Cretaceous Research最新文献

{"title":"Lower Campanian calcareous nannofossils: Morphometry and palaeoenvironmental implications of the Aspidolithus group (Rhenodanubian Flysch Zone, Austria)","authors":"Paula Granero ,&nbsp;Adam Wierzbicki ,&nbsp;Michael Wagreich","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105954","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105954","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Our calcareous nannofossil study focused on eleven samples from the lower Campanian (UC14a–UC14b) of the Loibichl section, located in the Rhenodanubian Flysch Zone of the Austrian Alps. Relative counts of calcareous nannofossil assemblages were followed by a morphometrical analysis on 1021 specimens belonging to the <em>Aspidolithus</em> genus (<em>Aspidolithus enormis</em> and <em>Aspidolithus parcus</em>). For this analysis, a light microscope was utilized to improve our understanding of the taxonomic concepts of this group during a phase of rapid morphological evolution. The analysis included the maximum length (L), the width of the outer rim versus the small diameter of the central area (<em>b</em>/<em>a</em>), and the number of perforations in the central area. The CaCO₃ content and bulk carbonate stable isotope ratios of δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O were analysed to facilitate stratigraphic and palaeoecological interpretations. Additionally, this study was to determine whether variations in nannofossil morphometrics were driven by changing palaeoenvironmental conditions. This study identified five morphotypes: <em>A. enormis</em> subsp. 1, <em>A. enormis</em> subsp. 2, <em>A. parcus expansus</em>, <em>A. parcus parcus</em>, and <em>A. parcus constrictus</em>. The morphometric analysis substantiated the differentiation between “small” morphotypes (L &lt; 8.5 μm; <em>A. enormis</em>) and the “large” <em>A. parcus</em> group (L &gt; 8.5 μm). However, the results did not show any significant patterns that would justify a natural separation of the “subspecies” within the <em>A. enormis</em> and <em>A. parcus</em> group. Our statistical analysis suggests that these morphometric changes may be related to various palaeoenvironmental proxies. Further high-resolution morphometric analysis is required to verify the impact of contrasting environmental factors on <em>Aspidolithus</em>-size variation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"163 ","pages":"Article 105954"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667124001277/pdfft?md5=0d05faade30d6bbaa43f71ceb4cc2a75&pid=1-s2.0-S0195667124001277-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141594435","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"New dinoflagellate cyst records from the uppermost part of the Vaca Muerta Formation (uppermost Jurassic) in the Picún Leufú area, Neuquén Basin, Patagonia, Argentina","authors":"Luis S. Agüero ,&nbsp;Marcelo A. Martínez ,&nbsp;Daniela E. Olivera ,&nbsp;Rocio D. Villa ,&nbsp;Carlos Zavala","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105956","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105956","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This contribution presents a new palynological record from the uppermost Vaca Muerta Formation in the Picún Leufú area, Neuquén Basin, Argentina. A 76 m section was measured, and seven mudstone samples from the top of the Vaca Muerta Formation and the base of the Picún Leufú Formation were collected. Seventy-three palynomorph species were recognised and specimens of the dinoflagellate cyst genera <em>Dingodinium</em>, <em>Gochteodinia</em>, <em>Ambonosphaera</em>, <em>Diacanthum</em>, <em>Systematophora</em>, <em>Tubotuberella</em>, <em>Wrevittia</em> and <em>Canningia</em> were described and illustrated. The following taxa are mentioned for the first time: <em>Tubotuberella</em> in the Vaca Muerta Formation; <em>Gochteodinia</em> in Argentina; and <em>Wrevittia</em> in the Jurassic of Argentina. The dinoflagellate cyst content, integrated with previous studies, constrain the top of the Vaca Muerta Formation in the southern part of the basin, to the lower upper Tithonian. This study extends the basal limit of <em>Pseudoceratium notiale</em> to the lower upper Tithonian and <em>Cribroperidinium reticulatum</em> to the Tithonian. From a paleobiogeographic perspective, the presence of <em>Thalassiphora robusta</em> could provide evidence of its migration from the Volga Basin. Besides, taxa shared with the Tithonian of southeast Tanzania could be reflecting the connection between the Neuquén and the Mandawa basins via the Mozambique Corridor. The dinoflagellate cyst content of the uppermost Vaca Muerta Formation shows a relative decrease in previously reported species for this unit approaching the formational contact, alongside an increase in those species previously documented for the Picún Leufú Formation. The distribution of <em>Pseudoceratium notiale</em>, <em>Dichadogonyaulax culmula</em> and <em>Pilosidinium cactosum</em> was extended to the uppermost Vaca Muerta Formation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"163 ","pages":"Article 105956"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141623650","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Palynology of the Albian–Turonian sediments from the Sumbe region, Kwanza Basin (Angola): Implications for paleoenvironment, paleoclimate, and paleogeography","authors":"Cristina Rodrigues ,&nbsp;Márcia Mendes ,&nbsp;Zélia Pereira ,&nbsp;Pedro