Science and earth science

Acta Geologica Polonica

Content

Acta Geologica Polonica | 2023 | vol. 73 | No 4

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Abstract

In this autobiographical note I describe my childhood and early University days in London, including the initiation of research on the Cenomanian chalks of southern England under the supervision of the late Jake Hancock, who was to become the closest of friends and collaborators for nearly 40 years. Appointment to a teaching post in Oxford in 1967 led, eventually, to the directorship of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History in 2003, until retirement in 2010. It was my good fortune to travel widely in connection with research on the Cretaceous across Europe and the United States, but particularly in KwaZulu Natal in South Africa, leading to a career long collaboration with Herbert Klinger (Cape Town). Collaboration has been the key to my research, collaboration with Jake and Herbie, and many others, including Bill Cobban, Andy Gale, Pierre Juignet, Herbert Summesberger, Irek Walaszczyk, and Willy Wright. These collaborations led to publications that dealt with ammonite faunas from The Antarctic Peninsula to Greenland, and from the United States Western Interior to Australia, as listed below.
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Authors and Affiliations

William James Kennedy
1 2

  1. Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PW, United Kingdom
  2. Department of Earth Sciences, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3AN, United Kingdom
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Abstract

The lower Upper Albian ammonite genus Dipoloceras Hyatt, 1900 (subfamily Mojsisovicsiinae Hyatt, 1903) is represented in KwaZulu-Natal by the type species, D. cristatum (Brongniart, 1822), marker species for the base of the Upper Albian Substage. Rhytidoceras van Hoepen, 1931 (of which Drepanoceras van Hoepen, 1931, non Stein 1878 and Ricnoceras van Hoepen, 1941, are synonyms), previously regarded as subgenera of Dipoloceras, are afforded generic status as are its supposed synonyms Diplasioceras van Hoepen, 1946a, and Euspectroceras van Hoepen, 1946a. The type species of these genera are revised, and assigned to the subfamily Pervinquierinae Spath, 1926.
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Authors and Affiliations

William James Kennedy
1
Herbert Christian Klinger
2

  1. Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PW, UK and Department of Earth Sciences, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK
  2. Natural History Collections Department, Iziko South African Museum, P.O. Box 61, Cape Town, 8000 South Africa
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Abstract

The cosmopolitan Late Albian ammonite subgenus Pervinquieria ( Deiradoceras) van Hoepen, 1931, and its synonyms Cechenoceras van Hoepen, 1941 and Mimeloceras van Hoepen, 1944, originally based on material from northern KwaZulu-Natal, are reviewed. The type material of the type species, Subschloenbachia prerostrata Spath, 1921, is revised and reillustrated, as are its numerous synonyms.
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Authors and Affiliations

William James Kennedy
1
Herbert Christian Klinger
2

  1. Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PW, UK and Department of Earth Sciences, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK
  2. Natural History Collections Department, Iziko South African Museum, P.O. Box 61, Cape Town, 8000 South Africa
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Abstract

In this contribution we complete the revision of species we refer to Pervinquieria ( Deiradoceras) van Hoepen, 1931, focusing on those assigned by him to his genera Cechenoceras and Mimeloceras.
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Authors and Affiliations

William James Kennedy
1
Herbert Christian Klinger
2

  1. Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PW, UK and Department of Earth Sciences, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK
  2. Natural History Collections Department, Iziko South African Museum, P.O. Box 61, Cape Town, 8000 South Africa
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Abstract

Butkov Quarry provides the best exposed stratigraphic sequence of marly limestones with Early Cretaceous ammonites in the Manín Nappe of the Central Western Carpathians. The presented paper deals with the sporadically occurring zonal ammonites, or ammonites of guiding character, from the Lower Valanginian to Upper Hauterivian. Sixteen species are taxonomically elaborated here in detail. More attention is given to the basic taxonomy of the Subfamily Crioceratitinae Gill, 1871. The species described here, like most of the previously published species from Butkov Quarry, are representatives of the Mediterranean bioprovince and are close to the ammonite association from the Vocontian Basin.
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Authors and Affiliations

Zdeněk Vašíček
1

  1. Institute of Geonics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Studentská 1768, CZ-70800 Ostrava-Poruba, Czech Republic
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Abstract

