Journal of South American Earth Sciences 19 (2005) 273283

www.elsevier.com/locate/jsames

Stratigraphy and facies analysis of the CenomanianTuronian boundary

succession in the Japaratuba area, Sergipe Basin, Brazil
Simone Waltera, Achim D. Herrmannb, Peter Bengtsona,*
a
Geologisch-Palaontologisches Institut, Im Neuenheimer Feld 234, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany
b
Earth and Environmental Sciences, George Washington University, 2029 G St.-Room B01C1, Washington, DC 20052, USA
Received 1 April 1999; revised 11 June 2004; accepted 1 January 2005

Abstract
A facies analysis of the CenomanianTuronian (Cretaceous) boundary beds was carried out in the Japaratuba area, Sergipe Basin, north-
eastern Brazil, on the basis of seven outcrop sections. The lower part of the succession is represented by dolomitic limestones and marly
limestones, whereas the upper part is dominated by chalky, nodular limestones and bedded and coquinoid limestones. Three microfacies
types are recognized in the upper part of the succession, where biostratigraphic work has indicated the position of the CenomanianTuronian
boundary. Two of these microfacies types (foraminiferal mudstone, wackestone) occur only in the nodular limestone unit and are referred to
an outer carbonate ramp setting. The uppermost part of the succession is dominated by echinoderm-inoceramid packstones, which probably
were deposited in a mid-ramp setting. In the late Cenomanian, deposition took place in the outer-ramp distal area of an open-marine basin,
which gradually became shallower during the CenomanianTuronian transition, as evidenced by the increase in macrofaunal debris to the
northeast. In addition to macrofossil fragments, some thin sections contain abundant planktic and benthic foraminifers, calcispheres, and
roveacrinids; the latter are potentially useful for stratigraphic purposes. Biostratigraphic data suggest that the lowermost Turonian is missing
in the southern part of the Japaratuba area.
q 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Brazil; Cenomanian; Cretaceous; Limestones; Microfacies analysis; Paleoenvironments; Sergipe Basin; Stratigraphy; Turonian

1. Introduction As an important hydrocarbon-producing basin, it rep-

The boundary between the Cenomanian and Turonian
stages has been the topic of many investigations and is of
considerable interest because of the co-occurrence of a
maximum sea level highstand, widespread environmental
changes, stepwise extinction events, and ocean-wide anoxic
conditions (Jenkyns et al., 1994; Kauffman and Hart, 1996).
The objective of this work is to provide a sedimentological
and stratigraphic study of the CenomanianTuronian
boundary succession exposed in the Japaratuba area,
northern part of the Sergipe Basin, northeastern Brazil.
The Sergipe Basin (Fig. 1) is one of the many rifted
marginal basins bordering the South Atlantic Ocean.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: C49 6221 548293; fax: C49 6221 545503.
E-mail addresses: swalter1109@web.de (S. Walter), achim@gwu.edu
(A.D. Herrmann), bengtson@uni-hd.de (P. Bengtson).
0895-9811/$ - see front matter q 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2005.01.009
resents a region where extensive geological investigations
have been carried out. Although this economic interest
has resulted in a wealth of publications on the
paleontology and stratigraphy of the Cretaceous succes-
sion, only a few studies of the CenomanianTuronian
boundary beds have been published thus far. Bengtson
(1983) gave a summary of the literature on the
CenomanianConiacian succession of the basin. The
stratigraphic correlation and depositional and geological
history of the marine carbonate succession (Aptian
Coniacian) have been discussed by Berthou and Bengtson
(1988); Koutsoukos and Bengtson (1993); Koutsoukos
et al. (1993), and Feijo (1995), among others.
The CenomanianTuronian succession is well exposed in
the Japaratuba, Laranjeiras, and Itaporanga areas (Fig. 1)
and contains a diverse macro- and microfauna. Thus, the
Sergipe Basin is an ideal object for establishing a reliable
chronostratigraphy for the northwestern South Atlantic as a
basis for comparisons and correlations with surrounding
areas.
274 S. Walter et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 19 (2005) 273283

Fig. 1. Generalized geological map of the Sergipe Basin (modified after Koutsoukos and Bengtson, 1993). Abbreviations of state names: MAZMaranhao, PIZ
Piau, CEZCeara, RNZRio Grande do Norte, PAZParaba, PEZPernambuco, ALZAlagoas, SEZSergipe, and BAZBahia. Inset map shows marginal
basins (dotted) of northeastern Brazil.

