Algal Branch Packstone facies, Upper Coralline Limestone Fm. (Miocene of Malta)
Where: Malta (35.9° N, 14.4° E: paleocoordinates 35.7° N, 14.1° E)
• coordinate estimated from map
• local area-level geographic resolution
When: Upper Coralline Limestone Formation, Messinian (7.2 - 5.3 Ma)
• bed-level stratigraphic resolution
Environment/lithology: perireef or subreef; packstone
• This facies is frequently interbedded with the Rhodolith Pavement facies and commonly occurs as units up to 3.4 m in thickness. The unit is composed of massive, bioturbated beds. This sediment frequently forms the final deposit capping the bioherm. The principal grain type in the rock is coralline algal debris (28%). Echinoid fragments {1.4%) and entire rotaliid foraminifera (2.9%) are the only features which appear to be slightly better represented in this facies than in previous ones. The overall allochemical similarity and close association suggest convincingly that the Algal Branch Packstone are in part eroded and transported material from the Rhodolith Pavement facies.
• Packstone
Size classes: mesofossils, microfossils
Primary reference: D. W. J. Bosence. 1983. Coralline algae from the Miocene of Malta. Palaeontology 26:147-173 [W. Kiessling/M. Krause]more details
Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis
PaleoDB collection 141543: authorized by Wolfgang Kiessling, entered by Mihaela Krause on 28.03.2013
Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)
Taxonomic list
Show authors, comments, and common names
Thecostraca | |
Balanus sp. Da Costa 1778 barnacle | |
Bivalvia | |
Macrochlamis latissima scallop | |
Echinoidea | |
Clypeaster sp. Lamarck 1801 sand dollar | |
Echinolampas sp. Gray 1825 sea urchin | |
Florideophyceae | |
Mesophyllum commune, "Lithothamnium praefructiculosum" = Lithothamnion
Mesophyllum commune Lemoine 1939
"Lithothamnium praefructiculosum" = Lithothamnion | |
Archaeolithothamnium affine, Archaeolithothamnium intermedium, Lithophyllum albanense, Lithoporella melobesioides
Archaeolithothamnium intermedium Raineri 1924
Lithophyllum albanense Lemoine 1924
Lithoporella melobesioides Foslie 1909 |