TY - JOUR A1 - Albrich, Sergi A1 - Frijia, Gianluca A1 - Parente, Mariano A1 - Caus, Esmeralda T1 - The evolution of the earliest representatives of the genus Orbitoides: Implications for Upper Cretaceous biostratigraphy JF - Cretaceous research N2 - The biostratigraphy of Campanian-Maastrichtian carbonate platforms is largely based on the larger foraminiferal genus Orbitoides. However, while the taxonomy and the chronostratigraphic age of the younger species of this genus are well established, there are still many controversies on the earliest species. We have restudied their morphological characters using a large collection of samples from the type-localities and from continuous sections in the southern Pyrenees. Based on these new observations, the long forgotten species O. sanctae-pelagiae is reinstated, while O. dordoniensis is considered a junior synonym. Successive populations of O. hottingeri, O. sanctae-pelagiae and O. douvillei show gradual morphological changes in time marked by an increase in the size and complexity of the macrospheric embryonal apparatus, an increase of the size of the adult specimens of both generations and the progressive appearance and development of true lateral chamberlets. The Font de les Bagasses Unit in the southern Pyrenees preserves a high-resolution archive of the evolution of the earliest Orbitoides. Strontium isotope stratigraphy indicates that the oldest species, O. hottingeri, made its first appearance in the earliest Campanian, close to the Santonian-Campanian boundary, and was replaced by O. sanctae-pelagiae at a level closely corresponding to the boundary between the Placenticeras bidorsatum and Menabites delawarensis ammonite zones. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KW - Larger foraminifera KW - Biostratigraphy KW - Strontium isotope stratigraphy KW - Late cretaceous KW - Orbitoides Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2014.04.013 SN - 0195-6671 SN - 1095-998X VL - 51 SP - 22 EP - 34 PB - Elsevier CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Boix, Carme A1 - Frijia, Gianluca A1 - Vicedo, Vicent A1 - Bernaus, Josep M. A1 - Di Lucia, Matteo A1 - Parente, Mariano A1 - Caus, Esmeralda T1 - Larger foraminifera distribution and strontium isotope stratigraphy of the La Cova limestones (Coniacian-Santonian, "Serra del Montsec", Pyrenees, NE Spain) JF - Cretaceous research N2 - The Upper Cretaceous La Cova limestones (southern Pyrenees, Spain) host a rich and diverse larger foraminiferal fauna, which represents the first diversification of K-strategists after the mass extinction at the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary. The stratigraphic distribution of the main taxa of larger foraminifera defines two assemblages. The first assemblage is characterised by the first appearance of lacazinids (Pseudolacazina loeblichi) and mean-dropsinids (Eofallotia simplex), by the large agglutinated Montsechiana montsechiensis, and by several species of complex rotalids (Rotorbinella campaniola, Iberorotalia reicheli, Orbitokhatina wondersmitti and Calcarinella schaubi). The second assemblage is defined by the appearance of Lacazina pyrenaica, Palandrosina taxyae and Martiguesia cyclamminiformis. A late Coniacian-early Santonian age was so far accepted for the La Cova limestones, based on indirect correlation with deep-water fades bearing planktic foraminifers of the Dicarinella concavata zone. Strontium isotope stratigraphy, based on many samples of pristine biotic calcite of rudists and ostreids, indicates that the La Cova limestones span from the early Coniacian to the early-middle Santonian boundary. The first assemblage of larger foraminifera appears very close to the early-middle Coniacian boundary and reaches its full diversity by the middle Coniacian. The originations defining the second assemblage are dated as earliest Santonian: they represent important bioevents to define the Coniacian-Santonian boundary in the shallow-water facies of the South Pyrenean province. By means of the calibration of strontium isotope stratigraphy to the Geological Time Scale, the larger foraminiferal assemblages of the La Cova limestones can be correlated to the standard biozonal scheme of ammonites, planktonic foraminifers and calcareous nannoplankton. This correlation is a first step toward a larger foraminifera standard biozonation for Upper Cretaceous carbonate platform facies. KW - Larger Foraminifera KW - Biostratigraphy KW - Strontium isotope stratigraphy KW - Coniacian-Santonian boundary KW - Shallow-water carbonates KW - Pyrenees KW - Spain Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2011.05.009 SN - 0195-6671 VL - 32 IS - 6 SP - 806 EP - 822 PB - Elsevier CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Caus, Esmeralda A1 - Frijia, Gianluca A1 - Parente, Mariano A1 - Robles-Salcedo, Raquel A1 - Villalonga, Raquel T1 - 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 JF - Cretaceous research N2 - 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 Aren 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 Aren 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. