Marine connections in North America during the late Maastrichtian: palaeogeographic and palaeobiogeographic significance ofJeletzkytes nebrascensisZone cephalopod fauna from the Elk Butte Member of the Pierre Shale, SE South Dakota and NE Nebraska

The Elk Butte Member of the Pierre Shale of southeast South Dakota and northeast Nebraska yields a late Maastrichtian cephalopod fauna of nautiloids, belemnites and ammonites of theFeletzkytes nebrascensisZone, best known from the near-shore facies of the Fox Hills Formation. ThenebrascensisZone is the highest distinct marine assemblage that can be recognised in the Western Interior, although ammonites occur as rarities high in the Lance Formation in Wyoming. Elements of the fauna occur in the Gulf Coast and Atlantic Seaboard, and extend into the highest Maastrichtian nannofossil Subzone CC26b, ofMicula prinsii, in Texas. These occurrences point to the existence of a southerly marine route for migration into and out of the northern Interior during the late late Maastrichtian. An analysis of Maastrichtian ammonite occurrences in West Greenland reveals no evidence for a marine link to the western Interior at this time, but rather indicates an open marine link to the North Atlantic region.The presence of upper upper Maastrichtian Pierre Shale in southeast South Dakota and northeast Nebraska, deposited in water depths that are conservatively estimated at 100-200 m, suggests that marine conditions (evidence for which has been removed by post-Cretceous erosion) may have extended well to the north of the shoreline position indicated in recent palaeogeographic reconstructions.     

A giant barnacle (Crustacea,Cirripedia, Thoracica) from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Canada revisited

The cirripede Calantica? saskatchewanensis Russell, 1967, from the Maastrichtian Bearpaw Formation of Saskatchewan (Canada), is redescribed on the basis of new material and transferred to the genus Pachyscalpellum Buckeridge, 1991. This considerably extends the known range of the genus from the eastern Tethys (Australasia, Tunisia) to the northern part of the Western Interior Seaway of North America. Species of the genus achieved an exceptionally large size for stalked barnacles, with a projected possible height (capitulum and peduncle) of 150–200 mm.     

Osteichthyans from the Fairpoint Member of the Fox Hills Formation (Maastrichtian), Meade County, South Dakota, USA

The Fairpoint Member of the Fox Hills Formation (upper Maastrichtian) in Meade County, South Dakota, USA, contains an osteichthyan assemblage indicative of transitional to marine shoreface deposits. The fauna consists of: Lepisosteus sp., Paralbula casei, Cylindracanthus cf. C. ornatus, Enchodus gladiolus, Hadrodus sp., and indeterminate osteichthyans with probable affinities to the Siluriformes and Beryciformes. The Fairpoint fauna is of limited species diversity and in this character mirrors many other Upper Cretaceous North American osteichthyan assemblages. Comparison to Upper Cretaceous chondrichthyan diversity and consideration of the structure of Cretaceous marine food webs suggest that osteichthyans are strongly under-represented in the Upper Cretaceous of North America. The small size and poor preservation potential of many Upper Cretaceous North American osteichthyans probably account for much of this observed paucity. Fairpoint osteichthyans are members of families that survive the Cretaceous–Paleocene boundary extinction event. Some of these genera and families are still extant and occur in a wide array of modern fresh, brackish, and shallow marine environments.     

Constraining the age of the last marine sediments in the late Cretaceous of central south Pyrenees (NE Spain): Insights from larger benthic foraminifera and strontium isotope stratigraphy

The uppermost Cretaceous (upper Campanian–Maastrichtian) marine deposits of the central south Pyrenees host a rich larger benthic foraminiferal fauna and several rudist-rich levels. These marine deposits are directly overlain by the continental facies of the Arén and Tremp Formations, which are famous for their fossil dinosaur remains. Larger benthic foraminiferal distribution documents an important faunal turnover in all the carbonate platform environments within the photic zone, from open marine to littoral areas. Biostratigraphy indicates that this turnover occurred close to the Campanian-Maastrichtian boundary. This is also confirmed by strontium isotope stratigraphy which indicates an earliest Maastrichtian age for the appearance of the larger benthic foraminiferal assemblage constituted by Lepidorbitoides socialis, Clypeorbis mammillata, Wannierina cataluniensis, Orbitoides gruenbachensis, Siderolites aff. calcitrapoides, Fascispira colomi, Omphalocyclus macroporus and Laffiteina mengaudi. In particular, a numerical age of 71 Ma is obtained for the Hippurites radiosus level, just a few meters below the first continental deposits of the Arén sensu stricto Formation. The youngest marine sediments of the central south Pyrenees are early Maastrichtian in age. This is also an important constraint for the age of the end-Cretaceous dinosaur fossil localities of the Tremp basin.     

