Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy and paleoecology of the Cenomanian – Turonian transition in the Tarfaya Basin, southern Morocco

An abundant and diverse nannoflora occurs across the Cenomanian/Turonian (C/T) boundary at Tazra in the Tarfaya Basin of southern Morocco. The nannoflora of this sequence permits recognition of three biozones (CC10-CC12), three subzones (CC10a, CC10b and CC10c), and thirteen important nannolith bioevents previously reported from this interval elsewhere. The floral record shows erratic species abundance fluctuations that clearly vary with lithology and reflect at least in part preservational bias and diagenetic processes. In general, four dissolution resistant taxa are dominant: Watznaueria barnesae, Eiffellithus turriseiffelii, Eprolithus floralis, and Zeugrhabdotus spp. The late Cenomanian Zone CC10 marks a rapid excursion in ∂¹³C and is characterized by the successive extinction of four taxa, which are widely recognized as reliable biomarkers: Corollithion kennedyi, Axopodorhabdus albianus, Lithraphidites acutus, and Helenea chiastia. This interval is also marked by high species richness and high abundance of the tropical species Watznaueria barnesae, suggesting warm tropical waters. The subsequent ∂¹³C plateau and organic carbon-rich black shale deposition of the oceanic anoxic event (OAE2) is characterized by low species richness, but high nannofossil abundance, and peak abundance of the cool water and high productivity indicator Zeugrhabdotus spp., followed by the first peak abundance of cool water Eprolithus floralis. This interval correlates with the planktic foraminiferal diversity minimum and the Heterohelix shift, which marks the expansion of the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ). The C/T boundary is identified based on the FO of Quadrum gartneri, which is <1 m below the FO of the planktic foraminifer C/T marker Helvetoglobotruncana helvetica. In the early and middle Turonian, the two dominant species, tropical W. barnesae and cool water E. floralis, alternate in abundance and suggest fluctuating climatic conditions.     

First Psocodean (Psocodea,Empheriidae) from the Cretaceous Amber of New Jersey

<正>Representatives of the extinct psocid family Empheriidae are known from Eocene Baltic amber, Lowermost Eocene French amber(Oise),and Lower Cretaceous Spanish amber(Alava).We report herein the first discovery of an empheriid psocid from the Cretaceous amber of New Jersey as Jerseyempheria grimaldii gen.et sp. nov.The fossil is figured and described.The new species is distinguished from related taxa.A discussion and checklist of Empheriidae are provided.     

Integrated biostratigraphy and chemostratigraphy of the upper Cenomanian and lower Turonian succession in Puentedey, Iberian Trough, Spain

In this paper, we present an integrated study of the macrofauna (Cephalopoda), microfauna (Ostracoda and Foraminifera), microflora (Pithonella, Dinoflagellata, Acritarcha and Prasinophyta) and geochemical signals (carbon δ¹³C and oxygen δ¹⁸O stable isotopes) of the upper Cenomanian and lower Turonian succession in Puentedey, Iberian Trough, Spain. This palaeontological and geochemical study has enabled us to identify numerous species of cephalopods (29), ostracods (19), benthic foraminifers (31), planktonic foraminifers (15), dinoflagellates (63), and acritarchs and prasinophytes (11), and to recognise two positive excursions of the δ¹³C signal related to the OAE2 (in the Metoicoceras geslinianum and the Spathites (Jeanrogericeras) subconciliatus zones, respectively). Variations of these macrofaunal, microfaunal, microfloral and geochemical signals have been interpreted to identify important events of the palaeoenvironmental evolution of the inner platform of the Iberian Trough during the studied interval of the Late Cretaceous. Benthic ecosystems were severely affected by the establishment of the Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE2) at the end of the late Cenomanian. This event is evidenced by the depletion of calcareous microfauna (benthic calcareous free intervals, BCFI) and the survival of opportunistic microfauna (platycopic ostracods and textulariid foraminifers). The response was different for microflora (dinoflagellates and acritarchs), which were less affected by the anoxic event.     

