The Sarcheshmeh Formation of the Kopet Dagh Basin in northeastern Iran is composed of gray to green marls with interbedded marly limestone layers. In this study, a 90-m-thick stratigraphic section at Hosein Abad was selected for detailed analysis. Based on planktonic foraminiferal assemblages, 15 species belonging to three genera were identified. Accordingly, two biozones are proposed: the Globigerinelloides aptiensis Interval Zone (upper Barremian to lower Aptian) and the Globigerinelloides ferreolensis Interval Zone (lower to upper Aptian). These biozones confirm a late Barremian to early late Aptian age for the Sarcheshmeh Formation at the Hosein Abad section. The Hosein Abad section is correlated with the Takal Kuh and Amand sections in northeastern Iran. Micropaleontological events are well correlated with ammonite data from previous fieldwork. The identified biozones were also compared with previous studies in central Morocco, southeastern France, and southern Tibet, revealing a good correlation of the Sarcheshmeh Formation with biozones from the upper Barremian to upper Aptian.

The present contribution constitutes the sixth part of a series of publications on the lower Cenomanian (lower Upper Cretaceous) coral fauna of C & oacute;breces in Cantabria (Spain). The fauna, derived from a complex of several patch reefs in the lower Altamira Formation, encompasses a total of approximately 140 coral species and is the largest known Cenomanian coral fauna to date. Here, corals of the superfamilies Rhizangioidea and Stylinoidea with eight genera and 18 species are presented. The genus Aulastraeogyra is described as new, with two new species, Aulastraeogyra astraeforma and Aulastraeogyra meandriforme.

The Kolur Formation (Talesh Mountains, NW Iran) comprises a hitherto poorly-known and informal lithostratigraphic unit with significant importance for unravelling the regional palaeogeography and geodynamic setting. It comprises a similar to 650-m-thick succession of hemipelagic limestones and marls with abundant planktic microbiota. It overlies the Middle Jurassic-lower Berriasian Rosso-Ammonitico-type Shal Formation conformably. Based on its diverse ammonite faunas (with typical Mediterranean deeper water affinity), the Kolur Formation ranges from the upper Berriasian into the upper Aptian, but the precise positions of intermediate stage boundaries remain uncertain due to a currently patchy biostratigraphic record. The Kolur Formation represents an outer ramp to basinal setting at the southwestern margin of the South-Caspian Basin, forming part of an extensional back-arc basin system related to NNE-directed subduction of the Neotethys below Eurasia. The Kolur Formation is unconformably capped by (submarine) volcanics of inferred Albian age, heralding an inter-regional phase of tectonic instability and non-deposition during the early Late Cretaceous, related to contemporaneous ophiolite obduction at the opposite Neotethyan margin. The Kolur Formation, now formalized, constitutes, together with Middle Jurassic-lower Berriasian and Upper Cretaceous formations of the Talesh Mountains, the Talesh Group, the geodynamic brackets of which are the mid-Bajocian Mid-Cimmerian tectonic Event below and the Laramian tectonics (Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary interval) above. The Talesh Group, thus, reflects the late Mesozoic geodynamic history in a crucial segment of the northern Neotethys. Future acquisition of higher-resolution integrated stratigraphic data could elevate the Kolur Formation to a Standard Auxiliary Boundary Stratotype for selected Lower Cretaceous stage boundaries. (c) 2026 Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