Claude Nsungani ,&nbsp;Paulo Fernandes ,&nbsp;Luís Vítor Duarte ,&nbsp;Belarmino Chitangueleca ,&nbsp;Lúmen Sebastião ,&nbsp;Benedito Aida ,&nbsp;Davide Degli Esposti ,&nbsp;Domingos Freitas","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105953","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105953","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Palynological investigations in the Sumbe region of the Kwanza Basin, Angola, have identified Albian to Turonian assemblages in four sections of the Quissonde Facies of the Mucanzo, Cabo Ledo, and Itombe formations. These studies aimed to determine their biostratigraphic ages and infer paleoenvironmental, paleoclimatic, and paleogeographic models. The presence of <em>Odontochitina costata, Palaeohystrichophora infusorioides,</em> and <em>Xiphophoridium alatum</em> cysts supports an upper Albian to lower Cenomanian age for the Mucanzo Formation. <em>Litosphaeridium siphoniphorum</em> cyst and the <em>Elateroplicites africaensis</em> pollen found In the Cabo Ledo Formation suggest a Cenomanian age, while <em>Conosphaeridium striatoconum, Heterosphaeridium difficile,</em> and <em>Dinogymnium acuminatum</em> supports a Turonian age for the lower part of the Itombe Formation. All samples predominantly contain fluorescent amorphous organic matter (AOM) derived from phytoplankton degradation, with increasing AOM in the uppermost units, indicating inner neritic marine deposition under dysoxic-anoxic conditions. During the Lower to mid-Cretaceous, the Gondwana breakup caused significant changes, with the palynological indicating a Tethyan affinity with some high-latitude taxa, suggesting a cosmopolitan distribution. The subtropical to tropical nature of the assemblages, along with high-latitude species, indicates a mid-Cretaceous water connection between the Central Atlantic and the South Atlantic oceans, extending to the Kwanza Basin.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"164 ","pages":"Article 105953"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667124001265/pdfft?md5=8851dc5510981e4a102d1c2ff7a9ff0c&pid=1-s2.0-S0195667124001265-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141701100","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sedimentology and biostratigraphy of the Biancone Limestone Formation of the Tolmin Basin (Southern Alps, NW Slovenia)","authors":"Boštjan Rožič ,&nbsp;Daniela Reháková","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105958","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105958","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The Tolmin Basin constitutes the western part of the Slovenian Basin, a large Mesozoic interplatform basin that was bounded to the north by the Julian Carbonate Platform and to the south by the Dinaric Carbonate Platform. Today, it is found along the structural boundary between the Southern Alps and the External Dinarides in northwestern Slovenia. After the drowning of the Julian Carbonate Platform, the Tolmin Basin was dominated by pelagic deposits, namely the Toarcian marlstones (Perbla Formation), the Aalenian to lower Tithonian siliceous limestones and radiolarites (Tolmin Formation), and the upper Tithonian to the Berriasian Biancone Limestone Formation. In this study, a basin-scale sedimentary evolution and calpionellid biostratigraphy of the latter is presented. The Biancone Limestone Formation is a calpionellid-bearing pelagic limestone typical of all deepened segments of the Adria microplate in this time interval. It is generally monotonous but shows considerable vertical and lateral variations. The lower boundary with radiolarites is sharp, revealing a pronounced and rapid overturn in pelagic sedimentation. The lower Berriasian slumps indicate a tectonic pulse. Rare beds of resedimented limestones, assigned to the middle Berriasian, are similar in composition to those intercalated in the underlying radiolarites. They thus show that the factors that led to a significant shift in pelagic sedimentation had little or no effect on shallow-marine carbonate production. In the upper Berriasian, an increase in clay content is evident in the formation, which is explained by the uplift and erosion of the propagating thrust belt in the Neotethys area, superimposed by humidification.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"163 ","pages":"Article 105958"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667124001319/pdfft?md5=62778eda84f01db4f5b81e61a398b1ae&pid=1-s2.0-S0195667124001319-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141732369","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Anagenesis and the tyrant pedigree: A response to “Re-analysis of a dataset refutes claims of anagenesis within Tyrannosaurus-line tyrannosaurines (Theropoda, Tyrannosauridae)”","authors":"Elías A. Warshaw ,&nbsp;Daniela Barrera Guevara ,&nbsp;Denver W. Fowler","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105957","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105957","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Taxonomic diversity in the derived tyrannosaurine <em>Daspletosaurus</em> has been hypothesized to represent a variety of evolutionary patterns by different authors. The recent description of <em>D. wilsoni</em>, the third species of this genus, was proposed to support the paraphyly of <em>Daspletosaurus</em> and participation of its species within a single anagenetic lineage terminating at the base of a clade formed by <em>Tyrannosaurus</em> and