“TABERINA” BINGISTANI HENSON, 1948 (FORAMINIFERA) FROM THE UPPER CENOMANIAN OF APULIA (SOUTHERN ITALY): A NEW RECORD
Massimiliano Borghi * & Johannes S. Pignatti **
* ENI divisione AGIP, Esplorazione e Produzione, Via del Marchesato 13, 48023 Marina di Ravenna (Ra), Italy
** Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università La Sapienza, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy and IGAG/CNR, Roma
INTRODUCTION
The aim of the present note is to give a brief account of a new record of the larger foraminifer Taberina bingistani Henson, 1948 from an Upper Cenomanian limestone of central Apulia (Southern Italy). This occur- rence is noteworthy from the paleobiogeograpic stand- point, because it adds a new element to the well-known Cenomanian foraminiferal assemblages of the Apulian platform (Azzaroli & Reichel, 1964; Luperto Sinni, 1966; Ricchetti, 1975; Luperto Sinni & Ricchetti, 1978;
Luperto Sinni & Borgomano, 1989) and Central-South- ern Italy (for a recent review, see Chiocchini et al., 1995).
OUTCROP LOCATION AND GEOLOGICAL OUTLINE
The investigated outcrop is located in the NW corner of the 1:25.000 quadrangle II NE, Monopoli (map no.
190 of the 1:100.000 Italian cartographic system). The outcrop is easily accessed from North Polignano exit of state highway 16 and located approximately 1 km from the latter along the coastal road to Brindisi (Fig. 1).
The studied section belongs to the Bari Limestone Formation (Valduga, 1965), ranging from the Valangin- ian to the ?Lower Turonian (Ciaranfi et alii, 1988).
These deposits are considered as inner shelf facies (Luperto Sinni & Borgomano, 1989).
The upper part of the Bari Limestone Formation crop- ping out in the study area has been subdivided by Luper- to Sinni & Borgomano (1989) into a lower member (Micritic Member) and an upper member (Sannicandro Member), referred by them respectively to the lower(?) part of the upper Cenomanian and the upper(?) part of the upper Cenomanian.
Luperto Sinni & Borgomano (1989) established the Micritic Mb. on a section that seems to correspond to the lower part of the section studied by us. They recorded in
it the occurrence of Cuneolina pavonia parva, Cisalve- olina (?) sp., Nezzazata sp., Peneroplis cf. planatus parvus and Nummoloculina heimi and referred this member to the lower(?) part of the upper Cenomanian.
The whole of our section can be attributed to the Micrit- ic Mb. of the Bari Limestone Fm.
The Sannicandro Mb., instead, containing Cisalveoli- na fraasi, Chrysalidina gradata, Pseudolituonella reicheli, Pseudorhapydionina dubia, Nummofallotia cf.
apula, Nezzazata sp. and the alga Heteroporella lepina, was referred by them to the uppermost Cenomanian.
Azzaroli & Reichel (1964) recorded analogous coeval assemblages (Cisalveolina fraasi, Chrysalidina gradata, Pseudolituonella reicheli, and Dicyclina sp.) from the Polignano-Sannicandro-Mola area.
OUTCROP DESCRIPTION AND FORAMINIFERAL ASSEMBLAGE
The investigated succession (Fig. 2) consists of two superposed sections of sub-horizontal strata separated by a thin not exposed interval. The thickness of the entire
Geologica Romana 39 (2006), 89-94
ABSTRACT - The first occurrence of “Taberina” bingistani Henson, 1948 from Upper Cenomanian limestones of the Apulian platform cropping out near Polignano a Mare is recorded. The stratigraphic and paleogeographic range of this species, whose generic assignment is still doubtful, are discussed.
KEY-WORDS: Taberina, Foraminifera, Micropaleontology, Paleobiogeography, Cenomanian, Apulia, Italy
RIASSUNTO - Viene segnalato il primo rinvenimento di “Taberina” bingistani Henson, 1948 nei calcari cenoma- niani di piattaforma di Polignano a Mare (Puglia). Vengono discusse la distribuzione stratigrafica e paleogeo- grafica di tale specie, la cui attribuzione generica appare ancora incerta.