Late Maastrichtian cephalopods,dinoflagellate cysts and foraminifera from the Cretaceous–Paleogene succession at Lechówka,southeast Poland: Stratigraphic and environmental implications

The Lechówka section comprises the most complete Cretaceous–Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary succession in Poland and is among 29 sites worldwide with the youngest ammonite record. Here, cephalopods (ammonites and nautilids), organic-walled dinoflagellates (dinocysts) and foraminifera from the uppermost Maastrichtian interval are studied. In terms of ammonite biostratigraphy, the upper Maastrichtian Hoploscaphites constrictus crassus Zone is documented up to a level 120 cm below the K-Pg boundary. There is no direct, ammonite-based evidence of the highest Maastrichtian H. constrictus johnjagti Zone. However, the predominance of the dinocyst marker taxon Palynodinium grallator suggests the presence of the equivalent of the uppermost Maastrichtian Thalassiphora pelagica Subzone, which is correlatable with the H. c. johnjagti ammonite Zone. The planktonic foraminiferal assemblage is coeval with that from the H. c. johnjagti Zone as well. These data indicate that the top of the Maastrichtian at Lechówka is complete within the limits of biostratigraphic resolution, albeit slightly condensed. The dinocyst and foraminiferal assemblages are dominated by taxa that are characteristic of high-energy, marginal marine environments. A reduction in test size among the calcareous epifaunal benthic foraminifera is observed at a level 50 cm below the K-Pg boundary, which is possibly related to environmental stress associated with Deccan volcanism.     

Planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils record in the upper Campanian-Maastrichtian pelagic deposits of the Malatya Basin in the Hekimhan area (NW Malatya,eastern Anatolia)

The uppermost Cretaceous (upper Campanian-Maastrichtian) pelagic successions from the Malatya Basin (NW Malatya, eastern Anatolia) were studied by 688 samples, which were collected from five stratigraphic sections in the Hekimhan area. The pelagic deposits conformably overlie rudist bearing shallow-water limestones and are overlain conformably by Maastrichtian dolomites and unconformably by Paleocene-Eocene deposits, respectively.The pelagic successions in the Hekimhan area comprise the Kösehasan Formation at the base and the Zorbehan Formation at the top and reach up to 1100 m in thickness. The Kösehasan Formation rests over the neritic rudist-bearing limestones of the Güzelyurt Formation along a sharp contact and consists mainly of flysch-type sandstone-mudstone alternation with complete and partial Bouma sequences. The carbonate content of abundant planktonic foraminifera and nannoplankton-bearing 980-m-thick succession increases upwards and the formation passes gradually to the clayey limestones and marlstones of the Zorbehan Formation to the top. Occurrences of nannoplankton Lithraphidites quadratus Bramlette and Martini and Micula praemurus (Bukry) in the first beds of the Kösehasan Formation indicate that the age of the Kösehasan Formation and overlying Zorbehan Formation is of late Maasthrichtian. Another late Maastrichtian taxa Cribrosphaerella daniae Perch-Nielsen and Arkhangelskiella maastrichtiana Burnett are observed from the lowermost part of the succession. Maastrichtian planktonic foraminifera such as Contusotruncana walfischensis (Todd) and Globotruncanita pettersi (Gandolfi) were recorded through the successions. Although planktonic foraminifera are diverse and abundant particularly in the Kösehesan Formation, index late Maasthrichtian species were not encountered. Campanian and Santonian-Campanian planktonic foraminifera, e.g. Radotruncana calcarata (Cushman) and Globotruncanita elevata (Brotzen), obtained particularly from the lower part of the succession and calcareous nannofossils such as Broinsonia parca parca Bukry, Reinhardtites anthophorus (Deflanre) and Eiffellithus eximius (Stover) are interpreted as reworked from older strata. Trace fossils are common throughout the succession.Rareness of planktonic foraminifera and nannoplankton in the uppermost part of the succession (Zorbehan Formation) indicates maximum shallowing of the latest Maastrichtian sea in this part of the basin. Rare echinoids, bivalves and ammonites are observed in that part of the sequence.The obtained data indicate that sediment accumulation rate of the pelagic deposits is rather high and about 27.5 cm/ky for this part of the basin. Changes in thickness of the formations along short distances in the five stratigraphic sections analysed in this study should be related to the diachroneity of the depositional and erosional events.     

