Ichnofabric analysis of the Tithonian shallow marine sediments (Bhadasar Formation) Jaisalmer Basin,India

The shallow marine sedimentary sequence of the Jaisalmer Basin exhibits one of the important and well-developed Tithonian sedimentary outcrops for western India. The ichnology and ichnofabric of the lower part of Bhadasar Formation (i.e., Kolar Dongar Member) belonging to Tithonian age are presented and discussed. The Kolar Dongar Member represents a shallow marine succession that contains 16 ichnotaxa: Ancorichnus ancorichnus, Conichnus conicus, Gyrochorte comosa, cf. Jamesonichnites heinbergi, Imponoglyphus kevadiensis, Laevicyclus mongraensis, Monocraterion tentaculatum, Ophiomorpha nodosa, Palaeophycus tubularis, P. bolbiterminus, Phycodes palmatus, Planolites beverleyensis, Rhizocorallium isp., Rosselia rotatus, R. socialis, and Teichichnus rectus. The ichnofabric analysis divulges five distinct ichnofabrics, each typifying distinct depositional environment within shallow marine conditions. The ichnofabric Ophiomorpha 1 with syn-sedimentary faulting exemplifies high energy conditions typical of lower shoreface environment, whereas the Ophiomorpha 2 ichnofabric typifies upper shoreface environment. The Ancorichnus ichnofabric reflects lower offshore condition of deposition. The high ichnodiversity Ancorichnus–Rosselia ichnofabric is indicative of inner shelf conditions, while low ichno-diversity Teichichnus ichnofabric indicates prevalence of low energy brackish bay environment. Thus, Tithonian Kolar Dongar Member indicates depositional environment ranging from shoreface to offshore to inner shelf and finally to brackish bay environment.     

Overview on the middle to upper Jurassic sedimentary succession of Gangta Bet in the Kachchh basin,western India,with special emphasis on its lithostratigraphy,biostratigraphy, and palaeoenvironment

The Jurassic succession of Gangta Bet in the Kachchh basin of western India comprises around 130 m of mostly siliciclastic rocks. The strata belong to the Gangta Member of the Gadhada Formation and are herein sub-divided into four units: the Gangta sandstone beds, the lower silty sandstone beds, the upper silty sandstone beds, and the Gangta ammonite beds. These units can be separated by three marker horizons: the Brachiopod bed, the Gangta Conglomerate Bed, and the Gervillella Bed. Ammonites indicate an Oxfordian age for the upper half of the succession, but the scarcity of identifiable fossils in its basal part so far prevented precise biostratigraphic assignments. The shallow-water sediments can be interpreted as parasequences as a result of minor sea-level changes. Deposition took place close to the palaeo-coastline at water depths around the fair-weather wave-base.     

Trace fossils of a cyclic chalk-marl succession; the upper Maastrichtian Rørdal Member, Denmark

Trace fossils from an upper Maastrichtian cyclic chalk-marl succession, the Rørdal Member, exposed in the Rørdal quarry, Denmark, are analysed in order to test whether the changes in substrate lithology exerted any control over the ichnodiversity, tiering complexity, and density of the infauna. The cyclicity is interpreted as caused by orbital changes within the Milankovitch frequency band. The carbonate content varies between 71 and 82 weight% in the marl and 82-92 weight% in the chalk beds. The material is based on 19 samples collected from six chalk and marl beds. The investigated bedding-normal sample surfaces vary in area between 29 and 155 cm². Eight ichnogenera and two undetermined ichnogenera are recognised. The member is characterised by three ichnofabrics (A, B and C). The ichnofabric analysis is based on texture and internal structure of the sediments resulting from bioturbation. Ichnofabric A is found only in chalk samples and shows a poor preservation of trace fossils, whereas ichnofabric C is found in a few chalk and all marl samples and comprises a very dense, diverse and well preserved ichnofauna representing a high tiering complexity. Ichnofabric B represents an intermediate situation between ichnofabrics A and C and occurs in chalk samples immediately adjacent to marl beds. The observed changes in ichnofabrics between chalk and marl are related to the amount of clay in the samples and the differences in the occurrence of trace fossils are interpreted as due to differences in the visibility of traces between chalk and marl and not due to differences in ecological stress upon the endobenthic community of the two lithologies. The study thus provides an excellent example of how the effect of taphonomic factors may give a misleading and biased impression of apparent differences in the endobenthic community between chalk and marl.     

