Rhaetian microfacies, stratigraphy and facial development in the Tatra Mts

Abstract

The paper comprises results of sedimentary-facial and stratigraphic analysis of the sub-tatric (Kriûna) Rhaetian of the Tatra Mts. Sedimentary sequence and detailed characteristics of the deposits are presented, whereas a rich foraminifer fauna (over 30 species) allows to distinguish in these deposits the Lower (pokornyi & friedli Zone) and Upper Rhaetian (hantkeni Zone) and to discuss the "Keuper"/Rhaetian and Rhaetian/Liassic boundaries. Attention is paid to the megalodontid fauna comprising i.a. the two new species, Conchodon goeteli sp. n. and Rhaetomegalodon tatricus sp. n. Described are also two new coprolite species, Bactryllium ornatum sp. n. and B. elongatum sp. n., most probably attributable to the investigated megalodontids. On the basis of a succession in facies and their lateral changes, the development of the Rhaetian sedimentary basin in reconstructed. Finally, the Rhaetian deposits of the Tatra Mts are correlated with contemporaneous strata from other parts of the Tethys Ocean.