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Coralgal buildups associated with the Bolca Fossil-Lagerstätten: new evidence from the Ypresian of Monte Postale (NE Italy)

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Abstract

The Monte Postale and Pesciara di Bolca sites are well-known Eocene Fossil-Lagerstätten. The origin of these deposits has been previously related to a lagoon environment, protected from the open sea by a barrier formed by some kind of reef. However, no detailed description of a bioconstructed system has ever been reported in the area. This study provides the first detailed characterization of the upper Ypresian Monte Postale reef, made of in situ corals, calcareous algae, and encrusting foraminifera. Three main facies associations have been recognized: (1) a coralgal rim, roughly E/W oriented, (2) lagoon deposits in the south and (3) fore-reef sediments towards the north. The coralgal rim is represented by a wave-resistant framework made of heavily calcified organisms associated to Alveolina accumulations; the adaptation of most of these organisms to the euphotic zone promoted their growth in proximity to the sea level, allowing this structure to act as an effective barrier. In particular, during relative sea-level lowstands or highstands, the coralgal rim could have limited the water exchange between the lagoon and the open sea, reducing the oxygenation in the lagoon and allowing the formation of the Fossil-Lagerstätten. During relative sea-level transgressions, the water could have risen well above the margin, establishing normal oxygenation and hampering the fossils’ preservation. The Monte Postale succession represents one of the few examples of lower Eocene bioconstructions. The description of this biotic assemblage provides new data for the characterization of reef communities during a crucial climatic phase, near the end of the early Eocene climatic optimum global warming.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the editor, Wolfgang Kiessling, for his valuable comments. The manuscript has benefited greatly from critical comments and suggestions by two anonymous reviewers. We thank S. Paladini, B. Fornaciari, A. Olivieri, M. Plessi and L. Barozzi for the assistance during fieldwork and microfacies analyses. We also thank the Cerato family for their collaboration, their useful suggestions, and great kindness. This study was funded by the Italian Ministry of Education and Research (MIUR) funds PRIN 2010–2011 (prot. 2010X3PP8J_002 and prot. 2010X3PP8J_003) project “Past ExcessCO2 worlds: biota responses to extreme warmth and ocean acidification”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, via Campi 103, 41125, Modena, Italy

    Alessandro Vescogni, Francesca R. Bosellini & Cesare Andrea Papazzoni

  2. Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Università di Padova, via Gradenigo 6, 35131, Padua, Italy

    Luca Giusberti & Eliana Fornaciari

  3. Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse, CNR, via Gradenigo 6, 35131, Padua, Italy

    Guido Roghi

  4. Museo di Storia Naturale, Università di Firenze, via La Pira 4, 50121, Florence, Italy

    Stefano Dominici

  5. Museo di Storia Naturale di Verona, Lungadige Porta Vittoria 9, 3719, Verona, Italy

    Roberto Zorzin

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  1. Alessandro Vescogni
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Vescogni, A., Bosellini, F.R., Papazzoni, C.A. et al. Coralgal buildups associated with the Bolca Fossil-Lagerstätten: new evidence from the Ypresian of Monte Postale (NE Italy). Facies 62, 21 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-016-0472-x

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