The Kreibitz-Zittau area (northern margin of the Bohemian Massif, Czech-German border region) exposes a similar to 1000-m-thick Cenomanian-middle Coniacian succession of quartz arenites with high compositional but low textural maturity. Translucent heavy minerals are almost exclusively composed of zircon, tourmaline and rutile (& Oslash;-ZTR maturity index of 91) with tourmaline predominating (average of 60 %). Zr-in-rutile temperatures document upper amphibolite-eclogite to granulite facies between 700 and 930 degrees C. Cr/Nb discrimination of rutile and geochemistry of tourmaline indicate that >95 % of these grains originate from Al-rich and Fe-Mg-poor metapelites. U-Pb-ages of detrital rutile show a distinct peak at 320-330 Ma. If present, garnets of the almandine-pyrope series are dominant. The 95 % predominance of Variscan U-Pb rutile ages in all samples and the high/ultrahigh temperatures of metamorphism exclude the Neoproterozoic greywackes and granitoids of the Lusatian Massif and the granitoids of the Jizera-Krkono & scaron;e Massif in the northeast as sources. Potential proto source rocks were high-grade metamorphic rocks similar to those today exposed within the gneissic-migmatitic G & oacute;ry Sowie Massif, ca. 120 km east of the depositional area. Since the late Devonian, this massif was uplifted, reaching the surface in late Carboniferous times. Consequently, the widespread Permo-Carboniferous Variscan molasse is the major sediment source for the Cretaceous sandstones, which thus were deposited during at least their 2nd sedimentary cycle. The study shows that integrated approaches combining careful petrography, heavy mineral analyses, mineral-specific geochemistry and thermometry as well as U-Pb age dating with high-resolution stratigraphy are suited to solve complex provenance puzzles. (c) 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Widespread, apparently rapid nearshore glaucony authigenesis was a conspicuous process during the (Late) Cretaceous green−/hothouse that has no analogue today. Based on detailed case studies from different depositional domains around the Mid-European Island, we aim to gain a deeper understanding of the stratigraphic, environmental and geochemical constraints on the formation of Upper Cretaceous greensand giants. SEM-EDX and XRD analyses demonstrate that the rock-forming green grains from all studied basins consist of glauconitic minerals with high-order, 1M-type layer stacking. Inorganic geochemical patterns, using palaeoenvironmentally significant major and trace elements normalized to Al, show that numerous element/aluminum (E/Al) ratios of greensand deposits, including the modified chemical index of alteration (CIX), are considerably higher than average shale values. In contrast, contemporaneous continental deposits exhibit low E/Al ratios and extremely high CIX values. Furthermore, abundant plant remains indicate substantial influx of terrestrial organic matter. These findings indicate strong chemical weathering of densely vegetated hinterlands under warm-humid conditions, causing a continuous supply of essential elements required for nearshore glaucony authigenesis. The decay of terrestrial organic matter favored this process in two independent ways, i.e., ensuring slightly reducing conditions of porewaters and providing plant-decay-related potassium for rapid glaucony maturation. Reworking of swampy coastal lowlands during major Late Cretaceous shoreline retrogradation was another crucial process for trace metal mobilization. In short, our integrated data provide insight into the anactualistic process of glaucony neoformation during hothouse phases of Earth history that, as part of the reverse weathering reaction, could be a significant factor in future global change scenarios.

The Upper Triassic-lower Middle Jurassic tectono-sedimentary megacycle in central Iran is represented by the Shemshak Group, deposited within the central part of the Cimmerian continent (the "Iranian Cimmerides"). It contains key information on the Mesozoic geodynamics of the Middle East during the collision of the Cimmerian terranes with Eurasia. However, detailed insights into the response of depositional systems to the complex contemporaneous tectonics are hampered by poor exposure, in particular of fine-grained strata. A new, 641-mlong core from the northern Tabas Block (east-central Iran) provides an unweathered and continuous subsurface record of the Shemshak Group. Detailed lithofacies and stratigraphic analyses refine previous lithostratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental interpretations, allowing to consider relative sea-level changes caused by Cimmerian tectonic events and/or global sea-level fluctuations. The thick siliciclastic succession of the Rhaetian Qadir Member of the Nayband Subgroup reflects rapid basin subsidence in advance of the Main Cimmerian Event (MCE). It comprises the dominant part of the Shemshak Group. In the aftermath of the MCE at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary, comparatively low subsidence rates and limited accommodation prevailed, resulting in low thicknesses of the Lower-lower Middle Jurassic mixed siliciclastic and carbonate Ab-e-Haji Subgroup. Process and stacking-pattern analyses of eleven clastic and eight carbonate lithofacies indicate a variety of continental and marine depositional environments, ranging from fluvial and deltaic to shallow-marine. Our findings significantly improve the knowledge of the tectono-stratigraphic setting of the Shemshak Group and contribute to a better understanding of the Cimmerian history of central Iran between the Late Triassic and the Jurassic.

