GeolCarp_Vol62_No2_121

www.geologicacarpathica.sk

GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA

, APRIL 2011, 62, 2, 121—138 doi: 10.2478/v10096-011-0011-1

Introduction

The Krížna Unit in the eastern part of the Malá Fatra Mts is
formed  by  the  Upper  Triassic  carbonate  complexes,  which
have  been  studied  in  the  Ve ká  Lučivná  Valley  between
Zázrivá and Párnica villages (Fig. 1). Dolomite formations in
the Ve ká Lučivná Valley cropped out along the forest roads,
where  the  dark  grey,  yellowish-grey  and  grey-green  clay-
stones  and  dolomitic  shales  were  also  uncovered.  Dolomite
beds  and  shaly  interbeds  occur  in  lens-shaped  bodies,  which
are  underlain  by  the  Ramsau  Dolomite  Formation  and  over-
lain by the Hauptdolomite Formation (Fig. 2). The claystones
contain the rare fossils, such as lingulid brachiopods and con-
chostracans,  which  mean  that  these  sediments  represent  a
unique facies unknown from the Upper Triassic formations of
the Krížna Unit up till now. Besides claystones and carbonates
the  Upper  Triassic  sediments  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Malá
Fatra Mts are also represented by the Lunz Beds, which occur
rarely in the form of discontinuous lenslike bodies within the
Upper  Triassic  dolomites.  Both  sedimentary  formations  of
claystones and sandstones were probably deposited during the
Carnian.  They  represent  the  intraplatform  and  periplatform
terrigenous facies, which were deposited in response to the de-
mise  of  carbonate  platforms  and  enhanced  siliciclastic  input
during  the  Reingraben  Event  (Schlager  &  Schöllnberger
1974),  Carnian  productivity  crisis  (Hornung  et  al.  2007a),
Carnian  Pluvial  Event  (Simms  &  Ruffel  1989)  and  Carnian
humid intermezzo (Kozur & Bachmann 2010).

Siliciclastics in the Upper Triassic dolomite formations of the

Krížna Unit (Malá Fatra Mountains, Western Carpathians):

constraints for the Carnian Pluvial Event in the Fatric Basin

MILAN SÝKORA

, MILOŠ SIBLÍK

and JÁN SOTÁK

1,3,4

Department of Geology and Paleontology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Mlynská dolina G, 842 15 Bratislava,

Slovak Republic; sykora@fns.uniba.sk

Institute of Geology v.v.i., Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Rozvojová 269, 165 00 Prague 6, Czech Republic; siblik@gli.cas.cz

Geological Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Ďumbierska 1, 974 11 Banská Bystrica, Slovak Republic; sotak@savbb.sk

Department of Geography, Faculty of Education, Catholic University, Hrabkovská cesta 1, 03401 Ružomberok, Slovak Republic

(Manuscript received July 9, 2009; accepted in revised form December 16, 2010)

Abstract: The Upper Triassic carbonates of the Krížna Unit in the eastern part of the Krivánska Malá Fatra Mts contain
the unique siliciclastic interbeds. They are developed between the Ramsau Dolomite Formation and the Hauptdolomite
Formation, and comprise alternating dark grey shales and pale grey dolomites. Such a shaly-dolomite formation is
unknown from the Upper Triassic formations of the Krížna Unit, which makes it possible to define a new lithostratigraphic
unit (Tržinovo Formation). The Ramsau Dolomites beneath the Tržinovo Formation contain microfauna of Carnian
foraminifers. Therefore, the Carnian age has also been constrained for the Tržinovo Formation, which by the reduced
carbonate productivity and enhanced terrigenous influx could be related to the Reingraben Event. This event related to
the “Carnian Pluvial Episode” is also inferred in the Tržinovo Formation by the presence of lingulide brachiopods
(Lingularia) and spinicaudatan crustaceans (Euestheria). This fauna provides evidence of not fully marine conditions of
the Tržinovo Formation, influenced by continental freshwater influx and humid climate.

Key words: Carnian event, Upper Triassic dolomites, Western Carpathians, Krížna Unit, shaly interbeds, lingulids,
conchostracans.

Study area and geological setting

The Triassic sequence of the Krížna Unit in the area studied

is represented by limestone, dolomitic, sandy siliciclastic and
shaly claystone formations (see lithostratigraphical column in
Fig. 2).

The Middle Triassic sequence belongs to the Gutenstein

Limestone Formation (Anisian), composed of dark grey bed-
ded limestones with mudstone, wackestone and packstone mi-
crofacies,  molluscs,  echinoids,  foraminifers  and  ostracods.
The  overlying  sequence  of  the  Ramsau  Dolomite  Formation
(Anisian to Lower Carnian see Lexa et al. 2000 for compari-
son) consists of grey, bedded or massive, fine-grained to crys-
talline  dolomites  with  rare  bivalves,  echinoids,  peloids  and
algae.  This  formation  locally  contains  discontinuous  lens-
shaped  bodies  of  crinoidal  and  bioclastic  limestones  with
well-bedded stratification (indicated in Fig. 2). The Fassanian
age of these limestones has been determined by the conodonts
of  Gondolella  acuta  Kozur  and  Gondolella  trammeri  Kozur
(Sýkora 2003).

The Ramsau Dolomite Formation, the uppermost part of

which belongs to the Carnian, is overlain by sediments, repre-
sented by two different clastic formations. The first is repre-
sented by the Lunz Beds, which are composed of fine-grained
sandstones (feldspathic graywackes mainly) with thin interca-
lations of sandy or silty shales. The carbonate-terrigenous fa-
cies is recognized herein as the Tržinovo Formation, which is
characterized by alteration of shales and dolomites. Both ter-

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rigenous formations occur in lens-shaped bodies within the
Upper Triassic carbonate formations.

The terrigenous facies of the Lunz Beds and Tržinovo Forma-

tion was subsequently replaced by sedimentation of carbonates.
The Late Carnian and Norian Hauptdolomit Formation consists
of light grey bedded dolomites with very scarce allochems. The
overlying Norian Carpathian Keuper Formation is composed of
variegated shales, siltstones, quartzose sandstones and fine-
grained dolomites (so-called Keuper dolomites).

The uppermost formation of the Triassic sequence is repre-

sented  by  shallow-marine  sediments  of  the  Rhaetian  Fatra
Formation,  which  consists  of  bedded  limestones  with  cyclic
development of bioclastic, ooidal, oncoidal, peloidal and mi-
crobial  limestones  (lagoonal  and  patch  reefs),  interlayered
with shaly claystone and occasional dolomite beds.

The information about the presence of the siliciclastic inter-

beds in the Carnian formation of the Krížna Unit unknown un-
til  the  paper  by  Kozur  &  Mock  (1993),  who  mentioned
occurrences  and  findings  of  fossils  in  the  claystones  from  a
forest  road  outcrop  in  the  Lučivná  Hill  area  (see  Fig. 1).  A
similar formation of dolomitic clays and shaly clays has been
described  from  the  Krížna  Unit  in  the  Ružbachy  Horst  by
Kullmanová  &  Nemčok  (1985),  where  its  Carnian  age  is
proved  by  lamellibranchs  and  foraminifers  (see  below).  In-
creased  terrigenous  material  in  the  Upper  Triassic  dolomites
underlying the Carpathian Keuper Formation is also recorded
in  the  Krížna  Unit  in  some  mountains  of  the  Western  Car-
pathians,  like  Považský  Inovec  Mts,  Strážovské  vrchy  Mts,
Low Tatra Mts and Tatra Mts (see Mahe  et al. 1967; Mahe
1986), but their more precise stratigraphic position and litho-
logical descrition remains unknown.

