1 Chronostratigraphy of the Barremian-Early Albian of the Maestrat 2 Basin (E Iberian Peninsula): integrating strontium-isotope 3 stratigraphy and ammonoid biostratigraphy 4 5 Telm Bover-Arnal a,*, Josep A. Moreno-Bedmar b, Gianluca Frijia c, Enric Pascual-Cebrian d, 6 Ramon Salas a 7 8 a Departament de Geoquímica, Petrologia i Prospecció Geològica, Facultat de Geologia, 9 Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franquès s/n, 08028 Barcelona, Spain 10 b Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, 11 Coyoacán, 04510 México D.F., Mexico 12 c Institut für Erd- und Umweltwissenschaften, Universität Potsdam, Karl Liebknecht-Str. 24- 13 25, Potsdam-Golm 14476, Germany 14 d GeoScience Limited, Falmouth Business Park, Bickland Water Road, Falmouth TR11 4SZ, 15 UK 16 17 * Corresponding author. 18 E-mail address:
[email protected] (T. Bover-Arnal). 19 20 Abstract. A revised chronostratigraphy of the Barremian-Early Albian sedimentary record of 21 the Maestrat Basin (E Iberian Peninsula) is provided based on a comprehensive synthesis of 22 previous biostratigrahic data, a new ammonoid finding and numerical ages derived from 23 87Sr/86Sr values measured on shells of rudists, oysters and brachiopods. The succession, which 24 comprises eight lithostratigraphic formations, is arranged into six major transgressive- 25 regressive sequences and plotted against numerical ages, geomagnetic polarity chrons, 26 ammonoid zones and the stratigraphic distribution of age-diagnostic ammonoids, orbitolinid 27 foraminifera and rudist bivalves. The oldest lithostratigraphic unit sampled, the marine 28 Artoles Formation, is Early to Late Barremian. Above, the dinosaur-bearing deposits of the 29 Morella Formation and its coastal to shallow-marine equivalent, the Cervera del Maestrat 30 Formation, are of Late Barremian age and span at least part of the Imerites giraudi ammonoid 31 zone.