The palynology and geology of the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian–Albian) of Munday’s Hill Quarry,Bedfordshire, UK

Early Cretaceous sediments of Aptian–Albian age outcrop at Munday’s Hill Quarry, Bedfordshire, England. Previous papers describing the section have resulted in different terminologies being applied. The Lower Cretaceous in Bedfordshire is represented by sediments belonging to the Lower Greensand Group and the Gault Clay Formation. Within the Lower Greensand Group in the study area the Woburn Sands Formation, are of Aptian–Albian age. Selected samples have been analysed for palynology. The analysis reveals diverse palynomorph assemblages, including well-preserved dinoflagellate cysts and sporomorphs. Comparison of the assemblages with published records indicates that the lower samples are of Late Aptian age. Forms recorded include common Kiokansium unituberculatum, Cerbia tabulata, Aptea polymorpha and Cyclonephelium inconspicuum. An Early Albian age is indicated for the uppermost sample.     

Early Cretaceous <Emphasis Type="Italic">Neotrocholina</Emphasis> Reichel, 1956 from the Tirgan Formation,Kopet Dagh sedimentary basin,NE Iran: systematic and biometric interpretation

Neotrocholina Reichel, 1956 is one of the most important benthic foraminifera in Early Cretaceous. Some of the species of this genus are indexes in biostratigraphy especially for this interval (e.g., Neotrocholina friburgensis: Late Barremian–Early Aptian; Neotrocholina aptiensis: Early Aptian). In order to conduct accurate paleontological investigations, sampling from the carbonate units of the Tirgan Formation in Kopet Dagh sedimentary basin is done. According to the occurrence level in the studied stratigraphic sections as well as biometric interpretations, two species of this genus (N. friburgensis and Neotrocholina valdensis) are pointed out.     

Sea level changes in the upper Aptian-lower/middle(?) Turonian sequence of Cauvery Basin,India – An ichnological perspective

Cauvery Basin, a pericratonic rift basin along the Eastern Continental Margin of India, evolved during the breakup of the Eastern Gondwanaland. It exposes both syn-rift and later post-rift passive margin deposits ranging from Barremian to Miocene. The Karai Formation, upper Aptian-lower/middle (?) Turonian represents the oldest passive margin in the Cauvery Basin. It is bounded at both contacts by major sequence boundaries viz. the break-up unconformity and the Turonian tilt event. The present communication deals with the ichnology of the Karai Formation and its integration with sedimentary facies and biostratigraphy to interpret the sea level changes during deposition. A traverse between the villages Karai and Kulakkalnattam was studied in detail for this purpose. Based on the lithological position, characters and internal grain size trends, the Karai Formation is sub-divided into four informal lithologic units; the lower three units, constitute a lithostratigraphic unit known in literature as the Gypsiferous Clay Member, while the uppermost, corresponds to the Sandy Clay Member. At the base, clays of the Karai Formation unconformably onlap onto the Precambrian basement or the fluvial syn-rift deposits across the break-up unconformity. Upper Aptian to middle Cenomanian, units I and II showing the distal Cruziana ichnofacies, deepening of the basin and a retrogradational stacking pattern represent a transgressive system tract (TST). This long phase of transgression is attributed to continuous accommodation created by the post-breakup thermal subsidence. The upper part of unit II (middle Cenomanian) shows condensation, with its top representing the maximum flooding surface (MFS). Upper Cenomanian to lower/middle (?) Turonian, units III and IV characterised by a shift from the distal Cruziana to the Skolithos ichnofacies, an initial aggradational and later deltaic, progradational stacking pattern resulting from a fall in the relative sea level and filling up of accommodation space represent the highstand system tract (HST). A further fall in the relative sea level led to the exposure, incision and erosion of the Karai Formation over which the younger transgressive sequence of the Trichinopoly Group was deposited with an angular unconformity.     

