GeolCarp_Vol65_No4_293

www.geologicacarpathica.com

GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA

, AUGUST 2014, 65, 4, 293—305 doi: 10.2478/geoca-2014-0020

State of the art and objectives

Strong  geological  affinities  between  the  Betic-Maghrebian
Chain,  an  east-west-trending  belt  extended  between  the
Gibraltar and Calabria-Peloritani Arcs, and the whole central
Alpine  Chains  (Apennines,  Alps,  Carpathians,  Balkans,
Dinarides and Hellenides) have long been emphasized on the
basis  of  the  continuity  of  the  sedimentary  basin  and  of  a
common  sedimentary  evolution  in  almost  all  cases  (Biju-
Duval et al. 1977; Dercourt et al 1986).

This basin (Alpine Tethys, Auct.) is connected with the Up-

per Triassic—Lower Jurassic break-up of the Pangaea (Abbate
et al. 1994), formed on a transcurrent boundary between the
African and European plates (Durand-Delga & Fontboté
1980; Bouillin et al. 1986). Alpine Tethys is usually subdi-
vided into different sectors, differently named along all the
Alpine Chains of Western and Central Europe (i.e. Maghre-
bian and Ligurian Tethys, Magura Ocean and Ceahlău-Seve-
rin Ocean, from the west to the east, respectively; Fig. 1).

Recently, the Maghrebian and Ligurian Basins have been

joined to represent a common sedimentary basin named the
Ligurian-Maghrebian Basin, sensu Chalouan et al. 2008, ex-
tending  from  the  Gibraltar  Arc  to  the  western  Alps  and
showing  the  character  of  a  true  oceanic  basin  in  its  eastern
wider part, whereas it was floored mainly by thinned conti-
nental  crust  in  its  narrower  part.  The  Maghrebian  sector,  in

Tectonic evolution of the Sicilian Maghrebian Chain

inferred from stratigraphic and petrographic evidences of

Lower Cretaceous and Oligocene flysch

DIEGO PUGLISI

Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Sezione di Scienze della Terra, University of Catania, Corso Italia n. 57,

95129 Catania, Italy; dpuglisi@unict.it

(Manuscript received December 18, 2013; accepted in revised form June 5, 2014)

Abstract: The occurrence of a Lower Cretaceous flysch group, cropping out from the Gibraltar Arc to the Balkans with
a very similar structural setting and sedimentary provenance always linked to the dismantling of internal areas, suggests
the existence of only one sedimentary basin (Alpine Tethys s.s.), subdivided into many other minor oceanic areas. The
Maghrebian Basin, mainly developed on thinned continental crust, was probably located in the westernmost sector of
the Alpine Tethys. Cretaceous re-organization of the plates triggered one (or more) tectonic phases, well recorded in
almost all the sectors of the Alpine Tethys. However, the Maghrebian Basin seems to have been deformed by Late- or
post-Cretaceous tectonics, connected with a “meso-Alpine” phase (pre-Oligocene), already hypothesized since the be-
ginning of the nineties. Field geological evidence and recent biostratigraphic data also support this important meso-
Alpine tectonic phase in the Sicilian segment of the Maghrebian Chain, indicated by the deformations of a Lower
Cretaceous flysch sealed by Lower Oligocene turbidite deposits. This tectonic development is emphasized here because
it was probably connected with the onset of rifting in the southern paleomargin of the European plate, the detaching of
the so-called AlKaPeCa block (Auct.; i.e. Alboran + Kabylian + Calabria and Peloritani terranes) and its fragmentation
into several microplates. The subsequent early Oligocene drifting of these microplates led to the progressive closure of
the Maghrebian Basin and the opening of new back-arc oceanic basins, strongly controlled by extensional processes, in
the western Mediterranean (i.e. Gulf of Lion, Valencia Trough, Provençal Basin and Alboran Sea).

Key words: Alpine Tethys, Sicilian Maghrebian Chain, sedimentary petrography, meso-Alpine tectonics, western
Mediterranean, Cretaceous-to-Oligocene paleogeography, plate tectonic context.

fact, seems to have experienced only a partial oceanization,
indicated by the occurrence of Middle to Upper Jurassic slices
of basic rocks, scattered in the Rifian Chain (Morocco) and
in Sicily (Durand-Delga et al. 2000).

Nevertheless, all the above-mentioned oceanic areas have

been  affected  by  middle-late  Cretaceous  tectonic  events
(Schmid et al. 2008 and references therein), which have not
been  recorded  in  the  evolutionary  geological  history  of  the
Maghrebian  Chain  or,  if  recognized,  they  have  often  been
neglected and/or not sufficiently emphasized (Puglisi 2009).

In fact, due to the Cretaceous re-organization of the plates,

this late Cretaceous-early Tertiary convergence-related evo-
lution is widely recognized in all the central-eastern Tethys-
related Mesozoic oceans (Dal Piaz 1993; Săndulescu et al.
1995; Oszczypko 1999, 2006; Stampfli 2000; Schmid et al.
2004). These tectonics, for example, were manifested in the
outer Carpathian area by the deepening of the Magura Ocean
and by emergence of intrabasinal source areas (Oszczypko
2006; Oszczypko et al. 2012), but it is recognized only locally
within the sedimentary successions of the Maghrebian Basin
(Puglisi 2009 and references therein).

