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Palaeoecology of new fossil associations from the Cipit boulders, St. Cassian Formation (Ladinian–Carnian, Middle–Upper Triassic; Dolomites, NE Italy)

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Abstract

Six fossil associations from 59 thin sections obtained out of 23 Cipit boulders of the Middle-Late Triassic St. Cassian Formation are described. Grouping and obtainment of these associations were performed considering all biomorpha and microbialites contained in the thin sections by means of cluster analysis in Q-mode using three algorithms and two indices. Further microfacial categories observed in the thin sections were allochthonous components, cements and microsparite, although they do not represent a significant fraction in any case. The associations include the following: Dendronella–Hexactinellida Association, Cassianothalamia Association I, Cassianothalamia Association II, Patch Reef Association I (Balatonia-microencruster Association), Patch Reef Association II (SolenoporaDendronella Association) and Patch Reef Association III (Spongiomorpha ramosa Association). The possible palaeoenvironmental settings, from which each association is derived, are discussed individually. These settings were elucidated based on each fossil contained in the associations, since many of them are diagnostic for establishing specific environmental criteria. Although most associations are described here for the first time, some of them may be related to the “Cassian Patch Reefs”, while one of them (“Cassianothalamia-Gemeinschaft”) is reviewed.

Kurzfassung

Aus 23 Cipit-Kalk-Blöcken wurden 59 Dünnschliffe bearbeitet und daraus 6 Fossil-Assoziationen beschrieben. Anhand von Cluster-Analysen wurde eine Gruppierung dieser Assoziationen in Abhängigkeit zum Mikrobialith-Anteil der Cipit-Kalke vorgenommen. Die mikrofazielle Analyse der Cipit-Kalke schließt allochthone Komponenten und diverse Zemente sowie mikrosparitische Bereiche mit ein. Folgende Fossil-Assoziationen wurden beobachtet: „Dendronella–Hexactinellida Association“, „Cassianothalamia Association I + II“, „Patch Reef Association I (Balatonia-microencruster Association)“, „Patch Reef Association II (Solenopora–Dendronella Association)“ und „Patch Reef Association III (Spongiomorpha ramosa Association)“. Die unterschiedlichen Fossilgemeinschaften wurden einer paläoökologischen Analyse unterzogen und die ursprüngliche ökologische Signifikanz für die Cipit-Kalke wird diskutiert. Bis dato wurde nur die Cassianothalamia-Gemeinschaft („Cassianothalamia Association II“) beschrieben. Die anderen hier aus den Cipit-Kalken aufgelisteten Gemeinschaften werden erstmals vorgestellt und analysiert.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the Courant Research Centre Geobiology at the Geoscience Centre of the University in Göttingen. The authors thank Dr. Enrico Brutti (Bureau for Natural Parks, Autonomous province of Bozen, South Tyrol) for extending the permission to collect material at the investigated localities. We also thank Dipl.-Geol. Eric Otto Walliser (Mainz), Christian Seifert and Sebastian Westphal, B.Sc. (both Göttingen) for assistance during the fieldwork. Dr. John Hora (Göttingen) and Gabriele Schmidt (Göttingen) are especially acknowledged for the English proofreading and final polishing. The authors would like to thank Dr. Oliver Weidlich (Sultan Qaboos University, Oman) and an anonymous reviewer for their comments and suggestions on our manuscript, which helped improve its quality substantially. PD Dr. Mike Reich (München) is especially acknowledged for his continuous support in the editing process of our manuscript.

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Correspondence to Francisco Sánchez-Beristain.

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12542_2016_305_MOESM1_ESM.xlsx

Supplementary material 1: Table 1 Matrix with all microfacial components (columns) found in each thin section (rows), with their individual area percentage. Second column shows the code given to each sample after clustering. See text for further details (XLSX 68 kb)

12542_2016_305_MOESM2_ESM.xlsx

Supplementary material 2: Table 2 Individual codes to taxa and all features contained in each thin section. See ESM Table 1 and text for further details (XLSX 23 kb)

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Sánchez-Beristain, F., Reitner, J. Palaeoecology of new fossil associations from the Cipit boulders, St. Cassian Formation (Ladinian–Carnian, Middle–Upper Triassic; Dolomites, NE Italy). PalZ 90, 243–269 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-016-0305-9

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