This study is based primarily on microfacies analyses of
the shallow-water bioclastic carbonates, which dominate the
CenomanianTuronian boundary succession. On the basis of
results of a field mapping project (Herrmann, 1997;
S. Schneider, unpublished results), seven outcrop sections
were selected for the study of the stage transition (Fig. 2).
Detailed lithological and stratigraphic sampling was carried
out and a facies model established for the exposed
succession. The main part of the results derive from a
doctoral project by Walter (2000).
The localities mentioned herein (Fig. 2) were described by
Bengtson (1983; Japaratuba 11, Jardim 1, 19), Seeling and
Bengtson (1999; Jardim 29, 30), Walter (2000; Japaratuba 16),
and Andrade et al. (2004; Jardim 31). Japaratuba 16 was described
only briefly by Walter (2000) and is redescribed in full herein.
Japaratuba 16
UTM 8 826 850 N/724 950 E
Topographical map sheet: SC.24-Z-B-V Japaratuba.
Geological map sheet: SC.24-Z-B-V-1 Carmopolis.
Description: Large, shallow quarry facing NE. Altitude
approximately 20 m.
Lithology: Cotinguiba Formation, Sapucari Member.
Massive yellowish dolomitized saccharoidal and vuggy
Laranjeiras limestones overlain by lighter-colored, strongly
bioturbated limestones.
2. Geological setting
The Sergipe Basin is one of four subbasins that form the
Sergipe-Alagoas Basin (Cabo, Alagoas, Sergipe, and
Jacupe subbasins; Souza-Lima et al., 2002; cf. Fig. 1).
The Sergipe Basin, which developed initially as part of a rift
valley through the rupture of the former AfricanSouth
American continent, forms a southeastward-dipping half-
graben bounded to the northwest by faults (Fig. 1). The
regional dip averages 10158, which causes progressively
younger rocks to crop out toward the coast. Depth to
basement ranges 13 km onshore, whereas offshore depths
locally exceed 10 km (Ponte et al., 1980). The stratigraphy
of the basin was reviewed most recently by Feijo (1995), the
tectonic evolution discussed by Ojeda (1982), among others
(Fig. 3), and an overview was given by Souza-Lima et al.
(2002)
The sedimentary fill of the basin consists of three
main tectonosedimentary sequences (Fig. 3). The basal,
 S. Walter et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 19 (2005) 273283 275

Fig. 2. Road map of the study area and location of stratigraphic sections (modified after Herrmann, 1997).

non-marine rift sequence is dated as CarboniferousEarly

Cretaceous. The overlying transitional sequence is broadly of
Aptian age, and the marine drift sequence (Riachuelo,
Cotinguiba, and Calumbi formations) ranges from late Subgroups and Tectonic Evolution
Aptian to late Neogene in the deepest, offshore parts of the Formations South Atlantic
basin (cf. Koutsoukos and Bengtson, 1993). The end of the Quaternary Barreiras
transitional phase and the onset of the marine drift phase was Formation
Pliocene
Tertiary

characterized regionally by progressive ocean-floor spread- Miocene

ing accompanied by establishment of a narrow epicontinen- Oligocene
Calumbi
tal sea (Koutsoukos et al., 1993). The early marine phase was Eocene Formation
Paleocene Drift Phase
represented by an extensive carbonate platform that extended Maastrichtian
3500 km from the Santos Basin (south of Rio de Janeiro) to Campanian
the Barreirinhas Basin on the northern equatorial margin of Santonian
Cretaceous

Coniacian Cotinguiba
Brazil. This mid-Cretaceous carbonate platform is well Turonian Formation
exposed only in the Sergipe Basin (Koutsoukos et al., 1993). Cenomanian

The CenomanianTuronian boundary succession Albian Riachuelo F.

belongs to the Cotinguiba Formation, which is exposed in Aptian Muribeca F. Transitional Phase
a SWNE-trending belt west to north of the state capital Coruripe
"Bahian" Subgroup
Aracaju and locally in the Estancia area south of the Sergipe Rift Phase
Jurassic Igreja Nova
Basin proper (Fig. 1). The formation, which locally exceeds Subgroup
Carbonif.-Permian
1000 m, consists of grey to blue-grey carbonates (cream or
yellowish when weathered) with sparse siliciclastic inter- Fig. 3. Lithostratigraphy (after Feijo, 1995) and tectonic evolution of the
calations at the base. The dominantly massive to laminated Sergipe Basin according to Ojeda (1982).
276 S. Walter et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 19 (2005) 273283