Thus, the objective of this paper is to check the main steps

of the sedimentary-tectonic evolution of the Maghrebian
Chain and to evaluate the possibility of comparing them with
those of the Central European Alpine chains, on the basis of
the existence of a similar tectonic evolutionary scheme.

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Geological framework of the Maghrebian Chain

Three main structural domains can be recognized in all the

sectors of the Maghrebian Chain:

1. Internal Domain, cropping out in the Betic-Rifian Chain

Internal Zones (henceforth BRIZ, according to Serrano et al.
2007),  in  the  Kabylian  sector  as  well  as  in  the  Calabria-
Peloritani  Arc,  formed  by  a  nappe  complex,  made  up  of
Variscan-derived  Paleozoic  terranes,  high-grade  metamor-
phic  and  mantle  rocks  (Kornprobst  1974;  Chalouan  et  al.
2008)  with  remnants  of  their  original  Mesozoic-Cenozoic
sedimentary cover. The sedimentary succession of these in-
ternal sectors (the so-called “Dorsale Calcaire”, sensu Fallot
1937) is almost the same along all the western peri-Mediter-
ranean chains, between the Gibraltar and Calabria-Peloritani
Arcs.  The  Rifian  “Dorsale  Calcaire”  is  often  marked  by  a
pronounced discontinuity because its Mesozoic portion (Trias-
sic—Liassic Verrucano-like redbeds evolving to Lower Juras-
sic  platform  carbonates;  Perrone  et  al.  2006;  Critelli  et  al.
2008; Zaghloul et al. 2009; Perri et al. 2011, 2013), related
to the Tethyan rifting, usually lacks post-Toarcian to Upper
Cretaceous deposits (Chalouan et al. 2008) and, locally, it is
topped  by  Eocene  detrital  Nummulitic  limestones  (Nold  et
al.  1981;  El  Kadiri  et  al.  2006),  representing  a  depositional

sequence  post-dating  an  early  Alpine  compressive  event
(Maate  1996;  Martin-Algarra  et  al.  2000).  Unconformable
Oligocene  turbidite  deposits  locally  characterize  the  top  of
the  succession  (Olivier  1979;  Durand-Delga  &  Fontboté
1980; Wildi 1983; Zaghloul et al. 2005; Puglisi 2008);

2. Flysch

Domain, which consists of a complex structural

edifice  made  up  of  several  tectonic  units,  derived  from  the
deformation of the ‘Flysch Basin’ successions (Durand-Delga
1972).  The  siliciclastic  flysch  units  have  classically  been
grouped  into  two  main  stratigraphic  successions,  according
to their position within the sedimentary basin (Bouillin et al.
1970; Raoult 1974; Barbera et al. 2006, 2011): (a) the inter-
nal ‘Maurétanien’ flysch, located close to the northern mar-
gin of the ‘Flysch Trough’, fed by the Internal Domain and
represented by Cretaceous-Eocene Variegated Clays grading
upward  to  Lower  Oligocene  marly-calcareous-arenaceous
turbidites, tectonically overlain by Lower Cretaceous flysch
(Jebel  Tisirène,  Guerrouch  and  Monte  Soro  Flysch  in  Mo-
rocco,  Algeria  and  Sicily,  respectively),  the  latter,  in  turn,
overthrust by the Hercynian crystalline units of the Internal
Domain  and  (b)  the  Cretaceous  ‘Massylien’  flysch,  located
close to the southern paleomargin of the Flysch Trough, fed
from  the  African  craton  and  evolving  into  the  well-known
Oligocene-Miocene Numidian Flysch;

The term “flysch” is used here with a different meaning according to

the traditional geological names regionally adopted in the different
Countries. It does not always imply any specific sedimentological
and/or geotectonic significance.

Fig. 1. Paleogeographical reconstruction
of  Central-Western  Europe  for  Titho-
nian—Early  Cretaceous  times  (from
Puglisi et al. 2010, modified by Channel
& Kozur 1997; Csontos & Vörös 2004;
Seghedi  et  al.  2005;  Stampfli  2005;
Schmid et al. 2008).

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GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA, 2014, 65, 4, 293—305

3. External Domain, mainly formed by parautochthonous

to autochthonous Triassic-Tertiary sedimentary successions
originating from the African paleomargin, and by the Afri-
can forelands.

Flysch and Internal Domains will be treated in the next

chapters and the discussion will focus on the most peculiar
petrographic and stratigraphic characters of their sedimentary
successions, useful for a better understanding of the tectonic
evolution of the Maghrebian Chain.

Flysch Domain: Lower Cretaceous and Lower

Oligocene flysch

Lower Cretaceous flysch

Turbidite deposits belonging to the Flysch Domain (Early

Cretaceous to Early Miocene) form a tectonic edifice, wide-
spread along the whole Betic-Maghrebian Chain, whose sed-
imentary history and tectonic evolution have long been
debated by many authors.

