GeolCarp_Vol64_No4_279

www.geologicacarpathica.sk

GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA

, AUGUST 2013, 64, 4, 279—290 doi: 10.2478/geoca-2013-0020

Introduction

The pre-Neogene basement of Hungary is composed of two
major tectonic units, namely the Pelso (part of the ALCAPA
– Faupl et al. 1997) and the Tisza Units (Fig. 1). The latter
name derives from the Tisza River. (This river also served as
a  source  name  for  the  Tisia  Unit  of  Prinz  (1926),  but  it  in-
cluded the entire basement of the Pannonian Basin therefore
we are using here the name Tisza instead of Tisia for the south-
eastern part of the Pannonian Basin.) The Tisza Unit consists
of 4 tectonic zones as follows: Mecsek, Villány-Bihor, Békés-
Codru and Biharia Zones. The Pelso and Tisza Units are sep-
arated  by  the  Mid-Hungarian  Tectonic  Zone.  The  first  unit
derives  from  the  Southern  and  the  Eastern  Alps,  while  the
latter one was part of the European continent before the Ju-
rassic (Kovács 1982; Kovács et al. 1989).

The crystalline basement of the Tisza Unit is composed pre-

vailingly  of  medium,  subordinately  low-  and  very  low-grade
Lower Paleozoic metamorphites. Locally, these are overlain
by two types of the Variscan molasse: the lower (Carbonifer-
ous) one is composed of grey clastics and the upper (Permian)
one  consists  of  red  siliciclastics  with  rhyolitic  lava  and  tuff
bodies. The Triassic sequence of the Tisza Unit is of German-
type (Nagy 1968). The Jurassic successions in the Hungarian
parts  of  the  Mecsek  and  the  Villány-Bihor  Zones  are  com-
pletely different. The Lower Jurassic of the Bihor Mts resem-

From continental platform towards rifting of the Tisza Unit

in the Late Triassic to Early Cretaceous

GÉZA CSÁSZÁR

, BALÁZS SZINGER

and OLGA PIROS

Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary; csaszar.geza@gmail.com

Mol Nyrt., Batthyány út. 45, H-1039 Budapest, Hungary

Hungarian Geological and Geophysical Institute, Stefánia út. 14, H-1143 Budapest, Hungary

(Manuscript received September 17, 2012; accepted in revised form June 3, 2013)

Abstract: The Upper Triassic—Lower Cretaceous successions of the Transdanubian part of the Mecsek and Villány-
Bihor Zones of the Tisza Unit have been studied from the lithological, lithostratigraphical, sedimentological, microfossil
and microfacies points of view in order to correlate and interpret the significant differences between them and to draw
a conclusion about their geological and paleogeographical history. After an overview of the paleogeographical recon-
structions of the broader area, the succession of the Mecsek and Villány-Bihor Zones and the debated Máriakéménd-Bár
Range are introduced. Until the end of the Middle Triassic the study area acted as an entity. The first fundamental
difference between the two zones can be recognized in the Late Triassic when marine carbonates were replaced by thick
fluvial siliciclastics in the Mecsek Zone, while it is represented only by small, local lenses with a few and thin dolostone
intercalations in the Villány Zone. The Mecsek Zone is bordered southward by one of the large listric faults to the north
of which very thick siliciclastics developed in the Early to Middle Jurassic, whereas it is highly lacunose in the larger
western part of the Villány-Bihor Zone. The break at the base is subaerial, higher in the succession it is shallow subma-
rine. The sediment is silty, occasionally sandy crinoidal limestone of late Early Jurassic or even Middle Jurassic in age.
The Upper Jurassic in the Mecsek Zone is composed of deep-water cherty limestone while in the Villány Zone it became
a thick, shallowing pelagic limestone with reworked patch reef fragments. It is clear evidence that the Mecsek Zone had
a thinned continental crust thanks to the nearby rift zone while in the Villány Zone the crust remained thick. The
actualized version of the Plašienka’s paleogeographical model (Plašienka 2000) is introduced.

Key words: Upper Triassic, Lower Cretaceous, Tisza Unit, rifting, facies analysis, plate tectonics, paleogeography,
lithostratigraphy.

bles the Gresten and Allgäu facies but less typical and much
thinner than those in the Mecsek Zone (Fig. 2).

The aim of this paper is to describe and correlate the Upper

Triassic, Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous successions of the
zones in the Tisza Unit using only general conclusions of the
detailed microfossil and microfacies studies. The detailed re-
sults of them will be published elsewhere.

Paleogeographical outline and significance of the

Tisza Unit

The affinity of the Upper Triassic and Lower Jurassic suc-

cession  of  the  Mecsek  Mountains  is  Germanic  and  Helvetic
respectively. This was first recognized by Peters (1862) who
used for their significant units the names Keuper and Gresten
for the first time. The relationship between the occurrences of
similar  facies  was  still  unknown  before  him.  More  than  one
hundred years later Sandulescu (1975) directly correlated the
Tatrides with the Bihor and the Krížna with the Codru units.
According  to  Bleahu  (1976)  the  Villány  and  the  Northern
Apuseni  Mts  were  direct  continuations  of  the  Western  Car-
pathians. Channel & Horváth (1976) located the Tatrides, the
Tisia and the Moesia as independent plates north of the Adriatic
plate.  Wein  (1978)  without  using  the  term  “Tisza  Unit”  was
the  first  to  indicate  it  with  many  subunits  (including  the

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Mecsek, Villány, Codru and Bihor) and their broad environs
in the Triassic and Early Cretaceous time parallel to the Torn-
quist Line, in the south-eastern continuation of the Helvetic
(with the Gresten facies), the Pieniny Klippen Belt, the Tatric
and the Batiza Units. This broad zone was closed south-east-
ward by the Danubicum, Geticum and Suprageticum. Accord-
ing to Kovács (1982) the Tisza Unit was situated between the
Tatricum and the Maramures—Subbucovinian Units.

