Silurian and Lowermost Devonian Conodonts from the Passo Volaia Area (Carnic Alps, Italy)
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Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana, 49 (3), 2010, 237-253. Modena, 15 dicembre 2010237 Silurian and lowermost Devonian conodonts from the Passo Volaia area (Carnic Alps, Italy) Carlo CORRADINI & Maria G. CORRIGA Carlo Corradini, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Cagliari, via Trentino 51, I-09127 Cagliari; [email protected] Maria G. Corriga, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Cagliari, via Trentino 51, I-09127 Cagliari; [email protected] KEY WORDS - Silurian/Devonian boundary, Conodonts, Biostratigraphy, Taxonomy, Carnic Alps. ABSTRACT - Two sections (Rifugio Lambertenghi Fontana - RLF - and Rifugio Lambertenghi Fontana III - RLF III) of the Orthoceras limestones that crop out just South of Passo Volaia in the Carnic Alps yielded a rich and diverse conodont fauna. Twenty-six taxa belonging to eleven genera (Belodella, Coryssognathus, Dapsilodus, Dvorakia, Icriodus, Oulodus, Ozarkodina, Panderodus, Pseudooneotodus, Wurmiella and Zieglerodina) were discriminated. Wurmiella alternata n. sp. is described, and Belodella coarctata, Dvorakia amsdeni and Zieglerodina zellmeri are reported for the first time from the Carnic Alps. The fauna allows recognition of five late Silurian-earliest Lochkovian conodont zones (snajdri, crispa, eosteinhornensis s.l., detortus and woschmidti). The Silurian/Devonian boundary is interpreted to occur in the upper part of the RLF III section. RIASSUNTO - [Conodonti del Siluriano e Devoniano basale nell’area di Passo Volaia (Alpi Carniche, Italia)] - Nelle Alpi Carniche affiora una delle più complete sequenze paleozoiche pre-erciniche d’Italia, costituita da successioni sedimentarie debolmente metamorfiche di età compresa tra l’Ordoviciano Sup. e il Carbonifero. Le rocce del Siluriano e del Devoniano basale affiorano in modo discontinuo e, soprattutto nel versante italiano, gli affioramenti non sono molto estesi. Immediatamente a sud del Passo Volaia, situato nella parte occidentale delle Alpi Carniche, affiorano una quarantina di metri di calcari a Orthoceras depositatesi in un mare poco profondo. L’associazione faunistica è dominata da crinoidi, brachiopodi, cefalopodi, con associati più rari bivalvi e trilobiti. Qui sono state misurate e campionate due sezioni a conodonti, denominate rispettivamente “Rifugio Lambertenghi Fontana (RLF)” e “Rifugio Lambertenghi Fontana III (RLF III)”. La ricca fauna a conodonti raccolta (circa quattromila elementi) comprende ventisei taxa appartenenti a undici generi (Belodella, Coryssognathus, Dapsilodus, Dvorakia, Icriodus, Oulodus, Ozarkodina, Panderodus, Pseudooneotodus, Wurmiella e Zieglerodina), che hanno consentito di riconoscere le ultime quattro biozone del Siluriano (snajdri, crispa, eosteinhornensis s.l. e detortus) e la prima del Devoniano (woschmidti). Il limite Siluriano/Devoniano è localizzato nella parte alta della sezione RLF III. Tre specie (Belodella coarctata Barrick & Klapper, Dvorakia amsdeni Barrick & Klapper e Zieglerodina zellmeri Carls et al.) sono segnalate per la prima volta nelle Alpi Carniche; inoltre, viene descritta la nuova specie Wurmiella alternata n. sp. INTRODUCTION of Passo Volaia (Fig. 1). Here about thirty meters of Orthoceras limestones of Pridoli and earliest Lochkovian In the Carnic Alps, one of the most complete Palaeozoic age are exposed, which are characterized by extremely sedimentary successions in Europe is exposed at the shallow-water sediments across the Silurian Devonian Italian-Austrian border. Deposition was almost continuous boundary. from the Late Ordovician into the Permian. Silurian and lowermost Devonian sediments are irregularly distributed within the Carnic Alps, from the Monte Cocco area at the THE SILURIAN AND LOWER DEVONIAN east, to Lake Wolayer at the west. In general, outcrops are IN THE CARNIC ALPS quite small, mainly on the Italian side, with the exception of the Mt. Cocco and La Valute areas. Silurian and Lower Devonian deposits are irregularly The sections presented in this paper are located just distributed within the Carnic Alps, and range from south of Lake Wolayer. The area is well known for the shallow water bioclastic limestones to nautiloid-bearing numerous outcrops of Upper Ordovician to Devonian limestones, interbedded shales and limestones to black sediments, which formed mainly in shallow water graptolitic shales and cherts. The overall thickness does environments. Several other sections across the Silurian/ not exceed 60 m. The Silurian transgression started at the Devonian boundary in the area have been studied: base of the Llandovery, and, owing to the disconformity Rauchkofel Boden (Ferretti et al., 1999, and references separating the Ordovician and the Silurian, a varying of therein), Costone Lambertenghi/Seekopf Sockel (Vai, sediments is locally missing, which corresponds to several 1963; Schönlaub, 1980), Valentin Torl (Vai, 1963; Histon conodont zones of Llandovery to Ludlow age (Histon & et al., 1999, and references therein), Seewarte (Suttner, Schönlaub, 1999). 