other gigantic tyrannosaurines (<em>Tarbosaurus</em>, <em>Zhuchengtyrannus</em>). However, a recent reanalysis including additional data has challenged this interpretation, instead recovering <em>Daspletosaurus</em> as a monophyletic sister group to <em>Tyrannosaurus</em> and its closest relatives, characterized by several cladogenetic events. Here we show that incorporating further data and correcting erroneous interpretations of relevant anatomical features overturns this result. Using a novel phylogenetic analysis including additional specimens, we recover a paraphyletic <em>Daspletosaurus</em>, with species of this genus forming successive sister taxa to <em>Tyrannosaurus</em>-line tyrannosaurines. This result facilitates an interpretation of currently recognized <em>Daspletosaurus</em> species as representing a single anagenetic lineage, in agreement with the stratigraphic distribution of relevant specimens and a qualitative analysis of the range of morphological variation observable within <em>D. wilsoni</em>.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"163 ","pages":"Article 105957"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667124001307/pdfft?md5=70ad0024fc60b7cf58da09c57883dda4&pid=1-s2.0-S0195667124001307-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141594434","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Corrigendum to “First Edentulous Enantiornithine (Aves: Ornithothoraces) from the Lower Cretaceous Jehol Avifauna” [Cretac Res 159 (2024) 105867]","authors":"Xiaoli Wang ,&nbsp;Alexander D. Clark ,&nbsp;Jingmai K. O'Connor ,&nbsp;Xiangyu Zhang ,&nbsp;Xing Wang ,&nbsp;Xiaoting Zheng ,&nbsp;Zhonghe Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105951","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105951","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"162 ","pages":"Article 105951"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-06-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667124001241/pdfft?md5=825ea40cafb6573fc6bb94a9bb7c48cc&pid=1-s2.0-S0195667124001241-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141439038","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Late Cretaceous high trochospiral rotaliid foraminifera from Italy","authors":"Lorenzo Consorti ,&nbsp;Simone Fabbi ,&nbsp;Angelo Cipriani ,&nbsp;Marco Franceschi ,&nbsp;Maurizio Marino","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105955","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105955","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>High trochospiral architecture is relatively uncommon in rotaliid foraminifera as it is observed in a few species throughout the stratigraphic record of their 100 My history. Such a feature is recorded within the lockhartiniid group, for example in the Paleogene genus <em>Sakesaria</em>, whereas it is not reported from the Cretaceous. We describe two new Late Cretaceous species, <em>Extentaspira pichezziae</em> gen. nov., sp. nov. and <em>Extentaspira pampaloniae</em> sp. nov., displaying high trochospiral test, from the shallow-water facies of the Apennine and Adriatic carbonates platforms of Central and Northeastern Italy. Besides the absence of dimorphism, high trochospiral test architecture suggests an adaptation to an infaunal lifestyle. These occurrences may provide further evidence on the paleo-biogeographic gradient with the nearby Late Cretaceous Pyrenean gulf.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"163 ","pages":"Article 105955"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141541619","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reappraisal of the Cretaceous and Paleogene paleogeography of eastern Amazonia based on systematic paleocurrent measurements","authors":"Renato Paes de Almeida ,&nbsp;Camila Eliza Althaus ,&nbsp;Liliane Janikian ,&nbsp;Pedro Victor Oliveira Gomes ,&nbsp;Felipe Torres Figueiredo ,&nbsp;André Oliveira Sawakuchi ,&nbsp;Bernardo Tavares Freitas ,&nbsp;Leonardo Henrique Gomes da Silva","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105948","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105948","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Cretaceous and possibly Paleogene strata, originally defined as the Alter do Chão Formation, are extensively exposed in the Amazonas Basin. While theoretical considerations suggest that the eastern Amazon has been draining into the Atlantic since pre-Miocene times, the limited published field data indicate a significant continental-scale reversal of drainage, transitioning from westward flow during the Cretaceous to the current eastward regional flow. This hypothesis has a significant impact on accepted paleogeographic reconstructions and has implications for the origin of the Amazon River and the associated biotic environments. Nevertheless, the observational database to support that hypothesis is still very scarce. To address this problem, the present study presents data from a basin-transverse profile where the entire stratigraphic succession of Cretaceous and Paleogene ages in the Amazonas Basin is exposed, namely the Jazida da Fazendinha and Alter do Chão formations. Facies analysis of cliff outcrops along the Tapajós River margins, including the type area of the units, reveals associations interpreted as fluvial deposits dominated by sandy bars. Paleocurrents were interpreted from more than 2000 individual measurements of fluvial cross-strata from various stratigraphic levels. The findings indicate that the regional flow direction during the deposition of both units was eastward across the entire basin transect. Integrating our dataset into the existing data on provenance reveals that, unlike the modern Andean-derived system, the primary sources for the Alter do Chão Formation were limited to the Amazon Craton. Our findings offer compelling empirical evidence to support the scenario proposed by previous numerical models. The findings also suggest that the rock record does not support the poorly documented and highly influential model of a significant westward-flowing river in Amazonia during the Cretaceous and the Paleogene.