of interbedded mudstone and siltstone, suggest that low sediment oxygenation was the main factor controlling benthic life. Preservational factors, related to the fluid consistency of sediment and to mixed layers, seem to be present, but subordinate. Small-scale changes of diversity and abundance of the trace fossils within the sections probably reflect changes in sediment oxygenation.     

北美西部内陆海盆Niobrara组的钙质超微化石及其环境意义——Ⅱ：古环境研究

沉积于北美西部白垩纪内陆海盆的Niobrara组，是一套以白垩，白垩质灰岩，以及钙质页岩为主的海相沉积，其中自垩的主要组分为颗石藻及其它钙质超微化石。通过对Kansas州西部和South Dakota州东部四条剖面中Niobrara组的岩性，沉积物厚度，及钙质超微化石的研究，证明北美西部内陆海盆的沉积环境及水体温度在Niobrara组沉积时期因地而异。在Niobrara组沉积初期，海盆内的水体温度为北冷南暖，其后，至少在位于Kansas西部海域的海水温度呈与时逐渐降低趋势。钙质超微化石有关属种在盆地内的分布差异，进一步说明海水变冷的直接原因源自北极海域水体的缓慢南浸。     

北美西部内陆海盆Niobrara组的钙质超微化石及其环境意义——Ⅰ：钙质超微化石及其分带

北美西部内陆海盆上白垩统Niobrara组中的钙质超微化石十分丰富,且多保存良好,呈现典型的晚白垩世远洋钙质超微化石组合面貌,经系统鉴定,计有60属100余种和亚种。为适应不同的环境,Kansas西部和South Dakota东部的钙质超微化石组合面貌稍有不同。经与白垩纪颗石藻化石带对比,可将Kansas西部的Niobrara组划分为6个化石带(CC13～CC18)和8个亚带,其中,根据本文研究地区的化石序列,CC15和CC16带被进一步划分。根据与同一剖面所建立的无脊椎动物化石带对比,钙质超微化石CC17带的时代被重新厘定,即该带应始于中Santonian的晚期,结束于晚Santonian的早期,并据此将Santoniatr／Campanian的界线划在CC18带之内。     

Paleomagnetism and magnetostratigraphy of Upper Cretaceous and Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary intervals,southern Kulunda basin (West Siberia)

The study presents new paleomagnetic data on the Upper Cretaceous and Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary intervals of the southern Kulunda basin (Alei area), which were obtained from core samples collected from a 305-m-thick section penetrated in two wells. The paleomagnetic sections of each well were compiled and correlated based on the characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM). Paleomagnetic, geological, stratigraphic, and paleontological data were used to compile the Upper Cretaceous and Cretaceous-Paleogene magnetostratigraphic section of the southern Kulunda basin. The magnetostratigraphic section consists of five magnetozones, one normal polarity zone, and four reversed polarity zones spanning the Upper Cretaceous and Lower Paleogene. The lower part of the Gan’kino Horizon, showing normal polarity, forms a single normal polarity magnetozone N. The upper part of the Gan’kino Horizon comprises two reversed polarity magnetozones (R₁km and R₂mt). The Talitsa and Lyulinvor Formations of Lower Paleogene age correspond to two reversed polarity magnetozones (R₁zl and R₂i). The compiled Upper Cretaceous and Lower Paleogene magnetostratigraphic section was correlated with the geomagnetic polarity time scale. Two options were considered for correlating the lower normal polarity part of the section with geomagnetic polarity time scale of Gradstein.     

Palaeoclimate indicators (clay minerals,calcareous nannofossils,stable isotopes) compared from two successions in the late Jurassic of the Volga Basin (SE Russia)