藏南贡扎剖面赛诺曼阶/土伦阶与三冬阶/坎潘阶界线 附近地层的岩石磁学对比研究

为了研究白垩纪中期大洋缺氧事件及其后古海洋环境的变化,对藏南贡扎剖面白垩纪赛诺曼阶/土伦阶和三冬阶/坎 潘阶界线附近的浅海相沉积地层开展了详细的岩石磁学对比研究。 结果显示,这两个时间段的沉积物中磁性矿物含量和粒 度无显著区别,但赛诺曼阶/土伦阶地层中含有高矫顽力磁性矿物,如赤铁矿和针铁矿,而三冬阶/坎潘阶地层中则主要为 低矫顽力磁性矿物,如磁铁矿。 由于海平面位置在这两个时间段相近,海面变化对沉积物的磁学特征的影响很小。 磁性矿 物种类的变化可能主要是由于海洋沉积环境的变化所引起的。 高矫顽力磁性矿物在赛诺曼阶/土伦阶的出现及其在三冬阶/ 坎潘阶的缺失,表明赛诺曼阶/土伦阶氧化程度可能比三冬阶/坎潘阶更高。 这与深海沉积所记录的赛诺曼阶/土伦阶为缺氧 以及三冬阶/坎潘阶为富氧的特征明显不同。 这说明以江孜地区为代表的深海-半深海环境和以岗巴定日地区为代表的浅海 环境对白垩纪中期气候变化有着不同的响应。 深水和浅水环境的演化在这两个时间段的显著差异表明相应时期的大洋环流 也可能比以往所认识的更复杂。     

色度学方法的深时研究:以藏南贡扎剖面白垩系赛诺曼/土仑阶为例

色度学方法在揭示未固结或半固结沉积物沉积时的古气候方面有着良好的应用,但成岩或成岩后演化对原岩成分的改造使得其在已成岩岩石中的应用还不多。文中以藏南定日贡扎剖面白垩系晚赛诺曼阶到早土仑阶的98件岩石样品为研究对象,应用色度学方法,并结合镜下观察和主量元素分析,得到以下的主要结论:(1)对样品的CIE1976L*a*b*色度空间分析显示,L*与a*的变化趋势呈镜像对称,通过快速傅里叶变换可识别出半周期分别为9.2m和1.8m的两个主周期;而L*与b*的变化趋势大致相同。(2)色度指标与主量元素的相关性分析表明,L*值与碳酸盐含量正向相关,b*值可能主要与Mn元素含量相关,L*和b*可以对古海洋化学条件做出一些制约;a*受粘土矿物含量制约,反映了古气候的变化。     

First skeletal remains of the giant sawfish Onchosaurus (Neoselachii,Sclerorhynchiformes) from the Upper Cretaceous of northeastern Italy

Sclerorhynchiform sawfishes are a diverse and extinct clade of elasmobranchs that is restricted to the Cretaceous. Most taxa are known only by isolated rostral spines, whereas skeletal remains are rare and have been reported from a small number of Upper Cretaceous localities. Here, we describe skeletal remains of the giant sclerorhynchiform Onchosaurus pharao for the first time, which provides new morphological information. The single specimen comes from middle-basal upper Turonian strata of the Lessini Mountains in northeastern Italy and represents the first record of this genus from Italy. The specimen consists of unidentifiable cranial remains, several diagnostic rostral spines, the rostrum with fragments of tessellated calcified cartilage, and 87 disarticulated vertebrae. The rostrum preserves the characteristic sensory system of sclerorhynchiforms. It is devoid of any lateral sockets indicating that rostral spines were attached laterally to its surface. This pattern is identical to most sclerorhynchiforms and extant pristiophoriformes implying also similar replacement patterns as in most other sclerorhynchiforms with the exception for Schizorhiza. Additionally, the bases of two longitudinally arranged rows of ventral rostral spines are identifiable concurring with patterns seen in Sclerorhynchus. The axial skeleton is partly preserved. Re-arranging the disarticulated vertebrae according to their life position in combination with measures of the size and thickness of preserved vertebral centra, and the ratio rostrum length/body size depending on the number of vertebral centra indicate that the specimen was ca. 450 cm long. Growth rings in the vertebral centra show that the specimen was about four years old and thus probably not yet fully sexual mature when it died. This age assumption corresponds well with the calculated size when compared with complete skeletons of extinct sclerorhynchiforms and extant pristiforms. The size of the specimen and its occurrence in hemipelagic rocks corroborates previous assumptions that this sclerorhynchiform was a large and pelagic sawfish.     