The carbonates and claystones of the Tržinovo Formation

have been studied in two sections designated as P—A locality
and P—B locality with a distance of about 1.5 km (Fig. 1). The
sections  show  the  alternation  of  claystones  and  dolomites,
which resemble the sediments of the platform and shelf facies
of  the  Raibl  Shales  in  the  Norther  Calcareous  Alps  (see  e.g.
Tollmann 1976), but without the marine fossils typical for the
Raibl Shales and especially the Reingraben Shales in the Al-
pine  and  Western  Carpathian  units  (Choč  Unit).  The  fossil
components  of  the  Tržinovo  Formation  (P—A  locality)  com-
prise  only  the  infaunal  brachiopods  of  the  genus  Lingula  to-
gether  with  spinicaudatan  crustaceans—conchostracans  of  the
family Euestheridae (Kozur & Mock l993).

The stratigraphic position of the Tržinovo Formation is in-

ferred from foraminifers in dolomitic limestones of the Ram-
sau Dolomite Formation. In the section studied here it directly
underlies the claystones with conchostracan species of  Eues-
theria  minuta  (von  Zieten),  which  according  to  Kozur  &
Weems  (2010)  formed  the  Late  Ladinian  zone,  but  is  still
present in the entire Cordevolian. The presence of these fresh-
wather  to  brackich-water  conchostrachans  in  the  Tržinovo
Formation reflects the Carnian carbonate productivity crisis in
the  North  Tethyan  realm,  which  corresponds  to  the  Reingra-
ben Event during the Early Carnian.

Exposure of the Lunz Beds occurs in the dolomites near the

Lučivná  elevation  point  on  the  left  (southern)  slope  of  the
Tržinovo Valley. Its verified thickness is just about 10 m, and
its  observable  lenght  is  a  few  hundred  meters  (see  Fig. 1).
Outcrops and debris derived from the Lunz Beds are situated
around 200 m to the NW from the P—A locality. The lithology
of  the  Lunz  Beds  is  different  from  the  shaly-carbonate  sedi-

Fig. 1. Location and geological map of the surroundings of the Tržinovo Valley area with localities studied.

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Macrofossils were collected from the claystones, and prepared
for paleontological study. The claystone samples from the P—
A-section (layers I, II, III see Fig. 3) were macerated and treat-
ed with HCl and HF by using of standard palynological
processing techniques, but preservation of the extracted pa-
lynomorphs was not sufficient for specific determination.

Several samples of the dolomitic limestones were dissolved

in  10%  acetic  acid  to  extract  stratigraphically  important  mi-
crofossils, like conodonts. The carbonate (dolomitic) fraction
of  the  samples  from  the  selected  claystones  (layers I,  II,  III,
IV) was analysed by manometric methods (Turanová & Turan
1993),  and  was  removed  by  diluted  HCl.  The  mineralogical
composition  of  the  insoluble  residue  (fraction  under  2 µm)
was  studied  by  using  X-ray  powder  analysis  (PXRD).  The
analysis  was  performed  on  a DRON-3  diffractometer  operat-
ing at 40 kV and 15 mA, with CoK  radiation at scan speed of
0, 02 °2  in range of 4—74 °2 . Oriented specimens were pre-
pared by the sedimentation from suspension on a glass slide.
The  prepared  samples  were  analysed  at  room  temperatures
(air-dry) and after treating with ethylenglycol (EG) for 8 hours
at a temperature of 60 °C.

Thin sections of the samples are deposited in the Depart-

ment of Geology and Paleontology of Comenius University
Bratislava (M. Sýkora) and in the Geological Institute of the
Slovak Academy of Sciences Banská Bystrica (J. Soták). The
macrofossils Lingularia and Euestheria figured in this paper
are deposited in the Slovak National Museum in Bratislava.

Microfacies and petrographic analysis of the

sections

Section A (P—A)

The sequence of the P—A section can be divided into two

parts (see Fig. 3). The lower part of the section represents the
uppermost  members  of  the  Ramsau  Dolomit  Formation  and
consists of dolomites and dolomitic limestones (beds No. 04,
03, 02, 01, 1, 1a, 1b, 2, 2a, 2b, 3, 4, 5b, 5v, 6, 7, 8, 8a). The
stratigraphic  age  of  the  Ramsau  Dolomite  Formation  in  the
Krížna  Unit  corresponds  to  Anisian  up  to  Carnian—Cordevo-
lian (see Biely et al. 1997; Lexa et al. 2000). The Carnian age
is  also  indicated  by  the  foraminiferal  microfauna  (see  strati-
graphical study) from the terminal beds of the Ramsau dolo-
mite  (beds  No. 0  to  3).  The  lower  part  of  the  section  is  only
partly  exposed  with  an  observable  thickness  of  about  6.5 m.
Four bedset groups of grey, partly dolomitized limestones, al-
ternating  with  grey  to  light  grey  dolomites  can  be  distin-
guished here.

In the lower part of the section A (No. 04 to 03) the bedset

of  dolomitic  limestones  are  represented  by  packstones  and
grainstones  mainly  with  intraclasts,  peloids  and  bioclasts.
Rounded  intraclasts  of  mudstones,  wackestones  and  peloids
are  dominant.  Foraminiferal  components  dominated  by  the
uniserial morphotypes, like Nodosaria and Pseudonodosaria.
Ostracods  and  shell  fragments  of  bivalves  are  less  abundant.
Algal  fragments  (indeterminable  thallii  of  dasyclads)  and
miliolid  foraminifers  Agathammina  austroalpina  Kristan-
Tollmann & Tollmann are very rare.

Fig. 2. The lithostratigraphic column of the Triassic sequences of
the Krížna Unit in the eastern part of the Malá Fatra Mts, indicating
the position of the Tržinovo Formation.

ments at P—A and P—B sections. In the Lunz Beds, the sand-
stones do not alternate with dolomites, but they are rather ho-
mogeneous and do not contain any claystones typical of the
sections studied. Thin lenslike bodies of the Lunz Beds s.l. are
also known from other areas of the Malá Fatra Mts (Haško &
Polák 1979; Rakús et al. 1988).

Material and methods

Sedimentary sequences have been logged, analysed and

sampled. Selected samples of carbonates were studied by mi-
croscopic methods to determine microfacies, petrographic fea-
tures and microfossils like foraminifers, algae, ostracods, etc.

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on the basal bed surfaces. The limestones contain
flat mudstone lithoclasts with fine parallel lami-
nations and clasts of cryptalgal bindstones with
micritic algal biolamination. Peloids and small
biodetritic grains are also present.

Bed No. 1 is formed by foraminiferal grain-

stones  with  involutinid,  ammodiscid,  miliolid
and  rarely  duostominid  foraminifers  (Fig. 6b,c).
Dasyclad algae Halycorine and echinoderm frag-
ments  were  rarely  found,  as  well.  In  this  lime-
stone, the specific components are represented by
aggregate  grains  (Fig. 6a,b)  forming  grapestone
to lumpy aggregates (cf. Tucker & Wright 1990),
which indicate the shallow marine environments
of the subtidal to intertidal zone. Mixing of bio-
clasts and intraclasts derived from various sourc-
es reflects the changes in depositional energy and
intensity  of  bottom  erosion  (rip-up  intraclasts).
Disorganization  of  some  tempestite-like  beds
(Fig. 5b, No. 0, 1) indicates a storm activity, but
typical storm-related textures like lags and scour-
and-fill structures are not developed.

The layers No. 1a,b, 2, 3 are composed of

grainstones,  less  mudstones,  wackestones  and
packstones.  The  beds  provide  the  structures  of
fenestral  fabrics,  fine  lamination,  bioturbation
and  rare  desiccation  cracks  filled  by  breccias.
Low-diversity microfauna is typical of these sed-
iments,  revealing  an  abundance  of  nodosariid
foraminifers in some beds.

