Pelagic Limestones Research Articles

Cihanpaşa (Yozgat) bölgesinin güney kesimindeki manganez cevherleşmesinin jeokimyasal özellikleri ve kökeni

Late Cretaceous ophiolitic mélange complexes of the Izmir-Ankara-Erzincan Suture Zone (İAESZ) that is the remnant of the northern branch of the Neotethys Ocean host numerous manganese oxide deposits in Turkey. These deposits are observed within the red-violet radiolarian chert blocks belonging to mélange units. Of these mélange units, the Artova mélange is observed along the İAESZ in the northern part of the Kırşehir Massif, central Turkey, and is made up mainly of pelagic limestone, pillow basalt, radiolarian-chert blocks, and highly altered serpentinite. Mn-oxide mineralizations from Cihanpaşa (Yozgat, central Anatolia) region were analysed in order to determine their depositional conditions, paleo-redox signatures, origin and source. These mineralizations are composed mainly of an alternation of radiolarian cherts and mudstones that overlie altered pillow basalt in an overturned fold. Based on petrographic studies, the mineral paragenesis of the manganese oxide mineralizations is comprised predominantly of braunite, pyrolusite, pysilomelane and quartz. Geochemically, high Mn/Fe (60.2), low ΣREE (15.75 ppm) and Cu+Ni+Co (730 ppm), and a negative Ce anomaly and weakly negative Y/Y* anomaly (0.87) suggest that the Cihanpaşa manganese mineralizations formed in a submarine hydrothermal system. A negative Ce/Ce* anomaly (0.33), low Ceanom values (< − 0.54), and redox-sensitive tracers [V/(V + Ni) = 0.43, Ni/Co = 0.51, V/Mo = 6.15)] indicate that the manganese mineralization was formed by a hydrothermal system in an oxygenated marine sedimentary environment. Further, a weakly positive and negative Eu anomaly (0.84), high Lasn/Cesn (3.96), low Al/(Al + Fe) (0.34) and ΣREE/Fe (30.7x10-4) ratios highlighted that the Cihanpaşa manganese mineralizations were formed via impact of a low-T hydrothermal system, which is relatively close to the spreading ridge of the Izmir-Ankara-Erzincan Ocean.

Micro-scale dissolution seams mobilise carbon in deep-sea limestones

Measuring the amount of carbon captured in deep-sea limestones is fundamental to understanding the long-term carbon cycle because pelagic limestones represent Earth’s largest carbon sink since the mid-Mesozoic. However, their contribution to the long-term carbon cycle is poorly quantified. Here, we use X-ray fluorescence and scanning X-ray diffraction microscopy for high-resolution chemical and structural analysis of pelagic limestone from the Paleocene Kaiwhata Formation in New Zealand. We identify densely packed diagenetic micro-dissolution seams that are invisible to light and electron-beam microscopes in most cases. Mass-balance calculations indicate that individual seams remove ~50% of the calcite mud matrix while their bulk-sample carbon loss adds up to ~10%. The liberated carbon is trapped in situ as calcite cement or returned to the ocean during physical compaction or soft-sediment deformation. We suggest micro-dissolution structures may play an important role in the long-term carbon cycle by modulating carbon exchange between the geosphere and hydrosphere.

North-Gondwana – Laurussia dynamic paleogeography challenged by magnetic susceptibility through the Famennian

Large-scale magnetic susceptibility (MS) variations in ancient sediments are usually interpreted as related to sea-level and climate changes affecting the erosional regime and the amount of detrital input. To constrain such environmental changes during the Famennian, we compared MS records in representative sections of pelagic limestones of (1) the Avalonian margin of Laurussia [Sessacker (SES) and Beringhauser Tunnel (BHT), Rhenish Slate Mountains, Germany] and (2) in Gondwana related terranes [Erfoud (ERF), Tafilalt, Morocco; Col des Tribes (CT), Montagne Noire, France; Buschteich (BU), Thuringia, Germany; Corona Mizziu (CM I, II), Sardinia and Pizzul West (PZW) in the Carnic Alps, Italy]. Very low MS values throughout the Famennian characterize sections from Avalonia. In contrast, MS values are high and oscillating in Gondwana during the early Famennian; they drop significantly all together in the middle Famennian Palmatolepis marginifera marginifera Zone to match the pattern of low MS values of the Avalonian margin thereafter. To evaluate the importance of partial diagenetic overprint, MS data were compared to hysteresis parameters and geochemical proxies in sections BU, CM I, II and CT. The degree of thermal diagenesis is estimates taking into account the Color Alteration Indices (CAI) of conodonts. Striking dissimilarities in MS records between Laurussia and Gondwana are in favor for an existing remnant oceanic barrier between these continents during early Famennian times, when the amount of detrital supplies was obviously different. Uniformity is reached after the drop of MS values in N-Gondwana, when oceanic barriers could have vanished during the early middle Famennian T-R fluctuations of the sea-level. All sites remained under a rather similar regime of detrital supply through middle to uppermost Famennian. Comparison of MS trends with trends of conodont biofacies in five sections (CT, BU, CM I, II and SES) allows emphasizing the concordance of their relationship to sea level fluctuations.