A study of clay mineral and calcareous nannofossil abundances in late Jurassic–early Cretaceous sediments from the Volga Basin, SE Russia, is presented. From these results, we are able to compare some general patterns of mineralogical and palaeontological change for the Volga Basin to the palaeoclimate models developed for northern Europe and beyond. The two successions examined comprise calcareous mudstones with black organic‐rich shale horizons, overlain by a series of phosphatic silty sands. Clay mineralogical results show a progressive decrease in kaolinite and the concomitant increase of smectite and illite through the middle Volgian, followed by an abrupt increase in kaolinite in the late Volgian. The clay mineral evidence suggests increasing aridity at the end of the Jurassic, similar, in part, to many western European successions. Because of differential settling of clay minerals, superimposed upon this possible climatic signature is likely to be the effect of relative sea‐level change. Calcareous nannofossil analysis from a single section reveals a shift through the middle Volgian from low nutrient, warm water assemblages dominated by Watznaueria to cooler surface water and high nutrient assemblages dominated by Biscutum constans. These observations suggest that increased aridity is also associated with climatic cooling. Black shales are associated with increased productivity, higher sea levels and increases in smectite content. Hence, periods of low (chemical) hinterland weathering during semi‐arid conditions are paradoxically associated with relatively nutrient‐rich waters, and organic‐rich shales. Comparison of published carbon and oxygen stable isotope results from this and other sections to the clay mineral and nannofossil data confirms the palaeoclimatic interpretation. This study significantly improves the published biostratigraphically constrained clay mineral database for this time period, because other European and North American successions are either non‐marine (and thus poorly dated), absent (through penecontemporaneous erosion) or condensed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The distribution of calcareous nannofossils and foraminifers in the Callovian, Oxfordian, and Volgian deposits in the southwest of Moscow

The distribution of calcareous nannofossils and foraminifers occurring in the Callovian-Oxfordian deposits in the southwest of Moscow is studied. Nannoplankton-bearing beds and foraminiferal zones are distinguished. The Retecapsa incompta Beds correspond in range to the Ophthalmidium sagittum-Epistomina volgensis and Ophthalmidium strumosum-Lenticulina brestica foraminiferal zones as well as the lower part of Epistomina uhligi-Lenticulina russiensis Zone. The Watznaueria manivitae, Crepidolithus perforata, and Watznaueria fossacincta (lowermost part) beds span interval of the Epistomina uhligi-Lenticulina russiensis Zone. The Watznaueria fossacincta Beds are concurrent to the Lenticulina ponderosa-Flabellamina lidiae Zone of the foraminiferal scale.     

藏南江孜地区早白垩世甲不拉组钙质超微化石的特征及其地层意义

藏南江孜一带的侏罗纪—白垩纪海相地层被划分为维美组和甲不拉组。通过偏光显微镜和扫描电镜观察和分析,发现甲不拉组黑色页岩中含有保存较为完好的钙质超微化石。研究区的生物丰度和分异度偏低,经鉴定以椭圆球石科(Ellipsagelosphaeraceae)生物群为主,数量相对丰富,但属种比较单调。超微化石指示甲不拉组为早白垩世沉积的产物。结合菊石和双壳类化石,认为甲不拉组地层时代属于早白垩世贝利阿斯期至凡兰吟期 (Berriasian-Valanginian)。这一发现标志着西藏特提斯东部早白垩世地层中钙质超微化石的存在。甲不拉组早白垩世钙质超微化石的发现,为该地区海相地层的时代划分、对比提供了新的资料,也为寻找海相侏罗纪—白垩纪地层界线指示了目标。     

藏南江孜地区早白垩世甲不拉组钙质超微化石的特征及其地层意义

藏南江孜一带的侏罗纪—白垩纪海相地层被划分为维美组和甲不拉组。通过偏光显微镜和扫描电镜观察和分析,发现甲不拉组黑色页岩中含有保存较为完好的钙质超微化石。研究区的生物丰度和分异度偏低,经鉴定以椭圆球石科（Ellip-sagelosphaeraceae）生物群为主,数量相对丰富,但属种比较单调。超微化石指示甲不拉组为早白垩世沉积的产物。结合菊石和双壳类化石,认为甲不拉组地层时代属于早白垩世贝利阿斯期至凡兰吟期（Berriasian-Valanginian）。这一发现标志着西藏特提斯东部早白垩世地层中钙质超微化石的存在。甲不拉组早白垩世钙质超微化石的发现,为该地区海相地层的时代划分、对比提供了新的资料,也为寻找海相侏罗纪—白垩纪地层界线指示了目标。     

The use of deep-water agglutinated Foraminifera in correlating Lower Cretaceous pelagic and flysch sequences: current status and prospects for the future

Deep-water agglutinated Foraminifera (DWAF) display potential for correlating pelagic (calcareous and non-calcareous) and flysch environments. This is illustrated by an example from Sites 765 and 261 on the Argo Abyssal Plain. A working zonation based on DWAF has been developed for Lower Cretaceous flysch sequences of the Polish Carpathians, but this zonal scheme has not been tested in other areas of the Tethys. No zonation has yet been developed for abyssal oceanic DWAF. The challenge for the future, under the auspices of Project 262, is to test the existing zonation in other regions and develop a widely applicable biochronology for integration into a general Tethyan biochronological correlation scheme.     

