RIVISTA ITALIANA DI PALEONTOLOGIA E STRATIGRAFIA

DASYCLADALES (GREEN ALGAE) AND SOME BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA FROM THE UPPER CRETACEOUS ILAM FORMATION (LATE CONIACIAN–SATONIAN), SW IRAN (ONSHORE AND OFFSHORE)

FELIX SCHLAGINTWEIT — 2024-09-03

New data (onshore, offshore) on the Upper Cretaceous Ilam Formation of southwestern Iran are provided concerning the common presence of dasycladalean green algae (families Triploporellaceae, Polyphysaceae) that have so far been treated mostly in open nomenclature. The assemblage consists of the five taxa Salpingoporella ubaiydhi Radoičić, 1979, Dissocladella ondulata (Raineri, 1922), Trinocladus tripolitanus Raineri, 1922, Clypeina cf. dusanbrstinai Radoičić, 1997, and gen. et sp. indet. The taxa typically prevail in wackestones-packstones but exhibit different distributional patterns. While S. ubaiydhi and T. tripolitanus, rarely associated with D. ondulata, form a characteristic assemblage in a distal infralittoral facies (more diverse assemblage; zone no. 31 of Wynd, 1965), C. cf. dusanbrstinai occurs in a proximal infralittoral facies associated with miliolids among also complex forms (rhapydioninids) (assemblage zone no. 30 of Wynd, 1965). It is concluded that the two assemblage zones refer to different palaeoenvironments, instead of different ages (‘lower’ and ‘upper’). Based on benthic foraminifera, the main part of the Ilam Formation can be ascribed to the Santonian. For the lower part, a late Coniacian age is suggested implied indirectly by the comparably long vertical range of the rotaliid Orbitokathina vonderschmitti Hottinger, 1966 of the studied core. This would be in conformity with the K 150 Arabian Plate K 150 sequence boundary referring to a late Turonian?–early Coniacian hiatus. From a palaeobiogeographic perspective, T. tripolitanus is a cosmopolitan species, S. ubaiydhi is restricted to the area of the former Arabian Plate (subsurface Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Egypt), while C. dusanbrstinai has been recorded only from Serbia (type-locality). In addition to the algae, the stratigraphic discussion includes the occurrence of the benthic foraminifera Reticulinella? kaeveri Cherchi, Radoičić & Schroeder, 1989 and Orbitoides mid-orientalis (Eames & Smout, 1956) in the Ilam Formation.

LOWER PERMIAN CONCHOSTRACANS (CLAM SHRIMPS) FROM SEDIMENTARY UNITS OF THE ATHESIAN VOLCANIC GROUP (SOUTHERN ALPS, N-ITALY)

FRANK SCHOLZE — 2024-09-03

The present study describes two occurrences of clam shrimps (“Conchostraca”). Following a form-based classification of Schneider et al. (2005, 2022) and Schneider & Scholze (2018), the conchostracans have been classified as Pseudestheria form Oberbozen and Pseudestheria form Le Fraine. They come from the Guncina and Tregiovo formations, repectivey. These units are part of the northern Athesian Volcanic Group, North Italy. All of this material were obtained from grey coloured, fine-grained siliciclastic, lacustrine deposits of Kungurian (late Cisuralian, late Early Permian) age. Their carapace valves in lateral view are marked by concentric ribs. Often, growth lines can be observed to decrease in their preservation towards the umbonal area of the valve. An open nomenclature is applied to the taxonomy at the species level herein, because of either limited number of individuals or a plastic deformation due to tectonics. So far, the records reported herein are restricted geographically and stratigraphically to respective single occurrences. Further studies are recommended to establish their full biostratigraphic ranges.

THE BISON SAMPLE FROM THE EARLY MIDDLE PLEISTOCENE SITE OF CONTRADA MONTICELLI (APULIA, SOUTHERN ITALY)

DARIO STEFANELLI — 2024-09-04

Several craniodental and postcranial Bovinae fossil remains coming from the early Middle Pleistocene Contrada Monticelli (CM) site (Castellana Grotte, BA) and preserved at the Museum of Earth Sciences at the University of Bari are here studied in detail for the first time. In addition to Bovinae, the fauna of CM includes several Galerian taxa such as: Canis mosbachensis Soergel, 1925, Palaeoloxodon antiquus (Falconer & Cautley, 1847), Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis Toula, 1902, Equus sp. and Dama cf. roberti Breda & Lister, 2013. Although the scarcity of the sample and the lack of skulls, horncores or metapodial remains should suggest caution, the detailed morphological and biometric analyses allow to refer these remains to a large form of bison, here provisionally classified as Bison cf. schoetensacki Freudenberg, 1914. The presence of this species in the CM site would represent the southernmost occurrence of this taxon in Europe, validating the biochronological attribution of the CM site to the Isernia Faunal Unit (ca. 0.6 Ma). The presence of this bovid, and other large mammals in the site, provides further clues for the reconstruction of the paleoenvironment of Mediterranean Europe during the early Middle Pleistocene.