Late Oligocene\u2014Early Miocene shortening in the Thrace Basin, northern Aegean

Late Cenozoic was a period of large-scale extension in the Aegean. The extension is mainly recorded in the metamorphic core complexes with little data from the sedimentary sequences. The exception is the Thrace Basin in the northern Aegean, which has a continuous record of Middle Eocene to Oligocene marine sedimentation. In the Thrace Basin, the Late Oligocene–Early Miocene was characterized by north-northwest (N25°W) shortening leading to the termination of sedimentation and formation of large-scale folds. We studied the stratigraphy and structure of one of these folds, the Korudağ anticline. The Korudağ anticline has formed in the uppermost Eocene–Lower Oligocene siliciclastic turbidites with Early Oligocene (31.6 Ma zircon U–Pb age) acidic tuff beds. The turbidites are underlain by a thin sequence of Upper Eocene pelagic limestone. The Korudağ anticline is an east-northeast (N65°E) trending fault-propagation fold, 9 km wide and 22 km long and with a subhorizontal fold axis. It is asymmetric with shallowly-dipping northern and steeply-dipping southern limbs. Its geometry indicates about 1 km of shortening in a N25°W direction. The folded strata are unconformably overlain by Middle Miocene continental sandstones, which constrain the age of folding. The Korudağ anticline and other large folds in the Thrace Basin predate the inception of the North Anatolian Fault (NAF) by at least 12 myr. The Late Oligocene–Early Miocene (28–17 Ma) shortening in the Thrace Basin and elsewhere in the Balkans forms an interlude between two extensional periods, and is probably linked to changes in the subduction dynamics along the Hellenic trench.

Eocene to Oligocene nannofossils stratigraphy and environmental conditions in Izeh Province, Zagros Basin, East Tethys

Data obtained from the calcareous nannofossils, distributed in the upper part of the Pabdeh Formation (Priabonian–Rupelian) and the lower part of the Asmari Formation (Chattian) in the Bid-Zard section, were used to investigate the Eocene to Oligocene palaeoenvironmental conditions in the southwest of Izeh, southwestern Iran (eastern Tethys). The upper part of the Pabdeh Formation was composed of shale, thin-bedded pelagic limestone and dolostone, which is disconformably overlain by the Asmari Formation. For the first time, 29 species of calcareous nannofossils belonging to 13 genera were identified in the studied section. The calcareous nannofossils in the upper part of the Pabdeh Formation indicate the Isthmolithus recurvus Zone/Sphenolithus pseudoradians Zone (combined zone), Ericsonia subdisticha Zone, Helicosphaera reticulata Zone and Sphenolithus praedistentus Zone, from the Priabonian to the Rupelian. The Sphenolithus ciperoensis Zone of the Chattian was identified in the lower part of the Asmari Formation. Calcareous nannofossil stratigraphy across the upper Eocene–Oligocene interval also reveals a disconformity at the Rupelian/Chattian transition due to a bio-event. Shallowing of the basin and environmental changes in this part of the Tethyan domain could have led to the lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic changes. In fact, during the late Eocene to late Oligocene, marine phytoplankton was sensitive to climate changes such as decreasing temperature, as well as possibly to a nutrient increase and changes in basin depth.