On the basis of ammonite assemblages Géczy (1973) set

the separation time of the Tisza Unit from the European con-
tinent in the Middle Jurassic. The separation process accord-
ing to Balla (1984) took place in the late Early Cretaceous.
According to Kovács et al. (1989) the Tisza Unit split off the
European Platform by the Penninic rifting.

The way and time of separation and collision are still the

major questions in the paleogeographical history of the Tisza
Unit.  In  the  last  two  decades  several  palinspastic  maps  and
even more papers have been dedicated either to the Tethyan
Realm  or  just  to  the  Alpine—Carpathian  Region.  In  the  first
modern paleogeographical maps edited by Ziegler (1988) the
Tisza Unit was not indicated. On the map set of Dercourt et
al.  (1990a,b)  along  the  northern  margin  of  the  Tethys  the
Tisza Unit was indicated as an independent terrane, and the
Mecsek as part of it. In the explanatory volume of the IGCP
Project 198, Mesozoic and Cenozoic facies relations (Császár
et al. 1990)  and the paleogeographical position of the Tisza
Unit (Kovács et al. 1989) were shown. Triassic facies types
and  their  paleogeographical  relations  within  the  Tisza  Unit
were introduced by Bleahu et al. (1996). In the Alpine-Car-
pathian-Dinaric  Realm  several  microplates  were  well  posi-
tioned  and  named  by  Plašienka  (2000)  in  four  steps  within
the  Sinemurian—Maastrichtian  time  interval.  Dercourt  et  al.

(2000),  Stampfli  &  Borel  (2002),  Gaetani  et  al.  (2003)
showed a small scale, global plate-tectonic model for the Pa-
leozoic  and  Mesozoic  where  terranes  larger  than  the  Tisza
units  were  only  indicated  or  united  with  other  unit(s).  On
similar scale maps Bonev & Stampfli (2003, 2011) indicated
microplates and even nappe sets on their paleotectonic mod-
els  for  the  Middle  and  Late  Jurassic  and  Cretaceous  inter-
vals,  where  the  Tisza  (named  incorrectly  Tisia)  microplate
was  situated  west  of  the  Austro-Alpine  units.  The  Western
Carpathians are indicated on the eastern side of the Austro-
Alpine  units.  Using  detailed  facies  analyses  another  ap-
proach  was  introduced  by  Csontos  &  Vörös  (2004)  in  the
Alpine-Carpathian  and  Dinaridic  framework.  According  to
their model, frequent collision strong deformed the shape of
the Tisza Unit with significant bending of the entire micro-
plate. On the contrary on the map, the Tisza Unit (here called
Bihor)  and  the  Getic  and  Bucovinian  Units  have  not  been
separated by any (Mures or Transylvanian) oceanic branches
of  the  Vardar  Ocean  in  the  Late  Jurassic  and  Early  Creta-
ceous time. According to Haas & Péró (2004) the Tisza Unit
was a direct continuation of the Lower and Upper Austro-Al-
pine  units  including  the  Western  Carpathian  Tatric,  Fatric
and  Hronic  subunits.  The  separation  process  started  in  the
Late Triassic, but they do not indicate rifting on the map at
all. Significant progress was achieved in the Bathonian when
the  Boreal  fauna  was  replaced  by  the  Tethyan  fauna.  The
first (north-westward) dipping subduction of the Neo-Tethys
is shown on the Oxfordian map and an eastward one in the
Barremian  and  in  the  Albian  (Haas  &  Péró  2004).  Mean-
while the orientation and position of the Tisza Unit did not
change  significantly.  Although  the  Mesozoic  facies  zones  of
the Tisza Unit are accepted to be oriented parallel to the Euro-

Fig. 1. The position of the Pelso and Tisza Units, subunits of the latter one on the geological map of the Alpine-Carpathian-Dinaric Arc sys-
tem with indication of the study area (Császár 2005).

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pean  margin,  this  situation  cannot  be  recognized  on  the
sketch  map  of  Schmid  et  al.  (2008).  Similarly  to  the  facies
zones of the ALCAPA, the same facies zones before the Late
Jurassic  ought  to  be  found  in  the  Tisza  and  Dacia  micro-
plates on their fig. 2b, but in reality they are different. At the
same  time  the  subdivision  of  the  “Tisza  Mega-Unit”  (see
their Plate 1) is controvertible. Based mainly on geophysical
and geochemical measurements Ionescu et al. (2009) envis-
age the South Apuseni ophiolites as remnants of a back-arc
basin  of  the  Transylvanian,  called  the  “Eastern  Vardar”
Ocean.  The  result  of  the  Late  Jurassic  W—SW  dipping  sub-
duction of the oceanic crust beneath the island arc is the ob-
ducted  oceanic  basement  on  the  Bucovinian  continental
crust.  The  consequence  of  it  is  the  eastward  subduction  of
the oceanic crust, collision and thrusting of ophiolites and is-
land arc on the Tisza Unit in the early Late Cretaceous.

The situation of the microplates at Vörös (2012 – see his

fig. 1 therein) is similar to the maps of Schmid et al. (2008
– their fig. 2b and plate 1) but more realistic in both the re-
cent tectonic map (his fig. 1a) and the early Late Jurassic pa-
leogeographical sketch map (his fig. 1b).

