Abstract:  This publication explores challenges in defining Global Boundary Stratotype Sections and Points (GSSPs) and Standard Auxiliary Boundary Stratotypes (SABSs). It identifies issues with recent practices that undermine the principles of uniqueness and accessibility fundamental to these boundaries. Examples include the controversial use of cores to designate GSSPs for the Quaternary Period, the disregard for essential geological requirements, the failure to ensure field accessibility, and the lack of protection for key sites. These concerns, exemplified by the Cenomanian GSSP for the Cretaceous Period, which remains unprotected after more than 20 years, highlight the need for stricter adherence to guidelines and a reevaluation of current practices, advocating for the mandatory enforcement of certain rules. Other examples discussed specifically relate to the author's personal experience with Lower Cretaceous GSSPs and SABSs.

 Abstract:  This report presents preliminary investigations of a new candidate for the Aptian Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) at Cassis (Bouches-du-Rhône, France), within the historical Bedoulian stratotype area, and a complementary section at Angles (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France). Fieldwork in 2025 identified a promising continuous section (13022-BGD) in the Vallat des Brayes–Brigadan area of Cassis, exposing the lower Aptian La Bédoule Formation. Preliminary observations of Pseudocrioceras and Deshayesites indicate that the Barremian/Aptian boundary likely occurs within a narrow interval. Despite partial coverage, the section is accessible, correlatable, and located on protected municipal land, making it a strong GSSP candidate. Complementary research at Angles confirms comparable faunal successions in a pelagic context, notably at the Combe-Lambert section, now fully exposed and protected within the National Geological Nature Reserve. Together, these sites provide an integrated framework for defining the base of the Aptian Stage.

 Abstract:  Based on new material from the middle to upper Cenomanian Natih Formation (members A and B) from Oman, the little-known species Gusicella minima (Henson), originally described from the Mishrif Formation of Qatar (Dukhan wells) is redescribed. Late Maastrichtian specimens from the Tarbur Formation of SW Iran previously assigned to the Cenomanian species display a more complex marginal zone and are therefore introduced as Gusicella complexa Schlagintweit & Rashidi sp. nov. Representatives of Gusicella have so far only been reported from the Arabian Plate, showing its endemic character. There is no record of the genus so far from the Turonian to early Maastrichtian interval.

 Abstract:  Despite the common and widespread occurrence of turtle shell remains in many fossil vertebrate assemblages worldwide, few palaeontological studies have addressed the palaeoecological significance of turtle bone modification features. Here, we report on ichnofossils occurring on carapacial and plastral bones of the small terrapin genus Mauremys (Testudinoidea, Geoemydidae) from Upper Pliocene deposits exposed at La Serra, in the Valdelsa basin of Tuscany (central Italy). The trace fossil assemblage includes Karethraichnus lakkos, Gunnellichnus cf. moghraensis, and Thatchtelithichnus holmani, all of which are found on the nonvisceral surfaces of the shell. As observed elsewhere, some of the Karethraichnus lakkos borings occur along the epidermal sulci that mark the border between adjacent keratinous scutes. Based on the relevant literature, the studied ichnofossils are interpreted as being due to the parasitic action of leeches/spirorchiid liver flukes (K. lakkos and Thatchtelithichnus holmani) and to algal/fungal/bacterial (sub)cutaneous infections (Gunnellichnus cf. moghraensis). The observed stock of bioerosional features compares favourably with the Italian Pliocene climate, which was warmer and wetter than today.

 Abstract:  The green alga Palaeodasycladus (Pia, 1920) was recognized in shallow marine, high-energy calcarenites from the Lower Jurassic Choč Nappe (Hronicum domain) in the Tatra Mountains of Poland. The algal structure is described here. The calcareous skeleton has a regular internal cavity, probably close to the central axis, but very irregular outwardly, enveloping the primary laterals at different lengths. The general shape of the thallus is spherical, with only long, acrophorous primary laterals, probably forming a distal cortex. The external gametophores are attached laterally to the primary laterals. The characteristics allow the alga to be assigned not to Palaeodasycladus (Pia, 1920) but to Goniolina Orbigny, 1850. 
The new species Goniolina tatrarum n.sp. is here established. A critical review of the genus Goniolina Orbigny, 1850, and its type species is also provided. The genus Goniolina Orbigny appears to have been represented so far solely by G. hexagona Orbigny, 1850. G. geometrica Buvignier, 1852, and G. micraster Buvignier, 1852, are considered valid and separate species to be assigned to Coniporella Fisher & Thierry, 1971.
Sphaerites regularis Quenstedt, 1852, a supposed junior synonym of Goniolina geometrica (Roemer, 1839), is provisionally assigned to the genus Tersella J. Morellet in J. Morellet & Ters, 1952, and indicated as Tersella (?) regularis (Quenstedt, 1852).