A new titanosaur (Dinosauria,Sauropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Lo Hueco (Cuenca,Spain)

The upper Campanian-lower Maastrichtian site of Lo Hueco (Cuenca, Spain) has provided a set of well-preserved partial skeletons in anatomical connection or with a low dispersion of their skeletal elements. One partial skeleton is herein described and a new titanosaurian sauropod is established, Lohuecotitan pandafilandi. This titanosaur is diagnosed by eight autapomorphic features: dorsally and ventrally widened or bifurcated posterior centrodiapophyseal lamina in anterior and middle dorsal vertebrae; short postspinal lamina with a transversely expanded distal end represented by smooth scars in the dorsal vertebrae; anteriormost caudals with the medial spinoprezygapophyseal and medial spinopostzygapophyseal laminae ventrally connected with the prespinal and postspinal laminae, respectively; anterior caudal neural spines with a dorsal projection of the prespinal and postspinal laminae; anterior caudal neural spines bears a “greek-cross”-like cross-section; middle caudal centra having two round and rough structures in the dorsal edge of the posterior articulation, which extends to the dorsal surface of the centrum; the articular ends of the rami of the haemal arches are divided in two articular surfaces; and tuberosity between the anterior and the lateral trochanter of the fibula. The herein performed phylogenetic analysis considered L. pandafilandi as a member of Lithostrotia more derived than Malawisaurus. The known palaeodiversity of the Late Cretaceous Ibero-Armorican titanosaurs is increasing, and further analyses focused on this group will be necessary to better understand the evolutionary history of European titanosaurs and to clarify their relationships within Titanosauria.     

The Late Cretaceous Pterophyllum (Bennettitales) in the North-East of Russia

The Late Cretaceous Pterophyllum species survived as relict elements in areas influenced by volcanism in the North-East of Russia. Two new species are described: P. philippoviae Gnilovskaya from the Turonian-Coniacian deposits of the Vetvinskaya Unit (Penzhina and Oklan Rivers interfluve, Magadan Region) and P. terechoviae from the Maastrichtian deposits of the Kakanaut Formation (Kakanaut River Basin, Koryak Upland). The upper boundary of Pterophyllum stratigraphic range is extended from the Turonian-Coniacian up to the K/Pg boundary. Pterophyllum terechoviae is the youngest member of the genus and probably the latest occurrence of Bennettitales in the Northern Hemisphere.     

A new genus of whip-scorpions in Upper Cretaceous Burmese amber: Earliest fossil record of the extant subfamily Thelyphoninae (Arachnida: Thelyphonida: Thelyphonidae)

Mesozoic whip-scorpions are very rare, with only two Cretaceous species known to date. Here we describe a new genus and species of Thelyphonidae, Mesothelyphonus parvus gen. & sp. nov., based on a very well-preserved male in Upper Cretaceous amber from Myanmar. Mesothelyphonus is firmly placed in the extant subfamily Thelyphoninae as supported by the abdominal tergites with a median longitudinal suture. Mesothelyphonus differs from other fossil and recent genera primarily by its very small body size, the absence of ommatoids on abdominal segment XII, and the elongate, slender and toothed patellar apophysis of the male pedipalp. The new discovery represents the oldest definitive fossil record for Thelyphoninae, highlighting the antiquity of the whip-scorpion group.     

First recorded evidence in the fossil record of snipe flies (Diptera: Rhagionidae) in Cretaceous amber, France

Novelaria, a new genus of rhagionid of late Albian age with three new species, is the first record of this family from Charentes amber (southwestern France). The new genus is probably closely related to the recent genus Chrysopilus. However its relationship with the other fossils in amber is discussed. A key for separation of the new species is provided and the diversity of the family during the Cretaceous is also briefly discussed.     