The main problems, still under discussion, regard the strati-

graphic context of the Lower Cretaceous flysch, nearly always
incomplete because they lack a sedimentary substratum, and
the timing of their deformation. In Algeria (Raoult et al. 1982)
and in Sicily (Puglisi 1981), in fact, these Lower Cretaceous
flysch can be distinguished in several tectonic units piled up to
form a complex structural edifice unconformably covered by
Lower Oligocene turbidite deposits.

Puglisi (2009) compared these successions with other

Lower Cretaceous flysch from different sectors of the Central
and  Western  European  Alpine  Chains  (northern  Apennines
and Alps, Dinarides, Hellenides, Carpathians and Balkans) on
the  basis  of  strong  similarities  concerning  (a)  the  tectonic
position,  always  marking  the  contact  between  the  internal
and external areas, (b) the stratigraphic evolution, from cal-
careous  turbidites  grading  upward  to  arenaceous  turbidites,
and (c) the sedimentary provenance, always linked to inter-
nal areas made up by Hercynian crystalline sources and, lo-
cally,  by  ophiolitic  complexes  (e.g.  Boeothian  Flysch  from
external Hellenides; Puglisi et al. 2010).

The comparison of the Maghrebian Lower Cretaceous flysch

with other coeval deposits in the Carpathians was tentatively
supposed only with the successions of the External  Dacides
(Auct.),  whose  basin  (Ceahlău-Severin  Ocean,  Fig. 1)  seems
to be coeval to the westernmost Magura and Ligurian-Magh-
rebian oceans (Oszczypko 1992, 1999; Chalouan et al. 2008).
The External Dacides group three main units (Black Flysch,
Ceahlău and Bobu Nappes; Săndulescu 2009) in the Eastern
Carpathians  and  the  Severin  ( = Ceahlău)  Nappe  in  the
Southern  Carpathians,  representing  complex  rift  systems
from  Early  Jurassic  to  middle-  or  Late-Cretaceous  (age  of
their deformations; Săndulescu 1984, 2009; Bădescu 1998).
Each  of  these  units  consists  of  Jurassic  within-plate  volca-
nics  underlying  Tithonian—Valanginian  and  Barremian—Ap-
tian  flysch  deposits.  The  most  internal  unit  (Black  Flysch
Nappe)  is  widely  metamorphosed  whereas  the  other  ones
show very thick successions, the most important of which is
the  Sinaia  Formation  (Ceahlău  Nappe).  This  formation  has

already been compared with the Maghrebian Lower Creta-
ceous flysch (Puglisi 2009).

In contrast, these Lower Cretaceous flysch in the Maghre-

bian  Chain  very  rarely  show  remnants  of  their  Jurassic  sub-
stratum. This, in fact, is scarcely represented by rare outcrops
of  Middle  to  Upper  Jurassic  limestones  and  radiolarites  in
Algeria  (Raoult  1974;  Raoult  et  al.  1982),  by  rare  ophiolite-
like olistoliths in the Rifian Chain (Besson 1984) and by only
one  outcrop  of  Kimmeridgian—Tithonian  coarse-grained  tur-
bidites  evolving  into  Tithonian—Valanginian  radiolarites  in
Sicily (the Contrada Lanzeri Formation, Bouillin et al. 1995).

Sandstones of the Betic-Maghrebian Lower Cretaceous

flysch  (Los  Nogales,  Jebel  Tisirène,  Guerrouch  and  Monte
Soro Flysch from Spain, Morocco, Algeria and Sicily, respec-
tively)  usually  show  high  maturity,  absence  of  K-feldspars
and sporadic  occurrence  of  plagioclases  and  epimetamorphic
rock fragments. These compositions have been ascribed to the
“plagioclase  subarkose”  clan  (sensu  Folk  1974)  by  Puglisi
(1981, 1987) and their heavy mineral assemblages (mainly from
the Betic Cordillera and Sicilian Maghrebian Chain) show high
maturity with abundance of ultrastable minerals, such as zircon,
tourmaline and rutile, and low amounts of chloritoid, staurolite
and  picotite  (Puglisi  1987).  Chloritoid  and  staurolite  testify  to
an  internal  provenance  from  low-  and  middle-rank  metamor-
phic sources (i.e. from the European paleomargin; Puglisi 1981,
2009, 2010; Barbera et al. 2006, 2011), whereas picotite is usu-
ally connected to ophiolitic rocks (Cassola et al. 1990), even if
ophiolitic-like  detrital  supply  has  never  been  recorded  within
the sandstones of the Maghrebian Lower Cretaceous flysch.

