Biostratigraphy of the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary in the Eastern Carpathians (Dâmboviţa Valley): preliminary observations

Planktonic and benthic foraminiferal assemblages from an Upper Albian to Lower Turonian interval in the East Carpathians were investigated in a well and in an outcrop from the Stoeneşti – Cetăţeni area (Dâmboviţa Valley), Romania. The benthic foraminiferal extinction that occurred at the Cenomanian/Turonian boundary and the first stage of the faunal recovery are documented here for the first time in the Romanian Carpathians. Bioevents and changes in the foraminiferal record from this area show that low oxygen conditions occured already in the Late Cenomanian, as suggested by the presence of radiolarian-rich shales. Impoverished assemblages of small, thin walled agglutinated foraminifera are present in the lowermost Turonian after the benthic-free interval corresponding to the “Bonarelli Level”. Calcareous nannofossils are also documented from this level in the well from the Stoeneşti locality