Uppermost Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous carbonate deposits from Fara San Martino (Maiella, Italy): biostratigraphic remarks

Abstract

The Uppermost Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous limestone succession in the Maiella region of Italy has been investigated in a profile covering more than 400 m stratigraphical thickness at Fara San Martino. The succession mainly consists of peritidal limestones, intertidal and supratidal sequences being dominant, together with subtidal lagoonal facies. As a consequence, the microfossil assemblages are generally poorly developed, Microfossils occur within the subtidal lagoonal facies of this suite of restricted sediments. This feature led us to recognise five informal biostratigraphic intervals, which are facies related-instead of biozones, each of the intervals being characterized by specific micropaleontological associations. The occurrence and/or disappearance of some marker microfossils were used as references for separating these intervals. Based on these markers, the Uppermost Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous carbonate deposits from Maiella region may be correlated with similar deposits from the Apennines and from other regions in the perimediterranean area.