The superposed beds No. 4, 5 are formed by

dolomitic limestones with textures of mudstones,
packstones and grainstones. The special microfa-
cies  fabric  is  recorded  in  the  bed  No. 4,  which
consists of peloidal bioturbated wackestone with
irregular  vuggs  and  tubular  fenestrae  (Fig. 6d).
These  textures  were  probably  produced  from
trapping of gases released from the sediment.

The texture of bed No. 5 is heterogeneous. Its

basal part bears the lithoclasts of mudstones with
small irregular fenestrae (Fig. 5d), micritic intrac-
lasts and frequent peloids. Aggregate grains, intr-
aclasts and fenestral pores occur in the upper part
of this bed, associated with rare foraminifers, bi-
valves and ostracods. Laminoid fenestral fabrics
of the LF-BII-type have been observed, too. Ac-
cording to Flügel (2004), such fabrics are typical
of modern intertidal and supratidal environmets.

The described bedsets of dolomitic limestones

alternate with fine-grained dolomites. They con-
tain relatively frequent pseudomorphs of dolo-
mite after evaporitic minerals, such as sulphates.

Fig. 3. Lithological sections from the localities studied (Section A, B), extending from
the upper part of the Ramsau Dolomite Formation, through the shaly-dolomitic se-
quence of the Tržinovo Formation to the lower part of “Hauptdolomit” Formation.

In the upper bedsets (No. 02—3) the dolomicritic limestones

(mudstones,  wackestones  and  packstones)  alternated  with
grainstones and breccias. The allochems are similar to the do-
lomitic  limestones  of  the  former  bedset,  apart  from  those  in
the  grainstone  of  bed  No. 1  (foraminiferal  limestones).  Beds
No. 02,  01,  0  consist  of  the  carbonatic  breccias  (Fig. 5b),
formed  by  increasing  water  energy  with  erosional  wash-outs

Fossils (ostracods and uniserial foraminifers) are generally un-
common. In thin sections of dolomites, the admixture of silty
and very fine sandy quartz has also been identified in a few
cases (beds No. 6, 7, 8a).

The topmost beds of the Ramsau Formation (No. 8) are

composed of wackestone/floatstone limestones with micritic
intraclasts up to 7 mm in size (Fig. 5c). The micritic matrix

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Fig. 4. Sedimentary sequence and internal structures of the Tržinovo Formation. a – Lower part of section A (P—A), locus typicus of the Tržinovo
Formation, formed by two members: Tržinovo Shales and Tržinovo Dolomites. Outcrop in forest road cut, hammer as a scale with 50 cm length.
b – Lower part of section B (P—B), parastratotype of the Tržinovo Formation, formed by two members. Dolomite layer exhibits a seismotectonic
deformation on the top of the claystone bed-marked by the arrow in the middle of the picture. Forest road cut outcrop, hammer as a scale. c – In-
traformational carbonate conglomerate deposited probably as a storm lag. Dark lithoclasts in lower part show the liesegang bands. Sample from
the Ramsau Dolomite Formation outcrop in the forest road cut near section A. d – Lithoclast with liesegang bands from carbonate conglomerate,
see previous picture.

also contains fine-sized biodetrital grains (less than 0.1 mm),
the orgin of which is uncertain. This type of micritic limestone
with well-rounded intraclasts prove evidence of textural inver-
sion,  which  is  typical  of  the high  energy  environments  of
channels. The lithology of the lower part of the section chang-
es  above  bed  No. 8a,  where  the  carbonates  are  suddenly  re-
placed  by  dolomitic  claystones,  exhibiting  no  visible  erosion
contact.

Samples of the dolomitic limestones from the beds No. 04

and 1 were dissolved in 10% CH

COOH, but no stratigraphi-

cally important microfossils were found in the insoluble
residuum.

The superposed formation in the upper part of section A is

formed by dolomitic claystones and claystones (I to VI beds),
intercalated by fine-grained, pale grey carbonates in the
beds 8b,c, 9. The sequence with alternation of shales and car-
bonates forms the upper part of the section (11.8 m), provid-
ing the various thickness of claystones in the lower bed I (up
to 120 cm) and uppermost bed VI (only 2 cm). The colour of
the claystones is grey, dark grey, greenish-grey and yelowish.

The carbonates are mostly fine-grained, pale grey dolomites

with specific allochems and detritic dolomitized limestones.

Bed No. 8b represents moderately to poorly sorted grainstone
to packstone with intraclasts, peloids, aggregate grains and fe-
nestrate cavities. Rare bioclasts have their origin in bivalves,
foraminifers, ostracods and gastropods. Bed No. 8c is formed
by  breccias  with  flat  clasts  of  laminated  mudstones  or  bind-
stones; the second part of this bed consists of grainstone with
mudstone  lithoclasts.  Bed  No. 9  is  formed  by  breccia  with
fine-grained  matrix  and  poorly-sorted  mudstone  intraclasts,
which reveals the textural inversion. Therefore beds No. 8b,c
and 9 are considered to represent channel deposits. Allochems
of these carbonates have qualitatively similar composition to
the dolomitic limestones in the lower part of section A (beds
No. 04—5). Dolomites commonly have parallel lamination and
form generally thin-bedded layers.

The claystones are composed of illite and dolomite (XRD

and DTA analyses). The dolomite content in claystones in
the middle part of shaly beds is as follows: bed I – 34.4 %;
II – 7.2 %; III – 0 %; IV – 20.3 %. The shales are pelitic,
with the average grain size of 0.007 mm.

The dolomitic claystones in bed No. I are dark grey to grey

in colour. This bed contains the brachiopods and spinicauda-
tans (conchostracans), which was firstly recorded by Kozur &

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Fig. 5. Microfacial types of the carbonates from the Raumsau Dolomite Formation. a – Dolomitic limestone with fine parallel lamination,
bed No. 01, thin section 27284, section A, scale 1 mm. Ramsau Dolomite Formation. b – Carbonatic microbreccia with mainly angular li-
thoclasts of fine-grained carbonates. Channel-type sediment, bed No. 0, thin section 27287, Ramsau Dolomite Formation, section A, scale
1 mm. c – Intraclasts of micritic carbonates with wackestone to packstone matrix, textural inversion in bed No. 8, thin section 27103,
Ramsau Dolomite Formation, section A. Scale bar 1 mm. d – Fenestral fabric with irregular voids in carbonates from lower part of bed
No. 5, thin section 27282a, Ramsau Dolomite Formation, section A, scale bar 1 mm.

Mock (1993). These fossils are relatively rare, and they occur
as  isolated  valves  often  with  fragmentary  preservation.  The
claystones  with  lingulids  do  not  show  any  burrowings  and
presence  of  ichnofossils.  The  lingulids  are  arranged  mostly
parallel to bedding, indicating a post-mortem transport of their
shells.  Brachiopods  of  Lingularia  ex  gr.  tenuissima  (Bronn)
(description  in  systematic  part)  occurs  much  more  frequently
than conchostracans of Euestheria minuta (von Zieten) (deter-
mination  by  Kozur  &  Weems  2010).  Bioclasts  were  recorded
only in bed No. I. Other macrofossils have not been found, apart
from very rare small (less than 1 mm) fragments of fish? bones.