The Maghrebian Basin, in fact, seems to have been mainly

developed  on  thinned  continental  crust  with  very  little  evi-
dence  of  an  only  partial  oceanization,  testified  by  the  occur-
rence of outcrops of Middle to Upper Jurassic slices of basic
rocks  with  an  E-MORB  affinity  (Durand-Delga  et  al.  2000).
Other  sectors  of  the  Alpine  Tethys,  instead,  achieved  real
oceanic  conditions,  testified  by  abundant  ophiolitic  slices,
olistoliths or slide-blocks, included within the Cretaceous de-
posits of the Ligurian Ocean (Critelli 1993, 1999; Rampone &
Piccardo  2000)  and  by  detrital  ophiolite-like  clasts,  locally
present  within  the  sandstones  of  some  Lower  Cretaceous
flysch.  The  Boeothian  Flysch,  a  Lower  Cretaceous  turbidite
deposit  from  the  Pindos  Ocean  (south-central  branch  of
Tethys, Fig. 1), which marks the boundary between the Exter-
nal/Internal  zones  in  central-southern  Greece,  represents  the
best example of a detrital supply derived from the dismantling
of ophiolite sources (Puglisi et al. 2010). Ophiolite nappes, in
fact, were formed on the Pelagonian microcontinent by means
of obduction processes occurring in the western margin of the
Vardar  Ocean  (eo-Hellenic  orogenic  phase,  Auct.).  These
westerly directed compressions affected these areas before the
deposition  of  the  Boeothian  Flysch  in  the  adjacent  Pindos
Ocean (Puglisi et al. 2010 and references therein – Fig. 1).

In conclusion, the structural settings and clastic prove-

nances of all the Lower Cretaceous flysch are very similar
along the whole Alpine chain, from the Gibraltar Arc to the
Balkans. The provenance, in particular, is always linked to the
dismantling of internal areas, and locally considerable differ-
ences in the detrital modes can be explained with the diverse
lithologies of the terranes which served as sediment sources.

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Thus, all this evidence emphasize a significant paleogeo-

graphic continuity, from west to east, between all the oceanic
areas of the Alpine Tethys and the Maghrebian Basin, the
last supposed to have been located in the westernmost sector
(Bouillin et al. 1988; Puglisi 2009, 2010 – Fig. 1).

Lower Oligocene flysch

An important Cretaceous re-organization of the plates af-

fected  almost  all  the  different  sectors  of  the  Alpine  Tethys.
This tectonic development led to the closure of the following
oceanic  spaces:  (i)  South  Penninic  Ocean,  with  the  conse-
quent  opening  of  the  Valais  Ocean,  active  until  the  Middle
Eocene (Schmid et al. 2008), (ii) Vardar Ocean with the ob-
duction  of  its  oceanic  crust  onto  the  Pelagonian  microplate
(Puglisi et al. 2010), (iii) Ceahlău-Severin Ocean, coeval with
the  South  Penninic  Ocean  (Csontos  &  Vörös  2004)  and  lo-
cated at the north of the Tisza and Dacia blocks and  (iv) the
so-called  “Nish-Troyan  flysch  trough”,  located  between  the
Moesian microplate to the north and the Serbo-Macedonian
massif to the south (Zagorchev 2001).

Thus, only the Maghrebian Basin escaped these Creta-

ceous events. This area, in fact, seems to have been de-
formed during slightly successive times, as testified in
Algeria by a “Late Lutetian phase” (Raoult 1975; Vila 1980)
and, in the Sicilian Maghrebian Chain, by evidence of meso-
Alpine

compressive tectonic events, hypothesized on the

base of the following data at the beginning of the nineties
(Cassola et al. 1992; Puglisi 1992):

The Lower Cretaceous flysch (i.e. Monte Soro Flysch),

already deformed in several tectonic units (Puglisi 1981), is
sealed  by  a  Lower  Oligocene  flysch  deposit  (Cassola  et  al.
1990, 1992; Gigliuto & Puglisi 2002 – Fig. 2, ‘a’ square),
known as the Reitano Flysch. The whole succession (Reitano
Flysch together with the underlying Lower Cretaceous Monte
Soro Flysch, already deformed), overthrust the more external
units, here represented by the Sicilide Units and by the tec-
tonically underlying Numidian Flysch (Fig. 2 – Puglisi 1992;
Cassola et al. 1992, 1995). On the basis of similar geological
settings and petrographic characters, Reitano Flysch has also
been considered as an equivalent succession of the Beni Ider
and  Algeciras  Flysch  in  the  Betic  Cordillera  and  Rifian
Chain, respectively, as well as of the ‘Marno-greso-micacé’
Flysch  in  the  Algeria  sector  (Puglisi  &  Carmisciano  1992;
Puglisi et al. 2001). Unluckily, the age of the Betic and Rifian
flysch seems to be slightly younger than that of the Reitano
Flysch  (Zaghloul  et  al.  2002)  and,  consequently,  this  com-
parison  is,  at  the  present,  only  speculative  and  hypothetical
because it needs further investigations;

Lower Oligocene volcano-arenitic sediments character-

ize several deposits in southern Apennines and in the Sicil-
ian Maghrebian Chain: these are the Tusa Tuffites (southern
Apennines and Sicily; Critelli 1999; Critelli et al. 2011; Perri
et  al.  2012)  and  the  above-mentioned  Reitano  Flysch  (only
in  Sicily),  both  of  them  dated  to  the  early  Oligocene
(Baruffini et al. 2002; Torricelli & Knezaurek 2010). Volca-
nic  clasts  of  Tusa  Tuffites  show  a  sub-alkaline  character
(calc-alkaline,  in  particular;  Ogniben  1964;  Ardito  et  al.
1985  –  see  Fig. 3),  probably  linked  to  a  subductive-colli-

sional  magmatism.  These  successions  have  been  correlated
with  other  Rupelian  volcanogenic  deposits  of  the  western
Alps  and  northern  Apennines  (i.e.  Taveyannaz  Sandstones,
Aveto-Petrignacola  and  Ranzano  Formations,  respectively)
by  many  authors  (D’Atri  &  Tateo  1994;  Baruffini  et  al.
2002) on the basis of a similar provenance, connected to the
erosion of the same Early Oligocene volcanic arc event that
occurred in the Alps/Apennines orogenic system.