The deposits of the lower Danubian Cretaceous Group (DCG; Bavaria, SE-Germany) record one of the most pronounced sea-level rises in the Phanerozoic. Detailed bio- and sequence stratigraphic correlations and facies analyses of the lower Cenomanian-middle Turonian strata of the DCG based on two newly cored boreholes from the north of Regensburg and the revised Grub section in the Bodenwohrer Senke provide new insights into the depositional processes related to the early Late Cretaceous transgression. Unconformably overlying Upper Jurassic limestones or Carboniferous granites of the Variscan basement (Carboniferous granites), the Cretaceous succession includes the Regensburg (lower Cenomanian- lowermost Turonian), Eibrunn (uppermost Cenomanian-lowermost Turonian), Winzerberg (lower Turonian) and the lower (middle Turonian) parts of the Kagerhoh and Roding formations. All lithofacies are of marine origin, consisting of a variable mixture of siliciclastic material derived from the Bohemian Massif, carbonate produced by marine biota and authigenic glaucony. Five Cenomanian-Turonian unconformities (sequence boundaries SB Ce 3-5, SB Tu 1 and 2) and their corresponding depositional sequences (DS Ce 3-5, DS Ce-Tu 1, DS Tu 2, and the lower part of DS Tu 3) have been identified, the latter generally consisting of transgressive and highstand system tracts only. The sequence boundaries are reflected by conspicuous grain size/lithological shifts, reworking of older strata and/or stratigraphic gaps, and their correlative nature on an intra-basinal scale and beyond suggests an eustatic control on their formation. The detailed correlation clearly demonstrates the diachronous onlap of the DCG onto the Bohemian Massif and the time-transgressive nature of the Regensburg and Eibrunn formations. Facies patterns and thickness changes were exclusively controlled by sea-level fluctuations and available accommodation space until the early middle Turonian. This paper adds novel perspectives on the early Late Cretaceous depositional history of the Danubian Cretaceous Basin and highlights the importance of careful integrated stratigraphic correlation for the reconstruction of complex facies patterns and ancient relative sea-level changes.

The present contribution constitutes the fifth part of a series of publications on the lower Cenomanian (lower Upper Cretaceous) coral fauna of C & oacute;breces in Cantabria (Spain). The fauna, derived from a complex of several patch reefs in the lower Altamira Formation, encompasses a total of approximately 140 coral species and is the largest known Cenomanian coral fauna to date. Here, corals of the superfamily Heterocoenioidea (including the families Agatheliidae, Heterocoeniidae, and Paronastraeidae) with six genera and 15 species are presented. One species-Tiarasmilia lapidis-is described as new.

From the Shal Formation of the Alborz Mountains in NW Iran, a diverse Middle Jurassic ammonite fauna consisting of 24 taxa is described and illustrated, several of which in open nomenclature due to the imperfect preservation. Eight of the reported taxa are recorded from Iran for the first time. Biostratigraphically, the fauna comprises taxa that range from the Late Bajocian into the Callovian, with a focus on Late Bajocian and Early Bathonian species. In total, the fauna includes 115 specimens that are, in descending abundance, systematically assigned to the Stephanoceratidae (31%), Phylloceratidae (27%), Parkinsoniidae (17%), Lytoceratidae (11%), Oppeliidae (10.5%) and Perisphinctidae (3.5%). Palaeoecologically, pelagic and deep-water forms (Phylloceratidae, Lytoceratidae and oxycone Oppeliidae = 49%) predominate, comprising almost half of the ammonite fauna, while Stephanoceratidae (31%) and Perisphinctoidea (20%) are each less important, respectively. This observation corresponds to the Ammonitico-Rosso-type lithofacies of the Shal Formation that reflects an open and deeper marine environment.

