How bioturbation obscured the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary record |
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| Authors: | Laia Alegret Francisco J Rodríguez‐Tovar Alfred Uchman |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Departamento Ciencias de la Tierra & IUCA, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain;2. Departamento de Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain;3. Institute of Geological Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland |
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| Abstract: | The Cretaceous–Palaeogene (K/Pg) boundary interval is often penetrated by burrows, which may obscure stratigraphic and micropalaeontological records, leading to misinterpretations of the sequence of events spanning the K/Pg boundary. Here, we assess the role of burrowing organisms in the redistribution of benthic foraminifera across the boundary at Bidart (France), and report a strong relationship between the behaviour represented by pre‐ and post‐K/Pg trace fossils and their benthic foraminiferal content. We further infer a brief interval of eutrophic conditions at the seafloor, as reported from other locations, which disappeared from the lowermost Danian stratigraphic record and is represented only inside post‐K/Pg trace fossils hosted in Cretaceous strata. The combined study of trace fossils and microfossils is a powerful tool in eco‐stratigraphy and event‐stratigraphy, and can yield important insights into the completeness of the K/Pg record, especially at locations such as Bidart where this interval has traditionally been assumed to be complete. |
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