Reitano Flysch, instead, shows two distinct volcanic grain

populations:  a  paleovolcanic  one,  Late  Permian  in  age  and
calc-alkaline  in  character  (Fig. 3),  probably  linked  to  a  late
Hercynian magmatism, and a neovolcanic one, penecontem-
poraneous  to  the  sedimentation,  with  an  alkaline  (potassic)
character  (Balogh  et  al.  2001).  This  latter  volcanic  compo-
nent,  in  particular,  recently  dated  to  33 Ma  by  Torricelli  &
Knezaurek  (2010),  can  be  compared  with  other  Lower  Oli-
gocene  volcanogenic  deposits  from  the  northern  Apennines
(D’Atri  &  Tateo  1994)  and  connected  to  volcanic  events
very close to the sedimentary basins and associated with ex-
tensional processes (Balogh et al. 2001);

The Lower Cretaceous flysch only sporadically shows a

very thin Tertiary cover, probably as a result of an incipient
underthrusting below the internal Hercynian crystalline units
of the southern sector of the Calabria-Peloritani Arc (Pelori-
tani  Mts,  Sicily  –  Fig. 2),  as  suggested  by  Cassola  et  al.
(1990).  Durand-Delga  et  al.  (1999)  dated  the  upper  part  of
the  Jebel  Tisirène  Flysch  in  the  Rifian  Chain  to  the  middle
Albian  and  they  interpreted  the  lack  of  a  Tertiary  cover  as
the  result  of  a  sudden  interruption  of  the  detrital  supply,
probably related to eustatic phenomena tectonically linked to
the  incipient  connection  between  the  central  and  southern
Atlantic.  Also  in  the  Sicilian  Maghrebian  Chain,  the  sedi-
mentary cover of the Lower Cretaceous flysch is almost al-
ways  absent.  Locally,  very  few  outcrops  of  thin  and
discontinuous upper Cretaceous-to-Paleocene successions are
present  and  doubtfully  interpreted  as  a  possible  sedimentary
cover (Cassola et al. 1990; Puglisi 1992, 1998);

Finally, the above mentioned Hercynian crystalline units

of  the  Betic-Maghrebian  Chain,  tectonically  overlying  the
Lower  Cretaceous  flysch,  belong  to  the  so-called  AlKaPeCa
block  (sensu  Bouillin  et  al.  1986),  which  includes  the  Albo-
ran, Kabylides and Peloritani + Calabria terranes, originally lo-
cated in the southern Iberian paleomargin, according to many
authors (Biju-Duval et al. 1977; Stampfli et al. 1998; Sanz de
Galdeano et al. 2001; Rosenbaum et al. 2002; Mauffret et al.
2004; Schettino & Turco 2006; Perrone et al. 2006; Critelli et
al. 2008; Perri et al. 2013).

Internal Domains: Lower Oligocene flysch

Remnants of Internal Domains form the present Calabria-

Peloritani Arc, Kabylian and BRIZ (Betic-Rifian Internal
Zones) massifs, mainly made up by Hercynian crystalline
units unconformable overlain by Tertiary turbiditic deposits.
The base of these successions ranges in age from Early Oli-
gocene in the Calabria-Peloritani Arc to the Oligocene-Mio-
cene boundary toward the westernmost Mediterranean sectors
(BRIZ).

Meso-Alpine tectonic phase, dated to the Late Ctretaceous—Late

Eocene time span (sensu Doglioni & Bosellini 1987).

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In the southern sector of the Calabria-Peloritani Arc

(Peloritani Mts, Sicily) a continuous turbidite succession, up
to 1500 m thick (Puglisi 1998 – Fig. 2, ‘b’ square) seals the
contacts between all the Hercynian crystalline units and their
tectonic substrate, here represented by the Lower Cretaceous
Monte Soro Flysch (Cassola et al. 1990; Puglisi 1992, 1998).
This succession is dated to the Early Oligocene at the bottom
(Piedimonte Formation, Cassola et al. 1991) and to the Late
Oligocene—Early  Miocene  at  the  top  (Stilo-Capo  d’Orlando
Formation,  Auct.),  thus  suggesting  that  the  southern  sector
of  the  Calabria-Peloritani  Arc  already  overthrust  the  Lower
Cretaceous  Monte  Soro  Flysch  necessarily  before  the  Early
Oligocene.

The Piedimonte Formation, in particular, shows a well

marked coarsening- and thickening-upward trend with pel-
itic and pelitic-arenaceous lithofacies at the bottom, grading
upward to arenaceous-conglomeratic lithofacies and chan-
nelled conglomerate bodies, which mark a gradual transition
to the overlying Stilo-Capo d’Orlando Formation (Puglisi
1998 – Fig. 4).