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KW - Larger benthic foraminifera KW - Strontium isotope stratigraphy KW - Late Cretaceous KW - Campanian-Maastrichtian boundary KW - Tremp basin KW - Pyrenees KW - NE Spain Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2015.05.012 SN - 0195-6671 SN - 1095-998X VL - 57 SP - 402 EP - 413 PB - Elsevier CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Caus, Esmeralda A1 - Parente, Mariano A1 - Vicedo, Vicent A1 - Frijia, Gianluca A1 - Martinez, Ricard T1 - Broeckina gassoensis sp nov., a larger foraminiferal index fossil for the middle Coniacian shallow-water deposits of the Pyrenean Basin (NE Spain) JF - Cretaceous research N2 - The Upper Cretaceous shallow-water carbonates of the Pyrenean Basin (NE Spain) host rich and diverse larger foraminiferal associations which witness the recovery of this group of protozoans after the dramatic extinction of the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary interval. In this paper a new, large discoidal porcelaneous foraminifer, Broeckina gassoensis sp. nov., is described from the middle Coniacian shallow-water deposits of the Collada Gasso Formation, in the Boixols Thrust Sheet. This is the first complex porcelaneous larger foraminifer of the Late Cretaceous global community maturation cycle recorded in the Pyrenean bioprovince. It differs from the late Santonian-early Campanian B. dufrenoyi for its smaller size in A and B generations and the less developed endoskeleton, which shows short septula. Broeckina gassoensis sp. nov. has been widely employed as a stratigraphic marker in the regional geological literature, under the name of "Broeckina", but its age was so far controversial. Its middle Coniacian age (lowermost part of the Peroniceras tridorsatum ammonite zone), established in this paper by strontium isotope stratigraphy, indicates that it took about 5 My after the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary crisis to re-evolve the complex test architecture of larger foraminifera, which is functional to their relation with photosymbiotic algae and K-strategy. KW - Larger Foraminifera KW - Biostratigraphy KW - Strontium isotope stratigraphy KW - Coniacian KW - Pyrenees KW - Spain Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2013.08.002 SN - 0195-6671 SN - 1095-998X VL - 45 SP - 76 EP - 90 PB - Elsevier CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Consorti, Lorenzo A1 - Caus, Esmeralda A1 - Frijia, Gianluca A1 - Yazdi-Moghadam, Mohsen T1 - Praetaberina new genus (type species: Taberina Bingistani Benson, 1948): a stratigraphic marker for the late cenomanian JF - Journal of foraminiferal research N2 - A detailed architectural analysis has been performed on the porcelaneous species Taberina bingistani Henson, 1948 from diverse localities, including its type locality in Iran. Characterized by a subcylindrical to slightly conical shape, with a cribbed apertural face, the Cenomanian Middle-East species bingistani is removed from the American early-Paleogene genus Taberina Keijzer, 1945 (type species: T. cubana) and ascribed to the new genus Praetaberina. In the early stages of growth, the chambers are planispiral-involute, becoming uncoiled in the later stages. The interior of the chambers shows numerous septula and pillars. The septula are radial and distributed in the marginal area of the chamber lumen, while the pillars occupy the central area and are regularly distributed between the intercameral foramina. Pillars are in alignment from one chamber to the next. A new species, from southeast Italy, Praetaberina apula, is also erected. It differs from P. bingistani in its smaller size and significantly reduced structural elements. Both species characterize upper Cenomanian shallow-water deposits. Y1 - 2015 SN - 0096-1191 VL - 45 IS - 4 SP - 378 EP - 389 PB - GeoScienceWorld CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Frijia, Gianluca A1 - Di Lucia, Matteo A1 - Vicedo, Vicent A1 - Günter, Christina A1 - Ziemann, Martin Andreas A1 - Mutti, Maria T1 - An extraordinary single-celled architect A multi-technique study of the agglutinated shell of the larger foraminifer Mesorbitolina from the Lower Cretaceous of southern Italy JF - Marine micropaleontology N2 - Orbitolinids are larger foraminifera