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Alessandro VESCOGNI

Ricercatore Universitario
Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche - Sede Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche

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Pubblicazioni

2022 - Palaeoenvironmental setting and depositional model of upper Messinian microbialites of the Salento Peninsula (Southern Italy): A central Mediterranean Terminal Carbonate Complex [Articolo su rivista]
Vescogni, A.; Guido, A.; Cipriani, A.; Gennari, R.; Lugli, F.; Lugli, S.; Manzi, V.; Reghizzi, M.; Roveri, M.
abstract

The Terminal Carbonate Complex (TCC) is an upper Messinian shallow-water succession characterized by abundant oolites deposits and microbial-derived carbonates mainly known from the Western Mediterranean. The importance of the TCC derives from the close relation of its deposition with the Messinian salinity crisis and from the presence of large and diversified microbialite assemblages, which represent a rare occurrence in the Cenozoic marine sedimentary record. In this paper we provide the first detailed description of a carbonate system closely comparable to the TCC located in the central Mediterranean. This succession crops out at the southern end of the Salento Platform (South-eastern Italy) and has been investigated by means of stratigraphic, sedimentary, palaeontological and Sr isotopes analyses. Special attention has been given to the microbialite facies, with a detailed textural characterization focused on the reconstruction of their depositional and palaeoenvironmental settings. The Salento Platform TCC mainly consists of oolites deposits, Porites colonization and a diversified microbialite assemblage including six different facies, which developed mostly under shallow-water, normal marine salinity and warm climatic conditions. The overall stacking pattern is given by the superposition of three main sequences, each one including lowstand, transgressive and highstand system tracts. The Salento Platform TCC is dated to the late Messinian; our microfacies and geochemical data suggest that it could have developed during the first stage of the MSC; these carbonates are in fact followed by a sharp unconformity sealed by thick breccia deposits, possibly related to the onset of the Messinian erosional surface and to the subsequent stages of the Messinian salinity crisis.

2021 - Biomineralization of primary carbonate cements: a new biosignature in the fossil record from the Anisian of Southern Italy [Articolo su rivista]
Guido, A.; Sposato, M.; Palladino, G.; Vescogni, A.; Miriello, D.
abstract

Biomineralization is a generic term used to indicate biological-mediated mineral formation. In carbonate mineralization, nucleation of crystals can be: (1) controlled directly by the organisms, like in the skeletal formation of most metazoans; (2) induced by microbial communities, by indirect precipitation mediated by their metabolic activities; or (3) influenced by organic matter decay, with mineral precipitation on specific non-living organic cell surfaces. Recognition of these products is a direct marker of biological activity in time and space and is a key element in the study of the biological evolution and of its interactions with the geological processes. In this paper, primary carbonate cements from the Anisian microbial build-up of the ‘Monte Facito’ Formation (Basilicata region, Southern Italy) have been studied from a geobiological point of view. Optical microscopy, UV-epifluorescence and micro-Raman spectroscopy have been applied to investigate the organic mediation on their precipitation. The cements formed in microcavities or on grain substrates, and often show a microstromatolite-like pattern of growth. They are composed of alternations of cloudy organic and whitish inorganic bands that point to a double phase of mineralization. In the first phase, a biologically induced/influenced biomineralization is confirmed by the presence of organic matter strictly connected with the cloudy bands. This phase is followed by a pure abiotic mineralization that leads to the formation of whitish bands. This process repeated cyclically, ending at the complete filling of the microcavities or because of changes in the chemical conditions of the microsystem, for example, due to burial processes. This model of mineralization is similar to that proposed for primary cements forming in recent beach rocks. The Monte Facito Formation cements could be considered as the product of unconventional biomineralization, and the understanding of their growth process could provide an innovative tool in the research of biological signatures in the fossil record. The term unconventional is here utilized to discriminate this type of biomineralizations from those related to well-known biotic mineralization processes, like those involved in skeletons and microbialites growth, which can be considered as conventional biomineralizations.

