CALCAREOUS PLANKTON BIOSTRATIGRAPHY AND BIOCHRONOLOGY OF THE PLIOCENE LOWER PLEISTOCENE SUCCESSION OF THE CAPO ROSSELLO AREA, SICILY

In the 1st part of this paper the calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy of the Capo Rossello section (Sicily) is presented which suggests that a sedimentary gap exists at the contact between the Trubi and the overlying Monte Narbone Formation, close to the top of the proposed Zanclean stratotype. This suggestion is supported by the planktonic foraminiferal results and field observations. In contrast, the transition from the Trubi to the Monte Narbone Formation is well exposed, gradational and biostratigraphically continuous in the nearby section of Punta Piccola. A composite of the Capo Rossello and Punta Piccola sections serves as a good biostratigraphic reference for the Pliocene of the Mediterranean. In a 2nd part of this paper, an attempt to update the Mediterranean Pliocene time framework was made by integrating all of the available biostratigraphic, biochronologic, chronostratigraphic, paleomagnetic and radiometric data.