Lower Cretaceous belemnites of Štramberk klippen (Czech Republic): Implications for geological history of the outer Western Carpathians

Abstract

Based on thorough taxonomic work with more than 10,000 rostra from the famous Štramberk locality (Northern Moravia, Czech Republic), belemnites were classified at the generic and species levels. The following genera have been recorded within this study: Berriasibelus, Duvalia, Pseudobelus, Hibolites and Conohibolites, including 23 species. A systematic and stratigraphic framework for sedimentary history has been used for important stratigraphical, palaeobiogeographical and geological interpretations. An unusual and extremely high diversity of belemnites within the sedimentary infills in the limestone crevasses has been explained by processes of multiple belemnite rostra being reworked from older sediments. Belemnite assemblages known from other areas within the North Western Tethys were compared with our material and used for detailed stratigraphical determination. The stratigraphic distribution of the studied belemnites ranges from the ?latest Tithonian/Berriasian to Valanginian, ?Hauterivian and newly Barremian. Although the palaeogeographical position of the Štramberk block is not known, the belemnite fauna biogeographically belongs to the Mediterranean Province. Since the Hauterivian, we refer this fauna to the French–Bulgarian Subprovince. The closest similarity of the Štramberk belemnite fauna is to those from France and Bulgaria and is therefore of high palaeobiogeographic value. No Boreal and/or Subboreal influences within belemnites were observed. The belemnite occurrences have also been investigated in the bathymetric/facies context and compared to published data from various Tethyan areas.