Palaeoenvironmental and palaeoecological change on the northern Tethyan carbonate platform during the Late Barremian to earliest Aptian

A major shift from Urgonian oligotrophic carbonate accumulation to orbitolinid‐rich mixed siliciclastic–carbonate deposition is observed near the Barremian–Aptian boundary in many sections both within and outside the shallow‐marine Tethyan Realm. This important facies change in the Swiss Helvetic Alps is documented here and interpreted in the context of general palaeoenvironmental change. To achieve this, a detailed micropalaeontological, sedimentological, mineralogical and geochemical study has been carried out on six sections across the upper part of the lower Schrattenkalk Member (Late Barremian), the Rawil Member (formerly ‘Lower Orbitolina Beds’, earliest Aptian) and the lowermost part of the upper Schrattenkalk Member (Early Aptian). The sediments of the Rawil Member exhibit inner‐platform facies with rudists, miliolids, orbitolinids and dasycladals to outer‐platform facies characterized by small benthic foraminifera, orbitolinids, crinoids and bryozoans. Stratigraphic trends in microfacies environments and the composition of microfossil assemblages, indicate that the Rawil Member includes a transgressive systems tract and the base of a highstand systems tract which are composed of an increasing number of parasequences in distal directions (five to nine in the sections studied here). The sea‐level rise discerned in the Rawil Member is coeval with increased detrital input and phosphorus burial, with maximum values up to 80 times and 21 times the background values in the subjacent part of the lower Schrattenkalk Member, respectively. Furthermore, the Rawil Member records the appearance of kaolinite, indicating a change towards tropical and more humid climate conditions. This change may have led to an increase in continental weathering rates and an associated increase in detrital and nutrient fluxes towards the ocean. The phase of climate change observed near the Barremian–Aptian boundary may have been triggered by a phase of intensified volcanic activity linked with the onset of the Ontong Java large igneous province and the Rawil Member may be the expression of a precursor episode to Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a in the shallow‐marine environment.     

Early Cretaceous spinicaudatans (“conchostracans”) from lacustrine strata of the Sidi Aïch Formation in the northern Chotts range,southern Tunisia: Taxonomy,biostratigraphy and stratigraphic implication

The fossil clam shrimp genus Cratostracus was first described from the Turonian–Coniacian (Upper Cretaceous) Qingshankou Formation in the Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces of China, and it has been found to range down into the Aptian Guantou Formation in Zhejiang Province of southeastern China. Recently, species tentatively attributable to it (Cratostracus? cheni) has been recorded in the well-known Jehol Biota bearing Barremian–lower Aptian (Lower Cretaceous) Yixian Formation in western Liaoning Province of northeastern China. The species described in this paper as Cratostracus? tunisiaensis sp. nov. was recovered from the Sidi Aïch Formation in the Chotts area of southern Tunisia. Although only tentatively attributed to Cratostracus, its occurrence is consistent with a Barremian (Early Cretaceous) age for the formation. This first direct dating of the Sidi Aïch Formation gives a valuable insight for the stratigraphy of the region and will make it possible to more precisely correlate the different outcrops of the Sidi Aïch Formation. Moreover, the new fossil discovery allows a reconstruction of the paralic ecosystem that characterized the study area during the Barremian.     

The Shah Kuh Formation,a latest Barremian – Early Aptian carbonate platform of Central Iran (Khur area,Yazd Block)

The Shah Kuh Formation of the Khur area (Central Iran) consists of predominantly micritic, thick-bedded shallow-water carbonates, which are rich in orbitolinid foraminifera and rudists. It represents a late(est) Barremian – Early Aptian carbonate platform and overlies Upper Jurassic – Barremian continental and marginal marine sediments (Chah Palang and Noqreh formations); it is overlain by basinal deposits of the Upper Aptian – Upper Albian Bazyab Formation. The lithofacies changes at both, the base and top of the Shah Kuh Formation are gradational, showing that the formation is part of an overall transgressive sedimentary megacycle, and that the formational boundaries are potentially diachronous on larger distances. Analyses of facies and stratal geometries suggest that the Shah Kuh carbonate system started as a narrow, high-energy shelf that developed into a large-scale, flat-topped rudist platform without marginal rim or steep slope. The Shah Kuh Platform is part of a large depositional system of epeiric shallow-water carbonates that characterized large parts of present-day Iran during Late Barremian – Aptian times (“Orbitolina limestones” of NW and Central Iran, the Alborz and the Koppeh Dagh). Their biofacies is very similar to contemporaneous deposits from the western Tethys and eastern Arabia, and they form an important, hitherto poorly known component of the Tethyan warm-water carbonate platform belt.     