ASYMMETRY IN THECIDELLINA (BRACHIOPODA) FROM THE PLIOCENE-PLEISTOCENE OF CURAÇAO, NETHERLANDS ANTILLES: PHENOTYPIC NOT GENOTYPIC

DAVID A.T. HARPER — 2024-09-09

Shape analysis of a large sample of the thecideid brachiopod Thecidellina from the Pliocene and Pleistocene rocks on the Caribbean island of Curaçao highlights asymmetry within the population. However, the 30 analysed specimens display a lack of a consistent asymmetry. The brachiopods were cemented to substrates by a cicatrix, accommodated by a change in shell structure. The plastic morphology of Thecidellina may have been due to overcrowding and competition for resources on limited substrates.

THE VERTEBRATE FAUNA OF THE LOWER PLIOCENE CONTINENTAL DEPOSITS IN THE EBRO DELTA (BAIX EBRE BASIN, NE SPAIN)

PEDRO PIÑERO — 2024-09-10

The Pliocene faunas of the northeastern Iberian Peninsula are poorly known due to the scarcity of deposits from this interval. In this context, the site of Sant Nofre-Campredó (Baix Ebre, Catalonia, Spain), comprising two contemporaneous outcrops belonging to geologically correlated sections (Sant Nofre and Campredó-Via Fèrria), makes a significant contribution to the study of Pliocene faunas in this region. The first vertebrate remains were recovered in the late 1970s in clay deposits close to the Sant Nofre Hill. Later, intensive sampling in the 1980s at the Campredó-Via Fèrria outcrop led to the recovery of more than a hundred fossil specimens, including small vertebrates and large mammals. Here, we revise these collections to expand and update the vertebrate list, better constrain the age of the continental deposits, and characterize the environment and climate around the mouth of the Ebro River during the formation of the site. Up to 24 vertebrate species have been identified at Sant Nofre-Campredó, including amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. The presence of the rodents Paraethomys baeticus Piñero & Verzi, 2020, Apocricetus barrierei (Mein & Michaux 1970), and Occitanomys brailloni Michaux, 1969 implies an early Ruscinian age (MN14 unit) for the two outcrops. Biostratigraphic correlations with other well-dated sites in the Iberian Peninsula refine the estimated age of Sant Nofre-Campredó to approximately 4.6 Ma. The ecological affinities of the identified fauna reveal a landscape dominated by woodland habitats in the surroundings of the site during the Early Pliocene, with presence of open humid meadows and water bodies under warm and moist climatic conditions.

THE FIRST CENOZOIC OCTOPOD: A LOWER EOCENE RECORD FROM BOLCA, NORTHEASTERN ITALY

ALEKSANDR MIRONENKO — 2024-09-16

To date, soft-tissue remains of extinct incirrate octopods have been described exclusively from Upper
Cretaceous deposits. Here, three specimens of an incirrate octopodid with well-preserved soft tissue imprints are described for the first time from Paleogene strata. This material originates from the upper Ypresian (lower Eocene) fish-bearing levels of the Bolca Konservat-Lagerstätte in the Pesciara of Bolca in north-eastern Italy. Previously, these specimens had tentatively been interpreted as teuthids. Based on a detailed study of their anatomical structure, a new genus and species of octopodid, Bolcaoctopus pesciaraensis, belonging to the extant family Octopodidae, are here erected. Bolcaoctopus gen. nov. may be distinguished from the Late Cretaceous genus Styletoctopus by the presence of long and thin arms and an elongated body shape with a narrowed apical end and covered by longitudinal wrinkles. Although finds of fossil octopuses in the Bolca Konservat-Lagerstätte remain extremely rare, it is worth noting that Cenozoic marine vertebrate localities constitute an important potential source of additional finds of coleoid cephalopods, the study of which may shed light on a poorly understood period in the evolutionary history of these molluscs.