Geology of Ali Khanzai Block of Zhob Ophiolite, Balochistan, Pakistan

Abstract The Zhob Ophiolite is divided into Naweoba, Omzha and Ali Khanzai blocks. Ali Khanzai Block is further divided into ultramafic, mafic, and lava units which are surrounded by sedimentary rocks successions. The ultramafic unit contains ultramafic tectonic and ultramafic cumulate, mafic rock unit consists of foliated and layered gabbros and mafic dykes are doleritic in composition. Volcanic–volcaniclastic–pelagic rocks unit consists of thick volcanic pillow basalt, hyaloclastite, bedded chert, pelagic limestone and hemipelagic mudstone. The metamorphic sole rocks are tectonically high distorted and dismembered, comprising of amphibolite and greenschist facies. They might have formed through the process of early intra-oceanic obduction of the ophiolite. All units make thrusted contacts and are highly deformed. Petrography and geochemical studies divide the Ali Khanzai Block into rock types such as gabbro, olivine gabbro, dolerite, basalt, basaltic andesite and basaltic trachy-andesite, chert, mudstone, and limestone, dunite, serpentinite, harzburgite, and wehrlite. Mafic dyke intrusions crosscut mantle rocks of block. The mantle rocks are altered, deformed, and deeply weathered, maybe residual melting of enriched mantle peridotite. The contact relationship of dolerite dykes with peridotite indicta that they are late magmatic intrusions. The Crustal gabbros are partially chloritic and sericitic and occur within mantle peridotite,, they may have formed from fractional crystallization in a magma chamber. The volcanic-volcaniclastic-pelagic sediments surround mantle and crustal rock units. It might be a mélange in nature is much like that of the Bagh Complex found beneath the Muslim Bagh Ophiolite, and other ophiolites around the world.

New Advances in Biostratigraphy of the Lower/Middle Norian Transition: Conodonts of the Dov\u0161ko Section, Slovenia

This study presents the results of the conodont biostratigraphy and microfacies analysis carried out on the pelagic limestones of the Upper Triassic Dovško Section in Slovenia, which represents the eastern part of the Slovenian Basin. The age of the section ranges from the Lacian 1 to the Alaunian 1. The Lacian part of the succession is predominantly characterized by the representatives of the genus Ancyrogondolella. Transitional morphologies towards Alaunian faunas first appear in the Lacian 3 and become common during the Lacian-Alaunian transition. This evolutionary development coincides with a shift in microfacies from a dominantly radiolarian-bearing mudstone-wackestone-packstone to a filament- dominated wackestone-packstone, and the formation of small neptunian dykes, which may reflect environmental perturbations and/or a change in basin geometry. The proliferation of the genera Epigondolella and Mockina is observed in the Alaunian part of the section, though the genus Ancyrogondolella is still present in this interval. Systematic description of the conodont taxa is provided, and seven new species and two new subspecies are established. The new advances will be of great value in further biostratigraphic studies, especially in areas without ammonoid faunas, and in the reconstruction of the paleogeography of the Slovenian Basin.

Rise of calcispheres during the Carnian Pluvial Episode (Late Triassic)

It has been argued that the beginning of significant pelagic calcification could have been linked to the Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE), a climate change in the Late Triassic (~234–232 Ma) that was marked by C-cycle disruption and global warming. Nevertheless, abundant calcareous nannofossils have been described so far only in post-CPE rocks, and therefore no conclusive hypotheses can be drawn on possible causal links with it. Here we show that in deep-water successions of the Western Tethys, Orthopithonella calcispheres interpreted as calcareous dinocysts became an important component of carbonate sedimentation from the onset of the CPE, and could constitute up to 8% of hemipelagic limestones. Before the CPE, in similar depositional environments, calcispheres are rare or absent, and never constitute a significant part of the sediment. This change in the deep-water carbonate sedimentation, is mirrored in the shallow water environments by the rise of the reefs built by Scleractinia corals. These important innovations in Earth's carbonate systems may indicate a deep modification in the ocean biogeochemistry during the CPE. • Calcispheres were studied in successions across the Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE). • In Western Tethys Calcispheres are abundant from the onset of the CPE. • They belong to the genus Orthopithonella. • They were a significant component of CPE hemipelagic–pelagic limestones.

Globally distributed iridium layer preserved within the Chicxulub impact structure.

The Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction is marked globally by elevated concentrations of iridium, emplaced by a hypervelocity impact event 66 million years ago. Here, we report new data from four independent laboratories that reveal a positive iridium anomaly within the peak-ring sequence of the Chicxulub impact structure, in drill core recovered by IODP-ICDP Expedition 364. The highest concentration of ultrafine meteoritic matter occurs in the post-impact sediments that cover the crater peak ring, just below the lowermost Danian pelagic limestone. Within years to decades after the impact event, this part of the Chicxulub impact basin returned to a relatively low-energy depositional environment, recording in unprecedented detail the recovery of life during the succeeding millennia. The iridium layer provides a key temporal horizon precisely linking Chicxulub to K-Pg boundary sections worldwide.

Petrographic and geochemical characterization of the Middle\u2012Upper Jurassic Fe\u2013Mn crusts and mineralizations from Monte Inici (north-western Sicily): genetic implications

Fe–Mn concretions and mineralizations, associated with condensed horizons and hardground, are significant archives in ancient carbonate rocks. Their petro-chemical study allows an assessment of the palaeoenvironmental context in which they were formed also connected to their biotic or abiotic origin. At the western side of the Monte Inici (Fornazzo section, north-western Sicily) a well exposed outcrop of condensed pelagic limestones (Rosso Ammonitico facies: Middle‒Upper Jurassic) is well-known and thoroughly studied. In this section, the base of the Rosso Ammonitico facies consists of a very condensed level rich in fossils with a variable thickness deposited from the early Bathonian to the early/middle Callovian. It is characterized, at the top, by the noticeable presence of Fe–Mn concretions, typical of the Tethyan Jurassic and related to very low sedimentation rates. For this study, Fe–Mn crusts and mineralizations from the Fornazzo section were investigated using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray fluorescence, ICP and stable-isotope mass spectrometry. The collected samples, deposited in submarine conditions (as testified by stable oxygen and carbon isotopes), have been subdivided in two typologies with different macroscopic and mineralogical features. The Fe–Mn crusts consist of hematite, todorokite and birnessite and are characterized by a relatively low Mn/Fe ratio. Their content in trace elements, rare earths and yttrium (REY) is compatible with a hydrogenetic origin involving the oxy-hydroxides colloids precipitation directly from seawater. Microbially mediated processes are here testified by the recognition of filamentous and coccoid-shaped microstructures referable to coexistence of chemosynthetic fungi and photosynthetic cyanobacteria and accounting for a deposition in the deep euphotic zone. An average growth rate of ~ 8.5 mm/Myr for the Fe–Mn crusts, estimated by cobalt concentrations, suggests a time elapsed for deposition of ~ 3.5 ± 1 Myr. This value is compatible with the stratigraphic gap embracing the time span from the early/middle Callovian to the middle Oxfordian. In the neighbouring pelagic limestones, Fe–Mn deposits are present in the form of micro-dendrites mainly consisting of pyrolusite, sometimes associated with carbonato-fluorapatite. The geochemical composition gives evidence of a prevalent early diagenetic origin with precipitation, at the sediment/water interface or in the first centimeters of sediments, of metals diffused from the crusts as consequence of fluctuating redox conditions. Although the well-preserved Frutexites texture is commonly related to a microbial activity, other bacterial microstructures have not been recognized, having probably been obliterated during the growth of the dendrites. Nevertheless, it is possible to suppose a deepening in the bathymetry consistent with the involvement of chemosynthetic microorganisms in the formation of Frutexites structures.

Geochemistry and U-Pb ages from the Kösdağ Metavolcanics in the southern Central Pontides (Turkey): Complementary data for early Late Cretaceous island arc development in the Northern Neotethys

The Kosdag Metavolcanics (KMs) in the southern Central Pontides are exposed between the Izmir-Ankara-Erzincan Suture Belt in the south and the Sakarya Composite Terrane in the north. They comprise an approximately 40-km-long tectonic unit, bounded by the splays of the North Anatolian Transform Fault in the north and the Kizilca Thrust in the south. The basement of the unit mainly consists of metabasalts, metaandesites, and metarhyolites, with well-developed blastomylonitic textures, which are interlayered by recrystallized pelagic limestone and chert. Late Cretaceous pelagic limestones of the Dikmen Formation disconformably overlie the basement. Geochemically, the KMs exhibit enrichment in Th and La relative to Nb (and Ti), indicating subduction-related magmatic signatures. The KMs are subdivided into two main types, as Type 1 and Type 2, based on their relative Zr-Hf enrichment/depletion features. All of the members of the KMs have a subalkaline nature (Nb/Y - 0.08-0.19 for Type 1; Nb/Y = 0.05-0.13 for Type 2) and display a calc-alkaline affinity. The high Zr/Nb (38.1-52.9 for Type 1, 21.8-41.2 for Type 2), low Zr/Y (4.07-5.25 for Type 1, 1.58-2.44 for Type 2), and Nb/Y (0.08-0.14 for Type 1,0.05-0.10 for Type 2) signatures of the KMs indicate that they have derived from a depleted source, which has been modified by a subduction component. The laser ablation inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) U-Pb zircon ages of the metarhyolite samples ranged between 94.64 +/- 0.77 Ma and 113.2 +/- 2.3 Ma, suggesting the presence of an intraoceanic subduction zone during the early Late Cretaceous within the Izmir-Ankara-Erzincan branch of the Neotethys Ocean in the Central Pontides.