Middle–Upper Jurassic strata from Iran are fairly well-known from the Alborz Mountains of northern Iran, the Koppeh-Dagh in northeast Iran and the thick successions on the Tabas and Lut blocks in Central Iran. However, very few data are available from the Talesh Mountains in northwest Iran where the condensed strata of the Shal Formation represents the higher part of the Jurassic succession. Thus, we conducted a careful study of the Shal Formation in order to provide integrated stratigraphic data, to characterize its depositional environment by means of (micro-)facies analysis and to place the succession in a geodynamic framework. The Shal Formation rests erosionally along the Mid-Cimmerian unconformity on siliciclastic strata of the Shemshak Group and mainly consists of reddish, nodular bioclastic float- and packstones with abundant ammonites and filaments (Rosso Ammonitico facies). According to ammonite faunas, deposition of the Shal Formation started in the late Bajocian and continued into the early Berriasian, with sparse records of Late Jurassic taxa. The composition of the ammonite association indicates offshore and deeper marine environments, supported by the Rosso Ammonitico-type facies that commonly characterizes condensed, current-swept deep-water environments. The deposition of the Shal Formation occurred on the southern rifted shelf of the South Caspian Basin (SCB) that experienced considerable crustal extension and thermo-tectonic subsidence in the aftermath of the mid-Bajocian Mid-Cimmerian Event. Shallow-water deposition prevailed in the southwest (Lar Formation) while towards the northeast, into the SCB, the Shal Formation characterized condensed deep-water environments on submarine swells, potentially represented by crests of submerged rotated fault blocks.

The present contribution constitutes the third part of a series of publications on the lower Cenomanian (lower Upper Cretaceous) coral fauna of C & oacute;breces in Cantabria (Spain). The fauna, derived from a complex of several patch reefs in the lower Altamira Formation, encompasses a total of approximately 140 coral species and is the largest known Cenomanian coral fauna to date. Here, corals of the families Microsolenidae, Negoporitidae, and Synastreidae (superfamily Cyclolitoidea) with nine genera and 25 species are presented.

Based on integrated geochemical, mineralogical and stratigraphic-sedimentological analyses of core section KB 4507/1001 Essen-Bedingrade from the M & uuml;nsterland Cretaceous Basin (northern Germany), the geochemical and depositional environment of a Late Cretaceous greensand giant has been elucidated. The >100-m-thick Cretaceous succession comprises the Essen Greensand (Cenomanian), B & uuml;ren (lower Turonian), Duisburg (middle Turonian to lower Coniacian) and Emscher formations (middle to upper Coniacian), essentially consisting of alternating greensand and marl lithofacies. X-ray diffraction analyses showed that the abundant green grains undoubtedly constitute glauconitic minerals with high-order, 1M-type layer stacking. The depositional environment can be characterized as a shallow-marine setting in which nearshore greensands interfingered with mid- shelf marls. Inorganic geochemical analyses normalized to Al and compared to average shale (AS) show that most element/Al (E/Al) ratios are higher than AS values, including the chemical index of alteration (CIX). This suggest that an intensely chemically weathered wet hinterland provided for a constant supply of essential elements required for nearshore glaucony authigenesis under variably reducing or oxidizing conditions and slightly increased palaeoproductivity. The leaching of paleosols and swamp-like coastal wetlands during transgressive phases related to eustatic early Late Cretaceous sea-level changes was an important source for trace metals and nutrients while the considerable influx of terrestrial organic matter suggests a significant input of K related to plant decay. In a nutshell, our new integrated data from the M & uuml;nsterland Cretaceous Basin provide important novel insights into the formative processes of authigenic glauconitic minerals during warm-humid climate phases of Earth history.

The present contribution constitutes the fourth part of a series of publications on the lower Cenomanian (lower Upper Cretaceous) coral fauna of C & oacute;breces in Cantabria (Spain). The fauna, derived from a complex of several patch reefs in the lower Altamira Formation, encompasses a total of approximately 140 coral species and is the largest known Cenomanian coral fauna to date. Here, corals of the superfamilies Dendrogyroidea and Eugyroidea (including the families Dendrogyridae, Eugyridae, Solenocoeniidae, and the informal Felixigyra group) with six genera and 13 taxa are presented.