Radical changes in the sedimentary environment of

the Mecsek—Villány area from the Late Triassic till

the Late Jurassic

Tectonic fragmentation of the continental crust at the end
of the Middle Triassic

The Lower and Middle Triassic sequences of both the

Mecsek  and  Villány-Bihor  Zones  developed  in  the  same
(ramp to platform) facies starting with the fluvial, continued
with  coastal  and  shallow-marine  carbonate  sedimentation.
There are only minor differences in lithology, but contrarily
more  in  thickness  between  the  Lower  and  Middle  Triassic
formations  of  the  Mecsek  and  Villány  Zones  (Török  1988;
Konrád 1997; Galácz et al. 2008).

In addition to the local occurrence of the highly clayey

Kantavár  Formation  of  lagoon  facies  the  Upper  Triassic  of
the Mecsek Zone is represented by the Karolinavölgy Sand-
stone Formation of 400—500 m thickness (Figs. 3 and 4). At
several places, it may repeatedly contain sub-angular quartz
pebbles,  but  limestone  and  dolostone  breccia  and  conglo-
merate beds also occur. Based on its poor fossil content (a few
ostracods,  phyllopods,  bivalves,  gastropods,  fish  remains,
palynomorphs and plant remains), the formation was depos-
ited  in  fluvial,  deltaic  and  lacustrine  environments  (Nagy
1968; Konrád 1997). The sources of the crystalline rocks are
metamorphic and granitic rocks.

On the contrary, the thickness of the Upper Triassic of the

Villány Hills ranges between 0 and 40 m (Figs. 3 and 4). The
succession  (Mészhegy  Formation)  is  composed  of  alternat-
ing, highly variegated calcareous marl, marl, siltstone, thin-
bedded dolostone and sandstone of shallow-water origin on
a  flat  lying  coastal  area  (Vörös  2010).  Its  fossil  content  is
very  poor,  just  a  few  bone  fragments  of  dinosaurids  and
plant remains are found. The sedimentation must have been
ephemeral, mainly lacustrine with some marine intercalation

in the lower part (Rálischné Felgenhauer 1987). The proper
date of sedimentation within a very long time interval (close
to 30 Ma) cannot be specified.

Further diversification of types and rates of sedimentation
in the Early Jurassic

There is no break in sedimentation between the Triassic and

the Jurassic in the Mecsek area (Fig. 3). In the Late Rhaetian

Fig. 3.  Upper  Triassic  and  Jurassic  sequences  of  the  Mecsek  and
Villány Zones including the Máriakéménd—Bár Range. L – Ladin-
ian,  MBR  –  Máriakéménd—Bár  Range,  MT  –  Middle  Triassic,
KL  –  Kecskehát  Limestone  Formation,  MkL  –  Máriakéménd
Limestone  Formation,  PL  –  Pusztakisfalu  Limestone  Formation,
VL – Villány Limestone Formation.

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(Bóna  1983)—Early  Sinemurian  (Földi  1967;  Szente  2012)
the Upper Triassic sandstone-shale-conglomerate is replaced
by  alternation  of  sandstone,  foliated  clay,  and  mudstones
with many coal seams of Gresten facies (Mecsek Coal For-
mation)  Vozár  et  al.  (2010)  indicate  coal  seams  in  the  Car-
nian part of the Karolinavölgy Sandstone, but it occurs only
in the Rhaetian, and it is the base of the Mecsek Coal. The
much  broader  mineral  spectra  and  larger  quantity  of  clastic
silicate  minerals  in  the  northern  part  of  the  coal  field  area
than those in the southern part give evidence about the north-
westerly source of the siliciclastics. This idea is supported by
larger  feldspar  content  of  the  sandstone  beds  in  the  north
than that in the south. The increased clay content of the Lower
and  Middle  Jurassic  was  intensively  studied  and  evaluated
by Raucsik & Varga (2008) from the climatic point of view.
Breccia  and  conglomerate  beds  of  Triassic  dolostones  and
limestones, occasionally quartz and metamorphites and some

Fig. 4. Comparison of sedimentary sequences of the Mecsek and
Villány Zones and Subzones by series from the Upper Triassic up to
the Upper Jurassic.

tuffs  and  tuffites  intercalate  in  the  formation  (Nagy  1968,
1971).  The  thickness  of  the  Mecsek  Coal  varies  between
100—1200 m (Fig. 4), rapidly decreasing to the north and less
rapidly to the east. The lower member of the formation is bar-
ren in fauna, but starting with the middle member the succes-
sion is enriched in varied fossils. The most common elements
are the molluscs, often with lumachella-like occurrences: bi-
valves,  gastropods  of  epicontinental  affinity  (Szente  1992)
and in the upper part there are also a few ammonites. Fresh-
water bivalve and dinosaur footprints are rare. The sedimen-
tary  environment  starts  with  fluvial  and  lacustrine  facies,
continues with  delta plain (deltaic swamp) and finishes with
coastal  plain  (often  swamp)  facies  overprinted  with  eustatic
changes.  The  formation  is  overlain  by  Middle  Sinemurian
shallow  subtidal  grey  Zobákpuszta  Sandstone  Formation
(Raucsik 2012a) with some marl and breccia beds as intercala-
tions in the 300 m thick formation. It is followed by the Vasas
Marl  Formation  of  deep  sublittoral  origin.  The  most  typical
fossil elements of the 300—400 m thick clay marl to calcareous
marl formation are Gryphaea div. sp., plant remains, in addi-
tion to which varied bivalves, benthic foraminifers, crinoids
and  some  ammonites  are  worth  mentioning.  According  to
Görög (2003) the majority of the foraminifers are of inbenthic-
and hyaline-type. Dolostone and limestone breccia beds with
small size sub-angular quartz pebbles contain rare fragments
of  colonial  corals  restricted  to  the  southern  margin  of  the
Mecsek Zone (Császár et al. 2007).