Aptian and Albian atmospheric CO2 changes during oceanic anoxic events: Evidence from fossil Ginkgo cuticles in Jilin Province,Northeast China

The Early Cretaceous was a time with super-greenhouse conditions and episodic global oceanic anoxic events. However, relative timing of atmospheric CO₂ emissions and oceanic anoxic events, and their causal relationships remain matters of debate. Using the stomatal index approach, well-preserved fossil cuticles of Ginkgo from the Lower Cretaceous Changcai Formation, eastern Jilin, and from the Lower Cretaceous Yingcheng Formation, central Jilin, Northeast China, were investigated to reconstruct atmospheric CO₂ concentrations during the Aptian and earliest Albian (Early Cretaceous). The results indicate that the CO₂ concentrations reached 1098–1142 ppmv (Carboniferous standardization) or 970–1305 ppmv (regression function) during the Aptian and earliest Albian. Our estimates of palaeoatmospheric CO₂ concentrations during the earliest Albian (OAE 1b) are slightly higher than the data between the early Aptian Selli (OAE 1a) and the middle Aptian Fallot OAEs; this may indicate the absence of any great emissions of CO₂ during the latest Aptian and earliest Albian.     

北京延庆第四纪盆地杨户庄剖面新信息——有孔虫与海相介形虫新发现

文中报道了在北京延庆杨户庄剖面,发现的第四纪有孔虫与海相介形虫化石。该化石产地以化石层位稳定、分布面积较广、化石丰富及地质时代较明确为特点。至于化石是否是“海侵”或“海泛”的产物?,或是由“生物传布的空中通道”而来,还是为“湖盆内盐度增高的水介质中生存的特殊生物相”?都正在研究与探讨之中。     

The Ediacara member of the Rawnsley quartzite: The context of the Ediacara assemblage (late precambrian,flinders ranges)

The Ediacara fossil assemblage occurs widely in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia, in a single, readily mappable stratigraphic interval—the Ediacara Member of the Rawnsley Quartzite, which is part of the Pound Subgroup of the Wilpena Group. The Member occurs low in the Rawnsley Quartzite and consists of siltstones, medium‐ to thick‐bedded sandstones, and heterolithic units of intercalated siltstone and sandstone. Features such as rhythmical bedding and flaser bedding, interference and flat‐topped ripples, winnowed coarse sand residues, abundant clay galls, and rare desiccation cracks suggest that the heterolithic siltstone/sandstone units represent intertidal deposits. The rich body‐fossil assemblage occurs chiefly in these deposits of probable intertidal origin, and for the most part appears to represent organisms stranded by the tide away from their normal habitat. Associated bioturbation structures include horizontal, penetrative (post‐depositional) burrows, but vertical dwelling burrows have not been found; the Pound Subgroup evidently pre‐dates their widespread appearance.

The Rawnsley Quartzite appears to have been deposited during cycles of marine transgression, with the Ediacara Member inferred to have accumulated in environments varying from shallow shelf to tidally influenced lagoons sheltered by barrier bars.     