Hesperornithiformes (Aves: Ornithurae) from the Upper Cretaceous Pierre Shale,Southern Manitoba,Canada

A historical collection of hesperornithiform fossils from the Gammon Ferruginous, Pembina, and Millwood members of the Pierre Shale (Campanian, Upper Cretaceous) in southern Manitoba, Canada, was examined to revise their taxonomy. Only two species of Hesperornis have been recognized in previous studies on the Pierre Shale in Manitoba, but our study recognizes six species of two genera, including H. lumgairi sp. nov. H. regalis is the most common species but absent in the uppermost unit within the studied sequence. The result of this study supports the paleobiogeographic subdivision of the Campanian vertebrate fauna within the Western Interior Seaway, but not the faunal boundary that distinguishes the avian fauna of Manitoba from that of South Dakota and Kansas.     

First record of late Campanian ammonites from the Abderaz Formation of the Koppeh Dagh,northeastern Iran

An ammonite fauna from the upper Abderaz Formation of Kuh-e-Bul in the northwestern part of the Koppeh Dagh (Iran) is described and illustrated. The collection of 30 specimens is assigned to seven species, all of which are recorded from Iran for the first time: Pseudophyllites indra (Forbes, 1846), Pachydiscus (Pach.) haldemsis (Schlüter, 1867), Patagiosites stobaei (Nilsson, 1827), Menuites wittekindi (Schlüter, 1876), Glyptoxoceras retrorsum (Schlüter, 1872), Lewyites elegans (Moberg, 1885) and Trachyscaphites spiniger (Schlüter, 1872). This fauna is of a typical Boreal character, with all taxa having been described from northwest Europe originally. The stratigraphic range indicated by the ammonites is lower upper Campanian, below the first occurrence of Nostoceras (Bostrychoceras) polyplocum (Roemer, 1841) and probably above the last occurrence of Hoplitoplacenticeras (H.) vari (Schlüter, 1872). A nannofossil sample from the ammonite-bearing interval corresponds to the upper Campanian nannofossil zone UC15/CC22. Thus, on the basis of both ammonites and calcareous nannofossils, the upper Abderaz Formation is shown to be younger than assumed previously.     

Upper Maastrichtian ammonite biostratigraphy of the Gulf Coastal Plain (Mississippi Embayment,southern USA)

The Cretaceous outcrop belt of the Mississippi Embayment in the Gulf Coastal Plain (GCP) spans the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary. A detailed reconstruction of this time interval is critical for understanding the nature of biotic and environmental changes preceding the end-Cretaceous Mass Extinction event and for deciphering the likely extinction mechanism (i.e., bolide impact versus volcanism). Eight sections encompassing the K/Pg succession across the Mississippi Embayment were analyzed using biostratigraphic sampling of ammonites, dinoflagellates, and nannofossils. An upper Maastrichtian ammonite zonation is proposed as follows, from oldest to youngest: Discoscaphites conradi Zone, D. minardi Zone, and D. iris Zone. Our study documents that the ammonite zonation established in the Atlantic Coastal Plain (ACP) extends to the GCP. This zonation is integrated with nannofossil and dinoflagellate biostratigraphy to provide a framework to more accurately determine the age relationships in this region. We demonstrate that ammonites and dinoflagellates are more reliable stratigraphic indicators in this area than nannofossils because age-diagnostic nannofossils are not consistently present within the upper Maastrichtian in the GCP. This biostratigraphic framework has the potential to become a useful tool for correlation of strata both within the GCP and between the GCP, Western Interior, and ACP. The presence of the uppermost Maastrichtian ammonite D. iris, calcareous nannofossil Micula prinsii, and dinoflagellates Palynodinium grallator and Disphaerogena carposphaeropsis suggests that the K/Pg succession in the GCP is nearly complete. Consequently, the GCP is an excellent setting for investigating fine scale temporal changes across the K/Pg boundary and ultimately elucidating the mechanisms causing extinction.     