The Upper Triassic to lower Middle Jurassic Shemshak Group of the Central-East-Iranian-Microcontinent is important for understanding Mesozoic geodynamics of the Middle East during and in the aftermath of the collision of the Cimmerian microplates with Eurasia, resulting in the massive burial of organic matter and the formation of significant coal reserves. The present study thus aims to elucidate the stratigraphic patterns, lithofacies inventory, depositional environments and geodynamic significance of the Shemshak Group in the Halvan area of the Kalmard sub-block of the northern Tabas Block where the succession is most completely developed. Lithostratigraphic studies through detailed logging resulted in a differentiation of the siliciclastic Upper Triassic Nayband and Lower Jurassic Ab-e-Haji formations, bounded at their bases by the Eo- and Main Cimmerian unconformities, respectively, and the mixed carbonate-siliciclastic Badamu Formation (upper Lower to lower Middle Jurassic). The lithofacies analysis and stacking patterns of siliciclastic strata indicate deposition in a variety of environments ranging from (proximal to distal) coastal and delta plains to delta front and prodelta settings for the Nayband and Ab-e-Haji formations. Detailed litho- and microfacies studies of the Badamu Formation revealed inner to middle parts of a mixed carbonate-siliciclastic ramp system. Careful petrographic studies indicate that sandstones of the succession are generally lithic-rich (ranging from phyllarenite to sedarenite) and, up-section, grade into quartz-rich sublitharenite, providing important information for sedimentary provenance analysis. The sandstones rich in metamorphic- and sedimentary lithic fragments indicate a proximal source on the western Yazd Block as well as rocks exposed on the Kalmad sub-block itself. The integrated studies also led to the recognition of the Eo- and Main Cimmerian orogenic phases, characterized by rapid uplift and/or subsidence phases. Late Triassic and Early Jurassic deposition took place in a back-arc extensional basin characterized by normal faulting. During the Toarcian-Aalenian, the reduced input of clastic material due to sourcearea denudation and/or a major transgression resulted in the development of the mixed carbonate-siliciclastic system of the lower Badamu Formation in the western part of the northern Tabas Block. This ramp system developed into an attached, ocean-facing carbonate platform with a prograding margin of ooid shoals.

The steep sandstone cliffs of the Upper Cretaceous Elbtal Group exposed in the Eastern Erzgebirge and the Zittau Sandstone Mountains are impressive remnants of the Saxo-Bohemian Cretaceous Basin. Despite the excellent exposure, little is known about the provenance. Herein, we present LA-ICP-MS U–Pb and trace element data of detrital rutile grains separated from five different formations of the Elbtal Group to characterise and differentiate potential source regions. The Cenomanian samples of the Eastern Erzgebirge (Niederschöna and Oberhäslich formations, lower Elbtal Group) yield an U–Pb rutile age cluster at 320–330 Ma. The source rock lithology is predominantly of metapelitic origin. The Zr-in-rutile temperatures indicate amphibolite- to lower granulite-facies metamorphic conditions. Thus, the Variscan basement exposed in the Erzgebirge is assumed as proto source. The Middle Turonian to Early Coniacian samples from the Zittau Sandstone Mountains (Oybin, Lückendorf and Waltersdorf formations; upper Elbtal Group) yield similar U–Pb rutile ages with a cluster at 320–330 Ma. The source rock lithology is likewise predominantly classified as metapelitic and the Zr-in-rutile temperatures cluster in upper amphibolite- to granulite-facies metamorphic conditions. Exposures with high-grade metamorphic Variscan basement are assumed as likely proto sources for these sedimentary rocks. Sedimentary structures indicate a northerly source and thus contrast with direct input from the Variscan basement located to the south and east. Thus, the most likely sedimentary model is reworking of sediments that were eroded from the Variscan basement prior to the Turonian and deposited within a basin at the northern margin of the Bohemian Massif.