The Upper Sinemurian to Lower Pliensbachian, silty or

even fine-grained sandy calcareous marl is developed in
Allgäu facies typical for the Helvetic Zone. The thickness of
the Hosszúhetény Calcareous Marl Formation ranges between
300—400 m. It is frequently intercalated by crinoidal lime-
stones with chert nodules of sponge origin. The source rocks
of the scarce breccia layers are in part intraformational, in part
Middle Triassic in origin. Its fossil content is poor. In addition
to the crinoids, a few brachiopods, ammonites and benthic for-
aminifers are found. The foraminifers (Görög 2003) indicate a
deeper, off-shore environment with a higher oxygen content,
but less nutrient flux than in the bedrock of the Vasas Marl.

In the Upper Pliensbachian and Lower Toarcian the clayey

limestone  and  calcareous  marl  turn  mainly  into  sandstone
(Mecseknádasd  Sandstone  Formation).  It  is  characterized  by
0.6—2.0 m  thick  sedimentary  cycles,  the  bases  of  which  may
start with breccias or coarse- to fine-grained sandstones and the
tops finish with silty marls, siltstones and, clayey limestones.
The sandstone beds are often crinoidal and/or siliceous. Brec-
cia  beds  are  relatively  frequent  in  the  lower  beds  and  very
scarce in the upper ones. The components also include Lower
Jurassic  sedimentary  rocks.  The  formation  is  poor  in  fossils
but  a  few  horizons  are  enriched  in  brachiopods,  ammonites,
and hyaline benthic foraminifers which indicate well oxygen-
ized,  neritic,  deep  sublittoral  to  bathyal  environments.  The
formation  is  restricted  to  the  southern  part  of  the  Mecsek
Mountains where its thickness can reach 900 m.

There is a small coarse-grained crinoidal limestone body

of 30—40 m thickness (Kecskehát Limestone Formation) de-
veloped within the Mecseknádasd Sandstone Formation. The
depositional area is supposed to be an elevated part of the
southern sub-basin.

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During the Early Toarcian, the sedimentary environment

became  open  marine,  shallow  bathyal,  and  later  dysoxic  to
anoxic (Raucsik & Varga 2008) in harmony with the “global
anoxic  event”.  The  sediment  is  grey  to  dark  grey,  organic
rich  silty  marl,  clay  marl,  fine-grained  sandstone,  calcareous
marl, in part laminated siltstone (Rékavölgy Siltstone Forma-
tion). Its total thickness is 160 m. The formation is rich in fish
remains, ammonites, belemnites, bivalves and foraminifers.

In the Villány Zone the best outcrop of the Lower Jurassic

is situated on the Templom Hill at the village Villány (Vörös
2010)  and  it  is  represented  by  the  8 m  thick  Somssichhegy
Formation (Figs. 3 and 4) deposited with gentle angular un-
conformity  above  the  Upper  Triassic  Mészhegy  Formation
(Vörös 1990; Galácz et al. 2008). It consists of a lower detri-
tal  member  and  an  upper  biodetrital  (crinoidal)  limestone
member. The rich ammonite association and brachiopods in-
dicate  that  the  age  of  the  formation  is  Early  Pliensbachian.
The  lower  member  is  a  product  of  a  transgressive  shallow
marine

; the upper one is a sublittoral to shallow bathyal en-

vironment.  The  upper  half  of  the  lower  member  is  called  a
“boulder  bed”  because  boulder-size  sandy  limestone  frag-
ments  are  the  major  constituents  in  the  pebbly  and  sandy
limestone matrix. The lower member is capped by a 20—30 cm
thick  fossiliferous  bed  (ammonites,  belemnites,  brachiopods
and petrified drift woods).

The upper part of the formation is well-bedded limestone

with molluscs and sorted crinoid fragments. The Eodocerata-
cea ammonite fauna of the Somssichhegy Formation shows a
close relationship with those of the Prealpine Sub-Briançon-
nais and the Pontides (Dommergues & Geczy 1989; Géczy
& Galácz 1998). It is evidence that the Villány-Bihor Zone
belonged to the Euro-Asiatic (or Euboreal) province situated
on the European margin even in the Early Pliensbachian.

The thick Lower Jurassic succession of the Mecsek Moun-

tains developed continuously in a deepening environment,
while it is lacunose and thin in the Villány Hills (Fig. 4). It is
worth mentioning that at the eastern end of the Villány-Bihor
Zone (Bihor Mts) the Lower Jurassic resembles the Mecsek
succession. It means that the one-time facies boundary was
cut by the Late Cretaceous thrust plane.

Getting far from the siliciclastic source areas in the Middle
Jurassic

There was no break in sedimentation in the Mecsek Zone

in  the  Early  and  Middle  Jurassic  (Fig. 3).  The  anoxic
Rékavölgy  Siltstone  Formation  continuously  developed
into  the  bathyal  Komló  Calcareous  Marl  Formation  of
Aalenian—Bajocian  age  (Fig. 4).  The  transitional  beds  are
dark grey platy marl replaced upward by alternating beds of
grey,  spotted,  calcareous  marl,  marl  and  clayey  limestone
50 to 500 m in thickness. The most typical fossils are tiny
bivalves (Bositra), but other bivalves and scattered chrono-
zone-indicator  ammonites  (Vadász  1935)  also  occur.  The
water  depth  was  bathyal,  deepening  upwards  in  harmony
with  the  decreasing  amount  of  siliciclastics.  In  the  Batho-
nian, the sedimentation of the Jurassic succession shows a
radical  change.  The  thick  grey  clayey  or  sandy  succession
typical  of  the  European  margin,  is  replaced  by  the  red  or

variegated,  nodular  Óbánya  Limestone  Formation.  This  is
the first occurrence of the so-called “ammonitico rosso” fa-
cies  characteristic  for  the  Tethyan  Province.  The  10—15 m
thick  formation  was  formed  in  a  medium  to  deep  bathyal
environment.  It  is  very  rich  in  ammonites  and  belemnites,
although  some  brachiopods  and  bivalves  also  occur.  Ac-
cording to Galácz (1995), the deposition of the formation is
restricted  to  the  Bathonian.  The  microfauna  (foraminifers
and  ostracods)  suggest  an  off-shore,  deep-water  environ-
ment with relatively poor nutrient supply.