Heliborne Time Domain Electromagnetic Data Aiding Delineation of Carbonaceous Shale in Southwestern Part of Bijawar Basin and its Implication on Basinal Stratigraphy

The Callovian-Oxfordian Kuldhar Member of Middle-Upper Jurassic Jaisalmer Formation, Rajasthan is characterized by a rich cephalopod (ammonites and belemnites) fauna along with other invertebrates. They are embedded in oolitic limestone, at places in nodular limestone, grey shale and occasional red mud. The belemnite rostra bear bioerosions in the form of borings of circular or elliptical type. The present study identified those as Trypanites isp. and Rogerella isp. and characterized the hitherto unnoticed bioerosions of these belemnite rostra to be post-mortal. Different dispositions of major diameter of belemnite rostra has been interpreted to represent churning effect of ichnofossil producing organisms which put evidences of several generations of omission surfaces. Vertical and horizontal orientations of stephanoceratid ammonites side by side have been critically analysed in the light of lithology and prevailing environmental condition and inferred to be an artifact of gravity and thixotropic property of clay. Ammonites like Stephanoceratids and Macrocephalitids inhabit within 110m depth which is also permissible depth of belemnites as well as probable depth of formation of oolites, carbonate mud and aluminosilicate mud. Considering the lithology of the rocks like oolites, carbonate mud, aluminosilicate, the habitat of stephanoceratid and habitat of acrothoracid barnacles (organisms responsible for Rogerella isp.), the environment has been delineated to be sublittoral which was previously designated as shoreface zone to offshore transition zone.     

Upper Campanian-lower Maastrichtian sections of the northwestern Rostov region. Article 1. Description, paleontological assemblages, and lithobiostratigraphy

Four upper Campanian-lower Maastrichtian reference sections are described in the Glubokaya and Kalitva river basins and in the Znamenka 1-A Borehole located in the northwestern Rostov region. The sections are composed of the upper Campanian Kagal??nik, Belgorod, Pavlovka, Sukhodol and lower Maastrichtian Efremovo-Stepanovka formations. They are characterized by successive stratigraphically significant macro- and microfossil assemblages: belemnites, calcareous nannoplankton, benthic foraminifers, and radiolarians. The Pavlovka and, particularly, Sukhodol formations contain a specific assemblage of coarsely-agglutinated benthic foraminifers. The first data obtained on radiolarians in upper Campanian-lower Maastrichtian sections of the northwestern Rostov region revealed four assemblages, two of which were previously unknown from Upper Cretaceous sediments of the East European Platform. Most sections enclose a hiatus at the base of the Sukhodol Formation, which comprises two upper Campanian benthic foraminiferal zones. The problem of recognition of the lower Maastrichtian boundary on the East European Platform is considered in accordance with international GSSP requirements.     

The first finds of cretaceous belemnites from the Magellan Rise, Pacific Ocean

The occurrence of belemnites in Mesozoic sediments of the Pacific guyots is established for the first time (rostra Dimitobelidae gen. et sp. indet. from the late Campanian-Maastrichtian detrital limestone of the DVGI Guyot, Belemnitella? sp. from oolitic limestone of the Gelendzhik Guyot, which are presumably of the Santonian-Maastrichtian age, and Belemnitidae? gen. et sp. indet. from the Maastrichtian oolitic limestone of the Butakov Guyot, the Magellan Rise). In recent years, fossil cephalopods important in stratigraphic and paleobiogeographic aspects have been found at five guyots of that rise. New data on fossil invertebrates from the study region suggest breaks in the sedimentation here at the terminal Maastrichtian, Paleogene, and initial Neogene time. Possible limits of vertical migration in the tropical Pacific are estimated for the Late Cretaceous belemnites based on preliminary results of the oxygen isotope analysis.     