Fig. 1 - Outcrop location.
succession is about 20 m. The succession is consists of limestones, dolomitized in places, with intercalated cm- thick reddish levels interpreted by us as evidence of subaerial exposure; the dolomitization is interpreted by us as secondary.
Petrographic and geochemical evidences along with microfacies analysis testify to frequent environmental
changes in the succession and allow us to interpret the investigated carbonates as shallow-water to peritidal deposits, occasionally subaerially exposed (Borghi et al., 1996).
The fossil assemblage includes rudists (in particular Sauvagesia nicaisei), which are concentrated in the lower and uppermost part of the succession, smaller and
Fig. 2 - Upper part of the investigated succession; the about 5-cm thick level yielding “T.” bingistani was found at the bottom of the quarry.
Fig. 3 - “T”. bingistani Henson, subaxial section. Scale bar = 1 mm.
larger benthic foraminifera and algae. Planktonic foraminifera do not occur in the investigated deposits.
Slides of selected samples were prepared for nanno- plankton, but proved to be barren of fossils. Variation in microfaunal composition is apparently controlled by both sedimentary and diagenetic factors, among which notably small-scale changes in water depth and dolomi- tization.
Besides “T.” bingistani (Figs. 3, 4 and 5), the fossil assemblage includes a typical late Cenomanian taxon (De Castro, 1988), Cisalveolina fraasi, along with Vida- lina sp., Cuneolina ex gr. pavonia, Trochospira avnime- lechi, Biconcava bentori, Biplanata peneropliformis, Nezzazata spp., Nezzazatinella picardi, Pseudorhapy- dionina dubia, Peneroplis parvus, Peneroplis sp., Chry- salidina gradata, Broeckina sp., Trocholina, and Pseudonummoloculina heimi. Other common elements are Textulariina, miliolids (including Spiroloculina cretacea Auctt.), anomalinids, algae (e.g., Thaumatopo- rella), and the micro-problematicum Aeolisaccus sp.
THE RECORD OF “TABERINA”: DISCUSSION
Taberina bingistani was described by Henson (1948) on specimens in thin section from Kuh-i-Bingistan (Iran):
According to the original description, it is characterized by possessing “initial spire with two to three involute whorls; later chambers saucer shaped, building a cylin- drical or acute conical test with about thirteen chambers per millimetre measured along the axis; sutures slightly depressed; megalosphere unicellular, circular in section, measuring 0.11-0.15 mm in diameter.”
The genus Taberina Keijzer, 1945 is based on its desig- nated type species T. cubana, from the Paleocene of Cuba (Keijzer, 1945). His concept of Taberina is rather broad:
as outlined later (Henson, 1950), he considered that Edomia Henson, 1948 and Pseudedomia Henson, 1948 are synonyms of Taberina, an opinion not shared by subsequent authors (Hamaoui & Fourcade, 1973;
Loeblich & Tappan, 1987). Contrary to Henson (1948), in our opinion the generic assignment of Taberina bingis- tani Henson is questionable, because the architecture of the type species this genus does not seem to be properly understood (Banner & Highton, 1989). Indeed, this applies to various taxa which have been previously referred to Taberina, such as T. malabarica (Carter, 1853) (originally described as Orbiculina, from the Early- Middle Miocene of the Indo-Pacific and Eastern Mediter- ranean domains), and T. daviesi Henson, 1950 (Late Pale- ocene of the Middle East and Somalia). Due to their architecture, these last two species are currently ascribed to genera different from Taberina (Banner & Highton, 1989; Pignatti, 1992). The generic attribution of another nominal species, T. subcretacea Iovcheva, 1962 from the
“TABERINA” BINGISTANI HENSON, 1948 (FORAMINIFERA) ... Geologica Romana 39 (2006), 89-94 91
Fig. 4 - “T”. bingistani Henson, oblique axial section. Scale bar = 0.5 mm.
Fig. 5 - “T”. bingistani Henson, sub-transverse section. Scale bar = 0.5 mm.
Aptian of northeastern Bulgaria is uncertain, because no details on its internal structure are given in the original diagnosis, beyond its being “complex”.
