Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana, 46 (1), 2007, 1-31. Modena, 31 agosto 20071 Ammonites from the early Pliensbachian of the Furlo Pass (Marche, Italy): biostratigraphic and paleobiogeographic implications Federico VENTURI, Carlo NANNARONE & Massimiliano BILOTTA F. Venturi, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Piazza Università 1, I-06123 Perugia, Italy;
[email protected] C. Nannarone, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Piazza Università 1, I-06123 Perugia, Italy. M. Bilotta, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Piazza Università 1, I-06123 Perugia, Italy;
[email protected] KEY WORDS - Ammonites, Taxonomy, Biostratigraphy, Paleobiogeography, Tethys, Early Jurassic. ABSTRACT - The ammonite assemblages found in the spathic Fu3 shell beds (lumachellas) of the Grilli Quarry (Furlo Pass, Umbria- Marche Apennines, central Italy) supplement the previous studies on the early Pliensbachian (Carixian) in this area, allowing to obtain a quite varied taxonomic, biostratigraphic and paleobiogeographic framework. The abundant documentation of the three lumachellas forming the Fu3 fauna (Fu3a, Fu3b1 and Fu3b2) belongs to the second Apennine biozone of the early Pliensbachian: this unit was formerly indicated as Miltoceras sellae Taxon Range Biozone, but here is redefined in a formally more correct way as Miltoceras Interval Biozone. Among the several ammonites collected, many new taxa are described: the new species Miltoceras furlense (family Coeloceratidae, subfamily Coeloceratinae), the new genus Spiniclaviceras for the new species S. spirale (family Coeloceratidae, subfamily Dubariceratinae), the new genus Paramorphites with the new species P. acutiventris (family Polymorphitidae, subfamily Polymorphitinae), and the new genus Sphenoacanthites (family Sinuiceratidae) instituted for the Tunisian forms erroneously reported as Gorgheiceras costotuberculatum and G.