Upper Cretaceous ammonites are described from six horizons in the mammal-bearing terrigenous-clastic sequences of western Uzbekistan, as follows: Upper Cenomanian, with Placenticeras sp. juv. cf. cumminsi Cragin, 1893 and Metoicoceras geslinianum (d’Orbigny, 1850); Lower Turonian with Tragodesmoceras cf. mauryae Kennedy and Wright, 1981, Placenticeras kharesmense (Lahusen, 1884), Watinoceras coloradoense (Henderson, 1908), Watinoceras amudariense (Arkhangelsky, 1916b), Metasigaloceras rusticum (J. Sowerby, 1823), Morrowites wingi (Morrow, 1935), Sciponoceras cf. bohemicum bohemicum (Fritsch, 1872), and Yezoites amudariensis (Arkhangelsky, 1916b); Middle Turonian with Collignoniceras woollgari woollgari (Mantell, 1822); Upper Turonian with Lewesiceras mantelli (Wright and Wright, 1951) and Placenticeras crassum Ilyin, 2020; a single Placenticeras semiornatum (d’Orbigny, 1850) from around the Coniacian/Santonian boundary, and Santonian Placenticeras polyopsis (Dujardin, 1837).
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Authors and Affiliations

David J. Ward
1 2
Chris King
Noel J. Morris
1 3
William James Kennedy
4

  1. Science Group, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK
  2. Crofton Court, 81 Crofton Lane, Orpington, Kent BR5 1HB, UK
  3. e-mail: niccamore@gmail.com
  4. Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PW, UK, and Department of Earth Sciences, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK
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Abstract

Eleven ammonites species are described from the condensed phosphate beds of Mangyshlak (in north-western Kazakhstan): Lewesiceras mantelli (Wright and Wright, 1951), Subprionocyclus neptuni (Geinitz, 1849), Prionocyclus spp., Allocrioceras angustum (J. de C. Sowerby, 1850), Hyphantoceras ( Hyphantoceras) reussianum (d’Orbigny, 1850), Hyphantoceras ( Hyphantoceras) cf. flexuosum (Schlüter, 1872), Eubostrychoceras ( Eubostrychoceras) cf. saxonicum (Schlüter, 1875), Scalarites? bohemicus (Fritsch, 1872), Sciponoceras bohemicum bohemicum (Fritsch, 1872), Scaphites geinitzii d’Orbigny, 1850, and Scaphites kieslingswaldensis Langenhan and Grundey, 1891. They provide an incomplete record that spans at maximum upper Middle Turonian to Lower Coniacian and at minimum Upper Turonian to Lower Coniacian. Associated inoceramid bivalves span an interval from upper Middle Turonian (based on the known first occurrence of Inoceramus inaequivalvis Schlüter, 1872) to the lower and middle Lower Coniacian, based on the known last occurrence of Cremnoceramus crassus inconstans (Woods, 1912), in the lower and middle parts of the Lower Coniacian.
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Authors and Affiliations

William James Kennedy
1
Ireneusz Walaszczyk
2

  1. Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PW, UK and Department of EarthSciences, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK
  2. University of Warsaw, Faculty of Geology, Żwirki i Wigury 93, 02-089 Warszawa, Poland
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Abstract

A Middle Campanian (Late Cretaceous) eustatic sea-level rise recorded in the Belgorod succession (Russia; eastern North European Basin) was analyzed. The succession, dated for the Gavelinella annae and Globorotalites emdyensis foraminiferal zones (corresponding to the ‘ Inoceramusazerbaydjanensis–‘ Inoceramusvorhelmensis inoceramid Zone), records the deposition of pure chalk, with only trace terrigenous material. Its distal offshore position limited terrestrial nutrient delivery, driving oligotrophic conditions that influenced benthic foraminifera and organic-walled phytoplankton communities. Eustatic changes are recorded by planktonic foraminifera and additionally reflected in phytoclast abundance, organic-walled dinoflagellate cysts (dinocysts), calcareous dinoflagellate cysts (c-dinocysts), and δ 13C and δ 18O fluctuations. Most indices were primarily driven by variable terrestrial organic matter and freshwater influxes, acting as a function of sea depth and land topography.
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Authors and Affiliations

Michał Fąfara
1
Zofia Dubicka
1
Mariusz Niechwedowicz
1
Agnieszka Ciurej
1
Ireneusz Walaszczyk
2

  1. University of Warsaw, Faculty of Geology, Żwirki i Wigury 93, 02-089 Warszawa, Poland
  2. Department of Geology and Palaeontology, Institute of Biology and Earth Sciences, Pedagogical University of Kraków, Podchorążych 2, 30-084 Kraków, Poland
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Abstract