Besides fossils, the authigenic pyrite (in small grains below

0.1 mm) and rare oxidized pyrite concretions (max. size 2 cm)
were  found  in  the  claystones.  The  claystones  occasionally
yield a very fine parallel lamination and admixture of silty ter-
rigenous quartz. The inorganic and organic carbon content of
the claystones is as follows: Bed No. I (dark grey claystones
with  fossils)  –  TC  3.63 %,  TOC  0.5 %,  TIC  3.13 %;  Bed
No. II  (grey-brownish  claystones  without  fossils)  –  TC
1.65 %, TOC 0.18 %, TIC 1.47 %; Bed No. III (grey-greenish

claystones  without  fossils)  –  TC  0.1 %,  TOC  trace,  TIC
0.1 %;  Bed  No. IV  (grey-yellowish  dolomitic  claystone  –
5 cm thin) – TC 2.34 %, TOC 0.32 %, TIC 2.02 %. The clay
fractions of below 2 µm were determinated by XRD analysis
from the beds No. I, II and III. The dominant clay mineral was
illite.  Kaolinite  was  determined  only  in  the  bed  No. I  (up  to
5 %).  The  kaolinite/illite  ratio  is  about  0.05,  which  indicates
humid and warm climate (compare to Simms & Ruffell 1989,
1990). Other clay minerals were not recorded. In the coarser
fraction of the claystones (over 2 µm), minerals like dolomite,
quartz and feldspar were identified.

Section B (P—B)

The thickness of the outcropping strata is about 11 m, the

sedimentary sequence is very similar to the formation de-
scribed from section A (see Fig. 4b). The lower part of the sec-
tion is built up by the Ramsau Dolomite Formation, formed by
grey, fine-grained dolomites and less frequently by dolomitic
limestones, just like those in section A. Bed No. 2 is com-

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posed  of  grainstones  with  very  similar  microfacies  and  fora-
miniferal  assemblage  to  those  described  from  bed  No. 1  in
section A. The dolomites occasionally contain pseudomorphs
after  evaporites,  cryptalgal  fabrics  and  indistinctive  parallel
lamination. Allochems are rare and occur mainly as bioclasts.
The texture and components of the limestones are very similar
to those of the lower part of section A.

The overlying claystones and dolomitic claystones corre-

spond to the claystones in the A-section by their composition
and colour. Similarly, they form 6 layers with various thick-
nesses,  from  2  to  100 cm.  The  upper  bedding  plane  of  the
claystone  bed I  is  dissected  by  short  faults  (see  Fig. 4b
marked by arrow), which do not cut the superposed dolomite
layer. Overlying carbonate infill irregularities caused by the
synsedimentary faulting are probably due to seismic activity.
Therefore,  it  is  supposed  that  these  deformations  were  syn-
or  slightly  post-sedimentary.  In  the  section  A,  the  bedding
plane above the claystone I does not exhibit any deformation
structures.  Neither  macrofauna  nor  microfossils  were  found
in the claystones from section B.

Sedimentary environments

The Ramsau Dolomite Formation in the lower part of the

sections (A – 6 m, B – 2.8 m) represents peritidal carbon-
ates.  The  beds  are  grouped  into  four  bedsets  of  dolomitic
limestones  and  dolomites  (Fig. 3),  representing  high-fre-
quency  cycles  (thickness  1.4—1.7).  Peritidal  carbonates  pro-
vide  a shallowing-upward  trend  with  appearance  of  parallel
lamination and fenestral fabrics (Figs. 5a,d, 6c,d). Intraclasts
are  also  frequent  in  the  beds,  especially  in  the  lower  and
middle  part  of  cycles.  They  form  rounded  to  angular  clasts
with  various  sizes  (Fig. 5b,c),  consisting  of  mudstones,
wackestones and packstones with laminae of fine biodetrital
grains  (below  0.1 mm).  Supratidal  conditions  are  reflected
by the presence of pseudomorphs of dolomite (after gypsum/
anhydrite)  and  peloids.  Besides  allochems,  the  grainstone
type  limestones  also  contain  aggregate  grains—grapestones
(Fig. 6a,b,c). Some beds indicate the changes in depositional
energy,  by  which  various  sized  grains  were  periodically
mixed and packed in micritic matrix.

Fig. 6. Microfacial types of the carbonates from the Ramsau Dolomite Formation. a – Bioclastic grainstone with allochems (foraminifers and
fragments of lamellibranchiate shells), peloids and aggregate grains of grapestone from the bed No. 1. Mixed grains and bioclasts implies a
poorly sorted tempestite. Scale 1 mm, thin section 27287b, section A. Ramsau Dolomite Formation, scale 0.5 mm. b – Bioclastic grainstone
with lamellibranchiate shells coated by sesile foraminifers and lumps of aggregate grains from bed No. 1. Scale is 1 mm, thin section
27287a, section A, Ramsau Dolomite Formation. c – Peloidal packstone, locally grainstone with foraminifers and laminoid fenestral fabrics,
bed No. 2a, thin section 27290, Ramsau Dolomite Formation, section A, scale 1 mm. d – Fenestral fabric with tubular fenestrae in wacke-
stone-type carbonates wackestone. The fenestral cavities were probably formed by degasation and escape of gas bubbles from soft sediment.
Bed No. 4, thin section 27281, section A, Ramsau Dolomite Formation, scale 1 mm.

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GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA, 2011, 62, 2, 121—138

Microfossils are represented mainly by foraminiferal as-

sociations  from  different  shallow-water  environments
(No. 02—1b and 2—2b in section A, No. 2 in section B). Aulo-
tortid-  and  involutinid-rich  foraminiferal  associations  are
atypical for the Triassic carbonates of the Krížna Unit, where
they were found only for the second time. This type of fora-
miniferal  microfauna  is  known  almost  exclusively  from  the
Hronic and Silicic Units.

Organic content and faunal diversity is low in general. Os-

tracods, fragments of bivalve shells, gastropods and green al-
gae  are  recorded  in  the  thin  sections.  Some  of  the  mollusc
shells  are  coated  by  thin  micritic  envelopes,  due  to  activity
of epilithic organisms (see Kobluk & Risk 1977), cyanobacte-
ria  and  endolithic  microborings.  Epiplanktonic  zoospores
(Globochaete)  and  shells  of  juvenile  bivalves  (“filaments”)
were identified very rarely. On the contrary, the coated grains,
grapestones, thick-walled foraminifers and fragments of dasy-
clad algae were derived from shallow subtidal zone with high
and  low  energy  lagoonal  environments.  Intraclasts  of  mud-
stones  without  allochems  and  mudstones  with  fine  parallel
laminations (<1 mm) originated mainly in the shallow subtidal
to supratidal area. Co-occurrence of these components in the
layers  indicate  redeposition  of  storm-eroded  and  transported
material. Poor sorting of the allochems with great differences
in their size, mixing of redeposited components of varied ori-
gin in fine-grained matrix is common.

Carbonate formation in both sections also provided field ev-

idence of lenslike shape, as well as sudden lateral changes of
microfacies in the beds. All of these observations allow us to
interpret the described carbonates as the sediments of channels
or depressions in the rugged relief of the peritidal area.

The claystones of the superposed formation above the Ram-

sau  Dolomite  Formation  are  well-sorted  sediments  with  rare
internal textures. The boundary claystones on the base of the
Tržinovo Formation reveals the very fine parallel lamination,
where the laminae are sometimes enriched by epigenetic py-
rite  grains  and  rare  pyrite  concretions,  which  indicate  varia-
tions  in  the  redox  potential  during  the  sedimentation.  The
content of carbonate changes in the beds. Presence of the con-
chostracans  and  absence  of  a typical  marine  biota  indicate
brackish up to freshwater conditions. The claystone sediments
could be deposited from mud suspensions, which overflow the
barrier from the channelized area filled by sandstone-rich sedi-
ments of the Lunz Beds. Like the Carnian terrestrial systems
of  Europe,  these  channels  were  flooded  in  monsoonal  epi-
sodes, then abandoned as pools with standing water and colo-
nized by Euestheria (cf. Simms & Ruffell 1990). Therefore, in
less  humid  phases  the  terrigenous  claystones  could  alternate
again with peritidal carbonates.

