Middle to Upper Oxfordian reefs of a shallow marine carbonate platform located in northeastern France show important facies changes in conjunction with terrigeneous contents. The Pagny-sur-Meuse section shows coral-microbialite reefs that developed both in pure carbonate limestones and in mixed carbonate-siliciclastic deposits. Phototrophic coral associations dominated in pure carbonate environments, whereas a mixed phototrophic/heterotrophic coral fauna occurred in more siliciclastic settings. Microbialites occur in pure carbonate facies but are more abundant in mixed carbonate-siliciclastic settings. Reefs seem to have lived through periods favourable for intense coral growth that was contemporaneous with a first microbialitic layer and periods more favourable for large microbialitic development (second microbialitic layer). The first microbialitic crust probably developed within the reef body and thus appears to be controlled by autogenic factors. The second generation of microbialites tended to develop over the entire reef surface and was probably mainly controlled by allogenic factors. Variations in terrigeneous input and nutrient content, rather related to climatic conditions than to water depth and accumulation rate, were major factors controlling development of reefs and their taxonomic composition.

More than 30 well-preserved pterosaurian trackways have been excavated from the site of Crayssac (Lower Tithonian, southwestern France), along with hundreds of isolated imprints. The general pattern of pterosaurian trackways is described and corresponds to the morphology of the ichnogenus Pteraichnus Stokes 1957. A crocodilian origin for Pteraichnus is rejected. The morphology of the pes and manus prints is described and discussed, and exhibits a great dynamic variability. The three manus digit prints are confirmed as the marks of digits I–III, but the high angle of divarication may reflect strong digit abduction as well as a backward folding of the digit III. The manus gait-width is as much as 3 × the pes gait-width. The narrowest manus trackways corresponds to low-velocity walking in a semi-erect stance, whereas the widest manus trackways corresponds to higher velocity walking (perhaps even running), with a subhorizontal body.

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The La Voulte Lagerstätte is remarkable for its unique soft−bodied fauna (e.g., worms, coleoid squids) and its exceptionally preserved arthropods mainly found in small sideritic concretions. This arthropod fauna includes 30 different species assigned to the crustaceans, the thylacocephalans and the pycnogonids. Crustaceans are the most diversified group with 23 species distributed in a dozen families. Quantitative analyses based on 388 nodules reveals four dominant groups: (i) the enigmatic thylacocephalan arthropods (33%), (ii) the Solenoceridae shrimps (22%), (iii) the Coleiidae crustaceans (15%), and (iv) the Penaeidae shrimps (10%

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A detailed facies analysis and interpretation of the evolution of depositional environments along a northsouth transect of the Late Oxfordian-Early Kimmeridgian French Jura carbonate platform highlights hierarchically stacked depositional sequences. The identified small-and medium-scale depositional sequences are matched with the precise cyclostratigraphic framework initially established for the Swiss Jura platform. The superimposition of a longterm (2nd order) sea-level rise with long (400 kyr) eccentricity cycles explains most of the French Jura platform architecture. During the Bimammatum and Planula zones, the climate became progressively warmer and more arid, allowing enhanced carbonate production. This resulted in a strong progradation of the French Jura platform that progressively evolved from a ramp to an oolitic rimmed shelf. A brief interval characterized by a more humid climate during the upper Bimammatum Zone caused an increase in siliciclastic and nutrient input, leading to a reduction in carbonate production and strong retrogradation of the platform. During the Platynota and lower Hypselocyclum zones, the shallow inner shelf carbonate production once more exceeded the accommodation, leading to a general aggradation of the platform. From the upper Hypselocyclum Zone, with a more humid climate, the carbonate production did not outweigh the accommodation creation and the platform evolved to a flat-topped shelf. Thus, sealevel changes and climatic conditions (temperature and humidity) are the key factors controlling the nature of the sedimentation and the depositional profile of the French Jura platform during the Late Oxfordian-Early Kimmeridgian.