Carbon and oxygen-isotope stratigraphy of the Early Cretaceous carbonate platform of Pădurea Craiului (Apuseni Mountains,Romania): A chemostratigraphic correlation and paleoenvironmental tool

Stable C and O isotope records were obtained from carbonate rocks spanning the Hauterivian to Cenomanian interval collected in several sections from the carbonate platform of Pădurea Craiului (Apuseni Mountains, Romania). In the absence of some key biostratigraphic marker species, stable isotopes were applied as a tool for stratigraphic correlation and dating. The composite δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O curves for the Early Cretaceous shows variable conditions with large positive and negative excursions and provide information on past environmental changes. The Hauterivian and the Barremian limestones (Blid Formation) display lower δ¹³C values (−2.8‰ to +2.9‰) relative to the Aptian–Albian deposits (−2.6‰ to +5.4‰) (Ecleja, Valea Măgurii and Vârciorog Formations). The red detrital formation (Albian–Cenomanian) is characterized by a highly variable distribution of the δ¹³C values (−3.5‰ to +3.9‰). Based on the similarities between the C-isotope curve established in Pădurea Craiului and from other sections in the Tethyan and the Pacific regions, two major oceanic anoxic events characterized by δ¹³C positive excursions were clearly recognized. The first is the OAE1a event (Early Aptian) in the upper part of the Ecleja Formation and the Valea Măgurii Formation. The second is the OAE1b event (Late Aptian–Albian) in the upper part of the Vârciorog Formation and in the Subpiatră Member. The position of the Aptian/Albian boundary is estimated to be at the upper part of the Vârciorog Formation, immediately after the beginning of the δ¹³C positive excursion. The δ¹³C data show major negative excursions during the Barremian (Blid Formation), Early Aptian (Ecleja Formation), and Late Aptian (Vârciorog Formation). The O isotope variation pattern (−10.2‰ to −2.1‰) is consistent with progressively warming temperatures during the Early Barremian followed by a cooling period. A subsequent warming period culminated in the Early Aptian. A significant cooling phase corresponds to the Late Aptian and Early Albian and the climate cooled again during the Late Albian and into the Early Cenomanian stage. The data provide a better understanding of the Early Cretaceous sedimentation cycles in Pădurea Craiului and create a more reliable framework for regional correlations.     

Morphological restudy of the type species of Xibeiestheria (Spinicaudata) from the lower Aptian,northwestern China

The fossil clam shrimp genus Xibeiestheria Wang in Shen et al., 1982, a component of the well-known Early Cretaceous Yanjiestheria fauna, was originally described from the lower Aptian Jingchuan Formation of Yanchi County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of northwestern China. The morphological re-examination under an SEM of the holotype of the type species Xibeiestheria pora Wang in Shen et al., 1982 has revealed new taxonomic features not previously recognized. These include: (1) growth lines with serrated lower margins, having a row of small pores; (2) widely spaced radial lirae intercalated cross bars on growth bands in the dorsal part of the carapace; (3) fine reticulum occurring within coarse reticulation on growth bands in the middle part of the carapace; (4) puncta radially aligned along the widely spaced radial lirae on growth bands in the lower part of the carapace.     

Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the coastal Monte Léon and Santa Cruz formations (Early Miocene) at Rincón del Buque,Southern Patagonia: A revisited locality

Sedimentological, ichnological and paleontological analyses of the Early Miocene uppermost Monte León Formation and the lower part of the Santa Cruz Formation were carried out in Rincón del Buque (RDB), a fossiliferous locality north of Río Coyle in Santa Cruz Province, Patagonia, Argentina. This locality is of special importance because it contains the basal contact between the Monte Léon (MLF) and the Santa Cruz (SCF) formations and because it preserves a rich fossil assemblage of marine invertebrates and marine trace fossils, and terrestrial vertebrates and plants, which has not been extensively studied. A ∼90 m-thick section of the MLF and the SCF that crops out at RDB was selected for this study. Eleven facies associations (FA) are described, which are, from base to top: subtidal–intertidal deposits with Crassotrea orbignyi and bioturbation of the Skolithos-Cruziana ichnofacies (FA1); tidal creek deposits with terrestrial fossil mammals and Ophiomorpha isp. burrows (FA2); tidal flat deposits with Glossifungites ichnofacies (FA3); deposits of tidal channels (FA4) and tidal sand flats (FA5) both with and impoverish Skolithos ichnofacies associated; marsh deposits (FA6); tidal point bar deposits recording a depauperate mixture of both the Skolithos and Cruziana ichnofacies (FA7); fluvial channel deposits (FA8); fluvial point bar deposits (FA9); floodplain deposits (FA10); and pyroclastic and volcaniclastic deposits of the floodplain where terrestrial fossil mammal remains occur (FA11).The transition of the MLF–SCF at RDB reflects a changing depositional environment from the outer part of an estuary (FA1) through the central (FA2–6) to inner part of a tide-dominated estuary (FA7). Finally a fluvial system occurs with single channels of relatively low energy and low sinuosity enclosed by a broad, low-energy floodplain dominated by partially edaphized ash-fall, sheet-flood, and overbank deposits (FA8–11). Pyroclastic and volcaniclastic materials throughout the succession must have been deposited as ash-fall distal facies in a fluvial setting and also were carried by fluvial streams and redeposited in both estuarine and fluvial settings. These materials preserve most of the analyzed terrestrial fossil mammals that characterize the Santacrucian age of the RDB's succession. Episodic sedimentation under volcanic influence, high sedimentation rates and a relatively warm and seasonal climate are inferred for the MLF and SCF section.Lateral continuity of the marker horizons at RDB serve for correlation with other coastal localities such as the lower part of the coastal SCF south of Río Coyle (∼17.6–17.4 Ma) belonging to the Estancia La Costa Member of the SCF.     