The Valanginian history of the eastern part of the Getic Carbonate Platform (Southern Carpathians,Romania): Evidence for emergence and drowning of the platform

Lower Cretaceous successions that crop out in the eastern part of the Getic Carbonate Platform (Southern Carpathians, Romania) preserve records of the Valanginian events in different settings of the platform. The integrated sedimentological, biostratigraphical, geochemical and mineralogical analysis of the upper Berriasian–Valanginian successions reveal successive stages in the evolution of the carbonate platform: (a) pre-drowning stage of the shallow-shelf and slope settings of the platform; (b) subaerial exposure and karstification; and (c) incipient flooding and drowning of the carbonate platform. Following the subaerial exposure, starting in the middle early Valanginian, the eastern part of the Getic Carbonate Platform experienced a drowning phase documented by iron oxyhydroxides, phosphate and glaucony mineralized discontinuity surface and glaucony-rich sediments disposed on the discontinuity surface. Recognition of the diachronous intra-Valanginian discontinuity surface within the studied successions is based on clear evidences (facies contrast, depositional and diagenetic features, biostratigraphic and taphonomic data, and geometrical relations). The negative–positive carbon isotope excursion is correlated with the global perturbations of the carbon cycle related to the Valanginian “Weissert” episode, and it is documented for the first time in the shallowest parts of the Getic Carbonate Platform. Tectonic activity and eustatic sea-level fluctuations were most probably the main factors that led to fault-block tilting, local emersion and subsequent drowning of the eastern part of the Getic Carbonate Platform during the Early Cretaceous. We infer that the eastern part of the Getic Carbonate Platform was affected by late Berriasian–early Hauterivian extensional tectonics that could be related to the Neo-Cimmerian movements with effects generally recognized in the northern peri-Tethyan areas.     

Contourite drifts, moats and channels in the Upper Cretaceous chalk of the Danish Basin

During the Late Cretaceous, high global sea‐level meant that most of the NW European craton was flooded by the deep epeiric ‘chalk sea’. The classical paradigm for chalk deposition envisages a quiet rain of minute skeletal debris of coccolithophorid algae and other pelagic organisms deposited as horizontal, flat‐lying pelagic oozes with local redeposition by slumps, slides and debris flows along faults and other structural features. Seismic data from the Danish Basin and elsewhere necessitate a revision of this paradigm. These demonstrate that the chalk sea floor had a considerable relief, commonly of more than a hundred metres amplitude, comprising moats, drifts, mounds and channels. Seismic sections from the Kattegat sea illustrate the development in the Maastrichtian of a deep moat adjacent to a topographic ridge formed over the inverted NW–SE‐trending Sorgenfrei–Tornquist Zone. The moat was up to 120 m deeper than its SW flank which was formed by an internally complex elongate drift, up to 20 km wide with an estimated length of ca 200 km. Smaller mound‐like features, channels and clinoform beds are superimposed on the large‐scale relief. The sea floor relief is interpreted to have formed in response to persistent bottom currents, flowing parallel to bathymetric contours. The initial build‐up of the broad, gently convex‐up sheeted drift was controlled by relatively low‐velocity bottom currents. The region of highest current velocity was gradually shifted NE‐wards towards the inversion zone ridge, resulting in the formation of the deep moat flanked by the elongate drift. The current is interpreted to have flowed from the SE towards NW on the basis of the internal architecture of the elongate drift and the NW‐ward branching and decrease in moat relief. The architecture and morphology of the moat drift and other features of the chalk sea floor are in all aspects similar to contourite systems of modern continental margins. It is accordingly proposed that the fundamental physical oceanographic concept – contour currents and their resulting contourite drifts – is extended to include the deep epeiric seas which covered NW Europe during the Late Cretaceous.     

松辽盆地松科1井上白垩统嫩江组三～五段沉积序列厘米级精细刻画：岩性·岩相·旋回

中国白垩纪大陆科学钻探松科1井连续取嫩江组三～五段岩心长532．07rn,岩心收获率为94．8％,是迄今获取的最连续完整的沉积记录。文章对此进行了厘米级沉积地质描述（分层厚度2～5cm）。嫩三～五段沉积时期与坎潘阶中期对应。通过对松科1井嫩三～五段岩心的精细描述,揭示其岩性一岩相一旋回的沉积序列及其过程。嫩三～五段识别...