UPPER SPATHIAN TO BITHYNIAN (LOWER TO MIDDLE TRIASSIC) BRACHIOPODS FROM NORTH DOBROGEA (ROMANIA)

Brachiopods obtained from several Triassic localities in North Dobrogea, in Romania, are described. Upper Spathian and Aegean Hallstatt-type red limestones have been sampled in the Deşli Caira section, proposed as the GSSP for the base of the Anisian. The Bithynian brachiopods mostly originate from the Tubiphytes-microbial buildup in the Mahmudia quarry, and also from the Hallstatt-type limestones of Agighiol and Orta Bair. Their age estimates are supported by ammonoids collected from the same beds. The upper Spathian and Aegean assemblages of Deşli Caira consist of four rhynchonellids, with one genus and two species newly described, Ortarhynchia petersi gen. n. sp. n. and Austriellula iordanae sp. n. The Bithynian assemblages comprise the most diverse fauna, with 15 species, four species of which are newly described, Ortarhynchia petersi gen. n. sp. n., Piarorhynchella kittli sp. n., Ptychomentzelia dobrogeana sp. n. and P. simionescui sp. n. In the Tubiphytes facies of Mahmudia, the assemblage is numerically dominated by mentzeliids and dielasmatids, forming 84.8 % of the whole assemblage. Spiriferinids and rhynchonellids form the minor component. Instead, rhynchonellids prevail in the Hallstatt facies at Agighiol and Orta Bair. The assemblages described here are hardly comparable with those of the western Tethys. The Bithynian assemblage is very different from its equivalent described from the substage stratotype in Turkey. In North Dobrogea, the carbonate substrate and clear and agitated water supported an assemblage with high diversity. In contrast, in Bithynia, the brachiopod community dwelled on a softer and muddier substrate, with higher density and lower diversity. The locality of Aghdarband (Iran) also delivered Bithynian brachiopods, forming another different assemblage. The recovery and radiation of brachiopods after the P/T crisis is discussed in the framework of Palaeo-Tethyan palaeogeography, making comparisons with the South China localities

USE OF X-RAY MICRO-COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY ON SELECTED UPPER TRIASSIC (RHAETIAN) FORAMINIFERA FROM THE WESTERN BLACK SEA SHELF, OFFSHORE ROMANIA

Upper Triassic (Rhaetian) foraminifera belonging to the species Glomospira charoides (Jones & Parker), Gaudryinopsis kelleri (Tappan), G. triadica (Kristan-Tollmann), Ammobaculites zlambachensis Kristan-Tollmann, Verneuilinoides racema (Trifonova), and Trochammina cf. jaunensis Brönnimann & Page were investigated using X-ray micro-computed tomography. Foraminifera were recovered from the drill core CM31 of the 817 Lebăda Vest borehole, located off the coast of Romania on the western Black Sea shelf, from depths of 2623 m to 2625 m. Tomographic data was used to generate digital models, which were then virtually sectioned in desirable ways. The acquired transects can be used for comparison with specimens viewed in thin sections, providing a better connection between specimens recovered from residues and those observed in thin sections using transmitted light microscopy

A highly diverse bivalve fauna from a Bithynian (Anisian, Middle Triassic) Tubiphytes ‐microbial buildup in North Dobrogea (Romania)

This paper describes a rich bivalve fauna from the Tubiphytes‐Limestone Member (Bithynian, early middle Anisian) of the Caerace Formation in North Dobrogea (Romania). We report 51 bivalve species, including 7 new species and 2 new genera: Atrina multicostata sp. nov., Pinna simionescui sp. nov., Chlamys (Praechlamys) prima sp. nov., Entolium reticulatum sp. nov., Scythentolium anisicum sp. nov., Romaniamya mahmudiaensis gen. et sp. nov. and Praedicerocardium vetulus gen. et sp. nov. The latter taxon represents the oldest Triassic megalodontoid. We provide detailed descriptions of the bivalve fauna, discuss the ecology and compare species richness in the Early and Middle Triassic, showing that the bivalve assemblage of North Dobrogea is much more diverse than all previously described Early Triassic bivalve faunas, but not as rich as several faunas from the late Anisian and Ladinian. The relative richness of the Dobrogea fauna with respect to geologically older and younger faunas suggests that it represents an early stage of the main rediversification of bivalves after the end‐Permian mass extinction