A revised stratigraphic, palaeoenvironmental and geodynamic interpretation of the continental Hessenreuth Formation is presented, based on integrated analyses of numerous new outcrops and shallow core sections as well as the 250-mlong core Friedersreuth 10/1990. The coarse-grained and highly immature siliciclastic succession reflects the inversion phase in the depositional history of the Danubian Cretaceous Group in the Albenreuth-Parkstein Depression (APD) along the Franconian Lineament, the northernmost segment of the staggered boundary fault system of the Bohemian Massif. Lithofacies and stratigraphic architecture of the Hessenreuth Formation allow for a distinction of five consecutive subunits, i.e. the Glash & uuml;tte, Parkstein, Glasern, Friedersreuth and Hesserberg members. The basal Glash & uuml;tte Member comprises more than 63 m of vividly coloured fluvial strata. The following ca. 78-m-thick conglomeratic sandstone packages of the Parkstein Member are interpreted as gravel-bed river deposits sourced from the N-NE (Fichtelgebirge, Saxothuringian Zone). Its terminal vividly coloured, fine-grained Red Clay-Iron Sandstone unit, indicates intermittent dryer conditions on the alluvial plain reflected by the Glash & uuml;tte and Parkstein members. The ca. 100-m-thick Glasern Member is predominantly composed of conglomerates and breccia conglomerates and subdivided into a lower cyclic and an upper chaotic subunit, interpreted as deposits generated by repeated debris-flow to flood-flow events on an alluvial fan. The polymictic coarse fraction indicates the immediately adjacent Zone of Erbendorf-Vohenstrau ss as major source area. The ca. 67-m-thick, fine-grained Frie dersreuth Member, containing fossil plant debris, reflects an intermittent base-level-rise accompanied by finer grained alluvial fan deposition while the abrupt change to the >150-m-thick, poorly-sorted, mica-rich cobble-to-boulder conglomerates of the Hesserberg Member indicates a proximal alluvial fan environment, close to a rapidly rising source area. According to our new palynological data, the marker Complexiopollis christae confirms a Turonian age for the Glash & uuml;tte to lower Friedersreuth members, while in the uppermost Friedersreuth Member and Hesserberg Member a Coniacian assemblage including Minorpollis minimus is identified; thus, the Turonian-Coniacian boundary is placed in the middle to upper Friedersreuth Member. The palynological data also indicate an alluvial plain vegetation, representing Normapolles-related gallery forests with herbaceous angiosperms and fern-dominated undergrowth. This vegetal palaeocommunity has now been identified in all Cretaceous basins around the Bohemian Massif. Lithofacies analysis revealed three different facies associations (FAs) namely alluvial plain-/overbank deposition of fines (FA 1), within channel deposition (FA 2) and debris-/mudflow deposition (FA 3), reflecting a distal-proximal gradient of a prograding warm-subhumid to semiarid alluvial fan depositional system. Petrographic data indicate that the bedrocks in the source area were deeply chemically weathered. A detailed stratigraphic correlation of the Hessenreuth Formation of the APD with the contemporaneous succession in the Bodenw & ouml;hr Depression (BWD) is presented, deposited to the south in the foreland of the Pfahl Fault. It is based on several bio-/ecostratigraphic tie points, cyclic sedimentation, and sequence stratigraphic interpretation. A comparable tectono-sedimentary evolution in both areas is detected. In the Early-Middle Coniacian boundary interval, the BWD was rapidly filled with shallow-marine sands while the Hesserberg Member in the APD reflects an abrupt increase in topography across the Franconian Lineament. We suggest that this striking change in depositional style marks the transition from basement folding in the Turonian to the formation of a frontal thrust fault with a concomitant fault scarp in the Coniacian. The Hessenreuth Formation, thus, provides a unique opportunity to study syntectonic deposition immediately in front of an active thrust fault system that accommodated Late Cretaceous crustal shortening in Central Europe.

The Late Cretaceous epoch was characterized by extreme greenhouse climates and widespread glaucony formation in shallow marine settings. However, in the Danubian Cretaceous Basin (DCB, Bavaria, SE-Germany), contemporaneous shallow marine deposition of glauconitic sandstones of the Regensburg Formation in the eastern and the glaucony-free Neuburg Siliceous Earth deposits of the Wellheim Formation in the western parts of the basin during Cenomanian-early Turonian times is puzzling. An integrated approach of sedimentology, stratigraphy, mineralogy and geochemistry reveals that the striking lithological and mineralogical differences can be attributed to the geological structure of the hinterland and the nature of element input: in the eastern DCB, deeply chemically weathered granites and gneisses of the Bohemian Massif were leached due to the warm climate and high precipitation rates as indicated by high values of the modified Chemical Index of Alteration (CIXrev). Elements crucial for glaucony formation (K, Fe, Si, Al) were amply supplied by rivers, fueling a shallow marine glaucony factory. Slightly reducing conditions and a temporally increased primary productivity further promoted favorable conditions for geologically fast shallow water glaucony authigenesis. In the western DCB, in contrast, a hinterland consisting of karstified Upper Jurassic carbonates devoid of essential elements for glaucony formation and a lack of significant fluvial input inhibited shallow marine glaucony formation. Furthermore, we suggest that the depositional environment of the Neuburg Siliceous Earth was affected by submarine discharge of silica-rich groundwater resulting in intense early diagenetic silicification. Additionally, our geochemical data provide the first evidence of a trace metal drawdown during Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (approx. 94 Ma) in shallow water/coastal settings in Germany, as shown in very low V/Al, Ni/Al, Cu/Al and As/Al ratios, much lower than the average shale and upper continental crust.