Lamniform sharks from the Cenomanian (Upper Cretaceous) of Venezuela

Sampling of Cenomanian fossil-rich horizons within the La Luna Formation of two localities in the Zulia and Trujillo states (northern Venezuela) yielded numerous shark teeth belonging to various species within the order Lamniformes (Mackerel sharks). Twelve lamniform species were identified including three new species (Squalicorax lalunaensis sp. nov., Squalicorax moodyi sp. nov., Acutalamna karsteni gen. et sp. nov.) and the genus Microcarcharias gen. nov. is proposed to accommodate with the peculiar morphology of the small-sized odontaspidid M. saskatchewanensis. Other taxa reported here include Cretoxyrhina mantelli, Cretolamna sp., cf. Nanocorax sp. and five Squalicorax species left in open nomenclature. This is the first report of chondrichthyans from the mid-Cretaceous of Venezuela and one of the few records of this group from the Cenomanian of South America. The composition of these assemblages suggests some degree of endemism in the La Luna Sea but also possible connexions with the Western Interior Seaway. One of the most striking features of these assemblages is the high anacoracid diversity (eight species) despite the corresponding outer shelf/upper slope palaeoenvironments of the La Luna Formation. The high diversity of these opportunistic predators is probably related to the high diversity of medium to large marine vertebrates that provided food resources.     

Inoceramid bivalves and biostratigraphy of the upper Albian and lower Cenomanian of the United States Western Interior Basin

Inoceramid bivalves of the upper Albian and lower Cenomanian of the United States Western Interior are revised, Eleven species-level taxa and three genera are described. Two new species, Gnesioceramus mowriensis, characterizing the Mowry Shale of the early, but not the earliest, Cenomanian, and Posidonioceramus merewetheri, of the lower Cenomanian, and on new genus, Posidonioceramus, are recognised. The Western Interior inoceramid species from this interval are strongly endemic and are not good tools for long-distance correlations, although they are very effective in regional dating.In terms of the inoceramid biostratigraphy, middle and upper parts of the upper Albian can be referred to the Gnesioceramus Biozone, represented by G. comancheanus (Cragin) and G. bellvuensis (Reeside). These taxa are endemic to the Western Interior and some adjacent areas (Gulf Coast; Greenland?), but are closely allied to the cosmopolitan species, Gnesioceramus anglicus (Woods). At approximately the Albian-Cenomanian boundary, the endemic clade of ‘Inoceramus’ nahwisi appears, now referred to the newly erected Posidonioceramus, resulting in a distinct P. nahwisi biozone. This zone corresponds to the lower part of the ammonite Neogastroplites’ stratigraphic range. Gnesioceramids re-appear in the early Cenomanian. Close to base of the Cenomanian, for the first in the Western Interior, the genus Inoceramus, represented by Inoceramus irenensis Warren and Stelck, 1958, apparently immigrated into the Western Interior Basin.The Western Interior inoceramids do not allow for direct correlation to chronostratigraphic standard subdivision. The Albian-Cenomanian boundary, as earlier recognized on geochronologic correlations and confirmed, to some extent, based on ammonites, may approximately be located close to the appearance level of the genus Posidonioceramus.     

Palynostratigraphy of a Jurassic–Cretaceous transitional succession in the Himalayan Tethys,southern Xizang (Tibet), China