widespread in Lower Cretaceous shallow-water carbonates of the Tethyan realm. They are among the most important fossil groups used for Biostratigraphy. Despite this and although the structural features of the group have been described in detail, very little is known about the composition of their agglutinated test and the process by which they selected foreign grains. In this study, the test of Orbitolina d'Orbigny, 1850 (subgenus Mesorbitolina Schroeder, 1962) from Aptian shallow-water carbonate deposits of southern Italy has been studied in detail. We combine petrographic techniques (optical microscope and SEM) with energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometry (EDS), electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA), X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy analyses. The results show that the test of Mesorbitolina is composed of carbonate and non-carbonate agglutinated grains with the latter distributed across the test with a specific pattern, moving from the marginal to the central zone. In the marginal zone, non-carbonate grains are found only in the epidermis and along the septa which are composed of quartz, with smaller amounts of illite/muscovite and K-feldspar grains. In the central zone of the test, non-carbonate grains are distributed in two ways. Coarse grains of quartz and K-feldspar are abundant and randomly placed in the endoskeleton embedded in a mosaic of minute carbonate grains. Flat grains, mainly of illite/muscovite constitute the external part of the septa. Our observations indicate that Mesorbitolina did select and place agglutinated grains across its test, mainly according to their shape, whereas it did not select particles according to grain size. The distribution of agglutinated particles according to their mineralogical composition shows some contradictory evidence and therefore, at the moment, grain selection in function of mineralogy cannot be completely confirmed or ruled out. Analogies in the test composition of Mesorbitolina specimens from coeval deposits from different areas of southern Italy indicate that the features of their agglutinated test are typical characters of the genus Mesorbitolina. However, it is still unclear what advantage was obtained by the foraminifer by the described test features. KW - Agglutinated foraminifera KW - Mesorbitolina KW - Shallow-water carbonates KW - Lower Cretaceous KW - Southern Italy Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marmicro.2012.04.002 SN - 0377-8398 VL - 90-91 IS - 7 SP - 60 EP - 71 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Frijia, Gianluca A1 - Forkner, R. A1 - Minisini, D. A1 - Pacton, M. A1 - Struck, Ulrich A1 - Mutti, Maria T1 - Cyanobacteria proliferation in the cenomanian-turonian boundary interval of the apennine carbonate platform: BT - immediate response to the environmental perturbations associated with OAE-2? JF - Geochemistry, geophysics, geosystems N2 - Oceanic Anoxic Event-2 (OAE-2; Cenomanian-Turonian) is characterized by extensive deposition of organic carbon-rich deposits (black shales) in ocean basins worldwide as result of a major perturbation of the global carbon cycle. While the sedimentological, geochemical, and paleontological aspects of deep water expressions of OAE-2 have been intensively studied in the last few decades, much less attention has been given to the coeval shallow water deposits. In this study, we present the results of a detailed facies and petrographic (optical microscope and scanning electron microscopy) and geochemical studies (delta C-13(carb), delta C-13 (org), delta N-15(bulk), TOC, and Rock-Eval pyrolysis) on two key shallow marine sections from the Apennine Carbonate Platform (ACP; Italy). Here a continuous record of shallow water carbonates through the OAE-2 interval is preserved, offering the unique opportunity to document the archive of paleoenvironmental changes in a neritic setting, at a tropical latitude and far from the influence of a large continental block. Two conspicuous intervals are characterized by abundant and closely spaced dark microbial laminites found at correlative stratigraphic horizons in the two stratigraphic sections. These laminites contain elevated concentrations of TOC (up to 1%) relative to microbial capping cycles laminites stratigraphically above and below. The organic matter preserved in these fine-grained laminites is dominated by cyanobacteria remains, which accounted for most of the organic matter produced on the ACP in these intervals. Our study suggests that Tethyan carbonate platforms experienced significant biological changes during OAE-2, alternating, in few kiloyears, between eutrophic phases dominated by microbial communities