Ichnofabrics and geometric configurations of Ophiomorpha within a sequence stratigraphic framework: an example from the Upper Cretaceous US western interior

Ichnofabric in the Upper Cretaceous Sego Sandstone and Anchor Mine Tongue of east-central Utah can be differentiated into two components: (1) discrete Ophiomorpha and (2) mottling and other trace fossils. The ichnofabric index method was employed to evaluate spatial variability of the ichnofabrics within depositional sequences and component systems tracts. Indices were logged for amount of bioturbation caused solely by Ophiomorpha (Oii) and that represented by all other biogenic features (Bii). Values of Oii> 1 are more pervasive in lowstand systems tracts compared to transgressive systems tracts. This is consistent with the predominance of marginal and nearshore marine, sand-dominated settings that are characteristic of lowstands, which are favourable habitats for colonization by Ophiomorpha producers. Ichnofabric index values vary both vertically and laterally within any given systems tract, reflecting differences in physical and biological parameters operating in the palaeoenvironment. These parameters include the total number and behaviours of organisms occupying the substrate, as well as substrate texture and grain size, and rates of sedimentation. The architectural style of Ophiomorpha was examined within five depositional facies: shelf, storm deposit, lower shoreface, shoreface, and estuarine. Inclinations of individual burrow elements were approximated relative to bedding planes, categorized as either vertical, inclined or horizontal, and then plotted on ternary diagrams. Based on the types of facies present, these results suggest that variations in the geometric configurations of Ophiomorpha are controlled primarily by physical energy levels, and the rate and nature of sedimentation. Results of this study have broad implications for understanding the physical factors affecting facies variability within sequences and systems tracts. When coupled with sedimentologic data, recognition of variations in the distribution of ichnofabrics and architectural style of Ophiomorpha can provide additional information useful for characterizing depositional environments, and therefore could be integrated with other basin analysis techniques to test and refine sequence stratigraphic interpretations.     

Carbon-isotope and microfaunal stratigraphy bounding the Lower Aptian Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a in northeastern Tunisia