Correction of low values of gluten power (W value) due to the sunn pest attack

Determining the quality of wheat-derived flours is influenced by some essential parameters. These parameters are wet gluten, index gluten, Falling Number and W-power from the alveoconsistograph analysis. The quality of the wet gluten represented by the power parameter (W) is directly influenced by the sunn pest attack. The sunn pest, scientifically called Eurygaster integriceps is a pest that can bring not only quantitative damages, but also qualitative ones. The sunn pest stings the grain during various developing stages and, with the saliva, it introduces an enzyme named protease. The gluten’s main components are gliadin and glutenin, the protease introduced at the same time with the saliva by this pest plays the role of dissolving the gluten’s bonds. The glutenin contributes to the dough’s resistance, firmness and extensibility, while the gliadin contributes to the dough’s elasticity. These components form a three dimensional skeleton within the dough’s mass prepared out of the wheat flour, conferring it all the bread making properties. As per W value, the minimum value considered suitable for bread making is 120, below this value we speak of the protease activity; the harder the attack, the lower the W value, and, implicitly, the increased protease activity. The presence of proteolytic activity leads to the change of the rheological features of the dough meaning the decrease in elasticity and the increase of extensibility. 100 tons of wheat were analysed and an average sample has been selected. This sample was analysed from the flour stage to the final bread product. The uncorrected sample was considered a witness sample. The witness sample was corrected with: ascorbic acid, glucose oxidase and lipase in order to follow the evolution of the W value. The correction was performed by the three separated components and then the synergic effect was followed. In parallel with the evolution of the quality parameters, the behaviour improvement of the bread-making process was followed as well

Corelation between the sunn pest attack and the black point and their effect on the bread making quality of wheat

The main problem with the 2016’s harvest relates to the high proteolytic activity as a consequence of the sunn pest attack and the presence of the Black Point. The scientific name of the sunn pest is Eurygaster integriceps. The sunn pest is an oligophagous insect thriving on wheat cultures and attacking both the cultivated grains as well as the spontaneous grasses. The damage produced by this pest is both in terms of quality and quantity. According to other scientific research, the Black Point is a disease affecting the wheat and is a result of the attack caused by some pathogenic agents. It can be easily observed since it manifests itself by giving the grain a darker colour especially around the embryo. Few studies were conducted regarding this disease and the existing ones underline the fact that the Black Point could not affect the grain’s quality. The research carried out on the harvested wheat in 2016 shows a strong presence of the Black Point corresponding with a colour change to a greyish tint in the resulting flour. Studies have shown that the stronger the attack on the wheat is, the stronger the tint in the resulting flour. As a follow-up of these studies, a strong connection between the sunn pest’s attack and the presence of the Black Point was found. If the sunn pest damage is of high percentage then the black point is more likely to appear, determining a decrease in the bread making quality of the resulting milled flour. To improve the bread-making quality solutions were found, but the grey tint of the attacked flour could not be corrected, this tint being present in the bread’s core as well

First record of Rhabdoceras suessi (Ammonoidea, Late Triassic) from the Transylvanian Triassic Series of the Eastern Carpathians (Romania) and a review of its biochronology, paleobiogeography and paleoecology

Abstract The occurrence of the heteromorphic ammonoid Rhabdoceras suessi Hauer, 1860, is recorded for the first time in the Upper Triassic limestone of the Timon-Ciungi olistolith in the Rarău Syncline, Eastern Carpathians. A single specimen of Rhabdoceras suessi co-occurs with Monotis (Monotis) salinaria that constrains its occurrence here to the Upper Norian (Sevatian 1). It is the only known heteromorphic ammonoid in the Upper Triassic of the Romanian Carpathians. Rhabdoceras suessi is a cosmopolitan species widely recorded in low and mid-paleolatitude faunas. It ranges from the Late Norian to the Rhaetian and is suitable for high-resolution worldwide correlations only when it co-occurs with shorter-ranging choristoceratids, monotid bivalves, or the hydrozoan Heterastridium. Formerly considered as the index fossil for the Upper Norian (Sevatian) Suessi Zone, by the latest 1970s this species lost its key biochronologic status among Late Triassic ammonoids, and it generated a controversy in the 1980s concerning the status of the Rhaetian stage. New stratigraphic data from North America and Europe in the subsequent decades resulted in a revised ammonoid biostratigraphy for the uppermost Triassic, the Rhaetian being reinstalled as the topmost stage in the current standard timescale of the Triassic. The geographic distribution of Rhabdoceras is compiled from published worldwide records, and its paleobiogeography and paleoecology are discussed

