Proliferation of Chondrodonta in upper Cenomanian shallow-water limestones of the Adriatic Carbonate Platform (Croatia) as a proxy of environmental instability

The occurrence of the opportunistic, oyster-like bivalve Chondrodonta is widely documented in late Cenomanian shallow-water carbonates of the Tethyan Realm. Despite its high abundance and widespread geographic distribution, the precise relationship between the time of its proliferation and the environmental perturbations that precede the Cenomanian – Turonian anoxic event, has not been yet investigated. Stratigraphic and geochemical analyses of the upper Cenomanian Chondrodonta accumulations within the inner platform limestones of the Adriatic Carbonate Platform (AdCP) are performed to assess the timing and the environmental controls on the Chondrodonta proliferation.