Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana Volumen 66, núm. 3, 2014, p. 431-440 http://dx.doi.org/10.18268/BSGM2014v66n3a2

Sea level changes through the Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary in western Cuba indicated by taphonomic analysis

Rafael López Martínez^1,*, Ricardo Barragán¹, Blanca E. Buitrón¹, Reinaldo Rojas²

 ¹ Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Delegación Coyoacán, C.P. 04510, México D.F., México.
² Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Cuba, Obispo 61, C.P. 1100, La Habana, Cuba.
^* This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

The taphonomical and microfacies analyses of the Guasasa Formation in the San Vicente section of western Cuba, allowed the recognition of regional sea level fluctuations through the Jurassic/Cretaceous transition. Four discrete taphofacies associated with different depositional conditions were characterized through the section. The paleoecological conditions reconstruction of indicates that the site of deposition changed from a shallow water carbonate bank recognizable at the base of the section (late Tithonian facies of the San Vicente Member) into a deep-water basinal environment at its top through the Berriasian, as facies of the overlying El Americano member. This continuous deepening of the basin was interrupted only by a short-term sea level drop close to the Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary.

Keywords: Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary, taphonomy, sea level changes, paleoecology.