Furthermore, the Piedimonte Formation unconformably

rests  on  different  stratigraphic  levels  of  the  Lower  Creta-
ceous Monte Soro Flysch with its mainly pelitic basal hori-
zons,  which  do  not  show  any  deformation  (Fig. 5)  thus
confirming the stratigraphic (and not tectonic) nature of the
Piedimonte  Formation/Monte  Soro  Flysch  contact  (Puglisi
1998).

A very similar tectonic scenario characterizes the Kabylian

sector  of  Algeria.  A  late-Lutetian  tectonic  phase,  in  fact,
seems to have been responsible for an early deformation of
the Internal Domains and their overthrusting above the Lower
Cretaceous  flysch  (Raoult  1975;  Vila  1980;  Wildi  1983).
Late  Eocene-to-early  Miocene  terrigenous  deposits,  known

in French geological literature as ‘Nummulitique II’ and
‘Oligo-Miocène Kabyle’ (at the bottom and top, respectively),
suture all these tectonic contacts.

Finally, also in the BRIZ, the innermost domains (Mala-

guide/Ghomaride realms, in Spain and Morocco, respectively)
underwent the main Alpine deformation during the Eocene—
Late  Oligocene  (Kornprobst  1974;  Chalouan  &  Michard
2004;  Chalouan  et  al.  2006).  Thus,  their  overthrust  on  the
underlying  Alpujarride/Sebtide  Units  (Spain  and  Morocco,
respectively)  is  antecedent  to  the  deposition  of  the  Oli-
gocene—Miocene deposits belonging to the so-called ‘Ciudad
Granada-Fnideq  Formation  Cycle’,  which  seals  all  the  tec-
tonic contacts between the above-mentioned internal tectonic
units (Feinberg et al. 1990; Maate et al. 1995; Serrano et al.
2006, 2007).

Furthermore, as the provenance of all these Tertiary sand-

stone  suites  is  linked  to  the  dismantling  of  the  above  men-
tioned  AlKaPeCa  block,  it  is  important  to  underline  a  clear
bimodality of provenance recently recorded between coeval
and  equivalent  turbidite  successions  of  the  BRIZ  and  Cala-
bria-Peloritani  Arc  (Fig. 6  –  Puglisi  2008  and  references
therein).  In  fact,  litharenite  compositions  mainly  derived
from  carbonate  covers  and,  partially,  from  epimetamorphic
sources characterize the BRIZ sandstones suites, whereas ar-
kosic  compositions,  connected  to  granitic  and/or  gneissic
sources,  are  typical  of  the  Calabria-Peloritani  Arc  turbidite
sandstone  suites.  These  different  compositions  strongly
point  out  significant  paleogeographical  implications  linked
to  the  structural  context  of  the  AlKaPeCa  block  which  was
probably  partially  subdivided  into  several  microplates  al-
ready  before  the  deposition  of  the  above  mentioned  Oli-
gocene  deposits  (Puglisi  2008).  Thus,  it  is  possible  to
hypothesize  that  the  beginning  of  fragmentation  of  the

Fig. 5. a – Basal pelitic and pelitic-arenaceous lithofacies of the Piedimonte Formation unconformably overlying the Lower Cretaceous
Monte Soro Flysch (southern Peloritani Mts, Zambataro Valley, NE of Piedimonte Etneo village), b – coarse-grained medium-bedded
sandstones with abundant coal fragments in the uppermost horizons of the Piedimonte Formation.

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AlKaPeCa block, the drifting of the different microplates
and their partial accretion onto the different sectors of the
African margin started during Late Eocene—Early Oligocene
times, before the deposition of the above-mentioned Tertiary
turbidite deposits.

In the southern sector of the Calabria-Peloritani Arc this

hypothesis  seems  to  be  supported  by  the  occurrence  of  an
important Middle Oligocene tectonic phase (Rupelian/Chat-
tian boundary). This tectonic event is responsible (a) for the
deposition  of  thick  conglomerate  channelled  bodies  (about
500 m  in  thickness),  marking  the  boundary  between  the
Lower Oligocene Piedimonte Formation and the Upper Oli-
gocene—Lower  Miocene  Stilo-Capo  d’Orlando  Formation
(Fig. 4), and (b) for the different sedimentological and petro-
graphic  characters  recorded  within  both  these  sedimentary
successions  (Puglisi  1998,  2008).  Finally,  the  variations  of
the  paleocurrent  directions  between  the  above  mentioned
successions  (Fig. 4)  also  indicate  a  drastic  change  in  sedi-
mentary supply, probably as a result of a tectonic event.

This tectonic phase could easily correspond to the 28.6 Ma

extensional phase recently recorded by Heymes et al. (2008,
2010) in the Aspromonte Massif, very close to the Peloritani
Mountains, both belonging to the same internal zones (Cala-
bria-Peloritani Arc).

Discussion

The existence of a Lower Cretaceous flysch family with

similar geological-structural setting and internal clastic prov-
enance  along  all  the  Western  and  Central  European  Alpine
chains for more than 7,000 km, from the Gibraltar Arc to the
Balkans  (Puglisi  2009),  strongly  supports  the  hypothesis  of
paleogeographical  continuity  between  the  different  oceanic
areas  of  the  Alpine  Tethys  during  Late  Jurassic  and  Early
Cretaceous times. The Maghrebian Basin, in particular, could
have  been  located  in  the  westernmost  sector  of  the  Alpine
Tethys (Fig. 1).

