Lower cretaceous ammonite and dinocyst biostratigraphy and paleoenvironment of the silesian basin (Outer Western Carpathians)

Abstract

The basinal, or Godula Sequence of the Silesian Unit of the Outer Western Carpathians incorporated in the present nappe structure is characterized by a considerable thickness of Lower Cretaceous dark-grey, prevailingly pelitic deposits. Barremian and Lower Aptian ammonites occur in several isolated fossiliferous beds. Non-calcareous dinoflagellate associations were analysed in the same beds to provide a correlation of both ammonite and dinoflagellate ranges. Where index ammonites are missing, associations of dinocysts become a key stratigraphic element in thick lithologically monotonous deposits. The composition of dinocysts also supports environmental and paleoclimatic reconstructions in the area studied.