New material of Roveacrinidae from the middle–upper Cenomanian Grey Chalk Group of the Kent coast (Folkestone-Dover) is described. The fauna includes 10 taxa, including a new genus and species ( Dubrisicrinus minutus) and three new species ( Styracocrinus shakespearensis, Roveacrinus aboudaensis and Dentatocrinus serratus). The biostratigraphical significance of roveacrinid faunas is placed in a global context, and it is demonstrated that the roveacrinid zone CeR5, previously recorded only from Morocco, is approximately equivalent to the upper middle Cenomanian Acanthoceras jukesbrownei ammonite Zone, and zone CeR6 – to the Calycoceras guerangeri ammonite Zone. The new material also provides novel information on the cup structure of roveacrinids, which is reviewed and placed in a phylogenetic context.
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Authors and Affiliations

Andrew Scott Gale
1

  1. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Burnaby Building, Burnaby Road, Portsmouth PO1 3QL, United Kingdom
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Abstract

The Indian Mesozoic dinosaur record is famous for documenting significant aspects of dinosaur evolution during the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The Cenomanian–Turonian Nimar Sandstone, Lower Narmada valley, has produced fragmentary skeletal remains of Sauropoda indet. The Maastrichtian Lameta Formation has yielded at least 6 valid sauropod taxa and indeterminate titanosaurid remains, and at least 11 named (but likely oversplit) theropod taxa, i.e., 3 smaller-bodied species and 8 medium-to-large sized theropods. Apart from skeletal remains, Infra- and Intertrappean beds of peninsular India have yielded more than 10,000 dinosaur eggs belonging to 5 oofamilies and 15 oospecies. Most of the Indian ootaxa show distinct affinities with the Late Cretaceous ootaxa of four other continental areas – Spain, France, Argentina and Morocco. The presence of the two dominant oofamilies, Fusioolithidae and Megaloolithidae, in the Infra- and Intertrappean localities of peninsular India and three different continents (South America, Europe and Africa) further shows an ancient Gondwanan affinity and basic terrestrial association among these three landmasses. Based on the phylogenetic analysis of skeletal material, the most plausible pathway of dinosaur dispersal between India and Madagascar took place during the Late Cretaceous. The other conceivable dispersal pathway for the small animals was between India and Asia by means of the Kohistan Dras Volcanic Arc or a northeast pathway through Somalia, while the very large vertebrates, like theropod dinosaurs, may have emerged as a component of a ‘Pan Gondwanan’ model.
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Authors and Affiliations

Ashu Khosla
1
Spencer G. Lucas
2

  1. Department of Geology, Panjab University, Sector-14, Chandigarh-160014, India
  2. New Mexico Museum of Natural History, 1801 Mountain Rd. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104, USA
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Abstract

This paper presents an interpretation of sedimentologic, paleomagnetic, and geochemical data collected in the Upper Kimmeridgian–Valanginian carbonates of the Giewont series (Giewont and Mały Giewont sections, High-Tatric succession, Western Tatra Mountains, Poland). The studied succession provides insight into the sedimentary conditions prevailing in the South Tatric Ridge (Tatricum), a submarine elevation located between the Zliechov Basin (Fatricum) and the Vahic (=South Penninic) Ocean. The sedimentary sequence includes micrites, pseudonodular limestones, cyanoid packstones, lithoclastic packstone, and encrinites. The results are discussed with regards to their significance for detrital input, paleoclimate, and paleoproductivity, which in turn are considered in the context of both local and regional paleoenvironmental trends and events. The greatest depositional depths during the latest Kimmeridgian–earliest Tithonian are documented by the occurrence of pseudonodular limestones. A Tithonian shallowing trend is demonstrated via the increasing size and roundness of cyanoids, while the final (?)emergence and erosion in the South Tatric Ridge is documented by earliest Cretaceous disconformities. This process might have been related to both falling sea-level during the major eustatic regressive cycle and tectonic uplift caused by the mutually related (re)activation in the Neotethyan Collision Belt and rifting in the Ligurian-Penninic-Vahic Oceans. The highest lithogenic influx (although still low; max 0.5% of Al content) during the Late Kimmeridgian is considered as associated with relatively humid climate conditions, whereas a subsequent decreasing trend is thought to result from aridification during the latest Kimmeridgian–earliest Tithonian. Ultimately, deposition in the High-Tatric zone was affected by both large-scale environmental perturbations characteristic of the latest Jurassic (climate changes, variations in seawater pH, monsoonal upwelling, lithogenic input, etc.), as well as local sedimentary controls, predominantly the oxygenation state of bottom waters and tectonic movements.

