“…Samples for microfaunal analyses were collected from intervals straddling the main stratigraphical unit boundaries, as defined by the lithostratigraphical analyses, to identify major paleoenvironmental changes and to support correlations between sub‐surface datasets. Benthic foraminifera and ostracod assemblages, which have a high sensitivity to environmental change, were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively (Aiello, Barra, De Pippo, Donadio, & Petrosino, ; Aiello, Barra, De Pippo, & Donadio, ; D'Amico et al, ; Stamatopoulos et al ; Balassone et al, ; Mangoni et al, ; Marino et al ). Benthic foraminifera and ostracod taxa were collected from sediment samples washed through a 125 µm sieve and identified according to the modern and classic literature, with a specific focus on the Mediterranean area (Müller, ; Barbeito‐Gonzalez, ; Bonaduce, Ciampo, & Masoli, ; Breman, ; Sen Gupta, Smith, & Machain‐Castillo, ; Aiello & Barra, ; Debenay, ; Milker & Schmiedl, ; Aiello, Barra, & Parisi, ; Aiello, Barra, Parisi, Isaia, & Marturano, ).…”