The Calcare di Altamura (Italian for Altamura Limestone) is a Coniacian to

early Campanian The Campanian is the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous Epoch on the geologic timescale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In chronostratigraphy, it is the fifth of six stages in the Upper Cretaceous Series. Campanian ...

geologic

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...

in Italy.Calcare di Altamura
/ref> The formation comprises

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

s that are highly fractured, in places karstified and dolomitized. Fossil ankylosaur tracks have been reported from the formation.Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution." Pp. 517-607

Description

The Calcare di Altamura overlies the Calcare di Bari, separated by an

unconformity An unconformity is a buried erosional or non-depositional surface separating two rock masses or strata of different ages, indicating that sediment deposition was not continuous. In general, the older layer was exposed to erosion for an interval ...

and is overlain by the Calcare di Caranna, separated by a transgressive angular unconformity.APAT, 2001, p.33Reina & Buttiglione, 2005, p.32 The Calcare di Altamura is subdivided into the Loferitique, Stromatolique and Gorjanovicia Members.APAT, 2001, p.52 The formation comprises

s with some levels of

dolomitization Dolomitization is a geological process by which the carbonate mineral dolomite is formed when magnesium ions replace calcium ions in another carbonate mineral, calcite. It is common for this mineral alteration into dolomite to take place due to e ...

. The succession starts with a sequence of

stromatolite Stromatolites () or stromatoliths () are layered sedimentary formations ( microbialite) that are created mainly by photosynthetic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria, sulfate-reducing bacteria, and Pseudomonadota (formerly proteobacteria). T ...

s and is heavily fractured and karstified.Reina & Buttiglione, 2005, p.33 The formation crops out south of the

Bari–Taranto railway The Bari–Taranto railway is an Italian long railway line, that connects Bari with Gioia del Colle and Taranto. The line was opened in two stages between 1865 and 1868. On 1 June 1865 the section from Bari to Gioia del Colle opened; the line ...

. The lower part of the formation is dated to the Coniacian based on the presence of the microfossils '' Aeolisaccus kotori'', '' Thaumatoporella parvovesiculifera'', '' Accordiella conica'' and '' Moncharmontia appenninica''.Reina & Buttiglione, 2005, p.35 The upper part is dated to the

.APAT, 2001, p.52

Fossil content

The formation has provided

ichnofossil A trace fossil, also known as an ichnofossil (; from el, ἴχνος ''ikhnos'' "trace, track"), is a fossil record of biological activity but not the preserved remains of the plant or animal itself. Trace fossils contrast with body fossils, ...

s of: * '' Apulosauripus federicianus''Nicosia et al., 1999 * Ankylosauria indet.Dal Sasso, 2003

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Calcare Di Altamura Geologic formations of Italy Upper Cretaceous Series of Europe Cretaceous Italy Campanian Stage Coniacian Stage Santonian Stage Limestone formations Dolomite formations Shallow marine deposits Reef deposits Ichnofossiliferous formations Paleontology in Italy Formations

Description

Fossil content

See also

References

Bibliography