Terrestrial Ecosystems on the Mesozoic Peri-Adriatic Carbonate Platforms: the Vertebrate Evidence
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Asociación Paleontológica Argentina. Publicación Especial 7 ISSN 0328-347X VII International Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems: 77-83. Buenos Aires, 30-6-2001 Terrestrial ecosystems on the Mesozoic peri-Adriatic carbonate platforms: the vertebrate evidence Fabio M. DALLAVECCHIN Abstract. The remains of Mesozoic carbonate platforms outcrop along the margins of the Adriatic Sea and the mountain chains surrounding them in Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. Despite the fact that the platforms were far from continents, abundant evidence of terrestrial vertebrates was recently found, mainly in the Norian, Lower Jurassic and Cretaceous, and is here reviewed. The presence of populations of large ter- restrial vertebrates (mainly dinosaurs) on these carbonate platforms, and in particular the discovery of late Hauterivian-early Barremian sauropods and late Santonian hadrosaurids, has important paleoecological and paleogeographical implications. Key words. Peri-Adriatic carbonate platforms. MesozoicTethysianpaleogeography.Mesozoicterrestrial vertebrates. Paleoichnology.Reptilia. Dinosauria. Theropoda. Sauropoda. Ornithopoda. Hadrosauridae. Introduction by them to the African (Early Cretaceous) or Laurasian (Triassic-Early Jurassic) continent, but Mesozoic carbonate platforms outcrop as thick were at best very far (hundreds of kilometres) from sequences of carbonates, more or less disrupted and "land", considering it in the "orthodox" way, i.e. a piled up by the Alpine orogeny, along the margins of wide area of silicoclastic fluvialjlacustrine sedimen- the Adriatic Sea in Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. tation or non-deposition. The vertebrate faunas During the Norian these platforms were not clearly found on them (mainly the Cretaceous ones) are thus differentiated and the whole region was part of a the very singular case of faunas living on carbonate wide pericontinental carbonate platform along the platforms separated from a continental area. All oth- northem margin of westem Paleotethys, far away er carbonate platforms bearing traces of large terres- from the continent (see Marcoux et al., 1993).During trial inhabitants were pericontinental and the verte- Early Jurassic times the Trento Platform was identi- brate evidence was found near the continent-plat- fied in N Italy, surrounded to E and W by deep ma- form transition (e.g. the Lower Cretaceous of the rine basins. The Cretaceous platforms are represent- Gulf Coastal Plain in North America). ed by the Adriatic-Dinaric Platform (= Karst The peri-Adriatic platforms are considered as ma- Platform of Masse et al., 1993), now outcropping rine environments because of the absence of conti- along the eastem margin of the sea, included in the nental clastics. However, many events of local emer- Dinarids and ending northward into the Karst and sion are represented by other geological and paleo- Julian Prealps, Latium-Abruzzi-Campania Platform botanical (see Dalla Vecchia,2000) evidence. The re- (= Apennine Carbonate Platform, Masse et al., 1993) cently discovered vertebrate record (figure 1) strong- included in the northem part of southem Apennines, ly supports this evidence of emersion. and Apulia Platforrn, partly included in the Southem Apennines and partly constituting the undeformed The terrestrial vertebrate record peninsula of Puglia. They are usually reported in lit- erature as "intraoceanic" platforms, placed during Late Triassic (Norian) the Cretaceous between African and LaurasianjEurasian continents and surrounded by Skeletons of early pterosaurs (Eudimorphodon, deep sea basins (see for example Masse et al., 1993). Peteinosaurus and Preondactylus), the pralacertiform It was noted by Dalla Vecchia (1997b, 1998b) that Langobardisaurus, the diapsids incertae sedis these platforms were in some cases connected with Drepanosaurus and Megalancosaurus and the sphen- other carbonate platforms and, possibly, sometimes odont Diphydontosaurus are found in middle Norian (Alaunian) racks derived from sediments deposited in anoxic intraplatform basins of N Italy (Lombardy 'Museo Paleontologico Cittadino, Via Valentinis 134, 1-34074 Monfalcone (Gorizia),Italy. and Friuli regions). Larger reptiles are represented E-mail:[email protected] by the aetosaur Aetosaurus and the phytosaur ©Asociación Paleontológica Argentina 0328-347X/01$00.00+50 78 F.M. Dalla Vecchia 8•• 10 11 ••••• un CAMPANIAH (f) :l "","""'" •••• c:::::::.. O CEHOMAHIAH • w • Adriatic O ALBtAN ITALY EAJU,' ••••• ~ Sea w APnAN a: z IlARRI!MIAN ~ •••••• O lE HAUTERIVIAN o8 VALANOIHIAN z•• • BERIIIASIAN TITltONIAN 1.7 UTE KIMMEIIIDGIAN OXFOIIDIAN O CALLOVlAN Ci) BATHONIAN (f) DOU! c( BAJOCIAN a: AALENIAN ..,:l TOARCIAN Tyrrhenian Sea •..... LlENBIIACHIAN 4- $INEIIIURIAN HETTANGIAN • •••••• O NOIIIAN ••••• Ci) LA" (f) • c( CAIINIAN LADIHIAN • ir DOU 1- ANI8IAN Al. IAN ••••• bone remains footprints • Mediterranean Sea Figure 1. Location of the outcrops of the Mesozoic peri-Adriatic carbonate platforms with terrestrial vertebrate evidence. 