Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
F. Hodel, C. Feriot, G. Dera, M. De Rafelis, C. Lezin, E. Nardin, D. Rouby, M. Aretz, P. Antonio, M. Buatier, M. Steinmann, F. Lacan, C. Jeandel, V. Chavagnac
Summary: Despite its importance in regulating the Earth's climate, the evolution of high-latitude ocean dynamics remains unclear. A geochemical study of the southwest Pacific Ocean reveals temperature changes and ventilation variations during a specific time interval, providing insights into the paleoceanographic changes in the region.
FRONTIERS IN EARTH SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Euan L. Soutter, Ian A. Kane, Ander Martinez-Donate, Adrian J. Boyce, Jack Stacey, Sebastien Castelltort
Summary: The Eocene-Oligocene transition had a significant impact on the stratigraphic evolution of submarine fans, as indicated by sedimentary and stable isotope data from the Alpine foreland basin.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza, Matteo Fabbri, Lorenzo Consorti, Marco Muscioni, David C. Evans, Juan L. Cantalapiedra, Federico Fanti
Summary: A study on the dinosaur fossils in Italy's Villaggio del Pescatore quarry provided valuable information on the dwarfed, insular dinosaurs in the European Archipelago during the Late Cretaceous. The analysis of skeletal remains suggests that the hadrosauroid Tethyshadros insularis did not exhibit a significant evolutionary trend towards miniaturization, contrary to previous beliefs.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ahmed-Reda M. El-Younsy, Abdelhamid M. Salman
Summary: The Upper Eocene-Oligocene sequence in the northwest Birket Qarun area was re-evaluated by sequence stratigraphy, identifying six depositional sequences with different sedimentary environments. The study shows fluctuations in depositional environments and sedimentary facies, indicating a complex sedimentary history shaped by regional tectonic settings and relative sea-level changes.
ENVIRONMENTAL EARTH SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Paleontology
Muhammad Kamran, Fabrizio Frontalini, Dang-Peng Xi, Kamran Mirza, Arman Jafarian, Khalid Latif, Fahad Ali, Muhammad Kashif, Nadir Fawad, Muhammad Shafi, Xiao-Qiao Wan
Summary: The study shows that there were no evident compositional variations in the larger benthic foraminifera (LBF) assemblages during the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO) event, but significant changes occurred in the Post-MECO and Carbon Isotope Excursion (CIE) recovery phase. This suggests a larger foraminiferal turnover happening during the Post-MECO event, leading to compositional changes in the observed LBF assemblages in the uppermost part of the Kohat Formation.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
M. Rizzi, N. H. Schovsbo, J. Hovikoski, H. P. Nytoft, C. Korte, N. T. T. Thuy, J. Bojesen-Koefoed, L. H. Nielsen, I. Abatzis, N. Q. Tuan, D. M. Toan, N. T. Huyen, M. B. W. Fyhn
Summary: This study presents a high-resolution carbon isotope record of Oligocene deep syn-rift lakes in the Gulf of Tonkin, Vietnam, improving age estimates and providing insight into in-lake fractionation processes. The comparison of carbon isotopes reveals the dominant factors controlling fractionation in the lake, with lake productivity induced fractionation prevailing during more oxygenated periods and degradation processes dominating during more anoxic periods. The oxygenation of the lake was influenced by changes in tectonic setting and strengthened by climatic influence.
Review
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Xiwu Luan, Peter Lunt
Summary: This review examines the development of carbonates and their enclosing siliciclastic sediments in eastern Java and the southern Makassar Straits from the Late Eocene until the end of the Oligocene. Five genetic sedimentary sequences are identified, showing an episodic sedimentary history controlled by tectonism. The study also describes an additional intra Late Miocene uplift and unconformity, highlighting the rapid tectonic transitions. Two unconformities at mid-Oligocene and terminal Oligocene times are highlighted as part of a new regional tectonic model, emphasizing their correlation across the eastern margin of Sundaland.
JOURNAL OF ASIAN EARTH SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biology
S. Al Menoufy, I. M. Abd El-Gaied, S. M. Abd El-Aziz
Summary: The lithological characteristics and larger benthic foraminiferal assemblages of the Darnah and Al Bayda formations in Wadi Darnah section, Libya were studied to determine the biostratigraphic and chronostratigraphic units based on diagnostic larger benthic foraminifera and depositional environments. The results indicate that the studied rock units belong to shallow-platform marine environments.
HISTORICAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Jimin Sun, Weiguo Liu, Zhengtang Guo, Liang Qi, Zhiliang Zhang
Summary: This paper investigates the Eocene-Oligocene strata in the Tajik Basin and finds an isotopic shift, indicating a period of aridification. This shift is correlated with a global sea-level drop and may be a result of global cooling caused by the formation of the Antarctic Ice-sheet.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Jihede Haj Messaoud, Nicolas Thibault, Brahimsamba Bomou, Thierry Adatte, Johannes Monkenbusch, Jorge E. Spangenberg, Mohammed H. Aljahdali, Chokri Yaich
Summary: Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy and carbon-isotope stratigraphy of the middle-upper Eocene Souar Formation in Tunisia provide a refined stratigraphy of the southwestern Neo-Tethys margin. The study suggests a correlation between different records in Tunisia, leading to the establishment of a synthetic stratigraphic chart. Bayesian statistics were used to build an age-depth model, indicating a hiatus in the Lutetian and a response to increased productivity in the late Lutetian and early Bartonian.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geology
Vicente Gilabert, Sietske J. Batenburg, Ignacio Arenillas, Jose A. Arz
Summary: Untangling the timing of the environmental effects of Deccan volcanism with respect to the Chicxulub impact is crucial for understanding their contributions to climate change. Through the study of the Zumaia section in Spain, we have established the temporal relationships between Deccan volcanism and major carbon isotope excursions and planktic foraminiferal events during the KPB. We have also found evidence of abrupt environmental change related to Deccan volcanism.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Claudio Garbelli, Anna Cipriani, Uwe Brand, Federico Lugli, Renato Posenato
Summary: The Dolomites is a significant region for studying the evolution of shallow-marine ecosystems during the end-Permian mass extinction. By using strontium isotope stratigraphy, the correlation between the Dolomites and the Meishan section can be established, contributing to the understanding of the biological crisis that occurred.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Slavomir Nehyba, Vladimir Opletal, Katarina Holcova, Filip Scheiner, Lukas Ackerman, Jan Rejsek
Summary: The submarine Ivan Canyon, located in the Western Carpathian fold and thrust belt and the foreland of the Bohemian Massif, has been studied using seismic sections and borehole cores. The canyon extends for over 75 km within the sedimentary infill of the Alpine-Carpathian Foredeep. The canyon exhibits a low sinuosity planform architecture and consists of an axial main channel and several tributary channels. Analysis of seismic facies, clast composition, and heavy mineral spectra suggest a siliciclastic source area and the role of low-density turbidity currents in transport and deposition. Stratigraphy data support the depositional history of the canyon, which lasted from the upper Burdigalian/Langhian boundary to the lower Serravalian. The formation and depositional history of the canyon can be explained by the structural and depositional history of the Alpine-Carpathian Foreland basin during the lower/middle Miocene transition and middle Miocene (Langhian) with tectonic subsidence, basin re-configuration, and eustatic sea-level fluctuations. The Ivan Canyon, as an axial channel in the elongate foreland basin, exhibits several differences compared to typical ancient submarine canyons in passive margin settings.
MARINE AND PETROLEUM GEOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Jingxin Jiang, Xiumian Hu, Juan Li, Eduardo Garzanti, Shijun Jiang, Ying Cui, Yasu Wang
Summary: The present study aims to discuss the amplitude and mechanisms of sea-level changes during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) in the Tarim epicontinental seaway. The study reveals that the sea-level rise during the PETM was largely caused by global warming, leading to extensive melting of high-mountain glaciers and thermal expansion of sea water.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Nick Thompson, Ulrich Salzmann, Adrian Lopez-Quiros, Peter K. Bijl, Frida S. Hoem, Johan Etourneau, Marie-Alexandrine Sicre, Sabine Roignant, Emma Hocking, Michael Amoo, Carlota Escutia
Summary: This study investigates the role and climatic impact of the opening of the Drake Passage during the Eocene-Oligocene transition. The research provides new data on terrestrial environments and palaeoclimate using palynomorph and lipid biomarker analysis. The findings reveal significant changes in terrestrial vegetation and suggest a link between the expansion of gymnosperms and cryptogams and repeated glacial expansion and retreat. Furthermore, the study indicates that the opening of the Drake Passage and Antarctic glaciation were not contemporaneous.