rocks locally contain intercalated chert horizons and
nodules, coquinoid limestones, and intraformational brec-
cias and conglomerates.
During the Cenomanian, the sedimentation rate was low
and controlled by tectonic readjustments of the intensely
block-faulted floor of the basin. As a result, patchy
deposition of carbonate sediments occurred, in some places
including reworked material and detrital quartz (Berthou
and Bengtson, 1988). In the Japaratuba area, the limestones
are partly dolomitized.
The late Cenomanianearly Turonian eustatic rise (e.g.,
Hancock and Kauffman, 1979; Haq et al., 1987) is
evidenced by thick carbonate deposits of dominantly early
Turonian age. In areas of low terrigenous influx on the
carbonate ramp, limestones of the Sapucari Member
formed, whereas calcareous mudstones of the Aracaju
Member formed in areas with proportionally lower
carbonate production. On the continental shelf, the Aracaju
Member is found only in the northeastern part of the basin
(Ojeda and Fugita, 1974).
3. Biostratigraphy
The biostratigraphy of the outcropping marine Cretac-
eous of the Sergipe Basin has been studied by several
authors, including Bengtson (1983), Kauffman and Bengt-
son (1985), Berthou and Bengtson (1988), Hessel (1988),
Koutsoukos (1989), Koutsoukos and Bengtson (1993), and
Seeling (1999). The limited extent of most outcrops and the
lack of diagnostic fossils at some localities do not always
allow precise biostratigraphic assignments.
The recently ratified Global Boundary Stratotype
Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Turonian
at the base of Bed 86 in the Rock Canyon anticline
Pueblo, Colorado
ammonite zones
Mammites nodosoides
Watinoceras sp.
Vascoceras (Green-
Turonian
hornoceras) birchbyi
(part)
Pseudaspidoceras
flexuosum
Watinoceras devonense
Nigericas scotti
zone inferred
Cenomanian
Neocardioceras juddii
(part)
Metoicoceras
geslinianum
Fig. 4. Ammonite zonation of the upper Cenomanianlower Turonian of the Sergipe Basin and tentative correlation with the GSSP at Pueblo, Colorado, USA
(Bengtson, 1996; Kennedy et al., 2000).
section west of Pueblo, Colorado, USA, coincides with
the first occurrence of the ammonite Watinoceras
devonense Wright and Kennedy, 1981, in that section
(Bengtson, 1996; Kennedy et al., 2000), which thus serves
as a marker proxy. However, correlation of the ammonite
zonation for the CenomanianTuronian of the Sergipe
Basin (Koutsoukos and Bengtson, 1993) with the
Turonian GSSP is hampered because Watinoceras
devonense or cooccurring taxa in the Colorado section
have not been identified in Sergipe.
Fieldwork in the Laranjeiras area (P.B.) has allowed the
refinement of the boundary zonation of Koutsoukos and
Bengtson (1993) through subdivision of the Vascoceras
harttiiPseudaspidoceras footeanum Zone into a lower
Vascoceras harttiiPseudaspidoceras footeanum Zone and
an upper Pseudotissotia spp. Zone (Walter and Bengtson,
1998; Fig. 4). Pending more detailed work involving
other biostratigraphically significant groups, the stage
boundary in the Sergipe Basin is tentatively placed at the
lowest occurrence of species of the ammonite genus Pseudo-
tissotia, a level well exposed at locality Japaratuba 11.
In the Japaratuba area, Pseudotissotia spp. have been
found only in the northern part of the area (Japaratuba 11,
16). In the southern part (Fig. 5), the lowermost Turonian is
marked by a stratigraphic gap. The occurrence of the
ammonite Watinoceras amudariense Arkhangelskij, 1916
indicates the lower Turonian, though at a higher strati-
graphic level than the Pseudotissotia spp. Zone. In addition
to ammonites, inoceramid bivalves can be used to correlate
the CenomanianTuronian boundary beds. A mass occur-
rence of the genus Mytiloides at Jardim 29 (Fig. 5) indicates
the lower Turonian, though it probably represents a lower
stratigraphic level than that proposed for other regions (e.g.,
Hilbrecht, 1986; Hilbrecht and Dahmer, 1994; Seibertz,
1995).
Sergipe, Brazil
ammonite zones
Mammites nodosoides
Kamerunoceras turoniense
Watinoceras amudariense
Kamerunoceras seitzi
Pseudotissotia spp.
Vascoceras harttii
Pseudaspidoceras footeanum
Euomphaloceras septemseriatum
Pseudocalycoceras harpax
Thomelites aff. sornayi
 S. Walter et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 19 (2005) 273283 277

