Integrated stratigraphy from the Vallcebre Basin (southeastern Pyrenees, Spain): New insights on the continental Cretaceous−Tertiary transition in southwest Europe

Sauropod trackways of the Iberian Peninsula: palaeoetological and palaeoenvironmental implications

“…These vast quarry localities contain more than 50 trackways (Schulp and Brokx, 1999;Vila et al, 2005Vila et al, , 2008, abundantly preserved in thin marly beds, within a lagoonal (mudflat) setting with many brackish invertebrates, vertebrates, and plant remains (Villalba-Breva et al, 2012). The track-bearing levels are within the lower Tremp Formation, in the so-called "Grey Unit", and are Early Maastrichtian in age (Oms et al, 2007).…”

Maastrichtian−basal Paleocene charophyte biozonation and its calibration to the Global Polarity Time Scale in the southern Pyrenees (Catalonia, Spain)

“…The Garumnian was also divided by Rosell et al (2001) into four lithological units, which are from base to top (1) the transitional marine to lacustrine Grey Unit, (2) the fluvial Lower Red Unit, (3) the lacustrine Vallcebre Limestone Formation and finally (4) the fluvial Upper Red Unit. The K/Pg boundary was identified near the top of the Lower Red Unit (Rosell et al, 2001;L opez-Martínez et al, 2006;Oms et al, 2007). Above the Garumnian units the lower Eocene Alveolina limestone is the most conspicuous rock at the regional scale.…”

“…In the Vallcebre Basin it comprises up to 400 m of claystones and siltstones, with the development of palaeosoils with variegated grey, ochre, purple and reddish colours. The Lower Red Unit has been attributed to sedimentation mainly in marginal lagoon and fluvial floodplain depositional settings (Rosell et al, 2001;Oms et al, 2007;L opez-Martínez et al, 2009;Riera et al, 2009). The top of the Lower Red Unit is marked by the so-called "Reptile Sandstone", a fluviatile unit that crops out below the lacustrine Vallcebre Limestone Formation (Masriera and Ullastre, 1982).…”

“…The proposed biozonation intends to improve the weak-points of the biozonation proposed by Feist in Riveline et al (1996) for the Upper Cretaceous. Our data were obtained in the same sections and beds that were characterized magnetostratigraphically by Oms et al (2007), thus allowing us to calibrate the new biozonation against the GPTS. Some samples supplied abundant planktonic foraminifera, providing additional information about minimum ages.…”

Upper Cretaceous paleogeography of the Central Southern Pyrenean Basins (Catalonia, Spain) from microfacies analysis and charophyte biostratigraphy

“…According to Riveline et al (1996), this biozone has been correlated with magnetozones C32r to C32n (middle and upper part of the Late Campanian). However, new magnetostratigraphic data in the Vallcebre Basin by Oms et al (2007) allowed the extension of the top of the biozone to at least chron C31r, earliest Maastrichtian in age (VillalbaBreva et al 2012). These results are compatible with the age inferred for the La Maçana Fm based on the age of overlying and underlying formations (Caus and Gómez-Garrido 1989;Galbrun et al 1993, recalibrated with data from Gradstein et al 2004).…”