and mesotrophic/oligotrophic conditions favoring normal carbonate production/sedimentation. The synchronous occurrence of microbialite facies at different locations across the ACP and on other platforms worldwide (e.g., Mexico and Croatia) suggests a causal link between Large Igneous Province volcanism and the environmental conditions necessary to trigger cyanobacterial proliferation on shallow carbonate platforms. KW - OAE-2 KW - Apennine Carbonate Platform (ACP) KW - Cyanobacteria KW - C isotopes KW - N isotopes Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GC008306 SN - 1525-2027 VL - 20 IS - 6 SP - 2698 EP - 2716 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Frijia, Gianluca A1 - Parente, Mariano A1 - Di Lucia, Matteo A1 - Mutti, Maria T1 - Carbon and strontium isotope stratigraphy of the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Campanian) shallow-water carbonates of southern Italy: Chronostratigraphic calibration of larger foraminifera biostratigraphy JF - Cretaceous research N2 - Shallow-water carbonates are invaluable archives of past global change. They hold the record of how neritic biologic communities reacted to palaeoenvironmental changes. However, attempts to decipher these geological archives are often severely hampered by the low stratigraphic resolution attained by biostratigraphy. This is particularly the case for the Upper Cretaceous carbonate platforms of the central Tethyan realm: their biostratigraphy suffers from very low resolution and poor correlation with the standard biochronologic scales based on ammonites, planktic foraminifers and calcareous nannoplankton. In this paper we show how this problem can be tackled by integrating biostratigraphy with isotope stratigraphy. We present a detailed record of the benthic foraminiferal biostratigraphy and carbon and strontium isotope stratigraphy of three upper Cenomanian-middle Campanian sections belonging to the Apennine Carbonate Platform of southern Italy. For the upper Cenomanian-Turonian interval, the carbon isotope curves of the studied sections are easily correlated to the reference curve of the English Chalk. The correlation is facilitated by the matching of the prominent positive excursion corresponding to the Oceanic Anoxic Event 2. For the Coniacian-middle Campanian interval, the correlation is mainly based on strontium isotope stratigraphy. We use the Sr-87/Sr-86 ratios of the low-Mg calcite of well preserved rudist shells to obtain accurate chronostratigraphic ages for many levels of the three studied sections. The ages obtained by Sr isotope stratigraphy are then used to better constrain the matching of the carbon isotope curves. From the high-resolution chronostratigraphic age-model stablished by isotope stratigraphy, we derive the chronostratigraphic calibration of benthic foraminiferal biostratigraphic events. For the first time the benthic foraminiferal biozones of the Apennine Carbonate Platform can be accurately correlated to the standard ammonite biozonation. This result is of great relevance because the biostratigraphic schemes of other carbonate platforms in the central and southern Tethyan realm are largely based on the same biostratigraphic events. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KW - Strontium isotope stratigraphy KW - Carbon isotope stratigraphy KW - Biostratigraphy KW - Larger foraminifera KW - Upper Cretaceous KW - Apennine Carbonate Platform KW - Southern Italy Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2014.11.002 SN - 0195-6671 SN - 1095-998X VL - 53 SP - 110 EP - 139 PB - Elsevier CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Föllmi, Karl B. A1 - Hofmann, Helene A1 - Chiaradia, Massimo A1 - de Kaenel, Eric A1 - Frijia, Gianluca A1 - Parente, Mariano T1 - Miocene phosphate-rich sediments in Salento (southern Italy) JF - Sedimentary geology : international journal of applied and regional sedimentology N2 - The upper Middle to lower Upper Miocene (Serravallian to Tortonian) sedimentary succession in Salento (southern Italy) includes glauconite- and phosphate-rich deposits, which are associated with pelagic micrite. In Baia del Ciolo and Marittima (southern Salento), the succession is composed of shallow-water platform carbonates of Late Oligocene age (Chattian; Porto Badisco Formation), which are overlain by a 20- to 30-cm-thick level of glauconite-rich micrite with abundant reworked particles and fossils of the underlying Porto Badisco Formation. This interval is in turn covered by an up to 15 cm thick phosphatic crust ("Livello ad Aturia"), which itself is overlain either by a hemipelagic chalk-like carbonate of Middle to Late Miocene age ("Pietra Leccese"; Marittima) or directly by a micrite