The sedimentary area of the carbonate claystone deposition

in the Tržinovo Formation was separated from the terrigenous
clastic systems. The shales were deposited in shallow depres-
sions behind barriers which inhibited input of coarser materi-
al. The lens-shaped beds of the Tržinovo Formation represent
channels and depressions, which subsided due to tectonic dif-
ferentiation of the carbonate platform. Initial subsidence is al-
ready recorded in the underlying carbonates, which differ
from the surrounding dolomites by accumulation of lithoclasts
and bioclasts from different shallow-water environments. The

Lunz Beds close to A section do not exhibit cyclic organiza-
tion. It is supposed, that the unique development of the Car-
nian sediments in the Tržinovo Valley, reflects the specific
local conditions.

Dolomites of the Ramsau Formation cropped out in places

from  below  the  bed  No. 04  in  road-cut  section A.  They  are
bright  grey  in  colour  and  locally  contain  beds  of  dolomitic
breccias  to  conglomerates  (see  Fig. 4c).  Some  of  the  litho-
clasts in these dolorudites exhibit the Liesegang bands (rusty-
red  on  weathered  surfaces),  which  were  formed  before  their
deposition  in  breccia  beds  (see  Fig. 4d).  Their  origin  is  ex-
plained by redox gradients, when oxidizing and reducing flu-
ids  met  in  an  iron-enriched  zone,  that  formed  soon  after
sediment  deposition  (e.g.  Breit  2001).  Genesis  of  the  litho-
clasts with Liesegang bands is connected with phreatic envi-
ronments. The carbonate rudites have predominantly micritic
matrix,  only  with  local  cements.  The  individual  lithoclasts
have subangular to well rounded shapes, frequently deformed
by stylolites, and between 0.07 to 20 mm in size. Breccias ex-
hibit squeezed and packed clast fabrics. We suppose that the
individual  lithoclasts  were  derived  from intertidal  and  su-
pratidal  environments,  whereas  the  clasts  with Liesegang
bands  come  from  the  freshwater  environments.  Because  of
imperfect size-sorting, mixing of lithoclasts of various origin
and  erosional  contact  with  the  underlying  bed  the  described
rudites seem to represent the storm lags (see Demicco & Hardie
1994 for comparison). In the second explanation, the breccias
could  represent  the  basal  high-energy  infill  of  channel  inci-
sion, formed in an erosive drainage system at the top of a sub-
aerially  exposed  platform  during  drops  of  relative  sea  level
(see Grélaud et al. 2010 for comparison).

Tržinovo Formation – new lithostratigraphic unit

On the basis of field works, lithological, microfacial, sedi-

mentological and paleontological research we suggest defin-
ing the Tržinovo Formation as a new lithostratigraphic unit.
Its  name  is  derived  from  the  Tržinovo  Valley  on  the  right
(western) site of the valley between Zázrivá and Párnica vil-
lages at the eastern tip of the Malá Fatra Mts. The new for-
mation  oucrops  in  two  localities.  The  stratotype  and  locus
typicus of the Tržinovo Formation occur in the forrest road
cut  section  with  GPS  coordinates  N 49°13

’16” and

E 19°09

’24” (A-section see Fig. 1).

The lithological composition of the new formation marked-

ly differs from the presumably isochronous clastic sediments
of the Lunz Beds and other sediments of the Carnian forma-
tions of the Krížna Unit. The new formation consists of two
members: the Tržinovo Claystone with six layers of shales
(No. I—VI), and the Tržinovo Dolomite with interbeds of dolo-
mites and dolomitic limestones (see Fig. 3).

The Tržinovo Claystone is represented by grey, dark grey,

grey-yellowish, grey-greenish dolomitic claystones with shaly
desintegration  and  variable  content  of  terrigenous  clay  frac-
tion (65.6 up to almost 100 %). In this fraction, illite strongly
predominates over kaolinite. The lowermost layer of claystone
(No. I)  contains  rare  macrofossils  including  the  brachiopods
Lingularia  ex  gr.  tenuissima  (Bronn)  and  conchostracans

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Euestheria  minuta  (von  Zieten),  presented  by  Kozur  &
Weems  (2010).  Both  fossil  groups  were  found  in  the  lower
part  of  bed  No. I.  Brachiopods  are  more  common  than  con-
chostracans,  but  their  stratigraphical  importance  is  low.  Silt
quartz  admixture  of  epigenetic  pyrite  grains  was  found  very
scarcely in this basal finely laminated claystone.

The Tržinovo Dolomite Member is represented by pale grey

bedded dolomites and sporadic dolomitic limestones. These
carbonates are micritic, with rare allochems including peloids,
intraclasts (pelsparites, intramicrites) and finely-laminated
bindstones. Some beds have fenestral fabrics.

The lower boundary of the Tržinovo Formation is marked

by the lower bedding plane of bed No. I. This plane overlies
the dolomite bed No. 8a, belonging to the topmost bed of the
Ramsau Dolomite Formation, and that without any marks of
erosion. The upper boundary of the Tržinovo Formation cor-
responds  to  the  upper  bedding  plane  of  the  claystone  layer
No. VI.  This  boundary  claystone  divided  the  Tržinovo  For-
mation  from  the  Hauptdolomit  Formation.  Thickness  of  the
Tržinovo Formation is approximately 12.3 m (see Fig. 3). The
parastratotype  of  this  formation  is  only  known  in  the  B-sec-
tion at N 49°12

’36” and E 19°08’05” (Fig. 1). The new for-

mation has a lens-shaped prolongation, and is known only
from two above mentioned localities in the Malá Fatra Mts, up
to now.

A very similar formation of Lower Carnian sediments in the

Krížna  Unit  was  detected  in  the  Ružbachy  Horst  in  Eastern
Slovakia  by  Kullmanová  &  Nemčok  (1985).  They  described
small outcrop of a formation of dolomites and dolomitic clay-
stones  about  1.5 m  thick.  The  dolomites  are  similar  in  the
composition  of  the  Carnian  foraminifers  to  the  association
from  the  Malá  Fatra  Mts.  The  dolomitic  claystones  near
Ružbachy  also  contain  marine  bivalves  Costatoria/Costato-
ria/cf. goldfussi (Alberti in Zieten) and brachiopods of the ge-
nus  Lingula  in  the  claystones  (Kochanová  in  Kullmanová
1974).  On  the  basis  of  the  bivalves  Kullmanová  &  Nemčok
l.c. assigned this formation to the Cordevolian, whereas Polák
in  Janočko  et  al.  (2000)  preferred  its  stratigraphic  attribution
to  the  Julian  and  Tuvalian.  Recently,  the  Ružbachy  sections
are not uncovered for study.

Stratigraphic attribution of the Tržinovo Formation also

depends  on  the  definition  of  the  Carnian  Stage.  Recent  de-
bate  makes  problematic  the  lower  boundary  of  the  Carnian
Stage,  when  the  traditional  base  of  the  Cordevolian  ( = base
of the A on Zone sensu Krystyn 1978) have been questioned
due to asynchronous FOs of Trachyceras species (Mietto &
Manfrin 1999). Therefore, Broglio Loriga et al. (1998) pro-
posed  to  shift  the  base  of  the  Cordevolian  to  the  base  of
Daxatina canadensis Zone, which was the cosmopolitan am-
monoid  species.  Nevertheless,  some  Late  Ladinian  species
like Frankites are still present in the Cordevolian, which led
to assignment of the Daxatina canadensis Zone to the Ladin-
ian (see Mietto et al. 2007 and Kozur & Bachman 2010 for
summary). Consequently, the Carnian stratigraphy has been
improved by a two-stage subdivision into the Julian and Tu-
valian (e.g. Lucas 2010, etc.).