The western Durkan Complex (Makran Accretionary Prism, SE Iran): A Late Cretaceous tectonically disrupted seamounts chain and its role in controlling deformation style

The Durkan Complex is a key tectonic element of the Makran accretionary prism (SE Iran) and it has been interpreted as representing a continental margin succession. We present here a multidisciplinary study of the western Durkan Complex, which is based on new geological, stratigraphic, biostratigraphic data, as well as geochemical data of the volcanic and meta-volcanic rocks forming this complex. Our data show that this complex consists of distinct tectonic slices showing both non-metamorphic and very low-grade metamorphic deformed successions. Stratigraphic and biostratigraphic data allow us to recognize three types of successions. Type-I is composed by a Coniacian – early Campanian pelagic succession with intercalation of pillow lavas and minor volcaniclastic rocks. Type-II succession includes a volcanic sequence passing to a volcano-sedimentary sequence with Cenomanian pelagic limestones, followed by a hemipelagic sequence. This succession is characterized by abundant mass-transport deposits. Type-III succession includes volcanic and volcano-sedimentary sequences, which are stratigraphically covered by a Cenomanian platform succession. The latter is locally followed by a hemipelagic sequence. The volcanic rocks in the different successions show alkaline geochemical affinity, suggesting an origin from an oceanic within-plate setting. Our new results indicate that the western Durkan Complex represents fragments of seamounts tectonically incorporated in the Makran accretionary wedge during the latest Late Cretaceous–Paleocene. We propose that incorporation of seamounts in the frontal prism caused a shortening of the whole convergent margin and possibly contributed to controlling the deformation style in the Makran Accretionary Wedge during Late Cretaceous–Paleocene times.

The Main Types of Paleogene Sedimentary Rocks and Conditions of their Formation on the Guyots of the Magellan Seamounts (Pacific Ocean)

he Paleocene–Eocene sedimentary complex is most widely developed among the sedimentary cover deposits of the Magellan Seamounts. It is composed of pelagic (nanoforaminiferal) and reef limestones, edaphogenic breccias and volcanoclastic rocks. The most widespread pelagic limestones form narrow (0.5–1.5 km) and extensive (up to 20 km) ribbon-like bodies that cover the upper parts of the slopes and the rim of the summit plateau. The maximum area of their distribution, which covers 315 km2, is noted on the Fedorov Guyot. Pelagic limestones and edaphogenic breccias outcrop over large areas and have reciprocal facies transitions. The Oligocene hiatus in sedimentation has been established in the sections of the Cenozoic sedimentary cover deposits of the studied guyots.

ОСНОВНЫЕ ТИПЫ ОСАДОЧНЫХ ПОРОД ПАЛЕОГЕНА И УСЛОВИЯ ИХ ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ НА ГАЙОТАХ МАГЕЛЛАНОВЫХ ГОР (ТИХИЙ ОКЕАН)

The Paleocene-Eocene sedimentary complex is most widely developed among the sedimentary cover sediments of the Magellan Seamounts. It is made up of pelagic (nanoforaminiferal) and reef limestones, edaphogenic breccias and volcanoclastic rocks. The most widespread pelagic limestones form narrow (0.5–1.5 km) and extensive (up to 20 km) ribbon-like bodies which cover the upper parts of the slopes and the rim of the summit plateau. The maximum area of their development is marked on Fyodorov Guyot – 315 km2. Pelagic limestones and edaphogenic breccias are exposed over large areas and have mutual facies transitions. The Oligocene hiatus in sedimentation was established in the sections of the Cenozoic sedimentary cover deposits of the studied guyots.

