Foraminiferal assemblage in the coral-bearing limestones of the Vršatec area (Pieniny Klippen Belt, Western Carpathians, Slovakia)

The paper deals with benthic foraminifera occurring with the scleractinian corals in the Jurassic biohermal and peribiohermal coral-bearing limestones of the Vršatec area (Czorsztyn Succession, Slovak Pieniny Klippen Belt). The coral community is dominated by branching forms of the genus Thecosmilia. Co-occurring abundant benthic foraminifera belong to the species Rumanolina seiboldi, R. elevata, Paalzowella turbinella and Troglotella incrustans. The coral-bearing limestones were initially assigned to the Oxfordian on the basis of the microfacies analyses and bivalve and scleractinian faunas. In recent papers they are assigned to the Bajocian on the basis of ammonites found in the neptunic dykes and stratigraphic superimposition criteria. However, the stratigraphic distribution of the majority of the identified foraminifera indicates that like most scleractinian coral taxa they are not known earlier than in the Late Jurassic. The Late Jurassic age of these coral-bearing limestones is also suggested by an encrusting microproblematic organism Iberopora bodeuri.