CLIMATE OF THE PAST
(2022)
Article
Biology
Andrea Benedetti, Lorenzo Consorti, Felix Schlagintweit, Koorosh Rashidi
Summary: The upper Palaeocene shallow-water carbonates in Iran are characterized by a diversified assemblage of larger Foraminifera and green algae. A new ornatorotaliid species, Ornatorotalia pila n. sp., has been described from these deposits, with its age assigned to late Thanetian based on co-occurrence of certain species. This new record provides further evidence on the biogeographic expansion throughout the Neo-Tethys during the Palaeocene-early Eocene.
HISTORICAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Paleontology
Ercan Ozcan, Simon F. Mitchell, Johannes Pignatti, Michael D. Simmons, Ali Osman Yucel, Natalie Robinson
Summary: A new genus of hyaline larger benthic foraminifers with distinctive and complex morphological features is discovered in the upper Bartonian-Priabonian shallow-marine deposits of the Biga Peninsula in NW Turkey.
JOURNAL OF PALEONTOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Paleontology
Davide Bassi, Monica Bolivar-Feriche, Willem Renema, Juan C. Braga, Johannes Pignatti, Giovanni Di Domenico, Kazuhiko Fujita, Jere H. Lipps, Yasufumi Iryu
Summary: This study analyzed new fossil and recent materials, as well as a type collection, to assess the taxonomic status of Flosculinella and Alveolinella species and understand alveolinoid phylogeny in the Indo-Pacific area.
MARINE MICROPALEONTOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geology
Derya Sinanoglu, Andrea Benedetti, Nazire Ozgen-Erdem
Summary: This study examines an important shallow marine deposit in Southeastern Turkey, specifically the Becirman Formation in the Batman and Siirt regions. The focus is on the systematics and biostratigraphy of larger foraminifera, with a diverse association of rotaliids and other taxa documented. The fossil assemblage indicates the late Danian SBZ2 and suggests a link between the abundance of rotaliids and the recovery of shallow benthic communities after the K/Pg extinction.
RIVISTA ITALIANA DI PALEONTOLOGIA E STRATIGRAFIA
(2022)
Article
Biology
Andrea Benedetti, Francesco Schiavinotto
Summary: This study evaluated several biological characteristics of various populations of Nephrolepidina from the western Mediterranean. The results show that the commonly used indexes are not sufficient to provide biostratigraphic constraints for each chronospecies, but the embryonic size does affect the number of annuli. By including the index of stolonic distalization, the different chronosubspecies of Nephrolepidina from the Mediterranean bioprovince can be clearly separated.
HISTORICAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geology
Matteo Antonelli, Marco Romano, Federico De Sario, Johannes Pignatti, Enrico Sacco, Fabio Massimo Petti
Summary: In this study, a new approach is applied to the study of theropod footprints with elongated metatarsal traces from the Upper Cretaceous Sezze ichnosite in Italy. Traditional methods and new tools including close-range digital photogrammetry, sUAS, Principal Component Analysis, and Cluster Analysis are combined to analyze the footprints and reconstruct the anatomical structure of the trackmaker foot. The results suggest that the clade of Oviraptorosauria is the most likely trackmaker for the Sezze theropod footprints, raising new questions about their dispersal and the paleobiogeography of the area.
CRETACEOUS RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Francesca R. Bosellini, Andrea Benedetti, Ann F. Budd, Cesare A. Papazzoni
Summary: This study focuses on the coral collections from Friuli region in Italy during the early Paleogene greenhouse period. The analysis shows that there was an increase in coral diversity after the warming event of the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO). The findings suggest that corals in Friuli were resilient to climate stressors and recovered quickly. This study provides important insights into the response of ancient ecosystems to climate change.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geology
Antonino Briguglio, Victor Manuel Giraldo-Gomez, Andrea Baucon, Andrea Benedetti, Cesare Andrea Papazzoni, Johannes Pignatti, Erik Wolfgring, Michele Piazza
Summary: In this study, a sedimentary succession in NW Italy is examined, which represents the early stages of a transgressive succession in a foreland basin. The succession starts with beach deposits and transitions to well-sorted quartz arenites. The carbonate content increases, fossils appear, and marls and marly limestones are found towards the top. The data analysis reveals that the succession was influenced by continuous tectonic activity and unstable climates, resulting in stressed ecological conditions.