Birth and closure of the Kallipetra Basin: Late Cretaceous reworking of the Jurassic Pelagonian–Axios/Vardar contact (northern Greece)

Abstract. Some 20 Myr after the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous obduction and collision at the eastern margin of Adria, the eroded Pelagonia (Adria)–Axios/Vardar (oceanic complex) contact collapsed, forming the Kallipetra Basin, described around the Aliakmon River near Veroia (northern Greece). Clastic and carbonate marine sediments deposited from the early Cenomanian to the end of the Turonian, with abundant olistoliths and slope failures at the base due to active normal faults. The middle part of the series is characterized by red and green pelagic limestones, with a minimal contribution of terrigenous debris. Rudist mounds in the upper part of the basin started forming on the southwestern slope, and their growth competed with a flux of ophiolitic debris, documenting the new fault scarps affecting the Vardar oceanic complex (VOC). Eventually, the basin was closed by overthrusting of the VOC towards the northeast and was buried and heated up to ∼ 180 ∘C. A strong reverse geothermal gradient with temperatures increasing up-section to near 300 ∘C is recorded beneath the VOC by illite crystallinity and by the crystallization of chlorite during deformation. This syntectonic heat partially reset the zircon fission track ages bracketing the timing of closure just after the deposition of the ophiolitic debris in the Turonian. This study documents the reworking of the Pelagonian–Axios/Vardar contact, with Cenomanian extension and basin widening followed by Turonian compression and basin inversion. Thrusting occurred earlier than previously reported in the literature for the eastern Adria and shows a vergence toward the northeast, at odds with the regional southwest vergence of the whole margin but in accordance to some reports about 50 km north.

Lower Cretaceous heteromorph ammonites (Ancyloceratina) from Leše near Prevalje (North Karavanke Mts. NE Slovenia)

The paper deals with newly discovered Valanginian-Hauterivian fauna of heteromorphic ammonites (Ancyloceratina) from locality south of the village of Leše above the Meža River valley (North Karavanke Mountains). Fossils were recovered from the pelagic limestone. Among the studied heteromorphic ammonites are Lower Cretacaoeus species Himantoceras trinodosum (Upper Valanginian) and Crioceratites cf. nolani (Hauterivian). Based on the accompanied ammonites (Ammonitina) from the outcrop, we biostratigraficaly confirm the presence of Lower Cretaceous ammonites fauna in the Northern Karavanke Mountains. This is also the first report on heteromorphic ammonites in Slovenia.

First record of non-mineralized cephalopod jaws and arm hooks from the latest Cretaceous of Eurytania, Greece

Due to the lower fossilization potential of chitin, non-mineralized cephalopod jaws and arm hooks are much more rarely preserved as fossils than the calcitic lower jaws of ammonites or the calcitized jaw apparatuses of nautilids. Here, we report such non-mineralized fossil jaws and arm hooks from pelagic marly limestones of continental Greece. Two of the specimens lie on the same slab and are assigned to the Ammonitina; they represent upper jaws of the aptychus type, which is corroborated by finds of aptychi. Additionally, one intermediate type and one anaptychus type are documented here. The morphology of all ammonite jaws suggest a desmoceratoid affinity. The other jaws are identified as coleoid jaws. They share the overall U-shape and proportions of the outer and inner lamellae with Jurassic lower jaws of Trachyteuthis (Teudopseina). We also document the first belemnoid arm hooks from the Tethyan Maastrichtian. The fossils described here document the presence of a typical Mesozoic cephalopod assemblage until the end of the Cretaceous in the eastern Tethys.

The Italian record of the Cretaceous shark, Ptychodus latissimus Agassiz, 1835 (Chondrichthyes; Elasmobranchii).

Associated and isolated teeth of the extinct elasmobranch Ptychodus latissimus Agassiz, 1835 from the Upper Cretaceous Scaglia Rossa pelagic limestone of northern Italy are described and discussed here in detail for the first time. The dentition of this widely distributed species consists of low-crowned molariform teeth that exhibit marked and strong occlusal ornamentations suitable for crushing hard-shelled prey. The associated tooth sets and isolated teeth analyzed here are heterogeneous in size and crown outline, but unambiguously belong to a single species. Re-examination of this Italian material consisting of ca. 30 specimens mostly coming from historical collections allows for a rigorous assessment of the intraspecific variability of P. latissimus, including the identification of three different tooth “morphotypes” based on their positions within the jaws. The relatively flat crowns and occlusal sharp and thick ridges indicate a high adaptation for crushing hard-shelled prey in P. latissimus indicating that the durophagous adaptations of this species were certainly more pronounced than in all other species of Ptychodus. We hypothesize that P. latissimus was a third-level predator occupying habitats with abundant thick-shelled prey, such as inoceramid bivalves and ammonites.

