Early?–Middle Jurassic dinoflagellate cysts and foraminifera from the dark shale of the Pieniny Klippen Belt between Jarabina and Litmanová (Slovakia): age and palaeoenvironment

Abstract

The results presented are a part of the biostratigraphical and palaeoenvironmental studies of the authors on the microfauna and organic-walled dinoflagellate cysts from the Mesozoic dark deposits of the Pieniny Klippen Belt. The authors present the latest results from the Lower–Middle Jurassic strata, including the Szlachtowa and the Skrzypny Shale formations in the Slovak part of the Pieniny Klippen Belt near the villages of Jarabina, Kamienka and Litmanová. Material for the present study comes from exposures along the Malý Lipník, Veľký Lipník and Riečka Streams, and from the Jar-1 borehole, near Jarabina. The authors document the microfaunal and phytoplanctonic content of these rocks that contain over 50 foraminifera and 20 dinoflagellate cyst species. Their Middle Toarcian?–Aalenian to Bajocian–Bathonian ages are proposed and discussed. Quantitative and qualitative variations of both microfossil groups are interpreted as reflecting various sedimentary settings, related mainly to the variable intensity of influx of terrestrial matter into marine basins, leading to different bottom-water living conditions.