Calcispheres

Echinoderms
Foraminifers

Inoceramids
Echinoderms
Calcispheres
Inoceramids
Foraminifers
Microfacies
type
Watinoceras amudariense

1 2 3
Kamerunoceras seitzi
Turonian

Echinoderms
Calcispheres
Foraminifers
?

Inoceramids
Pseudotissotia spp.

Japaratuba 11
Jardim 29

Japaratuba 16
Pseudaspidoceras footeanum

Jardim 31
Vascoceras harttii
Cenomanian

Legend
Coquinoid limestones (lithostrat. unit III)
Bedded limestones (lithostrat. unit II)
Jardim 30
Euomphaloceras septemseriatum (part)

Nodular limestones (lithostrat. unit I)

partly marly limestones
Dolomitic limestones
Very abundant
Mytiloides sp. (flood)
Abundant
Pseudotissotia sp. Rare
Jardim 1
1m

Jardim 19

Fig. 5. Lithostratigraphic sections and microfacies types of the CenomanianTuronian boundary succession in the Japaratuba area. The sections have been
correlated using ammonites and inoceramids.
278 S. Walter et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 19 (2005) 273283
As a result of dolomitization, foraminifers are poorly
preserved in the Japaratuba area and thus of limited
biostratigraphic value. However, remains of roveacri-
nidssmall, stemless pelagic crinoidscan be applied
successfully for biostratigraphic purposes, as shown by
Ferre et al. (2005). Attempts at palynomorph extraction
yielded no useful material (S. Schneider, pers. comm.),
probably due to weathering rather than primary depositional
conditions.
4. Lithologic units
Previous biostratigraphic work in the Sergipe Basin
(Bengtson, 1983) indicated the presence of a Cenomanian
Turonian boundary succession in the Japaratuba, Laran-
jeiras, and Itaporanga areas (Fig. 1). Through our mapping
project in the Japaratuba area, the broad litho- and
biostratigraphic relationships of this succession were
established. The upper Cenomanianlowermost Turonian
exposed in the area reaches a thickness of approximately
50 m and is unconformably overlain by Neogene sediments
of the Barreiras Group. The lowest part of the succession,
consisting of dolomitic limestones, was not sampled and
therefore is not shown in Fig. 5. The succession in the
Japaratuba area can be broadly subdivided into three
lithologic units that represent different depositional
environments.
Lithologic unit 1 occurs in the lower part of the
succession in the southern Japaratuba area and consists of
partly dolomitic, partly marly, creamy to yellow, nodular
limestones (localities Jardim 1, 19, 30). Dolomitization is
probably the result of exposure in an intertidal environment,
connected to the adjacent littoral zone in the northern part of
the basin (Berthou and Bengtson, 1988). The macrofauna
consists of bivalves (e.g., abundant plicatulids and oysters),
gastropods, echinoderms, and ammonites. Species of
Acanthoceras and Thomelites, followed by Euomphalo-
ceras, Vascoceras, and Pseudaspidoceras in the upper
part of the unit, indicate a mid to late Cenomanian age
(Koutsoukos and Bengtson, 1993). In biozonal terms, unit 1
comprises the Acanthoceras jukesbrowneiEucalycoceras
pentagonum, Pseudocalycoceras harpaxThomelites aff.
sornayi, Euomphaloceras septemseriatum, and Vascoceras
harttiiPseudaspidoceras footeanum zones.
The upper part of the succession consists of two
lithologic unitsbedded limestones (unit 2) and massive
coquinoid limestones (unit 3)in the northern part of
the area. Locally, bedding has been homogenized by
bioturbation. In both units, macrofossils are abundant and
represented by gastropods, abundant echinoderms, inocer-
amid bivalves, and ammonites. The occurrence of Pseudo-
tissotia spp. and the abundance of the inoceramid bivalve
Mytiloides in the lower part of the units are evidence of the
lower Turonian. The succession comprises the upper part of
the Vascoceras harttiiPseudaspidoceras footeanum, the
Pseudotissotia spp., and the lower part of the Watinoceras
amudarienseKamerunoceras seitzi zones.
The CenomanianTuronian boundary in the northern
Japaratuba area is tentatively placed 2 m above the base of
the section exposed at Japaratuba 11 on the basis of the first
occurrence of Pseudotissotia sp. In the south, where
Pseudotissotia sp. is missing, the stage boundary is placed
3 m above the base of the section exposed at Jardim 29. The
mass occurrence of Mytiloides sp. is taken as a proxy marker
for the base of the Turonian (Fig. 5).
5. Facies analysis
A facies model has been established for the sediments
exposed in the Japaratuba area (Fig. 6). On the basis of the
study of 130 thin sections, three microfacies types were
identified.
5.1. Microfacies types 1 and 2
Microfacies types 1 (Pl. 1a, b) and 2 (Pl. 1c, d) consist of
chalky, nodular limestones (unit 1) that pass upward into
bedded limestones (unit 2). Macrofossil remains are sparse
in microfacies type 1; gastropods, echinoderms, and
bivalves are more abundant in microfacies type 2. In some
thin sections, the volume of macrofossil fragments exceeds
25%. These fragments show no signs of orientation and are
neither broken nor rounded. Echinoderm spines, other
echinoderm fragments, and sponge spicules are common,
whereas only sparse fragments of bivalves and ostracods
appear. Ichnofossils are sparse and difficult to identify in
thin sections. The original bedding or lamination has been
locally homogenized by bioturbation. The terrigenous
influence is represented by scattered quartz grains.
The groundmass of both microfacies types is micrite,
with sparite occurring as cement in dissolved shell
fragments and pseudosparite as neomorphs. The microfauna
consists of dominantly benthic and planktic foraminifers,
including Heterohelix sp., Heterohelix moremani
(Cushman, 1938), Hedbergella (Whiteinella) cf. aprica
(Loeblich and Tappan, 1961), Hemicyclammina sp.,
Haplophragmium sp. or Thomasinella sp., Gabonita levis
(de Klasz, Marie, and Rerat, 1961), Ammobaculites cf.
reophacoides Bartenstein, 1962, and fragments of textular-
iid foraminifers (E.A.M. Koutsoukos, pers. comm.). Some
samples also contain numerous hedbergellids. In addition to
foraminifers, most thin sections contain roveacrinids.
Radiolarians, carrying a micritic envelope, occur sparsely.
Microfossils that appear as circular or ovoid in cross-section
generally are difficult to identify in thin section.
Microfacies types 1 and 2 consist of bioclastic mud/
wackestone (Dunham, 1962), biomicrite (Folk, 1962), or, in
the terminology of Wilson (1975) and Flugel (1982),
mudstone-wackestone with foraminifers of Facies Belt 2,
which corresponds to an open-marine shelf environment.
 S. Walter et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 19 (2005) 273283 279

Japoat High Japaratuba Low

sea level
Subtidal carbonate factory Hemipelagic sedimentation fairweather
Off-bank foraminifers, roveacrinids, calcispheres wavebase
tran
spo
rt
~ 100 m
storm
wavebase

Coquinoid limestones
Bedded limestones

Nodular limestones

Basinal sediments

Study area
Facies zone Inner ramp Mid ramp Outer ramp Basin

Lithostratigraphic unit II and III I

Microfacies type 3 1 and 2

Sediments of this facies Packstones Hemipelagic mudstones and Basinal sediments
zone not represented in Increasing bioclasts of echinoderms and bioclastic wackestones consist of
Remarks study area inoceramids Pelagic organisms abundant marlstones with thin
Lithofacies High content of bioclasts of (roveacrinids, foraminifers, interbedded
Biofacies shallow-water organisms calcispheres) Bioclasts, mainly limestones, not
Rare roveacrinids and calcispheres thin-shelled present in study
Peloids Fine quartz rare area
Micritic envelopes common Bioturbation common
Strong bioturbation

Fig. 6. Facies model for the CenomanianTuronian transition of the Japaratuba area.

