The migration path of Gondwanian dinosaurs toward Adria: New insights from the Cretaceous of NW Sicily (Italy)

New insights into the palaeoenvironmental–palaeoclimatic significance and sedimentary dynamics of carbonate Lagerstätten: The lower Albian of Pietraroja (Southern Italy)

“…Additional data on the uppermost Aptian-lowermost Albian 'cold water' bacinelloid intervals both of Monte La Costa marginal facies of the ApCP (ca 14 km north-west of Pietraroja) and Santa Lucia lagoonal counterpart (Schmitt et al, 2019b(Schmitt et al, , 2019c provide chemostratigraphically calibrated correlations with the CORBs and the OAE1b subevents of the UMB. More particularly, the genetic correlation of the Pietraroja Lower Plattenkalk with a karstic surface in the Santa Lucia section, which falls into the lower Monte Nerone CORB (Schmitt et al, 2019c) A supra-regional framework The considerable Italian fossil record of late Early Cretaceous terrestrial plant-rich and vertebrate-rich intervals, straddled by persisting shallow-water sediments, confirms that a sealevel lowstand occurred during the late Aptianearliest Albian (see below) and likely drove the establishment of 'filtering bridges' connecting Asia, Europe and Africa through the Periadratic region, including the ApCP (Dalla Vecchia, 2008;Dal Sasso et al, 2016;Randazzo et al, 2021). Unfortunately, the high-resolution chronostratigraphy of the terrestrial record in the Periadratic region during the Aptian-Albian boundary interval (Citton et al, 2015a;Dal Sasso et al, 2016;Randazzo et al, 2021) is still uncertain, thus compromising the fidelity of detailed correlations with specific cold snap-driven sealevel lowstands.…”

“…More particularly, the genetic correlation of the Pietraroja Lower Plattenkalk with a karstic surface in the Santa Lucia section, which falls into the lower Monte Nerone CORB (Schmitt et al, 2019c) A supra-regional framework The considerable Italian fossil record of late Early Cretaceous terrestrial plant-rich and vertebrate-rich intervals, straddled by persisting shallow-water sediments, confirms that a sealevel lowstand occurred during the late Aptianearliest Albian (see below) and likely drove the establishment of 'filtering bridges' connecting Asia, Europe and Africa through the Periadratic region, including the ApCP (Dalla Vecchia, 2008;Dal Sasso et al, 2016;Randazzo et al, 2021). Unfortunately, the high-resolution chronostratigraphy of the terrestrial record in the Periadratic region during the Aptian-Albian boundary interval (Citton et al, 2015a;Dal Sasso et al, 2016;Randazzo et al, 2021) is still uncertain, thus compromising the fidelity of detailed correlations with specific cold snap-driven sealevel lowstands. Grasby et al (2017), Vickers et al (2019) and Alley et al (2019) have identified clear evidence of remarkable cold snaps in the lower Albian of the higher latitudes also in connection with the Paquier OAE1b subevent.…”

“…Such episodes may have fostered rapid angiosperm diversification (Heimhofer et al ., 2005; Chaboureau et al ., 2014; Cleal et al ., 2021). The migration/dispersion routes of dinosaurs and other land vertebrates between Eurasia and Africa may also have been affected by ‘filtering bridges’ created by the emergence of the Periadriatic carbonate platforms, including the Apennine Carbonate Platform (ApCP; Zarcone et al ., 2010; Citton et al ., 2015a; Dal Sasso et al ., 2016; Randazzo et al ., 2021). Such changes, including extreme monsoonal activity at low‐latitude (Herrle et al ., 2003a, 2003b; Benamara et al ., 2020), are credited with causing widespread deposition of multiple, laminated black shale horizons and related regional equivalents of the Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE) 1b subevents (Jacob, Kilian, Paquier and Leenhardt) in basinal, shallow‐marine and continental settings (Herrle et al ., 2004; Coccioni et al ., 2014; Hu et al ., 2014; Millan et al ., 2014; Li et al ., 2016; Benamara et al ., 2020) spanning 3.8 Ma (Fauth et al ., 2022).…”

Fracture stratigraphy of Mesozoic platform carbonates, Agri Valley, southern Italy

“…The Apennine Platform is considered as part of the bridge that connected the African Plate to the Adria microplate (Zarcone et al 2010;Randazzo et al, 2021). Its carbonate factory was established during the Late Triassic, and lasted until the middle Cretaceous (Selli, 1957;Sartoni & Crescenti, 1961, 1962.…”

Geothematic map of the Altamura dinosaur tracksite (early Campanian, Apulia, southern Italy)

“…The Altamura tracksite is located in a disused quarry ("Cava Pontrelli"; Figs 1 and 7 (Ciaranfi et al, 1992), is about 1 km thick (at regional scale) and recorded the aggradation of shallow-water carbonates in the Apulia Platform (e.g., D 'Argenio, 1974;Ricchetti et al, 1988;Spalluto, 2012), one of the Periadriatic Carbonate Platforms (sensu Zappaterra, 1990;1994) in the western sector of the Neotethys. The Apulia Carbonate Platform has been considered for several decades as a Bahamian-type isolated platform, but the discoveries of several dinosaur footprints in some bed surfaces of the carbonate succession led to a deep palaeogeographic revision, suggesting the presence of bridges between Neotethys platforms and the main continents to justify the migration occurrence of these terrestrial vertebrates (Bosellini, 2002;Petti, 2006;Nicosia et al, 2007;Zarcone et al, 2010;Randazzo et al, 2021).…”