Using an integrated multidisciplinary approach the upper part of the Lower Cretaceous northeastern Tunisian Jebel Ammar sedimentary succession was examined in detail. The method applied included lithologic and microfacies analyses, micropalaeontology, sedimentology, variations in organic matter (OM) content and carbonate carbon stable isotope (δ¹³C) record. A major result was the identification in this sector of Tunisia of the Early Aptian (Bedoulian) OAE1a event in a biostratigraphically well-calibrated context, its location keyed to planktonic foraminiferal zones and isotopic stages.The most striking feature to the Jebel Ammar Aptian sequence is the presence of a 25 m interval of black limestones and marly limestones, of which the microfacies shows that these darker beds consist of wackestones with the presence of abundant radiolarians, a fair number of diversified planktonic and relatively rare benthic foraminifers, together an indication of a pelagic palaeoenvironment. The foraminiferal marker Schackoina (Leupoldina) cabri (still very rare at the beginning of its range) first occurs about six metres above the base of this interval, but becomes much more abundant in its uppermost part, together with the radially- elongate-chambered praehedbergellids. This “acme” of S. (L.) cabri is nearly contemporary with a radiolarian bloom. Rock Eval analyses show TOC values up to 4.59% and a Tmax ranging between 441 and 513 °C, which indicates an overmature OM. The δ¹³C isotope curve shows an evolution similar to those recognized worldwide. The lower part of the darker beds includes a marked shift in isotope values from −2.40 to +3.02 ‰/PDB. This increase is assumed to be equivalent to the isotopic C4 stage of Menegatti et al. (1998, Paleoceanography, 13, 530–545). The signature of the middle and upper part of the isotopic curve is tentatively interpreted as comprising the C5–C7 stages. The first occurrence of S. (L.) cabri is located in the upper part of C4 and its acme as well as the radiolarian bloom is situated within the span of the C7 stage. These results are fairly consistent, though with minor discrepancies, with what has been published from several parts of the North Tethyan margin and more particularly the Lower Aptian type area of southeastern France, where S. (L.) cabri first occurs at the C3/C4 stage boundary with an acme that begins in the lower part of C7.     

Biostratigraphy,palaeoenvironments and sequence stratigraphy of the Aptian sedimentary succession at Jebel Bir Oum Ali (Northern Chain of Chotts,South Tunisia): Comparison with contemporaneous Tethyan series

The Aptian sedimentary succession of the Chott region in southern Tunisia was deposited on the margin of the Saharan shield, and is punctuated by numerous hiatuses that separate seven 3rd-order depositional sequences. Early Aptian deposits correspond to the Berrani Member (early Bedoulian), which was deposited contemporaneously with the large carbonate platforms with rudists that developed under oligo-mesotrophic, tropical environmental conditions on both margins of the Tethys. Late Bedoulian sediments were deposited under mesotrophic conditions characterized by seagrass, algae, abundant orbitolinids and aragonite-producing organisms. The early to late Aptian transition was marked by the temporary disappearance of carbonate platforms and an important renewal of the microfauna, whose tests and skeletons became less and less aragonite-rich and more and more calcite-rich and arenaceous. This episode is reported from both Tethyan margins. The platform was subsequently flooded, and dysoxic environments with annelids marked the end of the early Aptian carbonate platform development. An arid and probably colder episode (earliest late Aptian) induced the deposition of gypsum in an intrashelf basin. Following on top, the return to more humid conditions triggered an enhanced input of detrital material in fluvio-deltaic environments (late Aptian). Finally, the return to oligo-mesotrophic, marine conditions allowed the temporary installation of wide lagoons with rudists in the latest Aptian and probably in the earliest Albian. Long-distance correlations have been established by means of benthic foraminiferal occurrences. They highlight the importance of stratigraphic gaps linked to low sea levels, which have been tentatively estimated.     

Molluscan fauna from the Miocene sediments of Kachchh,Gujarat, India — Part 4, Indarca,a new anadaroid genus

An interesting bivalve fossil obtained from the Claystone Member of the Chhasra Formation (Burdigalian), Kachchh District, India was found conspecific with Anadara gourae Dey (Arcidae, Anadarinae) from the Quilon Beds (Burdigalian), Kerala. However, this form is feebly inequivalve and has dissimilar ornamentation on the two valves, a trapezoidal form and its maximum height is at the posterior. Also, there is a small but distinct median sulcus on the exterior of the umbonal region. These characteristics do not agree with definition of the genus Anadara. Hence it is described here under a new genus, Indarca. Subgenus Cunearca Dall of genus Scapharca Gray (Arcidae, Anadarinae), also shows dissimilar ornamentation on the two valves, but differs from Indarca in having an inflated form, left valve slightly larger and absence of a sulcus on the umbonal region. Indarca resembles Bentharca Verrill and Bush (Arcidae, Anadarinae) in certain respects, but differs from it in not having a markedly reduced anterior. Occurrence of Indarca gourae strengthens the faunal affinity between the Chhasra Formation of Kachchh and the Quilon Beds of Kerala.