Microfacies type 2 is characterized by locally abundant,
thin-shelled micromorph gastropods. According to Mancini
(1978), the origins of micromorph faunas are multiple, and
this accumulation of gastropods probably is a result of size
sorting during transport.
Foraminifers and calcispheres indicate deposition in a
neritic environment at water depths of 4080 m (D. Dias-
Brito, pers. comm.). Both microfacies types occur in the
Euomphaloceras septemseriatum and Vascoceras harttii
Pseudaspidoceras footeanum zones, predominantly in the
lower parts of the sections in the south (Fig. 5).
5.2. Microfacies type 3
Microfacies type 3 (Pl. 1e, f) is represented by bedded
and coquinoid limestones of lithologic unit 3. Bioclasts are
abundant in the bedded limestones of the Jardim outcrops in
the south, which pass laterally into the coquinoid limestones
in the north. Calcitic shell fragments of echinoderms,
inoceramids, gastropods, and oysters in a micritic ground-
mass are found in abundance. The bioclasts are unsorted and
angular, with aragonitic shell fragments replaced by sparite.
Calcispheres and radiolarians are rare but occur
throughout the succession together with roveacrinid
remains. At Japaratuba 11, foraminifers are rare; in the
southern part of the area and at Japaratuba 16, they occur in
moderate abundance at certain levels. Micritic envelopes
also occur but are restricted to aragonitic shell fragments. In
addition, peloids and coated grains are abundant. The
particle sizes range from fine sand to silt and clay.
The terrigenous component is represented by sparse,
angular quartz grains. As in microfacies types 1 and 2, the
original bedding has been locally homogenized by
bioturbation. The presence of abundant bioturbation
indicates well-oxygenated conditions on the seafloor.
Microfacies type 3 can be classified as an echinoderm-
inoceramid packstone. According to Wilsons (1975) Facies
Belts, microfacies type 3 corresponds to a shoal environment in
agitated waters. This type occurs predominantly in the upper
Vascoceras harttiiPseudaspidoceras footeanum, Pseudotis-
sotia spp., and Watinoceras amudarienseKamerunoceras
seitzi zones. Berthou and Bengtson (1988) interpret the
increase in bioclastic material and abundance of peloids and
coated grains from southwest to northeast as evidence of
increasing water energy. The higher proportion of bioclasts in
the lower Turonian of the Japaratuba area thus suggests
shallowing of the depositional environment, which we discuss
in the following section.
6. Discussion
Berthou and Bengtson (1988) classify the Cenomanian
rocks of the Sergipe Basin as belonging to seven
280 S. Walter et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 19 (2005) 273283
Microfacies types in Microfacies types of
this study Berthou & Bengtson (1988)
Microfacies type 1 Cen D, Cen E
Microfacies type 2 Cen A, Cen B, Cen C
Microfacies type 3 Cen A, L Tur A, L Tur B
Fig. 7. Microfacies types of Berthou and Bengtson (1988) and
corresponding microfacies types of this study.
microfacies types (Cen AG) and the Turonian rocks to five
microfacies types (L Tur AC, U Tur AB). In our study of
the CenomanianTuronian boundary beds, we recognize
three microfacies types, which we compare with those of
Berthou and Bengtson (1988) in Fig. 7. Berthou and
Bengtson (1988) interpret the general depositional setting in
the Cenomanian as middle to deep neritic near the shelf
margin. Bioclastic material would have been brought by
currents from the littoral zone into deeper depositional
environments. These results agree with our conclusions.
Berthou and Bengtson (1988) found peloids and
echinoderm packstones (their microfacies types Cen A
and Cen B) only in the Cenomanian, whereas we found this
rock type in the lower Turonian as well. These differences
cannot be explained by the different stratigraphic scales
used, because Berthou and Bengtson (1988) placed the
CenomanianTuronian boundary at the base of the former
Vascoceras harttiiPeudaspidoceras footeanum Zone,
whereas we place the boundary at a higher level in this
zone, at the first occurrence of Pseudotissotia sp. The
differences in results and interpretations probably can be
explained by the different localities sampled and different
sampling methods used. In our study, sampling was bed-by-
bed from contiguous sections, whereas Berthou and
Bengtson (1988) established a composite profile of the
succession with fewer sampling points in the Japaratuba
area. In areas with few outcrops, they also analyzed loose
material, which introduced a potential source of strati-
graphic error. Another explanation may be sought in
varying depositional conditions, in which local sea level
fluctuations are related to structural highs and lows.
Both studies show an increase in echinoderm and
inoceramid fragments and an abundance of peloids and
coated grains near the CenomanianTuronian transition,
which provides evidence of higher water energy and is
characteristic of a depositional environment near areas of
carbonate production. Sections in the Laranjeiras and
Itaporanga areas (Fig. 1) (Berthou and Bengtson, 1988;
Seeling, 1999; Walter, 2000) indicate a decrease in the
amount of macrofaunal debris to the southwest, which is
taken as evidence of a deepening of the basin from northeast
to southwest.