A palynological analysis of a Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous succession in the Himalayan Tethys, Gyangzê County, southern Xizang (Tibet) provides, for the first time, evidence of changing palynofloras through the Jurassic/Cretaceous (J/K) boundary. Species that are stratigraphically important and potential markers for delineating the boundary include both miospores and dinoflagellate cysts. The presence of the spores Crybelosporites sp. cf. stylosus, Foraminisporis wonthaggiensis, Jiaohepollis verus and Toroisporis welzowense and the cysts Cassiculosphaeridia delicata and Rhynchodiniopsis serrata imply that the J/K boundary is between samples 06-21-1 and 06-21-3. The occurrence of Aequitriradites spinulosus and Cicatricosisporites spp. a little below this level and of ?Dictyotosporites sp. cf. speciosus slightly above it is also significant. These results show that it is possible to locate the J/K boundary in the Himalayan Tethys near top of the Weimei Formation and the lower part of the Gyabula Formation in southern Xizang. This succession also contains various marine invertebrate fossils, including ammonites, bivalves and belemnites, and thus has considerable potential for erecting an integrated biostratigraphy around the J/K boundary in the eastern Tethyan realm. Palynofloristic correlation implies a more northerly location for the fossil locality at Gyangzê than that of northwest Australia during the latest Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous, which can be further constrained to around 43°S.     

Dentaries of a caenagnathid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Nemegt Formation of the Gobi Desert in Mongolia

A symphyseal region of the fused dentaries of a caenagnathid theropod is described from the Upper Cretaceous Nemegt Formation at the Bugin Tsav locality in the Mongolian Gobi Desert. In contrast to the high diversity of Caenagnathidae in the upper Campanian to Maastrichtian in North America, only specimens of a single caenagnathid, Elmisaurus raurus, have been reported in the coeval strata in Asia. Although dentaries are commonly-found bones in the fossil record of Caenagnathidae, the present specimen is the first discovery of caenagnathid dentaries from the upper Campanian to Maastrichtian in Asia. The Nemegt Formation is unique for its diverse oviraptorosaurian fauna that includes both Caenagnathidae and Oviraptoridae as well as the non-caenagnathoid Avimimus portentosus. Hypothesized coexistence of eolian and fluvial environments in the Gobi Basin during the deposition of the Nemegt Formation might explain such co-occurrence of Caenagnathidae and Oviraptoridae.     

New data on Upper Kimmeridgian-Tithonian biostratigraphy and ammonites of the eastern Crimea

Based on ammonites, Upper Kimmeridgian sediments are first established in the Crimean Mountains. The Kimmeridgian-Tithonian boundary recognizable in a continuous section is placed inside the Dvuyakomaya Formation of uniform largely clayey sediments. Assemblages of Kimmeridgian ammonites Lingulaticeras cf. procurvum (Ziegler), Pseudowaagenia gemmellariana Oloriz, Euvirgalithacoceras cf. tantalus (Herbich), Subplanites sp.) and Tithonian forms (?Lingulaticeras efimovi (Rogov), Phylloceras consaguineum Gemmellaro, Oloriziceras cf. schneidi Tavera, and Paraulacosphinctes cf. transitorius (Oppel) are described. A new biostratigraphic scheme proposed for the upper Tithonian-Berriasian of the Crimean Mountains includes the following new biostratigraphic units: the Euvirgalithacoceras cf. tantalus Beds of the upper Kimmeridgian, ?Lingulaticeras efimovi Beds of the lower Tithonian, and Oloriziceras cf. schneidi and Paraulacosphinctes cf. transitorius beds of the upper Tithonian. The middle Tithonian is proposed to consist of the fallauxi and semiforme (presumably) zones. The ammonities found determine the early Kimmeridgian-Berriasian age of the Dvuyakornaya Formation that is most likely in tectonic contact with the underlying Khutoran Formation.     

Charophytes from the Upper Berriasian of the Western Interior Basin of the United States

A charophyte flora from the Upper Berriasian is described from the Lakota (Black Hills, South Dakota) and Cedar Mountain formations (San Rafael Swell, Utah) of the Western Interior Basin, United States of America. Whereas the latter is dominated by monotonous assemblages of the clavatoracean Nodosoclavator bradleyi (Harris, 1939), found in temporary lakes within palustrine facies, the flora of the Lakota Formation consists of more varied assemblages of the clavatoraceans N. bradleyi (Harris, 1939), Clavator grovesii grovesii Harris 1939, C. bilateralis Peck 1957 and early characeans (Mesochara sp. or Tolypella sp.). This flora was found in deposits related to permanent lakes in fluvial floodplains, i.e. lacustrine marls and limestones that do not show any evidence of subaerial exposure. To date, little is known about C. bilateralis, we provide a new definition on the basis of its particular structure, which shows lateral bract-cell units with a pinnate arrangement. This species appears to be endemic to North America and stratigraphically limited to the earliest Cretaceous. C. grovesii grovesii is part of a long-lasting charophyte lineage, which until now was considered to have originated in the Central Tethyan Archipelago (Europe) during the Early Berriasian, about 145 Ma, and limited to Eurasia until most of the Early Cretaceous. The new data presented here suggest that during the Berriasian this species was very broadly distributed, comprising North America, Europe and China.     

