Arrecifes del Tortoniense inferior en la Cuenca de Granada, Cordillera Bética, España

Abstract

A small coral reef, together with oyster biostromes, of lower Tortonian age occurs north of Albunuelas in the Granada Basin (Betic Cordillera, Spain). These reefs were deposited south of a Betic island in a coastal area. The lensoid coral reef is made up of Tarbellastraea and Porites heads, intensely bored by Lithophaga. The corals grew on a bank of large oysters that colonised conglomerates. Banks of smaller oysters (O. edulis) grew on silts in more distal areas. Fossil assemblages indicate high ambient nutrient content. The hermatypic corals record a warm climatic phase in the early Tortonian in the western Mediterranean.