Due to the Cretaceous re-organization of the plates, almost

all  the  successions  of  the  easternmost  and  central  basins
(Severin-Ceahlău  Ocean  in  the  Carpathians,  ‘Nish-Troyan
flysch trough’ in the Balkans, Vardar and Pindos Oceans in
the  Dinarides  and  Hellenides  and  Ligurian  Ocean  in  the
western-central  Alps  and  northern  Apennines)  experienced
Middle-to-Late Cretaceous tectonic developments, responsi-
ble for the deformation of the Lower Cretaceous flysch and
their Triassic-Jurassic ophiolitic and sedimentary substratum
(Puglisi 2009 and references therein).

In contrast, the Maghrebian Basin seems to have escaped

these Cretaceous tectonics and its deformation seems to start
in successive times. The Maghrebian Lower Cretaceous flysch,
in  fact,  in  Algeria  as  well  as  in  Sicily  (Raoult  1975;  Puglisi
1981,  1992,  2009;  Raoult  et  al.  1982)  is  piled  up  to  form  a
complicated  structural  edifice  with  many  tectonic  units,
formed only by Lower Cretaceous flysch without Tertiary sed-
imentary  cover  and  tectonically  underlying  the  Hercynian
crystalline units (Kabylian Units and Calabria-Peloritani Arc
in Algeria and Sicily, respectively). The absence of Tertiary
cover was interpreted as the result of an early underthrusting
of the Lower Cretaceous flysch beneath the internal Hercynian
crystalline units (Cassola et al. 1990, 1991; Puglisi 1992) or,
otherwise, this has also been related to post-Albian eustatic
phenomena affecting the continental shelves, responsible for
a sudden interruption of the detrital supply (Durand-Delga et
al. 1999).

Thus, the first compressive events can be related to a

meso-Alpine stage, as long hypothesized in Algeria (Raoult
1975; Vila 1980) and in the Sicilian Maghrebian Chain at the
beginning of the nineties (Puglisi 1992; Cassola et al. 1992),
where these deformations of the Lower Cretaceous flysch are
sealed by Lower Oligocene turbidite deposits (Cassola et al.
1991; Cassola et al. 1992; Puglisi 1992).

Unfortunately this evidence is often neglected in many recent

geological studies carried out in the Sicilian Maghrebian Chain,
where the Early Oligocene age of several turbidite deposits has
been strongly debated. Nevertheless, recent biostratigraphic
data (Torricelli & Knezaurek 2010) confirm the Early Oli-
gocene age of these Maghrebian turbidite deposits. An Alpine
metamorphic overprint, recognized within the Hercynian crys-
talline units of the Calabria-Peloritani Arc (Pezzino et al. 2008)
also seems to strengthen the previous hypothesis of meso-
Alpine tectonic events (Puglisi 2008 and references therein).

Finally, the different composition and sedimentary prove-

nance of coeval and equivalent sandstone suites from the
BRIZ and Calabria-Peloritani Arc suggests that both their

Fig. 6. Quartz-Feldspar-Lithic Fragments ternary plot showing a
clear bimodality of provenance between the Lower Oligocene-to-Up-
per Oligocene/Lower Miocene sandstone suites from the Betic-Rifian
Internal Zones and Calabria-Peloritani Arc (modified after Puglisi
2008).

BRIZ include the Oligocene—Miocene Rifian Dorsale Calcaire,
Fnideq and Sidi Abdesslam Fms and the Betic El Ni

o and Rio

Pliego Formations (Guerrera et al. 1997; Puglisi et al. 2001;
Zaghloul et al. 2003; Gigliuto 2005; Puglisi & Gigliuto 2006).
Calabria-Peloritani Arc includes the Lower Oligocene Frazzan

Flysch and Piedimonte Formation and the Oligocene—Miocene Stilo-
Capo d’Orlando Formation (Carmisciano & Puglisi 1978, 1982;
Carmisciano et al. 1981; Cassola et al. 1991; Nigro & Puglisi 1993;
Puglisi 1998).

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source  areas  belonged  to  different  sectors  of  the  AlKaPeCa
block. An incipient fragmentation of the AlKaPeCa block, in
fact,  is  here  suggested  to  hypothesize  a  paleogeographical
scenario with different microplates, already widely separated
during  the  Late  Eocene-Early  Oligocene,  in  order  to  justify
different supplies in different sedimentary basins.

Concluding remarks

This paper emphasizes a geological history of the Maghre-

bian Basin very similar to that of the other sectors of the Al-
pine Tethys, but with different times of deformation.

The deformation history of the Maghrebian Basin, in fact,

seems to have started in early meso-Alpine times, connected
with the northward subduction of the African plate beneath
the European one (Heymes et al. 2010 and references there-
in), as the result of the progressive closure of the Alpine
Tethys, diachronous toward its westernmost sectors (Puglisi
2010).