Petrology of the late Triassic mafic volcanic rocks from the Antalya Complex, southern Turkey: evidence for mantle source characteristics during the Neotethyan rifting

The Antalya Complex in southern Turkey comprises a number of autochthonous and allochthonous units that originated from the Southern Neotethys. Late Triassic volcanic rocks are widespread in the Antalya Complex and are important for the onset of the rifting stage of the southern Neotethys. The studied Late Triassic volcanic rocks within the Antalya Complex are exposed in the southern part of Saklıkent (Antalya) region. They are represented by pillow, massive, and columnar-jointed lava flows with volcaniclastic breccias and pelagic limestone intercalations. Spilitic basalts exhibit intersertal, microlithic porphyritic, and ophitic textures and are represented by plagioclase, pyroxene, and olivine. Secondary phases are characterized by serpentine, calcite, chlorite, epidote, zeolite, and quartz. Based on Zr/Ti vs. Nb/Y ratios, the volcanic rocks are represented by alkaline basalts (Nb/Y = 1.54–2.82). A chondrite normalized REE diagram for the volcanic rocks displays significant LREE enrichment with respect to HREE ([La/Yb]N = 15.14–19.77). Trace element geochemistry of the studied rocks suggests that these rocks are more akin to ocean island basalt (OIB) and were formed by small degrees (~2–4%) of partial melting of an enriched mantle source (spinel + garnet-bearing lherzolite). The volcanic rocks of the Saklıkent region exhibit similarities to the Late Triassic volcanics of the Koçali Complex in SE Anatolia and the Mamonia Complex (Cyprus) in terms of their geochemical features. All evidence suggests that the Late Triassic alkaline volcanics in Antalya, Mamonia (Cyprus), and the Koçali (Adıyaman) Complexes were formed in an extensional environment at the continent-ocean transition zone during the rifting of the southern Neotethyan Ocean.

Early Cretaceous (Albian) intra‐oceanic subduction in northern branch of Neotethys in NW Iran: Zircon U–Pb geochronology and geochemistry of ophiolitic metagabbros from the Chaldoran area

The Chaldoran ophiolite in NW Iran and at the Turkish border is a part of the larger Khoy ophiolite. Serpentinized peridotites, pillow basalt, cumulate and isotropic gabbro, pelagic limestone, and radiolarite along with volcano‐sedimentary units are the main rock types in the area. These rocks are mixed together in some places as tectonic and “coloured” mélanges. The gabbro consituent of this ophiolite is either fresh or is metamorphosed up to upper greenschist facies. These meta‐basic rocks contain relatively large crystals of plagioclase and clinopyroxene, partially changed to amphibole. Metamorphic epidote is formed in some samples. Whole‐rock chemistry of these rocks shows a basaltic magmatic composition. Low SiO2 contents along with relatively high MgO and FeOtotal contents testify for a mantle source for the parental magma of the studied samples, intermediate between tholeiitic and calc‐alkaline series. LREE and HFSE are slightly depleted and LILE show enrichment in the studied samples and Ta, Nb, Ti show negative anomalies with respect to MORBs. All chemical features are compatible with a supra‐subduction zone setting for the rocks. The studied rocks are similar to primitive arc and less evolved rocks, geochemically. Also the samples show both MORB‐like magmas, formed at the initial stage of a subduction and IAT chemical features. U–Pb dating of zircons on the gabbro sample gave 107.5 ± 1.3 Ma (Albian) crystallization age. The metabasites from the Chaldoran ophiolite are similar to intra‐oceanic ophiolite‐related igneous rocks from the Zagros suture zone in Iran and NE Iraq and equivalent rocks from the Neotethyan sutures in east Turkey and Armenia and basic rocks from the Late Cretaceous ophiolites of the outer Zagros and Taurus, which are related to the subduction initiation (SI) stage.