New bio- and magnetostratigraphic data on Campanian‒Maastrichtian deposits of the classical Nizhnyaya Bannovka section (Volga river right bank, southern Saratov region)

The integral investigation of the upper Campanian‒Maastrichtian section near the settlement of Nizhnyaya Bannovka (Krasnoarmeiskii district, Saratov oblast) included its detailed lithological description and the study of different organic remains (belemnites, benthic and planktonic foraminifers, radiolarian, calcareous nannofossils, dinocysts) with the analysis of their taxonomic composition and stratigraphic distribution and magnetostratigraphic (magnetic polarity and petromagnetic) properties. The belemnite findings indicate the presence of the upper Campanian Belemnitella langei Zone in the section, which comprises sediments previously attributed to the lower Maastrichtian Belemnitella lanceolata Zone. The analogs of magnetic polarity chrons 33n, 32r, and 31n (probably superposed chrons 31n and 30) are established. It is assumed that radiolarians offer the opportunity to define the middle Campanian substage by analogy with the standard (international) stratigraphic scale. On the basis of benthic foraminifers, calcareous dinocysts, and paleomagnetic data, the late Maastrichtian age of sediments previously dated back to the early Maastrichtian is substantiated. A large hiatus corresponding to the terminal Campanian‒early Maastrichtian is revealed in the section. The succession of sedimentological, biotic, and paleogeographic events is outlined for the late Campanian‒Maastrichtian interval. The obtained data make it possible to disclose paleobiogeographic connections between microfaunal communities of the Campanian and late Maastrichtian seas on the East European and West Siberian plates. It is established that the uppermost Maastrichtian sediments are enriched in extraterrestrial matter.