NEWSLETTERS ON STRATIGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Andrea Benedetti, Giovanni Gaglianone, Marco Brandano, Guillem Mateu-Vicens
Summary: This study examines benthic foraminiferal assemblages in the Maldives Archipelago and finds that their spatial distribution is related to depth and seagrass cover, as well as influenced by hydrodynamic energy. The findings also have implications for paleoecological and paleoenvironmental interpretations.
Article
Paleontology
Andrea Benedetti, Derya Sinanoglu
Summary: The new species Ornatorotalia ozgenerdemi n. sp. is identified from the upper Danian shallow-water carbonates in eastern Turkey. It is distinguished from previously described ornatorotaliids by its smaller size and very small proloculus. This species is interpreted as an opportunist motile epiphytic foraminifer that possibly thrived on vegetated substrates of varying duration.
Article
Geology
Aminullah Kakar, Akhtar Muhammad Kasi, Andrea Benedetti, Aimal Khan Kasi
Summary: This study documents the stratigraphy, lithofacies, and depositional environment of the Nisai Group during the Eocene-lower Oligocene period. Petrographic and micropaleontological analysis, along with field observations, were utilized. The Nisai Group is subdivided into three formations: Jabrai, Torkhezhe Tsah, and Nisai formations. The Jabrai Formation represents deltaic and littoral deposits, while the Torkhezhe Tsah Formation consists of calciturbidites and periplatform oozes. The topmost unit, the Nisai Formation, shows a shallowing-up succession. Siliciclastic sediments of the Nisai Group were derived from the Zhob Valley Ophiolites.
Article
Paleontology
Andrea Benedetti, Cesare Andrea Papazzoni
Summary: This study provides a summary of the stratigraphic distribution and diversity of roataliids during the Paleocene and Eocene epochs. The results show that roataliids rapidly differentiated at the genus level, with a peak in diversity during the upper Danian and upper Thanetian periods. However, their overall diversity declined afterwards, while other groups of larger foraminifera, particularly Alveolina and Nummulites, flourished. Climate warming events were found to be closely linked to these major changes in roataliid diversity.
Article
Paleontology
Ercan Ozcan, Ali Osman Yucel, Simon F. Mitchell, Johannes Pignatti, Michael D. Simmons, Aral Okay, Levent Sina Erkizan, Munire Nur Gultekin
Summary: This article introduces a unique combination of carbonate-clastic and larger benthic foraminifera in the middle to upper Eocene of northwest Turkey, and describes a newly discovered genus of larger benthic foraminifera, Caudriella. The study reveals the distribution of Caudriella in both the Caribbean and Western Neo-Tethys regions. Comparative analysis of the embryonic-nepionic stages of Caudriella and the emendation of its diagnosis are also conducted.
JOURNAL OF FORAMINIFERAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Paleontology
Roberta Martino, Lorenzo Rook, Johannes Pignatti, Luca Pandolfi
Summary: The first dispersal of Hippopotamidae out of Africa is recorded around 6 Ma, with particularly abundant hippopotamid remains found in the uppermost Miocene deposits of Gravitelli in Sicily. The remains from Gravitelli were initially assigned to a new species, Hippopotamus siculus, exhibiting plesiomorphic features. The morphology of the specimens collected from Gravitelli suggests a provisional attribution to the genus Hexaprotodon.
ACTA PALAEONTOLOGICA POLONICA
(2021)
Article
Paleontology
Davide Bassi, Juan C. Braga, Giovanni Di Domenico, Johannes Pignatti, Sigal Abramovich, Pamela Hallock, Janine Koenen, Zoltan Kovacs, Martin R. Langer, Giulio Pavia, Yasufumi Iryu
Summary: The study of the alveolinoid Borelis species reveals their evolutionary patterns and paleobiogeographic distribution in geological history, shedding light on their evolutionary dynamics. The lineage evolution and migration pathways of different Borelis species point to distinct evolutionary trajectories. A clearer understanding of the paleobiogeography and relationships between species is achieved through the study of fossil and modern specimens.
PAPERS IN PALAEONTOLOGY
(2021)