2007). The famous Cellon section (Walliser, 1964), which The Silurian and lowermost Devonian of the Carnic can be considered the reference section for the Silurian, Alps is subdivided into four lithofacies associations is located only a few kilometers to the east. representing different depths of deposition and This paper reports on the conodont fauna from two hydrodynamic conditions (Wenzel, 1997). The Wolayer- new sections, Rifugio Lambertenghi Fontana and Rifugio facies is characterised by proximal shelf sediments and the Lambertenghi Fontana III, which crop out just south Bischofalm-facies by deep water deposits; the Plöcken- ISSN 0375-7633 238 Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana, 49 (3), 2010 Fig. 1 - Location map of the studied area (asterisk) within the Carnic Alps. facies and the Findenig-facies represent intermediate facies associations. The pattern of depositional lithofacies suggests an overall transgressive regime from the Llandovery through the Ludlow. Uniform limestone sedimentation during the Pridoli indicates that more stable conditions were developed at that time (Schönlaub, 1997). For a more detailed description of the Silurian of the Carnic Alps refer to Histon & Schönlaub (1999) and Schönlaub & Histon (2000). Fig. 2 - Aereal view (Immagine TerraItaly™ - © Blom CGR) of the Passo Volaia area with location of the studied sections. GEOLOGICAL SETTING STUDIED SECTIONS The region around Passo Volaia is one of the better studied area of the Carnic Alps because of the variety of Two sections were measured and sampled for facies represented in Upper Ordovician to Upper Devonian conodonts a few tens of meters south of Passo Volaia and strata, which were deposited either in relatively shallow the state boundary (Fig. 2). They have been designated or deep water environments, for the quality of the outcrop the Rifugio Lambertenghi Fontana (RLF) and Rifugio exposures, and the abundant fossils. Lambertenghi Fontana III (RLF III) sections, respectively. The Silurian and lowermost Devonian sequence Although the two sections are very close each other, in is represented here by shallow water sediments of the the field it is difficult to correlate them precisely because “Wolayer facies” (Wenzel, 1997). The sequence starts of the topography of the area, the dip of the strata and with about 15 m of middle Wenlock to Ludlow highly effects of trench construction from the First World War. fossiliferous neritic Orthoceras limestones (neritic Based on field correlations, they do not overlap for a few equivalent of the Kok Formation; Schönlaub, 1997), which tens of centimetres, with top of the RLF section slightly disconformably overlie the Upper Ordovician crinoidal older than the bas of the RLF III section. Conodont data Wolayer Limestone. Nautiloid cephalopods, bivalves, confirm this correlation. brachiopods and trilobites are abundant; in some levels microstromatolites are evident in the lower part of the unit (Histon & Schönlaub, 1999), as well as ooidal ironstones (Ferretti, 2005). The overlying Cardiola Formation (Ludlow) is represented by a very thin level of dark limestone rich in cephalopods and bivalves. The overlying sequence comprises up to 30 m of fine grey micritic limestone (Alticola limestone Auct. + Megaerella limestone Auct.) with abundant bioclasts and nautiloids and a fossiliferous content similar to the neritic Kok Formation (Histon & Schönlaub, 1999). In the Rauchkofel Boden section (Schönlaub, 1970; Ferretti et al., 1999 and references herein) the base of the Devonian is marked by a Scyphocrinites bed at the top of the unit. The lowermost Devonian is represented by more of 100 m of very shallow water sediments of the “neritic Fig. 3 - Panoramic view of the Rifugio Lambertenghi Fontana Rauchkofel Formation Auct.” (grey crinoidal limestone, Section, with location of samples. Samples from 7 to 10 have been rich of bioclasts) or deeper water well bedded dark grey collected in a World War I cave, where beds are well exposed and limestones of the “Pelagic Rauchkofel Formation”. precisely correlated with beds outside. C. Corradini, M.G. Corriga - Silurian and Lower Devonian conodonts from the Carnic Alps 239 The Rifugio Lambertenghi Fontana (RLF) section coordinates N 46°26’22.6” E 12°52’07.8”, more or less The Rifugio Lambertenghi Fontana section is located where a fountain is placed (Figs. 2-3). About 18 m of on along the path to Rifugio Lambertenghi Romanin, at Orthoceras limestone are here exposed (Fig. 4). Fig. 4 - Stratigraphic log of