Global stratigraphy, palaeobiogeography and palaeoecology of Albian-Maastrichtian pithonellid calcispheres: impact on Tethys configuration

This study reviews the stratigraphy, palaeobiogeography and palaeoecology of some important Albian-Maastrichtian pelagic calcispheres: Bonetocardiella conoidea, Pithonella ovalis, P. perlonga, P. sphaerica and P. trejoi. It also presents a significant new data set on these organisms from the western...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cretaceous Research
Main Author: Dias-Brito, D.
Other Authors: Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)
Format: Other/Unknown Material
Language:English
Published: Academic Press Ltd 2016
Subjects:
Cretaceous
calcispheres
Calcisphaerulidae
Pithonelloideae
pithonellids
biostratigraphy
palaeobiogeography
palaeoecology
palaeoceanography
Tethys
South Atlantic
fine-grained carbonates
marginal seas
epicontinental seas
South Atlantic Ocean
Online Access:http://acervodigital.unesp.br/handle/11449/25051
http://hdl.handle.net/11449/25051
https://doi.org/10.1006/cres.2000.0196
Description
Summary:This study reviews the stratigraphy, palaeobiogeography and palaeoecology of some important Albian-Maastrichtian pelagic calcispheres: Bonetocardiella conoidea, Pithonella ovalis, P. perlonga, P. sphaerica and P. trejoi. It also presents a significant new data set on these organisms from the western South Atlantic Ocean. The group reached its acme simultaneously all over the world during the highest Cretaceous sea level in late Albian to Coniacian times. A strong association also existed between the maximum temperature and the salinity of the Tethyan water mass and the climax of these opportunistic microfossils. Their remarkable presence along the Brazilian and west African margins during the Albian, in association with other typical Tethyan pelagic biotic elements, indicates that during this period the northern South Atlantic was a long, narrow arm of the Tethys Sea. (C) 2000 Academic Press.

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