Further investigations pending on the architecture of Taberina cubana, we prefer to stress the uncertainty of generic attribution of the species here recorded, and to use an open generic assignment (“Taberina” bingistani).
“T.” bingistani Henson is a very distinctive larger foraminifer of the Cenomanian of the Middle East. It has been recorded from Iran (Henson, 1948; Sampò, 1969), Kuwait (El-Naggar & Al-Rifaiy, 1973), Jordan (Koch, 1968), Israel (Henson, 1948; Hamaoui, 1966), Lebanon (Hamaoui & Saint-Marc, 1970; Saint-Marc, 1970, 1977, 1982), and Syria (Henson, 1948). Other occurrences may include specimens from Somalia recorded as Edomia gr.
iranica-reicheli Henson, 1948 by Prestat (1977: pl. 14, fig.7; pl. 15, fig. 1) and referred to T. bingistani by Saint- Marc (1982). The closest record to our study area, and as yet the only record from Europe, is that by Fleury (1980;
p. 488, pl. 1, figs. 7-10) from western Greece (Proti Island, Gavrovo domain) (Fig. 6).
It may be worth mentioning that in the same timespan and depositional environment of “T.” bingistani there are two other taxa in southern Italy which are to some extent
morphologically similar to the former in random thin sections, Rhipidionina casertana De Castro, 1965 (=
Pseudorhipidionina casertana Auctt.), and Praerhapy- dionina murgiana Crescenti, 1964. However, the endoskeleton of these species appears less developed and their test is clearly compressed in its peneropliform adult stage.
CONCLUSIONS
The record of “T.” bingistani Henson, 1948 adds a new element to the well-known Cenomanian foraminiferal assemblages of the Apulian platform and of the central Mediterranean area in general. The gener- ic assignment of this species needs careful restudy of the type species of the genus.
Some hypotheses can be made about the scarcity of finds of this taxon:
- reduced thickness (about 5 cm) of the layer, at least in the studied section;
- lack of this thin layer elsewhere due e.g. to a strati- graphic gap;
- high environmental specialisation of this taxon;
Fig. 6 - Paleogeography of central Neo-Tethys in late Cenomanian times (after Philip et al., 1993, modified and redrawn). Legend: white = land, gray
= terrigenous shelf and shallow terrigenous basin (shallow sea), light gray = carbonate platform (shallow sea), dark gray = deep sea. A = Apulian Platform; AA = Anti-Atlas; BD = Bey Daglari; Ca = Calabria; ET = Eastern Taurus; G = Gavrovo; GO = Golija Massif; IM = Iberian Massif; KS = Kirsehir; L = Lebanon; LA = Lazio-Abruzzi; MC = Massif Central; PL = Pelagonian Massif; PN = Panormides; RH = Rhodope Massif; S = Sardinia;
TA = Tatra Mts. The asterisks indicate the known records of “Taberina” bingistani. Records from Iran and an uncertain record from Somalia are not shown.
- erroneous assignment to coeval taxa (Rhipidionina casertana and Praerhapydionina murgiana), which are superficially similar in random thin section.
Thus, the presence of “T.” bingistani Henson, 1948 in the Apulian domain testifies to the existence of biogeo- graphic links during the Cenomanian between the Apulian carbonate platform and the Middle East domain.
Finally in the studied outcrop the co-existence of “T.”
bingistani and Cisalveolina fraasi (a typical marker for the upper Cenomanian; De Castro, 1982) is recorded for the first time. Also, the co-occurring Chrysalidina
gradata is “probably is confined to the mid Cenomanian and the earlier part of the late Cenomanian; Turonian records have yet to be confirmed” (Banner et al., 1991:
115).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS- We are indebted Prof. M. Chiocchini, Prof. C. Ferràndez-Cañadell, and Dr. S. Venturini (ENI-AGIP) for critical review and suggestions. The comments of an anonymous referee are gratefully acknowledged. We thank Dr.
A. Fiorentino for attempting nannoplankton investigation.
Financial support: MURST Cofin grant 2004 045173_003.
“TABERINA” BINGISTANI HENSON, 1948 (FORAMINIFERA) ... Geologica Romana 39 (2006), 89-94 93
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Accettato per la stampa: Novembre 2006