 Abstract:  The Paleogene succession of the Esparron syncline consists of three superimposed stratigraphic units, in ascending order: (1) a lacustrine-palustrine-dominated basal unit (BU) bearing channels filled by limestone breccias at base, (2) fluvial deposits of the lower Molasse Rouge Formation (MR1), and (3) well-rounded polygenic conglomerates, bearing Alpine "green rocks" and radiolarites overlain by red clays in the upper Molasse Rouge Formation (MR2).
Breccia deposits of the basal unit represent a multi-channeled torrential system generally sloping to the northeast. However, the regional extent and character of the BU is difficult to determine due to its truncation by the basal surface of MR1. Around the northwestern termination of the Esparron syncline the succession is complete and 200 m thick. Basal breccias of the BU pass upward to reddish fluvial overbank mudstones, then to grayish lacustrine-palustrine limestones, and back to reddish silty claystones. Field data suggest that this unit cannot be proximal deposits of the "Nummulitic foreland basin", but is younger, just predating deposition of the MR1, likely in the late Rupelian. These also cannot be proximal deposits of MR1, as formerly suggested. They constitute a fully distinct tectono-stratigraphic sequence whose deposition cannot be understood without a broad regional synthesis (in preparation).
Along the southern flank of the syncline, MR1 has a sheet geometry featuring amalgamated fluvial point bar deposits at the base, which are overlain by the deposits of a large fluvial fan prograding to the west. MR1 deposits abruptly pinch out along the northern flank of the syncline, and are interpreted as having filled a paleovalley that roughly matches the E-W orientation of the syncline.
South of the syncline, in the Esclangon and Hautes Duyes areas, the same succession is found but the meandering fluvial deposits of Esparron are lacking at the base of MR1. Here, MR1 deposits are represented by fluvial fan deposits prograding to the west, but have a more proximal character than at Esparron. In this area, the MR1unit is capped by the Molasse Grise (MG), which represents a flattening of the depositional profile after the progradation of the underlying fluvial fan.
Across the entire region, MR2 deposits are thin, and likely truncated by the main Digne thrust. They are deposited disconformably on top of either MR1 or directly on folded Mesozoic deposits, suggesting that erosion and tectonic activity occurred between deposition of MR1 and MR2. The occurrence of well-rounded pebbles of Alpine "green rocks" and radiolarites in the basal fluvial conglomerate of MR2 indicates that the system had a large watershed that encroached the inner Alps, probably during uplift of the latter.
In the Ainac area, the braided fluvial facies at the base of MR2 acquired a more distal character with channels filled by either conglomerates or a more sand-prone facies.
The vertical facies trend in MR1 and MR2 suggests that a low-gradient fluvial setting was followed by regional uplift responsible for the progradation of fluvial fans. The two stratigraphic units are therefore regarded as tectono-stratigraphic sequences, in response to changes in the Alpine stress regime. With unit 1 (BU), the Molasse Rouge is therefore composed of three independent sequences.
Finally, the ages of the MR1 and MR2 deposits are revised, both to Chattian and probably not extending into the Aquitanian, as previously reported for the MR2.
Geometric relationships suggest that the three continental Paleogene sequences record a changing depositional setting controlled by both active tectonics and intervening periods of quiescence in a time interval grossly bracketing the late Rupelian and the Chattian.

 Abstract:  The Lower and lower Middle Jurassic carbonates from the southern margin of the Moroccan High Atlas yielded well-preserved foraminifers and calcareous algae. The identification of these microfossils, based on thin-section observations, allowed us to define seven successive micropaleontological assemblages with ages from the early Sinemurian to the early Bajocian. These micropaleontological assemblages, relatively well calibrated by ammonites and brachiopods, were compared with the larger foraminiferal biozonation of Septfontaine (1984) for the Moroccan Tethys domain. A new biozone with Palaeodasycladus mediterraneus is introduced to characterize the upper Pliensbachian (Algovianum Zone) to lower Toarcian interval.