The lithological differences indicate further deepening of

the bathyal environment during the Callovian to Early Kim-
meridgian deposition of the Fonyászó Limestone Formation
(Fig. 3). The nodular Óbánya Limestone is substituted after
rapid transition to the lower member of the Fonyászó Lime-
stone  Formation.  It  is  red  and  greenish-grey,  well-bedded,
often platy limestone, marl or calcareous and siliceous marl
with  pale  green,  thin  clay,  clayey  marl  and  marl  intercala-
tions  of  tuff  (?)  origin  with  angular  volcaniclastics  in  the
host  limestone  (Császár  2002).  The  upward  increasing  fre-
quency of the chert nodules indicates continuous deepening
of  the  basin.  The  prevailing  Bositra  content  characteristic
for  the  20 m  thick  lower  member  interval  gave  place  up-
wards  to  the  radiolarians,  while  the  frequency  of  the  rest
(ammonites, belemnites, brachiopods, bivalves and foramin-
ifers)  did  not  change  considerably.  The  age  of  the  lower
member is Callovian to earliest Oxfordian.

The Middle Jurassic (Figs. 3 and 4) in the Villány Zone is

represented  by  the  condensed,  unique  Villány  Limestone
Formation of 0.5 m thickness deposited after a long break in
sedimentation  above  the  Somssichhegy  Limestone  Forma-
tion. It is known from its type locality called Templom Hill
quarry,  east  of  Villány  village  (Lóczy  1915;  Kaszap  1963;
Vörös 2010, 2012). Its lithology and ammonite association is
documented by Géczy & Galácz (1998). The majority of the
133 ammonite taxa and the reworked rock fragments are en-
crusted by deep-water stromatolite. This bank represents the
Upper  Bathonian  and  almost  the  whole  Callovian.  Its  fora-
miniferal  and  ostracod  content  is  reported  by  Görög  et  al.
(2012).  The  formation  is  also  known  from  the  Rózsabánya
quarry,  Máriagyűd  above  the  Middle  Triassic  dolomite  and
in the Magyarbóly Mb-1 borehole as an intercalation within
a thick crinoidal limestone body.

Bathypelagic and platform carbonate in the Late Jurassic

The upper 25 m part of the typical Fonyászó Limestone

Formation  (Raucsik  2012b)  is  composed  of  cherty  lime-
stone,  cherty  calcareous  marl  and  radiolarite.  They  are  en-
riched  in  radiolarians  and  cadosinids  but  ammonites,
belemnites, brachiopods, bivalves and foraminifers may also
be found. The age of the upper part of the formation is Ox-
fordian—Early Kimmeridgian. The depositional environment
of the formation is deep bathyal but there is a craggy change
in lithology and sedimentary environment in time and space
as  well.  The  succession  is  getting  more  grey,  more  cherty
and/or  clayey  to  the  north  and  north-east  direction  in  the
Mecsek Zone (Bércziné et al. 1997) especially in the Alföld,
but within the Mecsek Mts too.

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The upper part of the Fonyászó Formation is Oxfordian—

early  Early  Kimmeridgian.  It  is  replaced  upwards  by  the
variegated nodular Kisújbánya Limestone Formation with a
few red and grey chert nodules of open marine origin. It was
formed  in  the  Kimmeridgian—Early  Tithonian.  Saccocoma,
radiolaria,  Cadosina  and  Stomiosphaera  are  its  prevailing
microfossils, the macrofossils (ammonites, belemnites) are
subordinate.  The  thickness  of  the  formation  is  approxi-
mately 20 m.

In the 110 m thick Márévár Limestone Formation of

Maiolica facies, plenty of calpionellids were identified. The
lower  member  of  the  formation  consists  of  well-bedded,
cherty, clastic limestone with intraformational breccia beds,
while the upper member is thinner bedded, occasionally with
internal laminar structure, although it may contain some cal-
careous marl, or even thin clay beds. It is generally poor in
megafossils (ammonites and belemnites), but their frequency
increases southward. The formation contains pelagic micro-
fossils  (Saccocoma  in  the  basal  layers,  radiolarians  in  the
middle and upper part, while calpionellids may occur in the
entire section). As a general tendency in the Middle and Up-
per Jurassic of the Mecsek Zone the thickness of the Márévár
Limestone Formation deposited above the dissected basement
decreases southward in accordance with the general shallow-
ing tendency. The ca. 18 m thick southernmost Zengővárkony
section  is  condensed,  thin-  to  thick-bedded,  and  rich  in  mi-
crofossils,  with  almost  all  calpionellid  zones  and  subzones.
Its  mixed  and  condensed  nature  is  determined  by  a  south-
ward  shallowing  water  depth.  The  age  of  the  formation  is
Late Tithonian—Early Hauterivian (Nagy & Szinger 2012).

There is a fundamental change in the composition of the

Jurassic  succession  of  the  Villány  Hills  from  the  Upper  Ju-
rassic: the highly lacunose and condensed Lower and Middle
Jurassic is replaced above a hardground by the thick-bedded
or  even  massive  Upper  Jurassic  limestone  (Szársomlyó
Limestone  Formation  –  Figs. 3  and  4)  at  least  300 m  in
thickness. There are significant differences among the nappe
units in facies and thicknesses as well. The basal beds of the
formation  are  barren  in  megafossils  but  rich  in  planktonic
foraminifers.  Higher  in  the  sequence  ooidal  and  sponge-,
brachiopod- and belemnite-bearing limestone intercalate into
the Saccocoma-bearing beds. In the upper part of the forma-
tion Tubiphytes, coral, green algae and limestone fragments
deriving  from  shallow  marine  platform  occur  more  and
more frequently.