The age of the Tržinovo Formation can be approximated

on the basis of conchostracan species Euestheria minuta
(von Zieten), which is known from the Longobardian, but is

also still present in the entire Cordevolian = Julian 1/I (Kozur
& Bachmann 2010). This age is also supported by the Carnian
foraminifers from topmost carbonate beds of the Ramsau Dolo-
mite  Formation,  which  is  directly  overlain  by  the  Tržinovo
Formation  (see  below).  Age  control  in  deposion  of  the
Tržinovo Formation is related to the Carnian Pluvial Event,
which took place in the latest Julian 1/IIc or at the Julian/Tu-
valian  boundary  (Hornung  et  al.  2007a,b;  Simms  &  Ruffell
1989; Rostási et al. 2010, etc.).

Paleontology and biostratigraphy

Upper Triassic sediments contain lingulide brachiopods and

conchostracans in the Tržinovo Formation and foraminifers in
the Ramsau Dolomite Formation. These fossils were studied
from the viewpoints of systematic description, ecology and
taphonomy and biostratigraphic importance.

Brachiopods

Order: Lingulida Waagen, 1885

Superfamily: Linguloidea Menke, 1828

Family: Lingulidae Menke, 1828

Lingularia Biernat & Emig, 1993

Lingularia ex gr. tenuissima (Bronn, 1837)

(Fig. 7a—e )

1830 Lingula Bronn – p. 128
1830 Lingula tenuissima n.s. Bronn – p. 230 (nomen nudum)
1837 Lingula tenuissima Bronn – p. 158, pl. 13, fig. 6b
1920 Lingula tenuissima Bronn – Diener, p. 16 (cum syn.)
1927 Lingula tenuissima Bronn – Ogilvie Gordon, p. 31, pl. 3, fig. 40
1934 Lingula tenuissima Bronn – Kirchner, p. 90, pl. 2, fig. 1
1935 Lingula tenuissima Bronn – Leonardi, p. 31, pl. 1, fig. 3—4
1958 Lingula tenuisima Bronn (sic) – Virgili, p. 534, fig. 62/4

?1960 Lingula cf. tenuissima Bronn – Šuf, pl. 14, fig. 7

1968 Lingula tenuissima Bronn – Nagy, pl. 2, fig. 3
1968 Lingula tenuissima Bronn – Broglio Loriga, p. 201, pl. 1, fig. 1—6
1972 Lingula tenuissima Bronn – Encheva, p. 19, pl. 9, fig. 1—6, pl. 10,

fig. 7—8

1985 Lingula tenuissima Bronn – Senkowiczowa, p. 24, p. 24, pl. 1,

fig. 2—3

1988 Lingula tenuissima Bronn – Siblík, p. 9 (cum syn.).
1991 Lingula tenuissima Bronn – Biely & Rakús, p. 6, pl. 1, fig. 4,7
1997 Lingula tenuissima Bronn, 1851 – Calzada & Magrans, p. 45,

fig. 1

1999 Lingula tenuissima Bronn – Sulser, p. 45, text-fig. 1

(synonymy includes the references with figured specimens only)

M a t e r i a l: 300 more or less fragmentary separated valves,

bed I, section A, Tržinovo Valley.

D e s c r i p t i o n: Elongate oval, slightly convex or nearly

flat separate valves with up to 18.5 mm in length and 9.5 mm
in  width.  Lateral  margins  slightly  convex,  anterior  margin
rounded. Maximum width at the mid-length. Posterior margin
rounded but majority of valves with damaged umbonal parts.
Ornamentation  consists  of  growth  lines  –  concentric  fila  of
variable  prominence  and  spacing.  Due  to  damaged  posterior
parts of most specimens, the distinguishing of pedicle and bra-

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Most of the past Triassic lingulid finds were assigned to

Lingula tenuissima Bronn, which was described from the Ger-
manic  Triassic.  However,  due  to  frequent  bad  preservation,
some  identifications  remain  questionable.  Very  similar  lin-
gulids, also described from the Germanic Triassic Lingula ke-
uperea  Zenker,  1834,  Lingula  calcaria  Zenker,  1834  and
Lingula zenkeri v. Alberti, 1864 were synonymized by some
authors. The names of the first two of them could have priority
in  the  case  of  identity  with  L.  tenuissima.  However,  Lingula
keuperea as figured by Zenker, 1834 shows in comparison to
L. tenuissima relatively larger, subtrigonal outline with maxi-
mum width in the anterior third of the shell. Lingula calcaria
seems  to  be  a  juvenile  of  L.  keuperea.  The  Alpine  species
Lingula  christomani  Skuphos,  1893  from  the  “Partnach-
schichten” and Lingula fischeri Suess, 1854 from the Hallstatt
Limestone  were  extremely  rare  when  established,  and  have
not been ascertained since their description. They both would
deserve a revision.

In 1977 Pajaud assigned “tenuissima” to Glottidia Dall,

1870 on the basis of the presence of divergent laminae in pedi-
cle valve. This was adopted later also by Siblík (1983). How-
ever,  Glottidia  occurs  in  ?Cretaceous,  Tertiary—Holocene
(Holmer & Popov 2000). This genus was quite recently con-
firmed in the Eocene in Antarctica (by Emig & Bittner 2005).
The  usual  generic  assignment  of  the  Triassic  lingulids  to
Lingula  Brugui

re, 1797 was called in question recently by

Biernat & Emig (1993). They documented that Mesozoic lin-
gulid brachiopods differ significantly from their Recent rela-
tives, and established a new genus Lingularia, which occurs in
Carboniferous—Cretaceous  and  ?Tertiary  formations.  One  of
their 3 new species, Lingularia siberica comes from the Mid-
dle Anisian of Siberia. According to the above mentioned au-
thors, the genera of the living lingulids probably arose in the
Early  Cenozoic.  The  genus  Lingula  itself  occurs  within  the
?Cretaceous,  Tertiary  and  Holocene  only  (Holmer  &  Popov
2000,  p. 36),  its  type  species  L.  anatina  Lamarck  in  the  Ho-
locene. A detailed summary of the taxonomy and organization
of the Recent species of Lingula was given by Emig (1982,
2002). The external characters are important, but mainly fea-
tures of the shell interior are necessary for the differentiation
between  Lingula  and  Lingularia,  especially  impression  of
the pedicle nerve, shape of umbonal muscle scar etc. Howev-
er, the internal characters are ascertainable only rarely in the
Triassic  fossil  finds.  According  to  Biernat  &  Emig  (1993),
the shell of Lingularia externally differs from Lingula in its
less  acute  posterior  margin  and  beak,  and  in  its  broadly
rounded anterior margin.

Most specimens from the Ve ká Lučivná Valley show a

more ovate outline in comparison to Bronn’s figure (1837),
which is very general, however. Their shell morphology, even
if fragmentary, is wholly consistent with the attribution to Lin-
gularia. Clearly comparable to them is the specimen of Lingu-
la tenuissima, figured by Calzada & Magrans (1997) from the
Upper Ladinian. The main synonymies of L. tenuissima are
presented here to show the large specific variability and distri-
bution. The possibility to verify the respective determinations
is in most cases unfeasible due to universal, short original de-
scriptions or insufficient illustrations. Also unclear muscle im-
prints can be easily misinterpreted in some cases. With regard

to the above mentioned uncertainties, the determination of our
material as Lingularia ex gr. tenuissima is considered reason-
able. It is quite possible, however, that so-called “tenuissima”
itself is not consistent and corresponds to several species.