Rhaetian (Late Triassic) ostracods (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from the offshore prolongation of the North Dobrogean Orogen into the Romanian Black Sea shelf

The present study evaluates the signifi cance of Triassic ostracods from the Romanian Black Sea shelf as part of a project for the understanding of the palaeoceanographical evolution of the offshore extension of the North Dobrogean Orogen. The drill core CM31, sampled from the borehole 817 Lebăda Vest drilled on the western Romanian portion of the Black Sea shelf, contains sediments of Rhaetian, Late Triassic age. The taxonomy of ostracods obtained is discussed and adds to the scientifi c understanding of marine ostracods during the Rhaetian stage. We document 72 species, of which seven are new: Histriabairdia pontuseuxinusensis Forel gen. et sp. nov., Bairdiacypris argonautaii Forel sp. nov., Ceratobairdia? akhilleusi Forel sp. nov., Isobythocypris atalantella Forel sp. nov., Petasobairdia amazonella Forel sp. nov., Paracyprisovidi Forel sp. nov. and Pseudomacrocypris? kerabani Forel sp. nov. Histriabairdia Forel gen. nov. is introduced to accommodate species of the Triassic–Jurassic interval previously attributed to the modern genus Anchistrocheles. These assemblages point to an outer shelf environmental with relatively normal marine oxygenation. The oldest occurrence of Pokornyopsis, found in this material, indicates that this forerunner of modern troglobitic ostracods may not have been troglobitic in the Triassic.</p

APPENDICES

Appendix 1, complete list of the ostracods species occurring in the Anisian, Middle Triassic of North Dobrogea, Romania (Mirăuță et al. 1993; Crasquin-Soleau & Grădinaru 1996; Sebe 2013; Sebe et al. 2013; this work).; appendix 2, matrix of ostracod species distribution during the Anisian, Middle Triassic; appendix 3, matrix of ostracod genera distribution during the Anisian, Middle Triassic

Data from: First report of ostracods (Crustacea) associated with Bithynian (Anisian, Middle Triassic) Tubiphytes-microbial reef in the North Dobrogean Orogen (Romania)

The Mahmudia Quarry is located in the North Dobrogean Orogen (Romania), representing the western tip of the Palaeotethys-issued Cimmeride Orogenic System. One sample from the Tubiphytes-microbial reef exposed in the quarry yielded an abundant well-preserved ostracod assemblage of Bithynian, early Middle Anisian, Middle Triassic age. We report the occurrence of 56 ostracod species distributed among 23 genera. Ten species are newly described: Acratia caeracella sp. nov., Bairdia mandruella sp. nov., B. liviae sp. nov., Hungarella mahmudiaensis sp. nov., Kempfina tineriella sp. nov., Liuzhinia antalyaformis sp. nov., L. bithynica sp. nov., L. edvardgriegi sp. nov., Microcheilinella contrariella sp. nov., Paracypris oanaella sp. nov. One species is renamed, Bairdia monostorii nom. nov. and the diagnosis of the genus Palaeocypridina is emended to include the central muscle scars pattern. The Tubiphytes ecosystem is a complex with a multi-layer food chain as shown by the presence of diversified carnivorous nekton-benthic ostracods, being both preys and predators of other organisms. The palaeoenvironmental requirements of the main ostracod taxa indicate a deposition in an open marine environment, on the outer platform-upper slope zone, in accordance with information provided by other proxies. We discuss the relationship of ostracods and microbial mats during the Triassic and conclude that the composition of assemblages are rather related both to the characteristics of this chemosynthetically-driven habitat and to bathymetry. However, some taxa, such as the genus Liuzhinia, are typical of Triassic microbial ecosystems. We perform the first analysis of ostracods provincialism during the Anisian and identify a distinct peri-Palaeo-Tethyan province