Palaeoecology of the Late Badenian foraminifera and ostracoda from the SW Central Paratethys (Medvednica Mt., Croatia)

Abstract

The quantitative study of microfossil communities from the Late Badenian marls at the Sveta Barbara (eastern Medvednica Mt.) enabled reconstruction of three different palaeoenvironments: middle shelf, outer shelf and upper bathyal. The dominant factors influencing the distribution of biota were the deepening of the depositional basin and fluctuations of the oxygenation rate. The outer shelf biota existed under conditions of decreased oxygen levels in bottom water, compared to communities from the middle shelf and upper bathyal environments.