The upper part of the Szársomlyó Limestone Formation in

the eastern continuation of the Bóly Basin (Nagybaracska B-27
and B-28 boreholes) is present. It is rich in colonial organisms,
mainly corals and bryozoans but green algae and Tubiphytes
are also frequent. The sedimentary environment is partly la-
goonal, and partly resembles the reef slope. Based on calpio-
nellids the age of the upper part of the borehole B-28
(417.0—465.0 m) is Late Tithonian—Berriasian (Császár 2002).

The Villány-Bihor Zone became land in the Berriasian and

in traps of the karstified surface pisoidic bauxite accumulated
(Harsányhegy Bauxite Formation). It was followed by a slow
transgression the product of which was an Urgonian carbon-
ate platform in the entire Villány-Bihor Zone. A compres-
sional tectonic movement put an end to this kind of

sedimentation in the Albian when the first imbrications and
nappes were formed in the Tisza Unit.

Peculiarities of the Jurassic sedimentation on the
Máriakéménd—Bár Range

The Jurassic formations in the Máriakéménd—Bár Range

(MBR)  located  between  the  Mecsek  Mts  and  the  Villány
Hills (Figs. 2 and 4) have been known since 1912 (Lóczy Jr.
1912), but their correct age is still debated. Their petrographic
data  were  introduced  by  Schlemmer  (1984),  Raucsik  (1996),
and  Császár  (2012).  Formally  the  MBR  is  an  E-NE—W-SW
oriented subsurface range below the Neogene succession be-
tween the Ellend Basin to the north and the Bóly Basin to the
south, but lithologically similar types of rock are found close
to  the  southern  margin  of  Mecsek  Zone  at  Pusztakisfalu,
next  to  the  large  listric  (and  strike-slip)  fault.  The  best  out-
crops  of  the  range  are  found  north  of  Máriakéménd  and
Versend.  Out  of  ca.  20  boreholes,  only  six  cut  the  Jurassic
and reached the underlying Middle Triassic carbonate forma-
tions  (Fig. 5).  It  means  there  is  no  Upper  Triassic  on  the
MBR.  There  are  only  two  boreholes  (Máriakéménd  Mk-3
and Somberek Smb-1) in which Lower Paleozoic metamor-
phite was reached below the Triassic.

Four different types of Jurassic are known in the MBR. In

spite of the proximity of the Mecsek Zone (Fig. 3), the Juras-
sic successions are more similar to those of the Villány Zone
therefore  it  is  considered  to  be  the  part  of  this  one.  In  the
Pusztakisfalu Pk—III borehole the oldest Jurassic sediment is
the  Aalenian  red,  coarse-grained  crinoidal  limestone  (Pusz-
takisfalu  Limestone  Formation)  with  brachiopods  and  be-
lemnites.  The  formation  is  impregnated  by  oxidic  iron  ore
with  metamorphic  rock  fragments  in  the  basal  beds.  The  ex-
tent  of  the  formation  is  restricted  to  the  Pusztakisfalu  and
Apátvarasd environs with a thickness of approximately 50 m.

In the MBR sensu stricto the following rock types are typi-

cal: pale grey or greenish-grey platy, crinoidal limestone fre-
quently  containing  grey  chert  nodules  and  in  certain
horizons thin green clay intercalations. In thin sections many
sponge spicules and Bositra shell fragments and a few benthic
foraminifers  can  be  recognized.  The  formation  is  well  out-
cropped in a quarry south of Máriakéménd after which it is
called  the  Máriakéménd  Limestone  Formation  (Raucsik
2012c). The thickness of the formation exceeds 250 m in the
Somberek  Smb-1  borehole  (Fig. 5).  From  the  lithological
point of view, it is similar to the lower part of the Szársomlyó
Limestone Formation discovered in the Szoborpark (Park of
Statutes) at the eastern end of the Harsány Hill. In the bore-
hole Nagybaracska B-28 the lowermost two beds within the
700—708 m  interval  are  crinoidal,  Bositra-bearing  and  sili-
ceous  (Császár  2002),  therefore  it  can  also  belong  to  the
Máriakéménd Limestone Formation.

In the eastern part of the MBR, the Máriakéménd Lime-

stone is underlain by a marl sequence from which it develops
continuously  with  alternation  of  calcareous  marl,  clayey
limestone  and  crinoidal  limestone.  In  the  Somberek  Smb-1
borehole the thickness of this clayey limestone and calcare-
ous  marl  is  close  to  30 m.  Schlemmer  (1984)  classified  the
succession under the Komló Calcareous Marl on the basis of

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marl content. In addition to Bositra, radiolarians and ammo-
nites  the  drill  cores  often  contain  echinoderm  fragments,
even crinoidal beds which are not characteristic for the Komló
Formation. A similar succession is known at the lower part
of Mohács (M-1 borehole), where the prevailing rock types
are  silty  marl,  silty  calcareous  marl,  but  –  as  subordinate
components – crinoidal limestone intercalations also occur
regularly. Surprisingly, east of the Villány Hills this kind of
rock was described from the Magyarbóly Mb-1 borehole in
the  Villány  Zone,  the  upper  part  of  which  resembles  the
Máriakéménd Limestone, while the lower one resembles the
Somberek  Formation  (Fig. 5).  Nevertheless  the  latter  two
formations  can  be  considered  as  preliminary  identification,
but their precise classification requires further studies.