D i s t r i b u t i o n: Lingularia tenuissima (Bronn) provides a

low  biostratigraphic  importance.  This  species  was  described
originally  from  the  Buntsandstein  and  the  Wellenkalk  in  the
Germanic Triassic (Bronn 1835—7). It occurs in the Lower to
Upper  Triassic  (Carnian)  of  the  Germanic  and  Alpine  do-
mains, and is reported from Germany, Spain, France (Vosges),
Switzerland,  Netherland,  Austria,  Italy,  Slovakia  (SE  Slova-
kia: e.g. Nandráž W of Jelšava, Rožňava, Muráň Plateau E of
Šumiac  –  all  Early  Triassic),  Hungary,  Bulgaria,  Bosnia,
Greece, Israel, Algeria, Tunisia and China.

E c o l o g y a n d t a p h o n o m y: Lingulids are marine endo-

bionts,  living  mainly  on  offshore,  shoreface  and  intertidal,
deltas  and  estuarine  settings  –  soft  substrates  of  finely
grained  sand  or  clayey  sand.  They  are  tolerant  of  reduced
salinity – e.g. Robertson (1989) etc., of oxygen deficient set-
tings  –  e.g.  Wignall  &  Hallam  (1992),  Schubert  &  Bottjer
(1995), and their short dwelling in fresh or brackish water is
possible.  Kowalewski  (1996)  confirmed  that  recent  lingulid
brachiopods  have  very  low  fossilization  potential,  and  that
longer  transport  of  their  shells  before  fossilization  is  highly
improbable.  After  death  they  can  undergo  rapid  mechanical
damage,  and  then  disappear  within  weeks  or  months.  Their
preservation in the fossil record may be enabled by a high rate
of  sedimentation  only  or  by  catastrophy.  On  the  basis  of  the
literature, Kowalewski l.c. concludes that the fossilization po-
tential in Paleozoic lingulids is higher than that in post-Paleo-
zoic ones. It seems that the claystones in section A have not
represented the normal substrate of lingulids (no presence of
the  lingulid  –  derived  trace  fossils  were  found)  but  on  the
contrary,  they  are  responsible  for  their  burial.  An  outline  of
environmental,  biological  and  taphonomic  controls  on  lin-
gulid distribution was given in Zonnenveld et al. (2007).

Conchostracans

Conchostraca Sars, 1867

M a t e r i a l: A number of shells in bed I, section A,

Tržinovo Valley.

D e s c r i p t i o n: Conchostracans belong to the clam

shrimps, the systematic classification of which remains uncer-
tain (see Kozur & Weems 2010). Triassic conchostracans are
assigned to the suborder Spinicaudata Linder, 1945. Conchos-
tracan shells from the Tržinovo Formation reach sizes of
around 3 mm, they display expressive growth bands and chiti-
nous composition

(Fig. 7f).

S t r a t i g r a p h i c i m p o r t a n c e: The conchostracans from

bed No. I were originally determined as Euestheria cf. minuta
(von Zieten) by Kozur & Mock (1993). Their systematic attri-
bution to the species of Euestheria minuta (von Zieten) has
been improved by Kozur & Weems (2010). In the conchostra-
can zonation of Kozur & Weems (l.c.), this taxon is the nomi-
native species of the Euestheria minuta Zone, which has been
established in the Longobardian. The associations of this con-

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ciations of which occur in the Late Ladinian—Carnian lime-
stones,  are  represented  by  Lamelliconus  turris  (Frentzen),
Nodosaria  ordinata  Trifonova  and  Multiseptida  elongata
Salaj,  Borza  &  Samuel  (Fig. 10).  The  so-called  Triassic
“globigeriniids”  are  represented  by  the  species  of  Ober-
hauserella  mesotriassica  (Oberhauser)  and  Duostomina  cf.
alta Kristan-Tollmann. The foraminiferal association is com-
pleted  by  the  species  of  Endothyra  gruenbachensis  Ober-
hauser,  Abriolina  cf.  mediterranea  Luperto,  Meandrospira
sp., Ophthalmidium exiguum Koehn-Zaninetti, etc.

S t r a t i g r a p h i c i m p o r t a n c e: The association of the

listed  species  allows  us  to  determine  the  Carnian  age  of  the
limestones. This age is indicated by three important species –
Pilamminella  kuthani  Salaj,  Triadodiscus  eomesozoicus
(Oberhauser) and Lamelliconus turris (Frentzen). The associa-
tion  of  these  species  is  indicative  for  the  Carnian  formations
(cf.  Ciarapica  &  Zaninetti  1983,  1984a,b;  Peybernes  et  al.
1991;  Fréchengues  &  Peybernes  1991;  Fréchengues  et  al.
1993;  Di  Bari  &  Laghi  1994;  Kolar-Jurkovšek  et  al.  2005,
etc.). The Carnian age is also supported by the species Aulo-
tortus  praegaschei  (Koehn-Zaninetti),  Abriolina  cf.  mediter-
ranea  Luperto,  Multiseptida  arcata  Salaj,  Borza  &  Samuel,
Rectoglomospira  (Rectopilammina)  senecta  Trifonova  and
Endothyra gruenbachensis Salaj.

E c o l o g i c i m p l i c a t i o n s: Foraminiferal microfauna al-

lows  us  to  propose  certain  characteristics  of  the  paleoeco-
logical  conditions.  Involutinid  genera,  like  Triadodiscus,
Aulotortus,  Lamelliconus,  etc.,  belong  to  the  lamellar  arago-
nitic foraminifers, which are characteristic of high-energy and
shallow-water  conditions.  On  the  contrary,  the  agglutinated
benthic  foraminifers,  like  Pilamminella,  Rectoglomospira,
Meandrospira,  etc.,  indicate  the  restricted  low-energy  envi-
ronments.  The  low-energy  facies  of  micritic  limestones  re-
veals an abundance of elongated morphotypes like Nodosaria,
Pseudonodosaria,  Frondicularia,  etc.,  which  could  indicate

dysoxic conditions (cf. Ciarapica et al. 1987; Maurer & Ret-
tori 2002). Under a stress life condition, some nodosariids lost
the calcareous hyaline walls, exhibiting a preference for ag-
glutination (Multiseptida). These limestones are also enriched
in some epiplanktonic forms like the zoospores Globochaete
and juvenile lamellibranchians (“filaments”).

Discussion and conclusions

The Upper Triassic development of the Germanic and North

Tethyan  shelf  basins  was  significantly  influenced  by  overall
siliciclastic  input,  which  suffocated  a carbonate  factory  and
led  to  the  so-called  “Carnian  Crisis”  (Hornung  et  al.  2007a),
Reingraben  or  Raibl  Turnover  (Schlager  &  Schöllnberger
1974), Carnian Pluvial Event (Simms & Ruffell 1989), Mid-
dle  Carnian  wet  intermezzo  (Kozur  &  Bachmann  2010)  and
other related events. These Carnian terrigenous inputs reflect-
ed climatic warming, increased humidity, monsoonal precipi-
tation,  enhanced  weathering,  extreme  seasonality  and
development of large fluvial systems (Simms & Ruffell 1990;
Krystyn  1991;  Vissher  et  al.  1994;  Mutti  &  Wissert  1995;
Hornung  2007;  Hornung  et  al.  2007a,b;  Roghi  et  al.  2010;
Kozur  &  Bachmann  2010,  etc.).  During  the  Carnian,  these
Tethys-wide changes resulted in the demise of carbonate plat-
forms,  enhanced  input  of  siliciclastics,  freshwater  influx  and
brackishing  of  shallow-marine  basins,  anoxic  conditions,  de-
crease  of  faunal  diversity,  biotic  extinctions,  etc.  (later  cit.).
The  Carnian  Crisis  is  documented  between  the  uppermost
Aonoides Zone and uppermost Austriacum Zone, which corre-
spond to its duration between Julian 1/IIc and Julian 2/II (Hor-
nung  &  Brandner  2005;  Hornung  et  al.  2007b).  Subsequent
deposition  of  the  Lunz  Beds  (s.s.)  took  place  during Julian
2/IIa—2IIb,  estimated  at  about  1 Myr  duration.  As  the  same
time as in the Northern Calcareous Alps, the Carnian Crisis is

Table 1: Distribution of foraminifers.