 Abstract:  In the present work, we study 335 specimens of Deshayesitidae (Ammonoidea) from the vicinity of the village of Les Ferres (SE France). The Deshayesitidae is the current key family for the ammonite biostratigraphy of the lower Aptian (Lower Cretaceous). Despite poorly preserved, the studied material could have been identified at species rank in most cases and allowed establishing the biostratigraphic frame of the lower Aptian of the study area. The results are as follows: (1) the studied samples range from the Deshayesites forbesi Zone to the Dufrenoyia furcata Zone; (2) their ontogenetic sequence is described; (3) their evolutionary patterns are consistent with those observed in other samples of Deshayesitidae; (4) no dimorphism is conspicuous; (5) the identified taxa are, from earliest to latest: Deshayesites sp. (Deshayesites forbesi Zone, rounded ventral area probably without smooth siphonal band), Deshayesites multicostatus Swinnerton, 1935 (index of subzone, intermediate smooth siphonal band then rounded ventral area), Deshayesites grandis Spath, 1930 (index of subzone, longer smooth siphonal band then subtabulate ventral area on phragmocone), Dufrenoyia furcata (J. de C. Sowerby, 1836) (index of subzone and zone, even longer smooth siphonal band then subtabulate ventral area, onset of rounded to claviform latero-ventral tubercles in inner whorls) and Dufrenoyia dufrenoyi (Orbigny, 1841) (index of subzone, even more longer smooth siphonal band, latero-ventral tubercles claviform only).

 Abstract:  The Yunnanpriapulus? sp. can be divided into three distinct parts: an anterior introvert, a slightly constricted elongated neck, and a slightly bulbous elongated posterior trunk. The fossil is preserved as a three-dimensional cast in the fine-grained sandstone and is oriented parallel to the bedding plane. Rapid burial helped protect the organism from scavengers and decay and provided the opportunity for fossilization via pyritization. The preservation of the specimen on a bedding plane resulted from the post-mortem transportation of the dead animal, likely due to a storm event. The priapulid likely hunted other worms for food. The similarity of the Estonian specimen to the Chinese species suggests that there may have been some faunal exchange between the remote continents of Baltica and South China in the early Cambrian.

 Abstract:  Micropaleontological and nannopaleontological analyses have been carried out on ditch cuttings samples from two wells (Arco British 43/24-3 and British Gas 43/25-1), which penetrated the 'Silverpit Crater' structure in the Southern North Sea Basin (UK Sector). A stratigraphic gap (within the limits of resolution imposed by sampling constraints) has been identified between chalky limestones of Maastrichtian age, which are overlain by sediments of latest Paleocene age or younger. Accepting an impact-origin for the structure, the gap represents an impact-event, which occurred almost certainly post Cretaceous and Early Paleocene times and thus probably within the Late Paleocene, close to the Paleocene-Eocene boundary, ruling out an association with the K/P extinction impact. In well 43/25-1 a short interval of mixed microfaunas and nannofloras was observed, which is suggested as being related to 'resurgence deposits' entering the crater immediately after the impact-event.

 Abstract:  Specimens of the rugose coral Streptelasma? sp. are found intergrown with a host bryozoan Oanduellina bella in the lower Katian of Estonia. Rugosa also occur in the bryozoan Proavella proava. This is the earliest and only known record of endobiotic rugose symbionts in cryptostome bryozoans from the Late Ordovician of Baltica. The erect bryozoan colonies provided symbiotic Rugosa with both a higher and more advantageous tier for feeding in the water column and a hard substrate that these encrusting Rugosa required. The rugose corals may have protected the bryozoans with their stinging cells against predators. The lack of malformations in the bryozoan zooid architecture and their normal dimensions around the Rugosa show that the relationship between the Rugosa and bryozoans could have been mutualistic, which is similar to many other Rugosa-bryozoan associations in the Late Ordovician of Baltica, although the exact nature of this association remains uncertain.

 Abstract:  The Aptian-Albian interval of the Costa Blanca (SE Spain) has been studied to provide new insights into the evolution of the neritic domain of carbonate platforms in the Tethys. Three areas have been re-examined: Serra Gelada, Puig Campana, and Cabeçó d'Or. The biozonations of large benthic foraminifers (LBF) have been revised based on ammonite biostratigraphy. Updated ammonite datings and stratigraphic revisions reveal that several LBF and calcareous algae (CA) taxa previously attributed to the late Aptian actually originated in the early Albian. These findings correct and refine the calibration of LBF and CA biozones and ranges with standard ammonite zones. Furthermore, the identification of a significant local hiatus during the middle Albian at Cabeçó d'Or is likely linked to halokinesis.