GENESIS OF THE UPPER PLEISTOCENE GRAVEL FROM THE ABESINIJA PIT SE FROM ZAGREB (CROATIA)

JASENKA SREMAC — 2024-09-16

Polymictic gravels exploited in the vicinity of Rugvica, SE from Zagreb, comprise clasts of various lithology, colour, shape, and size. Pebbles are composed of sedimentary, volcanic and, sporadically, metamorphic rocks. During the field work we recognized fossils in the abundant carbonate pebbles. Most of the carbonate clasts are rounded, discoidal in shape, varying in colour from white to dark grey, almost black. Pebbles were measured by a calliper and petrographic thin sections were prepared from fossiliferous pebbles. Numerical analyses pointed to some minor differences in their shape and size, but micropaleontological analyses revealed clasts of Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Paleogene and Neogene age. Most of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic clasts originate from the two local mountain areas (Medvednica Mt. and Samobor Hills), with part of the Jurassic-Cretaceous pebbles possibly derived from SW Slovenia. Irregularly shaped and sometimes poorly rounded clasts of the Paleogene/Neogene ages seem to be abruptly transported to short distances by torrents or streams. The most enigmatic were the clasts of Carboniferous-Permian age. The nearest Palaeozoic outcrops occur upstream in Central Slovenia, but some fossils point to the even longer transport route, from the Karavanks in the upper flow of the Sava River. Gravels are overlain by fine-grained lake sediments and peat coal. Peat comprises significant amount of pine pollen, pointing to the warming period within the Late Pleistocene, which was additionally confirmed by the radiocarbon dating.

THE DEMISE OF THE MESSINIAN SALINITY CRISIS AND THE BEGINNING OF THE ZANCLEAN IN THE NORTHERN MEDITERRANEAN BASIN: INSIGHT FROM HIGH-RESOLUTION BIOMAGNETOSTRATIGRAPHY (POLLENZO SECTION, NW ITALY)

FRANCESCO PILADE — 2024-09-23

The Messinian-Zanclean boundary in the Mediterranean basin marks the end of the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC) at approximately 5.33 Ma. The mechanism behind the return to normal marine conditions after the MSC are debated, with two main hypotheses proposed: an instantaneous reflooding of the Mediterranean at the base of the Zanclean, following its near-complete desiccation, or a gradual sea level rise in a non-desiccated basin during the late MSC phase (Lago-Mare). Our objectives are to refine the age model of the Pollenzo section in the Piedmont basin, Italy, and to elucidate environmental variability during this phase. We employ high-resolution biomagnetostratigraphic and cyclostratigraphic analyses, integrated with statistical multivariate and cluster analyses, and tie the results with other Italian Mediterranean reference sections of the basal Zanclean. The proposed age model is based on biostratigraphic markers (planktic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils), alongside the identification of the base of the Thvera subchron. Although no astrochronological tuning was proposed, the influence of orbital parameters variation on calcareous plankton was noted, especially at tie of eccentricity maxima. Our results indicate a gradual restoration of open marine conditions after the MSC, spanning from 5.33 to 5.23 Ma. We observe a transition from a more marginal environment to more open marine conditions at the termination of MSC. Our findings challenge the notion of an abrupt transition at the end of the MSC, emphasizing the gradual nature of environmental change in the northernmost Mediterranean basin, from the late Messinian to the early Zanclean.

CONODONT BIOSTRATIGRAPHY OF UPPER DEVONIAN TEPHRA BEARING DEPOSITS IN THE İSTANBUL-ZONGULDAK TERRANE, NW TURKEY: INSIGHTS ON THE KELLWASSER EVENTS

AYŞE ATAKUL-ÖZDEMIR — 2024-09-24

New evidence for a biostratigraphic assessment of the limestone succession comprising K‐bentonite levels exposed in the Yılanlı Formation of the Istanbul-Zonguldak Terrane are provided from conodonts at the Gavurpınarı quarry in Bartın area (NW Turkey). The succession depicts a shallow marine, nearshore facies setting that comprises rare and low diversity conodont associations mainly exemplified by the species of Ctenopolygnathus, Icriodus and Polygnathus. Conodont faunas from the lower part of the section are of late Frasnian age, including the taxa Icriodus subterminus Youngquist, 1947, Polygnathus aff. xylus Stauffer, 1940, Icriodus iowaensis iowaensis Youngquist & Peterson, 1947 and Ctenopolygnathus brevilaminus Branson & Mehl, 1934, and the upper part is assigned to early Famennian marked by the first appearance of Icriodus cornutus Sannemann, 1955. The local biostratigraphic framework of the Yılanlı Formation is correlated with the upper Frasnian Lower rhenana to the lower Famennian Middle triangularis standard conodont zonations. Considering the described species, the Frasnian-Famennian boundary corresponds to a slight change in conodont fauna and is assigned within the local Icriodus iowaensis iowaensis Zone. Accordingly, the novel K-bentonite age data potentially indicates the evidence for the Kellwasser events in northern Turkey, improving paleogeographic correlations of the Istanbul-Zonguldak Terrane with other terranes in Laurasia and Peri-Gondwana.

