Abstract
The Monte Postale section (Bolca, northern Italy), one of the most famous Lagerstatten of the Eocene, has been investigated to reconstruct the sedimentary succession and to determine both the larger foraminiferal and the calcareous nannofossil biozones. The results allowed us to ascribe the Monte Postale limestones to the Shallow Benthic Zone 11 and to the calcareous nannofossil Zone CNE 5-?6 (= NP 13-?14a). The direct correlation of the SB and CNE Zones is consistent with the current biostratigraphic schemes and allows assignment of the deposition of the succession to the interval between 50.7 and 48.9 Ma, in the late Ypresian (early Eocene). According to the available biostratigraphic data, the uppermost portion of the Monte Postale section should correlate with the Pesciara limestones.
Highlights
The Eocene Lagerstatten of Bolca are known worldwide for the exceptional preservation and diversity of their faunas, including soft-bodied organisms (e.g., Sorbini 1972 1999), and especially for their rich ichthyofauna, represented by more than 240 taxa (Carnevale et al 2014)
We suggests to assign the top of this interval to the uppermost part of the calcareous nannofossil Zone Calcareous Nannofossil Eocene (CNE) 5, according to Agnini et al (2014; Fig. 3)
We report for the first time the calcareous nannofossil assemblages from the Monte Postale, together with the distribution of the alveolines throughout the section
Summary
The Eocene Lagerstatten of Bolca (northern Italy) are known worldwide for the exceptional preservation and diversity of their faunas, including soft-bodied organisms (e.g., Sorbini 1972 1999), and especially for their rich ichthyofauna, represented by more than 240 taxa (Carnevale et al 2014). Often referred to as ‘‘Monte Bolca’’, the locality is represented by two sites: the Pesciara di Bolca and the Monte Postale (Fig. 1) These sites are geographically close each other, but no direct, physical correlation is possible because they are separated by a narrow valley, volcanic rocks, and possibly a fault. The Lessini Shelf was one of the main paleogeographic features of Southern Alps during the Eocene (e.g., Bosellini 1989; Luciani 1989), representing at that time the northernmost margin of the Adriatic Plate (Carminati et al 2012) It was the result of uplift of a pre-existing structural high, the ‘‘Trento Plateau’’ (Middle Jurassic–Paleocene), which formed with the drowning of the Early Jurassic Trento Platform (Bosellini et al 1981; Winterer and Bosellini 1981). Even if the volcanic neck and dykes are cutting the sedimentary succession, we can affirm that the Monte Postale succession is relatively undisturbed and represents a quite continuous stratigraphic record
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