Microfacies types 1 and 2 (units 1 and 2) belong to SMF
types 3 and 9 of Flugel (1982), which correspond to an
open-marine shelf and slope environment and an outer-ramp
environment sensu Burchette and Wright (1992).
The occurrence of certain benthic foraminifers indicates
freshwater influence (E.A.M. Koutsoukos, pers. comm.);
however, a brackish-water environment is incompatible
with the macrofossil record, which clearly indicates marine
conditions. Therefore, we believe that these foraminifers
were transported by currents from shallower environments
to deeper-water depositional areas.
Microfacies types 1 and 2 occur mainly at the base of
the succession and contain abundant pelagic microfossils,
whereas in the upper parts, shallow-water organisms
increase in number and microfacies type 3 predominates
(Figs. 5, 6). Roveacrinids are common in these facies and
can be used as paleoenvironmental indicators for outer
platform and slope sediments (Ferre and Berthou, 1994).
Noguti and Santos (1973) suggested that the low
diversity of planktic foraminifers in AptianCenomanian
times in the South Atlantic Ocean could be the result of
a freshwater barrier in the area of the equatorial Atlantic.
This suggestion and the increase in bioclasts in the early
Turonian indicates shallowing of the depositional
environment.
In microfacies type 3, the thin-shelled macrofossil
remains are broken but not rounded, which indicates a
short period of transport before deposition. Accumulation of
these fragments is caused by transport from shallower parts
of the basin and does not necessarily indicate a different
facies zone. The environment could have been constant and
only the sediment distribution changed. However, the
pelagic microfauna in microfacies types 1 and 2 evidences
deposition in an outer-ramp environment.
Microfacies type 3 corresponds to facies zones 3 and 4 of
Flugel (1982). Deposition took place near the shelf margin
on the slope of a carbonate ramp, presumably above the
storm wave base and corresponding to the mid-ramp area
(Fig. 6), sensu Burchette and Wright (1992).
Although sediments of the shallower part of the
carbonate platform are not present, the platform geometry
can be inferred. Coniglio and Dix (1992) state that slope or
ramp sediments may be the only indicators of a former
carbonate platform, because shallower parts of the platform
are usually eroded away. The most important framework
builders in the Cretaceous were rudists, corals, sponges, and
incrusting algae, which typically are absent or very rare in
the Sergipe Basin, possibly because of the lack of suitable
shoals on the ramp for reefs to develop. This phenomenon
also has been described by Pascal et al. (1993) and Mathey
et al. (1995) from the Niger ramp.
It is striking that slumping, intraformational breccias
and other coarse-grained sediments described by
Bengtson (1983) from the lower Turonian of other parts
of the Sergipe Basin are absent in the Japaratuba area. The
lack of lithoclasts indicates that the depositional environ-
ment was a ramp (sensu Read, 1985) with a gentle dip.
Carbonate ramps can develop in different tectonic settings,
such as passive continental margins (Calvet and Tucker,
1988; Ahr, 1998).
 S. Walter et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 19 (2005) 273283
Plate 1. Microfacies types in thin sections. (a)(b): microfacies type 1; (c)(d): microfacies type 2; (e)(f): microfacies type 3.
The two main outcrop areas, at Japaratuba and Jardim,
are separated by structural highs and lows. The intensely
block-faulted floor of the basin and the low sedimentation
rate during the Cenomanian caused unconformable and
discontinuous deposition of the carbonate sediments. The
town of Japaratuba is located on a block that was tilted to the
northeast in the late Cenomanian. The throw varies between
20 and 40 m. Block tectonics could explain the stratigraphic
gap in the Jardim area, where the basal Turonian
Pseudotissotia spp. Zone is missing. As mentioned by
Koutsoukos (1998), unconformities and hiatuses are
recorded from both the onshore and the offshore parts of
the Sergipe Basin. Stratigraphic gaps at the Cenomanian
Turonian boundary are widespread (e.g., Benue Trough,
Amajor, 1985; Natal Valley, Martin et al., 1982).
The shallowing-upward CenomanianTuronian bound-
ary succession of the Japaratuba area (Fig. 5) contrasts with
the deepening trend in most other parts of the world
including the Sergipe Basin, according to several authors
(Bengtson, 1983; Berthou and Bengtson, 1988; Koutsoukos,
1989; Koutsoukos et al., 1993). As described by Berthou
and Bengtson (1988), the basin is characterized by a
polarity, as evidenced by a decrease in macrofossil debris
281
from the northeast to the southwest (i.e., from Japaratuba to
the Itaporanga area) and as a result of the position of the
littoral zone in the north, which is also evidenced by
dolomitic limestones formed in an intertidal environment.
7. Conclusions
The microfacies types and lithologies of the Japaratuba
area indicate a carbonate depositional environment in an
outer- and mid-ramp setting (sensu Burchette and Wright,
1992) at a water depth of 4080 m, as evidenced by
foraminifers and calcispheres. Deposition in the late Cen-
omanian took place in the outer-ramp distal area of an
open-marine basin, which became shallower during the