Tectonic control on deltaic sediment dispersal in the middle to upper Turonian Western Cordilleran Foreland Basin,USA

Tectonic forcing of delta progradation is increasingly being invoked to explain stratal stacking patterns in foreland basins. Nonetheless, the recognition of different types of tectonic forcing and their consequences for the spatial and temporal distribution of accommodation often rely on incomplete data sets and indirect sequence stratigraphic criteria. Previous work has concluded that the Cenomanian–Turonian Frontier Formation of northern Utah, north‐west Colorado and south‐west Wyoming (‘Vernal Delta’) owes its origin largely to tectonic overprinting of depositional patterns, although the lack of a comprehensive sequence stratigraphic framework for the unit has hampered evaluation of this claim. This study provides detailed facies and sequence stratigraphic analyses based on outcrop sections and wireline log suites from the Uinta, Piceance and Green River basins. Four genetically related intervals were defined and mapped by using regionally traceable stratigraphic horizons (flooding surfaces and sequence boundaries). Internally, intervals are composed of distal and proximal delta front lithologies, and coastal plain facies. Overall, Intervals 1 to 4 form a major basinward projection of coarse clastic strata generated in response to four separate, high‐frequency regressions. Furthermore, a change through time from southward projection of elongate lobes (Intervals 1 and 2) to eastward dispersal and development of a broad, arcuate planform (Intervals 3 and 4) can be explained in terms of changes in prevailing tectonic forcing mechanisms. North–south trending Sevier Orogeny forebulge structures controlled Intervals 1 and 2. West–east progradation (Intervals 3 and 4) was probably controlled by Proterozoic basement lineament reactivation due to Laramide foreland uplifts. Therefore, this study provides direct geological evidence for the initiation of local Laramide deformation as early as 90 Ma. These findings contribute to a more complete understanding of tectonic forcing of coastal to shallow marine successions in foreland basins and the tectonic evolution of the western USA.     

The Cretaceous marine onlap on Palaeozoic deposits (Smara–Lâayoune Basin,South Morocco). Comparison with neighbouring regions

The Cretaceous marine transgression proceeded through successive steps from the Albian to the Turonian (dated with ammonites). The onlapping wedge begins with coastal transgressive–regressive short-term sequences on massive, probably fluvial sandstones to be correlated with the very thick continental Lower Cretaceous succession found in the Puerto Cansado well in the Tarfaya sub-basin to the north. A second step, of probable Cenomanian age, reached the Palaeozoic basement. A third, more pronounced step occurred during the earliest Turonian with platy laminated limestone overlain by marlstone bearing pyritized ammonites. At early Turonian peak transgression, a marine connection was possibly established between the Atlantic and the Tethyan margins, between the Anti-Atlas and the Reguibat Shield. From large-scale correlation integrating what occurred along the southwestern shoulder of the Atlas rift, the South Moroccan Atlantic margin may have undergone a short-lived tectonic uplift around the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary.     

Late Albian–Coniacian planktic foraminifera and biostratigraphy of the northeastern Caucasus

This paper presents a considerably revised biostratigraphy for Upper Albian through Coniacian pelagic limestone and shale sequences in the northeastern Caucasus region based primarily on planktic foraminiferal distributions. The use of concentrated acetic acid for the extraction of microfossils from the hard limestones has yielded a much more detailed planktic foraminiferal biostratigraphy than has been documented previously. Because of the low latitude location of the study area the high diversity assemblages contain many of the biomarkers used to identify standard Tethyan biozones ranging from the Rotalipora appenninica Zone through the Dicarinella concavata Zone. A key result of this study is the recognition of an apparently continuous Cenomanian/Turonian boundary interval within a laminated, dark marl that is enriched in organic carbon. Extinction of the single-keeled rotaliporids corresponds with the onset of deposition of the laminated marl beds.     

The Cenomanian and Turonian in NortheasternCentral Asia

Northeastern Central Asia during the Albian and Early Cenomanianwas one of the peripheral basins of the Central Asian region. The similarity of their freshwater molluscs makes it possible to correlate isolated series in these two regions. Subsequently, a pulsating transgression of the Tadzhik Sea invaded northeastern Central Asia which became a part of the Central Asian Province of the Tethys. The complicated palaeogeography means that there are many different local biostratigraphic successions. The relations between these have been worked out from an integrated study of the biostratigraphy, palaeogeography, ecology and biogeography. Marked endemism amongst the molluscs, sometimes total, limits correlation with other regions of the Tethys; in particular, correlation of some of the local biozones (or “lones”) with western European zones is still uncertain.