Abundant new material of articulated asteroids from the Taba Starfish Bed (Lower Cretaceous, Barremian) of the Agadir Basin, western Morocco, allows reappraisal of this important fauna, and the recognition, to date, of five taxa belonging to the Astropectinidae, Odontasteridae, Goniasterididae, Terminasteridae, and Asteriidae. Betelgeusia orientalis Blake and Reboul, 2011 is shown to be a junior synonym of Coulonia platyspina Hess and Blake, 1995, and Dipsacaster africanus Blake and Reboul, 2011 comprises material of C. platyspina and a new odontasterid, here described as Odontaster tabaensis n. sp. Alkaidia megaungula n. sp. is described and its ontogeny and affinities discussed. From this, it is concluded that the Terminasteridae, revised to include the genera Terminaster and Alkaidia, is sister taxon to the extant family Zoroasteridae, and both are placed in the suborder Zorocallina of the Forcipulatida. The Taba fauna is a representative of a distinctive Lower Cretaceous asteroid assemblage that existed in northern Tethys from the Barremian to the Cenomanian and is also well known from the Albian and lower Cenomanian of Texas.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/b2ecdd06-685d-4242-9e49-985f9d7a3cc1

The association between mass extinction in the marine realm and eustatic sea-level change in the Mesozoic is well documented, but perplexing, because it seems implausible that sea-level change could actually cause a major extinction. However, large-scale cycles of sea-level change can and do alter the ratio of shallow to deep marine continental-shelf deposits preserved in the rock record both regionally and globally. This taphonomic megabias alone could be driving patterns of first and last occurrence and standing diversity because diversity and preservation potential both change predictably with water depth. We show that the Cenomanian/Turonian faunal event in western Europe has all the predicted signatures expected if taphonomic megabias was the cause. Grade taxa terminating in pseudoextinction and Lazarus taxa are predominantly found in the onshore facies that disappear for extended periods from the rock record. Before other mass extinctions are taken at face value, a much more careful analysis of biases in the rock record needs to be carried out, and faunal disappearances need to be analyzed within a phylogenetic framework.

Carbon stable-isotope variation through the Cenomanian–Santonian stages is characterized using data for 1769 bulk pelagic carbonate samples collected from seven Chalk successions in England. The sections show consistent stratigraphic trends and δ13C values that provide a basis for high-resolution correlation. Positive and negative δ13C excursions and inflection points on the isotope profiles are used to define 72 isotope events. Key markers are provided by positive δ13C excursions of up to +2‰: the Albian/Cenomanian Boundary Event; Mid-Cenomanian Event I; the Cenomanian/Turonian Boundary Event; the Bridgewick, Hitch Wood and Navigation events of Late Turonian age; and the Santonian/Campanian Boundary Event. Isotope events are isochronous within a framework provided by macrofossil datum levels and bentonite horizons. An age-calibrated composite δ13C reference curve and an isotope event stratigraphy are constructed using data from the English Chalk. The isotope stratigraphy is applied to successions in Germany, France, Spain and Italy. Correlation with pelagic sections at Gubbio, central Italy, demonstrates general agreement between biostratigraphic and chemostratigraphic criteria in the Cenomanian–Turonian stages, confirming established relationships between Tethyan planktonic foraminiferal and Boreal macrofossil biozonations. Correlation of the Coniacian–Santonian stages is less clear cut: magnetostratigraphic evidence for placing the base of Chron 33r near the base of the Upper Santonian is in good agreement with the carbon-iso-tope correlation, but generates significant anomalies regarding the placement of the Santonian and Campanian stage boundaries with respect to Tethyan planktonic foraminiferal and nannofossil zones. Isotope stratigraphy offers a more reliable criterion for detailed correlation of Cenomanian–Santonian strata than biostratigraphy. With the addition of Campanian δ13C data from one of the English sections, a composite Cenomanian–Campanian age-calibrated reference curve is presented that can be utilized in future chemostratigraphic studies.

The Cenomanian–Campanian carbon-isotope curve is remarkably similar in shape to supposedly eustatic sea-level curves: increasing δ13C values accompanying sea-level rise associated with transgression, and falling δ13C values characterizing sea-level fall and regression. The correlation between carbon isotopes and sea-level is explained by variations in epicontinental sea area affecting organic-matter burial fluxes: increasing shallow sea-floor area and increased accommodation space accompanying sea-level rise allowed more efficient burial of marine organic matter, with the preferential removal of 12C from the marine carbon reservoir. During sea-level fall, reduced seafloor area, marine erosion of previously deposited sediments, and exposure of basin margins led to reduced organic-carbon burial fluxes and oxidation of previously deposited organic matter, causing falling δ13C values. Additionally, drowning of carbonate platforms during periods of rapid sea-level rise may have reduced the global inorganic relative to the organic carbon flux, further enhancing δ13C values, while renewed platform growth during late transgressions and highstands prompted increased carbonate deposition. Variations in nutrient supply, changing rates of oceanic turnover, and the sequestration or liberation of methane from gas hydrates may also have played a role in controlling carbon-isotope ratios.