CenomanianTuronian transition. Sedimentation in the early
Turonian took place in a shallower mid-ramp part of the basin.
The abundance of echinoderm and inoceramid bioclasts
and the increase in peloids near the top of the succession are
taken as evidence of a gradual shallowing trend in this part
of the basin.
Bioturbation throughout the succession suggests that
sedimentation took place in a well-oxygenated environment.
282 S. Walter et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 19 (2005) 273283
The trace fossils, however, cannot be attributed to any trace
fossil zone and therefore, are not useful for paleobathymetric
inferences.
Acknowledgements
We thank Jens Seeling, Stefanie Schneider (Geologisch-
Palaontologisches Institut, Heidelberg), Eduardo A.M.
Koutsoukos (Petrobras, Rio de Janeiro), and Dimas Dias-
Brito (UNESP, Rio Claro, SP) for their constructive
discussions about regional stratigraphy and depositional
environments of the mid-Cretaceous succession of the
Sergipe Basin. Careful and constructive reviews by Heinz
Hilbrecht (ETH, Zurich) and Toni Simo (University of
Wisconsin-Madison) are gratefully acknowledged. The
work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsge-
meinschaft, DFG (SW, PB), grant no. Be 1382/9-1, 9-2.
This article is a contribution to IGCP Project 381: South
Atlantic Mesozoic Correlations.
References
Ahr, W.M., 1998. Carbonate ramps, 19731996: a historical review. In:
Wright, V.P., Burchette, T.P. (Eds.), Carbonate ramps. Geological
Society Special Publication 149, pp. 714.
Amajor, L.C., 1985. The Cenomanian hiatus in the southern Benue Trough,
Nigeria. Geological Magazine 122 (1), 3950.
Andrade, E.J., Seeling, J., Bengtson, P., Souza-Lima, W., 2004. The bivalve
Neithea from the Cretaceous of Brazil. In: Jaillard, E., Bengtson, P.
(Eds.), Paleontology and stratigraphy of South America. Journal of
South American Earth Sciences 17 (1), 2538.
Bengtson, P., 1983. The CenomanianConiacian of the Sergipe Basin,
Brazil. Fossils and Strata 12, 178.
Bengtson, P., 1996. The Turonian stage and substage boundaries. In:
Rawson, P.F., Dhondt, A.V., Hancock, J.M., Kennedy, W.J. (Eds.),
Proceedings Second International Symposium on Cretaceous Stage
Boundaries, Brussels 816 September 1995. Bulletin de lInstitut
Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, Sciences de la Terre 66,
Supplement, pp. 6979.
Berthou, P.-Y., Bengtson, P., 1988. Stratigraphic correlation by microfacies
of the CenomanianConiacian of the Sergipe Basin, Brazil. Fossils and
Strata 21, 188.
Burchette, T.P., Wright, V.P., 1992. Carbonate ramp depositional systems.
Sedimentary Geology 79 (1), 357.
Calvet, F., Tucker, M.E., 1988. Outer ramp cycles in the Upper
Muschelkalk of the Catalan Basin, northeast Spain. Sedimentary
Geology 57 (34), 185198.
Coniglio, M., Dix, G.R., 1992. Carbonate slopes. In: Walker, R.G., James,
N.P. (Eds.), Facies Models: Response to Sea Level Change. Geological
Association of Canada, St. Johns, NL, pp. 349373.
Dunham, R.J., 1962. Classification of carbonate rocks according to
depositional texture. In: Ham, W.E. (Ed.), Classification of
carbonate rocks. American Association of Petroleum Geologists,
Memoir 1, pp. 108121.
Feijo, F.J., 1995. Bacias de Sergipe e Alagoas. Boletim de Geociencias da
Petrobras 8 (1), 149161 (for 1994).
Ferre, B., Berthou, P.-Y., 1994. Roveacrinidal remains from the Cotinguiba
Formation (CenomanianTuronian) of the Sergipe Basin (NE-Brazil).
Acta Geologica Leopoldensia 17 (39/1), 299313.
Ferre, B., Walter, S., Bengtson, P., 2005. Roveacrinids in mid-Cretaceous
biostratigraphy of the Sergipe Basin, northeastern Brazil. In: Bengtson,
P. (Ed.), Mesozoic palaeontology and stratigraphy of South America
and the South Atlantic, Part II. Journal of South American Earth
Sciences, 19(3), 259272.
Flugel, E., 1982. Microfacies Analysis of Limestones. Springer, Berlin-
Heidelberg. 633 pp.
Folk, R.L., 1962. Spectral subdivision of limestone types. In: Ham, W.E.
(Ed.), Classification of carbonate rocks. American Association of
Petroleum Geologists, Memoir 1, pp. 6284.
Hancock, J.M., Kauffman, E.G., 1979. The great transgressions of the Late
Cretaceous. Journal of the Geological Society 136 (2), 175186.
Haq, B.U., Hardenbol, J., Vail, P.R., 1987. Chronology of fluctuating sea
levels since the Triassic. Science 235 (4793), 11561167.
Herrmann, A. (1997). Geologische Kartierung sudlich von Japaratuba
und Faziesanalyse der Cenoman/Turon-Grenze im Sergipe-Becken,
Nordostbrasilien, Unpublished Diplom thesis, University of Heidel-
berg. 97 pp.
Hessel, M.H.R., 1988. Lower Turonian inoceramids from Sergipe, Brazil:
systematics, stratigraphy and palaeoecology. Fossils and Strata 22,
148.
Hilbrecht, H., 1986. On the correlation of the upper Cenomanian and lower
Turonian of England and Germany (Boreal and N-Tethys). Newsletters
on Stratigraphy 15 (3), 115138.
Hilbrecht, H., Dahmer, D., 1994. Sediment dynamics during the
CenomanianTuronian (Cretaceous) Oceanic Anoxic Event in north-
western Germany. Facies 30, 6384.
Jenkyns, H.C., Gale, A.S., Corfield, R.M., 1994. Carbon and oxygen
isotope stratigraphy of the English Chalk and Italian Scaglia and its
palaeoclimatic significance. Geological Magazine 131 (1), 134.
Kauffman, E.G., Bengtson, P., 1985. Mid-Cretaceous inoceramids from