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Authors and Affiliations

Damian Gerard Lodowski
1
Jacek Grabowski
2

  1. University of Warsaw, Faculty of Geology, Żwirki i Wigury 93, 02-089 Warszawa, Poland
  2. Polish Geological Institute-National Research Institute, Rakowiecka 4, 00-975 Warszawa, Poland
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Abstract

Marine mudstone of Coniacian age (c. 89.51–86.49 Ma) was deposited on a storm-dominated ramp spanning the foredeep of the Cretaceous Western Canada Foreland Basin. Marine flooding surfaces define 18 allomembers that thin over 300 km, from c. 140 m in the proximal foredeep to c. 20 m close to the forebulge crest. The broadly conformable succession of allomembers is partitioned into five ‘tectono-stratigraphic units’ by low-angle unconformities that bevel off c. 10 to 20 m of strata over ‘arches’ that have a length scale of c. 50–100 km and are bounded by relatively linear zones of flexure. Depositional history involved two alternate modes: ‘Background’ deposition of subtly-tapered allomembers took place on a planar sea floor, subject to regional flexural subsidence, with sea-level modulated by Milankovitch-scale (c. 125 kyr) eustatic cycles. ‘Flexural’ events deformed the strata into troughs and arches across narrow zones of flexure. Arch crests were bevelled off, probably by submarine wave erosion. Eroded sediment did not accumulate in troughs but was advected beyond the study area by storm-driven processes. Cycles of deposition, warping and erosion were repeated five times on an average timescale of 600 kyr. Arches and troughs do not coincide with Precambrian basement structures, and their origin remains enigmatic. Changes in in-plane stress may have effected the localized vertical motion.
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Authors and Affiliations

Elizabeth A. Hooper
1 2
A. Guy Plint
1

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada
  2. Present address: WSP E&I Canada Limited, 3450 Harvester Road, Suite 100, Burlington, Ontario, L7N3W5, Canada
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Abstract

The potential of heavy minerals as a provenance tracer in Albian arenites of extra-Carpathian Poland was assessed. Studies in this area have focused on various methods based on heavy mineral chemistry that provide an effective tool for reconstructing the provenance of quartz-rich sediments. The previously suggested division of the study area into two domains with different source areas: the western domain – the Miechów area, and the eastern domain – the Lublin area, was based on geochronological (monazite and muscovite dating) and rutile mineral chemical studies. The mineral chemistry of newly examined heavy minerals supports the previously suggested division. The mineral chemistry of detrital tourmaline suggests medium-grade metamorphic rocks as the main source in both domains. Detrital garnet in the western domain shows affiliation to the Góry Sowie Massif, while garnet in the eastern domain was most probably sourced from southern/central Norway. The western domain was most probably fed from rocks of the Bohemian Massif. The main source area for the eastern domain was most probably located in the Baltic Shield. The distinct division of the study area into two domains was caused by the palaeogeography of the region in the Albian and the action of longshore currents in south-eastward and eastward directions.

Supplementary Material 1
Supplementary Online Material 2






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Authors and Affiliations

Jakub Kotowski
1
Danuta Olszewska-Nejbert
1
Krzysztof Nejbert
1

  1. University of Warsaw, Faculty of Geology, Żwirki i Wigury 93, 02-089 Warszawa, Poland
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Abstract

The newly discovered mid-Campanian Szozdy Delta System (Roztocze Hills, SE Poland) located in the southern part of the Polish Cretaceous Basin, at the northern edge of the Łysogóry-Dobrogea Land, has revealed interesting features concerning the relationship between the abundance of rutile and tourmaline. A distinct inverse relationship between rutile and tourmaline can be readily recognised in the succeeding units of the tripartite cyclothems (calcareous mudstone, calcareous sandstone, and calcareous gaize) representing the submarine part of the Szozdy Delta System. In the Szozdy section, both minerals are of similar shape (highly rounded), durability, and size; they are, however, characterised by markedly different densities. Therefore, it might be expected that these two mineral phases will be strongly dependent, both vertically and spatially, on the local energy of the sedimentary environment hydrodynamic power that existed during the deposition of the succeeding units of the cyclothems. The lighter tourmaline was likely transported further to the more quiescent prodelta environment, rendering the prodelta facies overrepresented in this mineral, whereas the heavier rutile was deposited closer to the river discharge. Such relative change in the abundance of these two mineral phases, emphasised by a standardised Z-score statistics, is referred here to as rutile to tourmaline index (RuTidx). Accordingly, as the RuTidx increases, the hydrodynamic power in the sedimentary environment increases as well. Since these two mineral phases are comparatively immune to alteration during the sedimentary cycle, the RuTidx is considered here to be an independent tool in recognising the hydrodynamics of the depositional environments of any age.
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Authors and Affiliations

Michał Cyglicki
1
Zbigniew Remin
2

  1. University of Warsaw, Faculty of Geology, Żwirki i Wigury 93, 02-089 Warszawa, Poland
  2. Polish Geological Institute-National Research Institute, Rakowiecka 4, 00-975 Warszawa, Poland

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