FISH OTOLITHS FROM THE UPPER OLIGOCENE AND LOWER MIOCENE OF THE MONFERRATO AND TURIN HILL, NORTHERN ITALY

WERNER W. SCHWARZHANS — 2024-10-04

Fish otoliths from three localities in northern Italy (Piedmont), Grazzano, Rio Freddo di Albugnano and Valle Ceppi, ranging in age from late Oligocene (Chattian) to Early Miocene (Burdigalian) are described herein. One of these localities, Rio Freddo di Albugnano, straddles the Oligocene/Miocene boundary, and the otoliths are interpreted to reflect a late Oligocene age. The other two localities are from the upper Burdigalian (Lower Miocene). The otolith assemblages described herein complement previously described associations from the northern Mediterranean region and contain a total of 68 species-level taxa, 16 of which are new and 12 remain in open nomenclature. The upper Oligocene strata yielded 24 species and the Lower Miocene strata 48 species; four species are shared. The results are compared with previous studies and discussed.
Deepwater taxa are abundant in the assemblages, particularly those pertaining to the mesopelagic family Myctophidae. The otolith assemblage fills a stratigraphic gap in the record of this family in Europe and thus contributes to refinement of stratigraphic ranges of myctophid species. The otolith assemblages are also compared with coeval assemblages known from other regions of the world and their paleobiogeographic significance is discussed. Myctophid species particularly show often a very wide geographic distribution pattern across ocean basins during the Miocene similar to that characteristic of this family today. In combination with refined stratigraphic ranges of myctophid species, this wide geographic distribution could ultimately become useful as a biostratigraphic tool in a supra-regional perspective.
The following 15 taxa are described herein as new: Bathycongrus delfinoi n. sp., Japonoconger asper n. sp., Ariosoma ceppiensis n. sp., Eokrefftia paviai n. sp., Diaphus cuneatus n. sp., Diaphus pertinax n. sp., Diaphus hastaensis n. sp., Lampanyctus rostratus n. sp., Nezumia marramai n. sp., Coryphaenoides delapierrei n. sp., Glyptophidium monoceros n. sp., Giuntellia n. gen. singularis n. sp., Epigonus liguriensis n. sp., Cepola macilenta n. sp., Owstonia rhomboidea n. sp.

AEGEAN AMMONOIDS FROM THE ANISIAN (MIDDLE TRIASSIC) GSSP CANDIDATE SECTION DEŞLI CAIRA (NORTHERN DOBROGEA, ROMANIA)

MARCO BALINI — 2024-10-18

Deşli Caira in northern Dobrogea (Romania) is one of the key localities for the definition of the GSSP of the base of the Anisian stage. Eugen Grădinaru studied the Hallstatt limestones-facies of the Agighiol Limestone in this section for over 30 years, amassing a huge collection of ammonoids, and he also involved several specialists in the study of specific fossil groups. These ammonoids, which are the historical group for Triassic marine chronostratigraphy, have never been described until now. We present here the results of our ongoing study of the Grădinaru collection, including a new bed-by-bed sampling of the section and description of some Aegean taxa. The ammonoids consisting of 959 mostly juvenile specimens are not reelaborated, but are often preserved as hollow phragmocones filled by sediment or by sediment and cement. The ammonoid record of the section is dominated by leiostracan ammonoids, as is usual for the Ammonitico Rosso facies of the Agighiol Limestone. The Olenekian/Anisian Ammonoid Faunal Turnover (O/A AFT), the most significant turnover in the history of Triassic Ammonoidea, occurs within a 1.1 m-thick interval.

We provide descriptions of Aegean ammonoids, i.e., Stenopopanoceras, Paracrochordiceras, Aegeiceras, Leiophyllites, as well as of Gradinaruites aegeicus n. gen. n. sp, Robinsonites simionescui n. sp. and Acrochordiceras sp.

The ammonoid range chart, integrated with magnetostratigraphy and conodont chronostratigraphy, provides a new calibration of the GMPTS, and emphasizes the nearly coincident position of the O/A AFT with the base of magnetochron MT3.

We present the correlation of the Deşli Caira section with the Chios, Kçira and Wantou sections, based on ammonoids and integrated stratigraphy and an overview of ammonoid faunal comparison with the most important O/A successions. Deşli Caira provides the best record of the O/A AFT with rich Aegean ammonoid faunas, allowing for the best calibration of the magnetochrons MT1-MT3. Therefore, we propose the combination of the O/A AFT with the base of MT3 as a powerful solution for the definition of the GSSP of the Anisian.