Widespread, geologically fast (<500 kyr) shallow-marine glaucony formation during the Cretaceous greenhouse world has no recent analogue. A detailed investigation from the Upper Turonian Danubian Cretaceous Group (southern Germany) links authigenic marine glaucony precipitation (Großberg Formation) to the intense chemical weathering in the catchment of a supplying river system (Seugast Member, Roding Formation). Nine glauconitic facies types within the Großberg Formation reflect a mixed shallow-marine depositional environment with land-derived siliciclastics, marine-carbonates and authigenic glaucony. X-ray diffraction analyses confirm these authigenic green grains and matrix as glauconitic minerals. The very high values of the modified chemical index of alteration (mean CIX between 86 and 92) demonstrate that the catchment area of the Seugast River was deeply chemically weathered and leached. In comparison to the hydrochemistry of modern tropical streams, massive Late Cretaceous nearshore glaucony formation was promoted by the riverine flux from the deeply chemically weathered, wet-continents amply supplying essential elements (Fe, Si, K and Al), fuelling shallow-marine glauconitization. The sequence stratigraphic calibration of the shallow-marine to continental transect of the Großberg Formation and the Seugast Member, corresponding to the Late Turonian depositional sequence DS Tu 5, further demonstrates that Late Cretaceous glaucony formation was a fast process (<500 kyr). Supplementary material: Table S1 provides contents of total carbon (TC), total inorganic carbon (TIC), total organic carbon (TOC), major elements and Zr as well as element/Al ratios, calculated excess K (K xs ), silicate K (K sil or K 2 O sil ), molar element oxides and CIX values, and is available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6297404

During the early Bajocian, a conspicuous coal-bearing siliciclastic succession was deposited in the northern Tabas Bock, which is important for understanding the regional geodynamics of the Central-East Iranian Microcontinent (CEIM) as well as for the Jurassic coal genesis in this part of Laurasia. Sedimentary facies analysis in a well-exposed section of the lower Bajocian Hojedk Formation (Kalshaneh area, northern Tabas Block) led to the recognition of ten characteristic sedimentary facies and three facies associations, representing channels with point bars and floodplains of a Bajocian meandering river system. Modal analysis indicates that the mature quartz arenites and quartzo-lithic sandstones of the Hojedk Formation originated from the erosion and recycling of older, supracrustal sedimentary rocks on the Yazd Block to the west. The coal petrography and maturity show an advanced maturation stage, whereas the great thickness of these continental strata points to a pronounced extension-related subsidence in the northern Tabas Block. The rapid rate of differential subsidence can be explained by accelerated normal block-faulting in the back-arc extensional basin of the CEIM, facing the Neotethys to the south. Compared to the thick Jurassic, the post-Jurassic strata are relatively thin and played a limited role in the thermal history of the coal in the northern Tabas Block. A relatively high geothermal gradient in the tectonically highly mobile area of the northern Tabas Block and/or heating by regionally widespread Palaeogene intrusions were most probably the key drivers of the thermal maturation of the Middle Jurassic coals.

The present contribution constitutes the second part of a series of publications on the lower Cenomanian (lower Upper Cretaceous) coral fauna of Cobreces in Cantabria (Spain). The fauna, derived from a complex of several patch reefs in the lower Altamira Formation, encompasses a total of approximately 140 coral species and is the largest known Cenomanian coral fauna to date. Here, corals of the family Latomeandridae (superfamily Cyclolitoidea) with eight genera and 31 species are presented.