The succession of the Nagykozár Nk-2 borehole located to

the west of the Ellend Basin lithologically, floristically and
faunistically is different from the previous boreholes. Accord-
ing to the preliminary study it may include Late Jurassic and
Early Cretaceous fossil assemblages. The neomorphic do-
losparitic intercalations are clear indicators of strong tectonic
influences; therefore the correct qualification of the succession
requires detailed thin section studies.

Discussion

Paleoenvironmental and paleogeographical history of the
Mecsek and the Villány-Bihor Zones

Until the end of the Middle Triassic the sedimentary envi-

ronments of the Hungarian part of the Mecsek and Villány-
Bihor  Zones  show  minor  differences.  The  situation
fundamentally  changed  at  the  turn  of  the  Middle  and  Late
Triassic. According to several authors (Stampfli & Borel 2002;
Gawlick et al. 2009) the break-up of Pangea and the opening
of the Central Atlantic Ocean came about in the Early Juras-
sic time. It is hard to imagine that the radical change at the
northern margin of the future Tisza Unit would have been in-
dependent of this event. At this time the Tisza Unit was situ-
ated  on  the  southern  margin  of  the  European  plate.  The
complete  separation  of  the  Tisza  Unit  from  the  European
plate happened in the early Middle Jurassic as was proved by
Géczy  (1973)  faunistically.  Nevertheless  the  radical  change
started  in  the  Late  Ladinian  (Fig. 3),  namely  in  the  Mecsek
Zone when the marine carbonate sedimentation was replaced
by  fluvial  siliciclastic  sedimentation,  while  in  the  Villány

Fig. 5. Columnar sections of the boreholes reached Jurassic crinoidal limestones (Máriakéménd
Formation), siltstone and sandy crinoidal limestone beds (Somberek Limestone Fm), occurring pre-
vailingly in the Máriakéménd—Bár Range.

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Zone  the  deposition  almost  stopped  completely  at  that  time
as a consequence of the rifting. It means that the separation
process started with initial rifting close to 60 Ma earlier. This
is  the  moment  when  the  formerly  uniform  northern  part  of
the Tisza Unit started to disintegrate forming the Mecsek and
the Villány-Bihor Zones. This separation is the beginning of
the  birth  of  the  Ligurian—Penninic—Vahic  Ocean  (Fig. 6a).
Due to the listric fault not only the Mecsek Zone tilted to the
south but the Villány Zone as well. This is the reason why a
relatively  thick  succession  accumulated  along  the  southern
margin of the Mecsek Zone, while the northern margin of the
Villány Zone was raised and served as a source area for the
accumulation of the Upper Triassic and Lower Jurassic for-
mations in the Mecsek Zone. In these formations Lower Pa-
leozoic metamorphites and Triassic carbonate rocks form the
conglomerate and breccia beds. The situation is proved by the
Pusztakisfalu Pk-III borehole (Fig. 2), where Lower Paleozoic
is  overlain  by  the  Middle  Jurassic  crinoidal  limestone,
whereas more to the south not only Middle Triassic carbon-
ates  are  preserved  but  in  a  few  cases  the  Upper  Triassic
Mészhegy Formation also occurs.

During the Early Jurassic the subsidence speeded up along

the southern margin of the Mecsek Zone (Fig. 6b) as is indi-
cated  by  the  extraordinarily  thick  succession  of  the  Mecsek
Coal,  the  Vasas  Marl  and  the  Mecseknádasd  Sandstone  For-
mations, while in the Northern Imbrication Zone (Fig. 2) the
thickness of the Lower Jurassic is much less. The north-west-
ern part of the Mecsek Zone must have been raised above the
accommodation level and it acted as a major source for the si-
liciclastic sandstone beds, while carbonate clasts derived from
the south. In the Early Jurassic, the southern side of the listric
fault (northern margin of the Villány-Bihor Zone) still contin-
ued  to  act  as  a  source  area  for  the  Mecsek  Zone,  where  the
deposition of the breccia and conglomerate intercalation con-
tinued. In the middle Early Jurassic, after a sub-aerial time in-
terval  the  less  elevated  southern  part  of  the  Villány  Zone
became flooded and a few meters of siliciclastic sandstone and
crinoidal  limestone  were  deposited.  As  a  result  of  the  long
lasting rifting process the Tisza Unit separated from the Euro-
pean  continent  in  the  Middle  Jurassic  and  the  sedimentation
rate  decreased  by  more  than  one  magnitude  in  the  Mecsek
Zone. It is well documented by the decreasing grain-size in the
Late Toarcian and early Middle Jurassic time, and even more
clearly in the middle and late Middle Jurassic, when thin, re-
ally  deep-water  siliceous  limestone  and  radiolarite  were  de-
posited in the entire Mecsek Zone. The process became even
more conspicuous in the Early Cretaceous when the thinning
process turned into rifting in a broad belt of the Mecsek Zone

Fig. 6.  Paleogeographic  sketch  maps  showing  the  changes  of  the
geodynamic  position  of  the  Tisza  Unit  from  the  Late  Triassic  (a),
beginning of the Middle Jurassic (b), end of Late Jurassic (c) (after
Plašienka 2000, modified). B – Bükk Unit, B—C – Békés-Codru
Zone,  BUC  –  Bucovinian  Unit,  DAC  –  Dacides,  M  –  Mecsek
Zone,  SA  –  Southern  Alps,  Sz—M  –  Serbo-Macedonian  Unit,
TR – Transdanubian Range, Tran – Transitional zone between the
Mecsek and Villány Zones, V—B – Villány-Bihor Zone, WC – Wes-
tern Carpathians.

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producing even special (Mecsek-) type atolls (Császár 2002)
up to the Albian.

The thinning process was much less developed in the Hun-

garian  part  of  the  Villány-Bihor  Zone.  It  is  shown  by  the
highly  lacunose  sedimentation  during  the  Middle  Jurassic
time – at least in the Villány Hills area. This phenomenon is
discussed  by  Vörös  (2012)  and  explained  with  the  elevated
position of the area. The northern, MBR part of the Villány-
Bihor  Zone  was  flooded  in  the  late  Early  Jurassic  or  Middle
Jurassic time only, when thick crinoidal, Bositra- and sponge
spicule-bearing  and  cherty  limestones,  clay  and  marl  were
deposited.  The  eastern  part  of  the  MBR  must  have  been  an
embayment  this  time  keeping  direct  connection  with  the
Mecsek Zone (see Komló Calcareous Marl). The Late Juras-
sic  time  was  characterized  by  a  shallowing  tendency  in  the
entire Alpine-Carpathian and Dinaric Realm (Gawlick et al.
2007, 2009), and it can be noticed also in the Mecsek Zone
and in particular in the Bihor Mountains of the Villány-Bihor
Zone (Bleahu et al. 1981). Within the deep bathyal Mecsek
Zone, there are significant differences in the north-south di-
rection  including  the  Mecsek  Mountains:  the  Northern  Im-
brication  area  was  much  deeper  than  the  southern  margin
(Bércziné et al. 1997). As a consequence of the first meeting
(weak  collision)  of  the  Tisza  and  Geta  tectonic  units  in  the
Late Jurassic the Villány-Bihor Zone (Fig. 6c) was character-
ized by a much shallower environment than the Mecsek Zone.
The massive or thick-bedded limestone rich in reworked co-
lonial organisms (corals, colonial algae, Tubiphytes) and la-
goonal  fossils  such  as  green  algae  in  the  uppermost  part  of
the Szársomlyó Limestone indicate a continuous shallowing
tendency  in  the  Villány  Zone  from  the  Oxfordian  onward.
The shallowing tendency of the Villány-Bihor Zone is even
more striking in the Bihor Mts, at the eastern end of the zone
(see Albioara Limestone and Cornet Limestone). The time of
strong  and  final  collision  of  the  Tisza  and  Dacia  Units
(Fig. 6c) only started in the Albian.

Conclusions

The Late Triassic and Jurassic history of the Mecsek and

Villány-Bihor Zones is determined by the separation of the
Tisza Unit from the European Platform.

1. The first step of the separation is the formation of listric

faults at the beginning of the Late Triassic which developed
parallel  to  the  Vahic  Rift  Valley,  as  the  continuation  of  the
North  Penninic  Rift  Zone.  This  is  the  moment  from  which
the Mecsek Zone (Karolinavölgy Sandstone) and the western
part of the Villány-Bihor Zone (Mészhegy Formation) can be
distinguished  as  different  facies  and  tectonic  zones  within
the independent Tisza Unit that was just born.

2. The formation of the listric fault at the southern margin of

the Mecsek Zone continued and on the intensively subsiding
block tilted to the south, a thick succession developed in the
Hettangian—Early  Sinemurian  (Mecsek  Coal)  and  also  in  the
Late  Sinemurian—Pliensbachian  (Vasas  Marl,  Hosszúhetény
Calcareous Marl and Mecseknádasd Sandstone). The carbon-
ate pebbles and in part the siliciclastics too derived from the
northern  margin  of  the  Villány-Bihor  Zone,  although  the

northern and north-western part of the Mecsek Zone also acted
as a source area of siliciclastics for the Mecsek Basin.

3. Similar but less intensive events must have happened on

the southern margin of the ancient Villány-Bihor Zone. As a
consequence  of  the  southward  tilting,  its  northern  margin
rapidly  uplifted,  eroded  and  the  Middle  Triassic  carbonate
rocks, Upper Paleozoic siliciclastics and in part metamorphi-
tes  were  transported  into  the  subsiding  Mecsek  Basin  from
the Late Triassic up to the early Middle Jurassic.

4. In the southern part of the Villány Zone after a certain-

subaerial  break  in  sedimentation  a  few  meters  thick  silici-
clastic  and  dolomitic  sediment  (Mészhegy  Formation)
accumulated  in  the  Late  Triassic  and  it  was  followed  by
highly lacunose clastic, bioclastic, fossiliferous marine sedi-
mentation  in  the  Early  (Somssichhegy  Formation)  and  the
Middle Jurassic time (Villány Formation).

5. The Máriakéménd—Bár Range, the northern part of the

ancient Villány-Bihor Zone was flooded by the sea in the Mid-
dle Jurassic only. The basement is prevailingly Middle Trias-
sic carbonate, except the environs of Pusztakisfalu village
where it consists of metamorphites. The patch reef zone must
have developed in the northern part of the Villány-Bihor Zone
from where platform elements (ooids) and reef-building or-
ganisms were transported to the north into the Mecsek Basin
and to the south towards which the platform was prograded.

6. The first, weak collision between the Tisza and Dacia

(Geta and Bucovinian) Units may have happened in the Late
Jurassic, and can be recognized in the significant uplift of the
Villány-Bihor Zone only. This process became more inten-
sive in the late Early Cretaceous and this led to the first oc-
currence of flysch in the Villány-Bihor Zone.

7. More precise paleogeographical reconstruction is ham-

pered by the Sub-Hercynian, Pre-Gosau and less intensively
by the Miocene tectonic phases. This is the reason why the
Mecsek and Villány-Bihor Zones were reduced to their re-
cent width and the majority of younger Mesozoic formations
were eroded.

Acknowledgments:  The  study  was  financially  supported
by  the  National  Scientific  Research  Fund  T  062468  and
K  68791,  Fund  Aktion  Österreich—Ungarn  74öu5  and  Fund
TéT  AT-9/2008.  The  authors  are  indebted  to  Ágnes  Görög
for her kind help in completing this paper and to the referees
for the careful control of the manuscript.

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