 Abstract:  Few stratigraphical and micropalaeontological data are available from Upper Cretaceous shallow-water marine carbonates of the southwestern Tarim Basin, western China. The present study provides new data about the microfauna and calcareous algae of the Cenomanian-Turonian Kukebai Formation and the Campanian Yigeziya Formation. The investigated bioclastic carbonates yield a rather poorly diversified microfauna (benthic foraminifers) contrasting with a relatively well diversified assemblage of dasycladalean green algae comprising 16 taxa. For several taxa, the available material does only allow for an open taxonomic treatment. A new species is described herein as Morelletpora sinica. These calcareous algae are supplemented by debris of halimedacean algae (Arabicodium? sp.). Occurrences of calcareous algae and larger benthic foraminifers in Cenomanian and Campanian carbonates coincide with two major transgressions reported from the Tarim Basin. The observed faunal and phycological elements indicate a direct connection between the Neotethys and the Tarim epicontinental sea. The lack of several typical Cenomanian (e.g., alveolinoids, orbitolinids) and Campanian larger benthic foraminifers in the studied material is striking.

 Abstract:  Several ammonoid specimens from the upper Valanginian (Lower Cretaceous) sedimentary succession of Hauteville-Lompnes, Department of Ain, eastern France, are assigned to the new genera and species Itierella melognensis n.gen., n.sp., and Paradicostella hautevillelompnesensis n.gen., n.sp. Specimens collected in the past were misidentified as Acanthodiscus Uhlig, 1905, and erroneously assigned to the lowermost part of the Hauterivian stage. The revision of the Marnes de Mélogne, along with the collection of a rich associated ammonite fauna, allows Itierella to be recognized as a latest Valanginian homeomorphic form of the genus Acanthodiscus, and Paradicostella as closely related to the genus Dicostella Busnardo, 1966. The Marnes de Mélogne are revised as mostly belonging to the upper Saynoceras verrucosum to Criosarasinella furcillata ammonite zones (uppermost Valanginian), while their uppermost metre is assigned to the Acanthodiscus radiatus Zone (lowermost Hauterivian).

 Abstract:  Earlier misidentifications of ammonites from Busot (SE Spain) led to two incorrect hypotheses regarding calpionellids, which are today attributed to the Calpionellopsis Zone (D) of the upper Berriasian. The first hypothesis suggested that some calpionellid species survived into Hauterivian times, while the second hypothesis proposed that these calpionellids were reworked into Hauterivian strata. However, the revision of the ammonitic material collected in 1993-1994, along with the study of new material collected in 2024, suggests a late Berriasian age, as the ammonite assemblages likely correspond to the Fauriella boissieri and Tirnovella alpillensis Standard Ammonites zones. Nannofossil assemblages and the presence of Octahedronoides tethysianus further support this dating. This reassessment calls for a reexamination of claims regarding the occurrence of calpionellids in strata younger than the Valanginian in the literature.

 Abstract:  Since the 1970's, aragonite neomorphism (conversion of aragonite to calcite with partial retention of original internal structure) has been attributed to thin diagenetic films, often in meteoric water. Pleistocene material from Enewetak, the Bahamas and eastern Yucatan show the transition from aragonite to calcite "in progress". Original aragonitic material includes coral, Halimeda, molluscs (especially gastropods) and ooids. In all three areas, aragonite commonly shows partial intrafabric dissolution. In many cases, calcite crystals grew over that highly microporous aragonite to create calcite with partial retention of the original depositional fabric, creating neomorphosed (calcitized) aragonite. Geochemical data support this scenario. Carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions of the neomorphic calcites are similar to sparry meteoric calcite cements indicating crystals precipitated from similar waters as the cements. Stable carbon isotopes and Mg concentrations in neomorphic calcites are different from their aragonitic precursors and are not consistent with the thin-film model, which assumes a semi-closed system. Approximately 40 of the 95 Pleistocene Enewetak samples have aragonite with intrafabric dissolution adjacent to calcitized (neomorphic) aragonite. Neomorphosed (calcitized) aragonite was not observed immediately adjacent to unaltered aragonite (i.e., separated by what would have been a thin film) in any Enewetak samples. This supports aragonite neomorphism by a two-stage process (intrafabric dissolution followed by calcite precipitation) rather than by thin films. Variations in concentration of inclusions in neomorphosed aragonite are similar to variations of relict material in aragonite with partial intrafabric dissolution and span a continuum from abundant aragonitic inclusions in neomorphic spar to inclusion-free calcite cement.