of Late Miocene age (Messinian; Novaglie Formation; Baia del Ciolo), which shallows upwards into a shallow-water platform carbonate. A large hiatus is present in this succession, which likely includes the Lower and lower Middle Miocene. In the region of Lecce, two discrete levels enriched in glauconite and phosphate-each associated with a major discontinuity-occur within the Pietra Leccese. The strontium-isotope ages derived on phosphate nodules and phosphatized and non-phosphatized fossils and calcareous nannofossil ages indicate a time interval of phosphogenesis between 13.5 and 7.5 Ma, with two clusters at 12 and 10.5 Ma. The glauconite and phosphate-rich sediments resulted from a current-dominated regime, which was characterized by low overall sedimentation rates, erosion and sediment reworking, and authigenesis. This regime was likely related to a generally westward-directed bottom current, which was forced to upwell once it arrived at the western border of the eastern Mediterranean basin. The timing of the principal phosphogenic phases can only partly be correlated to those of other occurrences in this part of the Mediterranean (Malta, Gozo, southern Sicily, Matese, Latium-Abruzzi platform). The partial diachrony in phosphogenesis may express the effect of lateral switching in and/or focusing of upwelling zones. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KW - Miocene KW - Salento KW - Italy KW - Phosphogenesis KW - Paleoceanography Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2015.07.009 SN - 0037-0738 SN - 1879-0968 VL - 327 SP - 55 EP - 71 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jaramillo-Vogel, David A1 - Strasser, Andre A1 - Frijia, Gianluca A1 - Spezzaferri, Silvia T1 - Neritic isotope and sedimentary records of the Eocene-Oligocene greenhouse-icehouse transition the Calcare di Nago Formation (northern Italy) in a global context JF - Palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology : an international journal for the geo-sciences N2 - From the Middle Eocene to Early Oligocene, the Earth experienced the most significant climatic cooling of the Cenozoic era. The Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT) represents the culmination of this climatic cooling, leading to the onset of the Antarctic glaciation and, consequently, to the beginning of the present-day icehouse world. Whereas the response of deep-sea systems to this climate transition has been widely studied, its impact on the shallow-water carbonate realm is poorly constrained. Here, the sedimentary expression of the EOT in two shallow-marine carbonate successions (Nago and San Valentino, northern Italy) belonging to the Calcare di Nago Formation is presented. The chronostratigraphic framework was constructed by integrating litho-, bio-, and isotope-stratigraphic data (C and Sr isotopes), allowing to correlate these shallow-marine successions with pelagic sections in central Italy (Massignano), Tanzania (TOP Sites 12 and 17), and the Indian Ocean (ODP Site 744). Within several sections in northern Italy, including Nago and San Valentino, a Priabonian (Late Eocene) transgression is recorded. Oxygen isotopes of ODP Site 744 show a coeval negative shift of 0.4 parts per thousand., suggesting a glacio-eustatic origin for this transgression. In the Nago and San Valentino sections, no prominent sequence boundary has been detected that would indicate a rapid sea-level drop occurring together with the positive shift in delta O-18 defining the EOT-1 cooling event. Instead, a gradual shallowing of the depositional environment is observed. At TDP Sites 12 and 17, the EOT-1 is followed by a negative shift in delta O-18 of around 0.4 parts per thousand, which correlates with a relative deepening of the environment in the studied sections and suggests a melting pulse between EOT-1 and the Oligocene isotope event 1 (Oi-1). The positive delta O-18 shift related to the Oi-1 translates in San Valentino into a change in carbonate factory from a photozoan association dominated by larger benthic foraminifera, corals, and red algae to a heterozoan association dominated by bryozoans. The same bryozoan fades occurs in several Italian localities near the Eocene-Oligocene boundary. This fades is interpreted to represent an analogue of modern cool-water carbonates and results from a cooling pulse of at least regional scale, associated to the Oi-1 event. KW - Eocene-Oligocene transition KW - Shallow-water carbonates KW - Carbon-isotope stratigraphy KW - Strontium-isotope stratigraphy KW - Sea-level changes Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.11.003 SN - 0031-0182 VL - 369 SP - 361 EP - 376 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER -