The age of the Pre-Callovian Jurassic sequence at the southwest of Tatarstan (central Russia, Tarkhanovskaya Pristan’–Dolinovka reference section) and the status of the Upper Bajocian “Garantiana-beds”, previously described from here

Abstract

In the present paper we describe and discuss belemnite finds from the basal part of the middle Jurassic sequence at the southwest of the Republic of Tatarstan (Tetyushi district). The belemnites were collected from the outcrops located along a shoreline of the Kuybyshevskoye reservoir (Volga river) between the place Tarkhanovskaya pristan and the former village Dolinovka. These belemnites indicate that the basal part of the Jurassic sequence is Early Bathonian (Ishmae Zone) or, less probable, Middle Bathonian in age. Such dating triggers a critical review for the age of the middle Jurassic sequence in the region. In particular, poorly preserved ammonites previously collected from the same outcrops higher in the succession and interpreted as members of the Late Bajocian subfamily Garantianinae, are in fact Late Bathonian Gowericeratinae. Consequently, Beds with Garantiana nominally the most ancient ammonite-based biostratigraphic unit within the whole Jurassic of European Russia, based on this assemblage, is invalid.