Successively, due to the slow convergence between Africa

and  Europe,  rapid  extensional  processes,  mainly  governed
by subduction rollback (Lonergan & White 1997; Jolivet &
Faccenna 2000; Mauffret et al. 2004), started on the overrid-
ing  plate  in  the  back-arc  position  (Rosenbaum  et  al.  2002),
partially coeval with these meso-Alpine compressive tectonic
events.  Successive  increasing  of  these  extensional  tectonics
triggered  the  break-up  of  the  AlKaPeCa  block  and  the  for-
mation  of  new  oceanic  spaces  (Gulf  of  Lion,  Valencia
Trough,  Provençal  Basin).  At  the  same  time,  new  micro-
plates formed and started to drift as long as subduction roll-
back took place (Rosenbaum et al. 2002).

The age of the beginning of fragmentation of the AlKaPeCa

block and the formation of these new basins is still under
discussion. Figure 7 shows some possible paleogeographical
reconstructions of the Western Mediterranean, where the be-
ginning of the extension process is mainly dated to the
Eocene-Oligocene boundary or to the Early Oligocene.

Jolivet & Faccenna (2000) suggested that the inception of

extension in the Provence area is dated to ~ 35 Ma. This early

Fig. 7. Fragmentation of the southern European paleomargin, with consequent formation of the AlKaPeCa-derived microplates, occurred in:
a – Early Oligocene times (modified from Lonergan & White 1997 and Jolivet & Faccenna 2000), b – Late Oligocene times (Rosenbaum
et al. 2002), c – Late Rupelian times (Schettino & Turco 2006, modified by Chalouan et al. 2008) or, finally, d – during the Eocene-Oli-
gocene evolution of the ECRIS (European Cenozoic Rifted System, sensu Dèzes et al. 2004; after Frizon de Lamotte et al. 2009). Keys of
(c):  solid  lines  with  arrows = extension  centers,  straight  solid  lines = strike-slip  faults,  curved  black  lines  with  teeth = subduction  zones,
arrows = direction of motion relative to Europe Plate. Western Mediterranean Microplates: COR, SCOR = Corsica  and South-Corsica;
MEN, MAL = Menorca and Mallorca;  NSAR, SSAR = northern and southern  Sardinia; IBZ = Ibiza; CAL, PE = Calabria  and  Peloritani;
GKB, PKB = great  and  small  Kabylian;  SCH, STB, ALB = Sardinia Channel, south  Tyrrhenian  and Alboran Blocks.

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extension process is interpreted as the continuation of a sys-
tem of grabens which affected Central Europe during the
Eocene (Brun et al. 1992). The rifting of the Provençal Basin,
in particular, started at 30 Ma (Jolivet & Faccenna 2000).

Rosenbaum et al. (2002) also dated the onset of the exten-

sion in the western Mediterranean to 32—30 Ma because the
Gulf of Lion and the Valencia Through were already formed
during Chattian times. The Valencia Trough, in fact, seems
to have been definitively formed in a short time span, during
Late  Rupelian  times  (31.1  to  28.0 Ma;  Schettino  &  Turco
2006),  slightly  before  the  opening  of  other  oceanic  spaces,
such  as  the  Provençal  Basin  and  the  west  Alboran  Sea
(Rosenbaum et al. 2002).

Dèzes et al. (2004) also related the Rupelian-Chattian for-

mation of the Gulf of Lion and Valencia Through to the
southward propagation of the graben systems of the southern
part of the ECRIS (European Cenozoic Rift System), whose
evolution was responsible for the opening of the Provençal
Basin. In contrast, Mauffret et al. (2004) consider the forma-
tion of the Valencia Trough coeval to the Provençal rifting or
slightly younger, both of them dated to the Oligocene-Mio-
cene boundary ( ~ 23 Ma).

Not very different ages have also been proposed by Carmi-

nati et al. (2012a,b and references therein), who stated that
the rifting in the Provençal basin started during latest
Eocene—Early Oligocene (34—28 Ma) and ended in the mid-
dle Aquitanian (21 Ma).

Handy et al. (2010) also suggest that the AlKaPeCa Block,

interpreted as an independent microplate located between the
European and African plates, was already widely subdivided
into two sectors in the Priabonian (35 Ma).

Finally, concerning the Sicilian Maghrebian Chain, two

concluding  remarks  can  be  emphasized.  The  Peloritani  tec-
tonic  edifice,  the  southern  portion  of  the  Peloritani-Calabria
microplate,  (1)  overthrust  the  Lower  Cretaceous  Monte  Soro
Flysch before the unconformable deposition of the Lower Oli-
gocene- Lower Miocene turbidite succession (Piedimonte and
Stilo-Capo  d’Orlando  Formations)  and  (2)  this  microplate
was, probably, already separated from the other sectors of the
AlKaPeCa block, thus suggesting that the onset of fragmenta-
tion of this block can be dated to the early Oligocene and/or
Eocene-Oligocene boundary, and not to more recent times.

Acknowledgments:  The  author  is  grateful  to  S.  Critelli
(University  of  Calabria,  Cosenza,  Italy),  F.  Loiacono  (Uni-
versity of Bari, Italy), N. Oszczypko (Jagiellonian University,
Kraków,  Poland)  and  D.  Plašienka  (Comenius  University,
Bratislava, Slovak Republic), whose helpful suggestions and
comments improved the paper.

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