Bed numbers — Section A

Sec. B

Foraminiferal species

03 0

27287a

27287b

base bed

middle part

of bed

27403

27290

27289F

Microfacial type

W/G

W/P/G

G G P/G P

P P/G BM P/G P/G P/G

Pilamminella kuthani

C R F F C C R – C C R

Pilamminella gemerica

–

C –

R R R

–

R R –

Rectopilammina senecta

–

R –

–

Triadodiscus eomesozoicus

– R R C R R R F

Aulotortus praegaschei

– R C R C C

R –

C R

Aulotortus sinuosus

C F C F R

F C R R R R

Aulotortus broennimanni

– –

C – C R C –

–

R R R

Lamelliconus turris

R –

–

C R –

–

Nodosaria ordinata

C C R C

C R R F F F R F

Multiseptida elongata

R C R F C –

–

F C C R C

Oberhauserella mesotriassica

R R – –

–

R –

–

Duostomina alta

R R –

–

R –

–

Endothyra gruenbachensis

R C –

–

– –

–

Meandrospira sp.

– R R R –

–

R R –

–

Ophthalmidium exiguum

C – R R R –

–

R R R C R

Glomospirella sp.

R C C C C C C R C R C

Aulotortus sp.

C F C C R C R R C C C

Semiinvolutina sp.

R R C –

–

R –

–

R –

Prorakusia sp.

R C – R R R R – C C R

Explanation: R — rare, C — common, F — frequent, W — wackestone, P — packstone, G — grainstone.

136

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GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA

GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA, 2011, 62, 2, 121—138

also recorded in the Western Carpathians. Nevertheless, the
decreased rate of terrigenous input in the Western Carpathians
implies their more distant position from clastic sources than
the Northern Calcareous Alps.

Sedimentary changes in the Upper Triassic carbonate plat-

form of the Western Carpathians are manifested mainly from
the  Carnian  (Mahe   et  al.  1968;  Andrusov  &  Samuel  (Eds.)
1985).  Manifestations  of  the  most  conspicuous  changes  are
known from the Hronic and Silicic Zones (Choč Unit, Jablonica
Unit),  where  the  Carnian  siliciclastic  inputs  are  recorded  by
the Reingraben Shales and Lunz Beds. Their thick formation
was described, for example, from the Dobrá Voda DV-1 and
Kuklov 3  boreholes  (Michalík  et  al.  1992;  Masaryk  &  Lint-
nerová 1997), where the black shales with halobiids are equiv-
alent to the Reingraben ( = Halobia) Shales, and to the Lower
Carnian event in full-marine environment and sabkha-type en-
vironment (Opponitz Formation). An enhanced input of silici-
clastics  is  also  recorded  in  the  intraplatform  basins  of  the
Hronic Zone, where the Reifling limestones were replaced by
the  Aonian  Beds  (Svarín  Beds)  and  higher  by  the  thick  se-
quence  of  the  Lunz  Beds  (Marschalko  &  Pulec  1967;
Michalík  1988;  Masaryk  et  al.  1993;  Havrila  1993).  These
changes, which correspond to the Julian, were dated by the oc-
currence of Trachyceras aonoides Mojsisovics, Monophyllites
simoyi  Hauer,  Carnites  floridus  (Wulfen)  and  others  am-
monoids from the transition beds between the Reifling Lime-
stones  and  Lunz  Beds  (Andrusov  et  al.  1973;  Bystrický  in
Andrusov & Samuel 1985). Palynological study provided the
Carnian  spore-pollen  patterns  of  the  Lunz  Beds  (Planderová
1972).  The  Lunz  Beds  also  occur  in  the  Fatric  Zone,  where
they  are  developed  as  a  thinner  formation  with  sandstone-
dominated facies. The thickness of the Lunz Beds with “Aon
Schiefer”  in  the  NCA  is  about  500 m  (Behrens  1972)  and  in
the Choč Unit about 300 m (Marschalko & Pulec 1967). Their
thickness  in  the  Krížna  Unit  is  reduced  perhaps  to  50—80 m,
and  in  the  Malá  Fatra  Mts  about  10 m.  In  the  Tatricum,  the
Carnian  siliciclastic  sediments  are  infrequent,  known  up  to
now only from the Ve ká Fatra Mts, from where Planderová &
Polák  (1976)  described  the  dark  grey  shales  and  marly  clay-
stones with abundant pollen/spore assemblages.

The Tržinovo Formation newly described from the Malá

Fatra Mts also represents the siliciclastic systems of the Fatric
basin, but those from shallow-lagoonal up to not fully marine
environments. The presence of pliohaline and euryhaline fau-
na  like  conchostracans  and  lingulids  point  to  brackish  water
environments of the Tržinovo Formation. The claystone sedi-
ments of this formation could be deposited from mud suspen-
sions  overspilled  from  submarine  channels  filled  by  the
coarser  terrigenous  sediments  of  the  Lunz  Beds.  The  Flood
basins  of  the  Tržinovo  Formation  were  rather  shallow  intra-
platform  depressions  with  restricted  extent  (1.5 km  between
two border sections A—B). Similar flood basins with siliciclas-
tics  within  the  shalow-marine  platform  environments  were
formed during the Carnian Pluvial Event also in the Dolomites
(Breda et al. 2009). Like the Carnian terrestrial systems of Eu-
rope, these inundation basins were flooded in monsoonal epi-
sodes,  and  than  abandoned  as  pools  with  standing  water  and
colonized by Euestheria (cf. Simms & Ruffell 1990). There-
fore, in less humid phases the terrigenous claystone deposition

was  suppressed,  which  led  to  the  recovery  of  full-marine
conditions and precipitation of carbonates. Alteration of such
conditions during the Carnian Pluvial Episode is recorded by
the  mixed  siliciclastic-carbonatic  sequence  of  the  Tržinovo
Formation, and related similar sediments of the Krížna Units
(e.g.  dolomitic  claystones  with  Costatoria  cf.  goldfussi  in
the  Ružbachy  Horst,  Eastern  Slovakia  –  Kullmanová  &
Nemčok 1985).

Acknowledgments:  The  research  has  been  supported  by
VEGA  Agency  (2/0140//09  and  1/0274/10)  and  funds  re-
ceived  througth  the  Centre  of  Excellence  for  Integrative  Re-
search  of  the  Earth’s  Geosphere  (ITMS 26220120064,
European Regional Development Fund). The study of brachi-
opods was done within the framework of the Project 205/03/
1123  of  the  Grant  Agency  of  the  Czech  Republic  and  of  the
Research Program AVOZ30130516. We extend our thanks to
Eva  Šamajová  (Bratislava)  for  X-Ray  analyses,  Roman
Aubrecht  and  Jozef  Hók  (UK  Bratislava)  for  help  in  transla-
tion and in graphic arrangement. Many thanks for critical re-
views  of  the  manuscript  to  Gloria  Ciarapica  (Perugia),
Christian C. Emig (Marseille) and Jozef Michalík (Bratislava).

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