1) Lombardy (Cene, Zogno etc.), Norian bone remains, 2) Camic Pre-Alps (Preone, Forchiar Creek, etc.), Norian bone remains, 3) Camic Pre-Alps (Andreis, Claut, Cimolais), Norian footprints, 4) E Dolomites (M. Pelmetto, etc.), early Norian footprints, 5) W Dolomites, Norian foot- prints, 6) W Slovenia, Norian footprints, 7) Saltrio, Early Jurassic bone remains, 8) Lavini di Marco and environs, Early Jurassic footprints, 9) Becco di Filadonna, Early Jurassic footprints, 10) Mt. Pasubio, Early Jurassic footprints, 11) Mts Lessini, Early Jurassic footprints, 12) Cisterna, Hauterivian footprints, 13) near S. Marco in Lamis (Gargano), late Hauterivian - early Barremian footprints, 14) Cansiglio Platea u, late Hauterivian - early Barremian footprints, 15) Valle/Bale, late Hauterivian - early Barremian bone rernains, 16) Brioni Archipelago, late Barremian footprints, 17) Pietraroia, early Albian bone remains, 18) Brioni Archipelago, late Albian footprints, 19) Puntesella, late Albian footprints, 20) Solaris site, late Albian footprints, 21) Quieto/Mima river mouth, late Albian footprints, 22) Fenoliga islet, late Cenomanian footprints, 23) Grakalovac, late Cenomanian footprints, 24) Carigador, late Cenomanian footprints, 25) S. Lorenzo di Daila, late Cenomanian footprints, 26) Altamura, late Coniacian-early Santonian footprints, 27) Villaggio del Pescatore, late Santonian bone remains, 28) Kozina, Maastrichtian bone remains. A.P.A. Publicación Especial 7, 2001 Mesozoic Peri-Adriatic carbonate platforms 79 Mystriosuchus. Many sites with dinosaurian and "chi- tooth of a mid-size one (Dalla Vecchia, 1998b).A par- rotheroid" footprints in the Dolomites and Carnic tial caudal vertebra suggests the possible presence of Pre-Alps of N Italy, and in W Slovenia (see Dalla large theropods too. Early Barremian dinoturbation Vecchia, 1997a, Dalla Vecchia and Mietto, 1998)con- is reported in SW Istria (Dini et al., 1998).A site with firm the cornmon presence of terrestrial vertebrates tridactyl footprints ranging in length from 15up to 40 on the platform. The site of Mt. Pelmetto (Eastern cm was discovered in the Gargano Promontory Dolomites) is stratigraphically placed near the pas- (Puglia, S Italy, Apulia Platform) (Gianolla et al., sage between Carnian and Norian, the others are 2000). probably higher in the stratigraphic column. The di- nosaur ichnological record is represented mainly by Late Barremian tridactyl footprints with a length from 10up to 35 cm. Footprints of large theropods are present in a site Early [urassic on the Main Brioni Island and probably also on the nearby Vanga Island, SW Istria (Dalla Vecchia et al., Abundant dinosaur ichnologic evidence was 1993;Dalla Vecchia and Tarlao, 1995; Dalla Vecchia, found in the Trento Platform of NE Italy. Large to 1998b). small theropod, large to small ornithopod and sauro- pod footprints are reported from the Hettangian- Early Albian Sinemurian site of the Lavini di Marco (Leonardi and Mietto, 2001).There are at least other three sites with The small juvenile theropod Scipionyx samniticus footprints in the Trento Province (M. Avanzini, pers. (Dal Sasso and Signore, 1998) was found in the cornm.). Large tridactyl footprints are found in the Pietraroia site (Latium-Abruzzi-Campania Platform, Pliensbachian of the Lessini Mts. (Mietto and Roghi, S Italy) together with the amphibian CeItedens (also 1993). found in Spain), the rhyncocephalian Derasmosaurus, Remains of a large theropod the size of an adult the lacertilians Cosiasaurus and Chometokadmon, and Allosaurus, were found in Lombardy in 1996. They small crocodiles (Barbera and Macuglia, 1988). were preserved in limestone formed in an open ma- rine setting (a ramp between a carbonate platform Late Albian and a deep basin) and they have a middle Sinemurian age. Both humeri (about 35 cm long), a Dinosaur footprints are common in W Istria. Mid- complete manual digit and another partial manual size bipedal individuals, probably mainly theropods, digit with the corresponding metacarpal, a partial are represented in five sites (seven levels), the Solaris furcula, a tooth and the proximal part of a fibula are one with more than 500 footprints and tracks (Dalla among the preserved bones (c. Dal Sasso, pers. Vecchia and Tarlao, 2000). The track of a relatively comm.). large ornithopod (footprint length = 28 cm) is found in the Main Brioni Island (Dalla Vecchia, 1997a), Hauterivian where rare large theropod prints are signalled too (Bachofen-Echt, 1925) but are not preserved in siiu A site with two large tridactyl footprints