Abstract
As part of our investigations of Cretaceous black shales1 we have analysed samples from a location near Aqualagna in the north central Apennines, Italy (43°39′ N, 12°43′ E). The saturated hydrocarbon fraction of one sample, a dark-grey shale of Upper Barremian age (115 Myr BP), contains novel series of steranes, which have been identified as C26–C28 5β(H)- and 5α(H)-A-nor-steranes. Because these compounds are structurally related to 3β-hydroxymethyl-A-nor-steranes which have been found in some sponges, we suggest here that these steranes might be biological markers for certain types of sponges.
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