Cenomanian rudist-dominated shelf-margin limestones from the Panormide carbonate platform (Sicily, Italy): facies analysis and sequence stratigraphy

Sedimentological, paleontological and sequence analyses of Cenomanian limestones in Sicily reveal thc facies architecture and dynamics of a Mid Cretaceous rudistdominated platform margin from Western Tethys. The studied deposits outcrop near Palermo, as part of a large structural unit of the Sicilian Maghrebids. They belong to the Panormide carbonate platform, a Mesocenozoic paleogeographic domain of the African margin. The lateral continuity of the beds along three nearly parallel E-W outcrop sections allowed the recording of cm/dm thick lithological and faunal variations. Nine main lithofacies associations have been recognised along about 200 m of subvertical strata. Their vertical and la…