Palaeoceanographic significance of the Tethyan ‘Livello Selli’ (Early Aptian) from the Hybla Formation, northwestern Sicily: biostratigraphy and high-resolution chemostratigraphic records

High-resolution micropalaeontological and chemostratigraphic records for the Hauterivian–Aptian succession outcropping at Calabianca (NW Sicily) provide new insight into the palaeoclimatic and palaeoceanographic evolution of the Tethys Ocean. Calcareous nannofossil and planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy together with δ13C chemostratigraphy allowed the identification of a hiatus in the Barremian and a major one including most of the Upper Aptian, the entire Lower Albian and part of the Middle Albian. The Livello Selli equivalent was identified on the basis of lithology and well constrained by calcareous plankton biostratigraphy as well as by the δ13C curve. The multi-proxy record from …