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"163 ","pages":"Article 105948"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141623651","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Theropod teeth palaeodiversity from the uppermost Cretaceous of the South Pyrenean Basin (NE Iberia) and the intra-Maastrichtian faunal turnover","authors":"Erik Isasmendi ,&nbsp;Manuel Pérez-Pueyo ,&nbsp;Miguel Moreno-Azanza ,&nbsp;Antonio Alonso ,&nbsp;Eduardo Puértolas-Pascual ,&nbsp;Beatriz Bádenas ,&nbsp;José Ignacio Canudo","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105952","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105952","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The South Pyrenean Basin has yielded abundant dinosaur and penecontemporaneous vertebrate fossils, becoming one of the most important areas in Europe for the study of these faunas. The studied isolated theropod teeth from the Western Tremp Syncline (NE Iberia) were recovered from the uppermost Maastrichtian (topmost Arén and Tremp formations). The studies conducted have led to the identification of eight tooth morphotypes, which are referred to cf. <em>Paronychodon</em>, cf. <em>Richardoestesia</em>, an abelisaurid, a dromaeosaurid, and a non-dromaeosaurid paravian. Together with the previously reported troodontid and ornithuromorph, this study increases the known theropod palaeobiodiversity in the area to seven taxa. The latest Maastrichtian theropod fauna of the Western Tremp Syncline is thus composed of a medium to large-sized abelisaurid as well as a high diversity of small-bodied early-branching coelurosaurians and avialans, as seen in other Ibero-Armorican localities. Revision of the literature concerning the theropods of the Ibero-Armorican domain indicates that, although similar theropod groups were present before, during, and after the intra-Maastrichtian faunal turnover (an event constrained to between the early Maastrichtian and the early late Maastrichtian; lower part of C31r to the C30r/C30n reversal), there were changes in the abelisaurid, dromaeosaurid, and large avialan assemblages, as well as in the proportions of indeterminate paravian and cf. <em>Richardoestesia</em> morphotypes, with the presence of troodontids only recorded in post-turnover faunas. These changes suggest that theropods might have been affected by the turnover event. Nevertheless, further studies and more complete specimens could shed more light on the effects of this faunal turnover, and on the affinities and palaeobiodiversity of the latest Cretaceous Ibero-Armorican theropods.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"162 ","pages":"Article 105952"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667124001253/pdfft?md5=9cdc5721f92b6a56a1ef0c86d3cd5e75&pid=1-s2.0-S0195667124001253-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141539751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A rich coprolite assemblage from Angeac-Charente (France): A glimpse into trophic interactions within an Early Cretaceous freshwater swamp","authors":"L. Rozada ,&nbsp;R. Allain ,&nbsp;M. Qvarnström ,&nbsp;K. Rey ,&nbsp;R. Vullo ,&nbsp;J. Goedert ,&nbsp;D. Augier ,&nbsp;N. Robin","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105939","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105939","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Coprolites (fossil droppings) are common in the Mesozoic fossil record. However, coprolite assemblages from continental settings have more rarely been quantitatively analysed than the marine ones. The excavation of the Berriasian continental Lagerstätte of Angeac-Charente (France) during the last decade has resulted in unearthing a vast number of fossils, including ca. 6000 coprolite specimens. This large collection, accompanied by spatially landmarked depositional data, offers a unique opportunity to assess the organism interactions in an Early Cretaceous freshwater swamp ecosystem. We assign the coprolites to nine morphotypes based on their morphology and contents (using tomography and thin-sections), and to four taphonomic categories. We compare the specimens to other fossil and recent droppings, including newly imaged crocodilian faeces. While the Angeac-Charente biota comprised animals of a range of different ecologies, including waters primary inhabitants (chelonians, crocodylomorphs, actinopterygians) and a variety of dinosaurs, the coprolites, together with other ichnological evidence, such as bite marks, seem to largely illustrate the activity of the crocodylomorphs in this ancient swamp. The assemblage is compared to previously analysed continental Cretaceous copro-assemblages from Europe and North Africa.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"162 ","pages":"Article 105939"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141402504","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}