Fluvial-shallow marine-glaciofluvial depositional environments of the Ordovician System in Jordan

The Ordovician System, cropping out in southern and west-central Jordan, consists entirely of a 750 m thick clastic sequence that can be subdivided into six formations. The lower Disi Formation starts conformably above the Late Cambrian Umm Ishrin Formation. According to Cruziana furcifera occurring in the upper third of the Disi Formation, an Early Ordovician age is confirmed. The Disi Formation, consisting mainly of downstream accretion (DA) fluvial architectural element, was deposited in a proximal braidplain flowing N–NE from the southerly-located Arabian–Nubian Shield towards the Tethys Seaway. The braidplain depositional environment evolved into a braidplain-dominated delta through the middle and upper parts of the Disi Formation and the lower part of the overlying Um Saham Formation. The delta was replaced by siliciclastic tidal flats, that in turn evolved into an upper to lower shoreface environment through the upper part of the Um Saham Formation. The depositional environment attained the maximum bathymetric depth during the deposition of the lower and central parts of the third unit, the Hiswa Formation, where offshore graptolite-rich mudstone with intercalated hummocky cross-stratified tempestites were deposited. The Tethys Seaway regressed back through the upper part of the Hiswa Formation promoting a resumption of the lower–upper shoreface sedimentation. Oscillation between the lower to upper shoreface depositional environment characterized the entire fourth unit, the Dubaydib Formation, as well as the Tubeiylliat Sandstone Member of the fifth unit, the Mudawwara Formation. The depositional history of the Ordovician sequence was terminated by a glaciofluvial regime that finally was gradually replaced by a shoreface depositional environment throughout the last unit, the Ammar Formation.     

Hemipelagic cephalopods from the Maastrichtian (late Cretaceous) Parras Basin at La Parra,Coahuila, Mexico,and their implications for the correlation of the lower Difunta Group

Few biostratigraphic data exist from the Parras and La Popa basins, mainly due to the absence of index fossils. This paper describes 19 ammonoid species from 15 genera and 1 nautilid from La Parra, southeastern Coahuila, Mexico. The assemblage consists of Tethyan [(Baculites ovatus, Brahmaites (Anabrahmaites) vishnu, Fresvillia constricta, Hauericeras rembda, Pachydiscus (P.) ex gr. neubergicus, Solenoceras reesidei, Tetragonites cf. superstes], cosmopolitan (Anagaudryceras politissimum, Desmophyllites diphylloides, Diplomoceras cylindraceum, Gaudryceras kayei, Phyllopachyceras forbesianum, Pseudophyllites indra), and cold water taxa [Fresvillia teres, Hypophylloceras (Neophylloceras) surya, H. (N.) hetonaiense, Pachydiscus (P.) cf. egertoni]. Eutrephoceras sp. and Menuites juv. sp. were not determined to species level. A similar assemblage was recently described from the coeval Méndez Formation at Cerralvo, Nuevo León. Species endemic to North America, particularly the Western Interior Seaway, are absent at La Parra. The ammonoid assemblage and associated planktonic foraminifers allow for precise biostratigraphic assignation to the early Maastrichtian planktonic foraminiferal zone CF 5, and thus provide an important marker level for correlation of the lower Difunta Group. The new biostratigraphic data presented herein allow for the first time precise dating of the Cañon del Tule Formation of the Difunta Group. Their combination with existing sequence- and magnetostratigraphic data improve the correlation of the lower Difunta Group with time-equivalent lithostratigraphic units such as the Cárdenas Formation in Mexico. They also provide new insight into ammonoid migration patterns induced by sea-level changes. Baculites ovatus migrated into the La Popa Basin as a result of the sea-level highstand documented at La Parra.