Sergipe, Brazil: a progress report. Cretaceous Research 6 (3), 311315.
Kauffman, E.G., Hart, M.B., 1996. Cretaceous bio-events. In: Walliser, O.
H. (Ed.), Global Events and Event Stratigraphy in the Phanerozoic.
Springer, Berlin, pp. 285312.
Kennedy, W.J., Walaszczyk, I., Cobban, W.A., 2000. Pueblo, Colorado,
USA, candidate Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point for the
base of the Turonian Stage of the Cretaceous, and for the base of the
Middle Turonian Substage, with a revision of the Inoceramidae
(Bivalvia). Acta Geologica Polonica 50 (3), 295334.
Koutsoukos, E.A.M., 1989. Mid- to late Cretaceous microbiostratigraphy,
palaeoecology and palaeogeography of the Sergipe Basin, northeastern
Brazil. Unpublished PhD thesis, Polytechnic South-West, Plymouth,
UK, 2 vols., 886 pp.
Koutsoukos, E.A.M., 1998. Upper Cretaceous palaeogeography of the
Sergipe Basin, NE Brazil: area of the Divina Pastora and Mosqueiro
lows. Zentralblatt fur Geologie und Palaontologie, Teil 1 1998 (11/12),
13251337.
Koutsoukos, E.A.M., Bengtson, P., 1993. Towards an integrated
biostratigraphy of the upper AptianMaastrichtian of the Sergipe
Basin, Brazil. Documents du Laboratoire de Geologie de Lyon 125,
241262.
Koutsoukos, E.A.M., Destro, N., de Azambujo Filho, N.C., Spadini, A.R.,
1993. Upper Aptianlower Coniacian carbonate sequences in the
Sergipe Basin, northeastern Brasil. In: Simo, T., Scott, B., Masse, J.P.
(Eds.), Cretaceous carbonate platforms. American Association of
Petroleum Geologists, Memoir, vol. 56, pp. 127144.
Mancini, E.A., 1978. Origin of micromorph faunas in the geologic record.
Journal of Paleontology 52 (2), 311322.
Martin, A.K., Goodlad, S.W., Salmon, D.A., 1982. Sedimentary basin in-
fill in the northernmost Natal Valley, hiatus development and Agulhas
Current palaeo-oceanography. Journal of the Geological Society 139
(2), 183201.
Mathey, B., Alzouma, K., Lang, J., Meister, C., Neraudeau, D., Pascal, A.,
1995. Unusual faunal associations during upper Cenomanianlower
Turonian floodings on the Niger ramp (central West Africa). In: Philip,
 S. Walter et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 19 (2005) 273283
J., Skelton, P.W. (Eds.), Palaeoenvironmental models for the benthic
associations of Cretaceous carbonate platforms in the Tethyan Realm
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 119, pp. 6375.
Noguti, J., Santos, J.F., 1973. Zoneamento prelimiar por foraminferos
planctonicos do Aptiano ao Mioceno na platforma continental do
Brasil. Boletim Tecnico da Petrobras 15 (3), 265283.
Ojeda, H.A.O., 1982. Structural framework, stratigraphy and evolution of
Brazilian marginal basins. American Association of Petroleum
Geologists Bulletin 66 (6), 732749.
Ojeda, H.A., Fugita, A.M., 1976. Bacia Sergipe/Alagoas: Geologia regional
e perspectivas petrolferas. In: Anais do XXVIII Congresso (Brasileiro
de Geologia) [Porto Alegre, RS, 1974] 1, Sociedade Brasileira de
Geologia, Sao Paulo, pp. 137158.
Pascal, A.F., Mathey, B.J., Alzouma, K., Lang, J., Meister, C., 1993.
Late Cenomanianearly Turonian shelf ramp, Niger, West Africa. In:
Simo, T., Scott, B., Masse, J.P. (Eds.), Cretaceous carbonate platforms.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Memoir 56, pp. 145154.
Ponte, F.C., Fonseca, J.R., Carozzi, A.V., 1980. Petroleum habitats in the
MesozoicCenozoic of the continental margin of Brazil. In: Miall, A.D.
(Ed.), Facts and principles of world petroleum occurrence. Memoir of
the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists 6, 857886.
Read, J.F., 1985. Carbonate platform facies models. American Association
of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin 69 (1), 121.
Seeling, J., 1999. Palaeontology and biostratigraphy of the macroinverte-
brate fauna of the CenomanianTuronian transition of the Sergipe
283
Basin, northeastern Brazil with systematic description of bivalves and
echinoids. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Heidelberg, 163 pp.
Seeling, J., Bengtson, P., 1999. Cenomanian oysters from the Sergipe
Basin, Brazil. Cretaceous Research 20 (6), 747765.
Seibertz, E., 1995. Turonian inoceramid evolution and its use for stage and
zonal boundary definition. In: Second International Symposium on
Cretaceous Stage Boundaries, Abstract volume. Institut royal des
Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, Brussels, p. 113.
Souza-Lima, W., Andrade, E.J., Bengtson, P., Galm, P.C., 2002. A bacia de
Sergipe-Alagoas: evolucao geologica, estratigrafia e conteudo fossil -
The Sergipe-Alagoas Basin: geological evolution, stratigraphy and
fossil content. Phoenix, Edicao especial 1, 134.
Walter, S., 2000. Palaeoenvironmental analysis of the upper Cenomanian
and lower Turonian limestone beds in the Sergipe Basin, northeastern
Brazil, based on microfacies analysis, micropalaeontology, and stable
isotopes. PhD thesis, University of Heidelberg, 135 pp. http://www.ub.
uni-heidelberg.de/archiv/1421.
Walter, S., Bengtson, P. 1998. Biostratigraphy and microfacies analysis
of the CenomanianTuronian boundary beds in the Laranjeiras
and Itaporanga areas, Sergipe, northeastern Brazil. In: 16. Geowis-
senschaftliches Lateinamerika-Kolloquium, Zusammenfassungen der
Tagungsbeitrage. Terra Nostra 98 (5), 170171.
Wilson, J.L., 1975. Carbonate Facies in Geologic History. Springer, Berlin-
Heidelberg. 471 pp.