2021 - High coral diversity is coupled with reef-building capacity during the Late Oligocene Warming Event (Castro Limestone, Salento Peninsula, S Italy) [Articolo su rivista]
Bosellini, Francesca R.; Vescogni, Alessandro; Budd, Ann F.; Papazzoni, Cesare A.
abstract

The Oligocene, well known as the apex of Cenozoic reef growth, is a crucial period of time to investigate the mutual relationship between coral reef construction and coral diversity and their link with palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironmental changes. Here we provide a complete characterization of the upper Oligocene reef complex of the Castro Limestone (Salento Peninsula, S Italy), which is one of the best-preserved Oligocene coral reefs of the Mediterranean region. By combining facies analysis with the first detailed characterization of its coral fauna, we show that the Castro Limestone has both a rich scleractinian coral fauna (25 genera and 41 species) and a large reef volume, and it represents a luxuriant fringing reef formed within the euphotic zone in clear water conditions facing the open sea. The coral fauna differs both in its composition and in its proportions among reef palaeoenvironments, ranging from the shallow back reef to the fore reef slope, and its stratigraphic and palaeogeographic distribution testifies to the persistence of a cosmopolitan Tethyan fauna in Oligocene time, with the Mediterranean and Indo-Pacific provinces being more closely connected than the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. The age of the Castro Limestone is here reassigned to the middle-late Chattian, which coincides with the Late Oligocene Warming Event (LOWE) when atmospheric CO2 values declined. We suggest that the strong reef-building capacity of the Castro Limestone, coupled with high coral diversity, was not hampered by warming conditions but most probably promoted by the reduced pCO2 and a suitable local/regional physiographic setting.

2020 - Exceptional development of dissepimental coenosteum in the new Eocene scleractinian coral genus Nancygyra (Ypresian, Monte Postale, NE Italy) [Articolo su rivista]
Bosellini, Francesca R.; Stolarski, Jarosław; Papazzoni, Cesare Andrea; Vescogni, Alessandro
abstract

In colonial corals, the polyps are interconnected with a common tissue called coenosarc. Polyps and coenosarc secrete distinct skeletal structures: corallites and coenosteum, respectively. Ratio of corallite to coenosteum development may vary resulting in two extreme architectural patterns of coral colonies: corallite-dominated (e.g., cerioid) and coenosteum-dominated (e.g., aphroid) colonies. A large suite of examples of these patterns can be identified among extant and fossil corals, including Paleozoic rugosan corals. Herein we describe the new early Eocene colonial scleractinian coral genus Nancygyra that forms exceptional coenosteum-dominated colonies. The colonies were found in Ypresian limestones at Monte Postale (Lessini Mountains, Veneto, NE Italy), very close to the Pesciara di Bolca Fossil-Lagerstätte, where coralgal buildups have been recently recognised and described. The corallum is massive and consists of corallites of variable size (typically few millimeters in lesser calicular diameter) dispersed and protruding from a very extensive and dense dissepimental coenosteum. The coenosteum forms ca. 60-80% of the corallum volume and is made of vesicular convex dissepiments. The new coral is tentatively assigned to Euphylliidae (known in the fossil record since the Paleocene) whose modern representatives develop similar extensive coenosteum with sticking-out corallites (Galaxea) and form coralla with well-developed walls and thickened axial margins of septa (Euphyllia). Among stratigraphically older scleractinian corals, similar extent of dissepimental coenosteum development is shown by some Mesozoic amphiastreids and rhipidogyriids.

2020 - Paleo-archives of Cnidaria and Porifera in space and time: Proceedings of the 13th international symposium on fossil cnidaria and porifera [Articolo su rivista]
Bosellini, Francesca R.; Papazzoni, Cesare Andrea; Vescogni, Alessandro
abstract

2020 - Revisiting reef models in the Oligocene of northern Italy (Venetian Southern Alps) [Articolo su rivista]
Bosellini, Francesca R.; Vescogni, Alessandro; Kiessling, Wolfgang; Zoboli, Alessandro; Di Giuseppe, Dario; Papazzoni, Cesare Andrea
abstract

The lower Oligocene coral communities and reefs exposed in the Lessini Shelf of northern Italy may record one of the oldest well-developed barrier reef/lagoon systems of the Cenozoic. However, the rimmed-shelf interpretation has been repeatedly challenged in favour of a ramp model with scattered corals. Based upon a re-analysis of selected localities in the Lessini Shelf, we here provide support for the barrier reef model based on four key observations: 1) systematic changes of coral growth-forms from branching in the proximal areas to massive at the platform margin; 2) a progressive increase of the hydrodynamic energy from the proximal belt towards the more distal environments in the Berici Hills; 3) the occurrence of shallow-water, euphotic conditions throughout the whole depositional system; and 4) the presence of restricted circulation in the proximal environments during sea-level lowstands, with lack of coral colonies. These features, together with the evidence of coral frameworks located on the southeastern edge of the Lessini Shelf, substantiate the occurrence of a reef-rimmed margin. The reefal rim acted as an efficient barrier, with the formation of a landward, wide lagoon protected from the action of waves and currents.

2018 - Developing new approaches and strategies for teaching Physical Geography and Geomorphology: the role of the Italian Association of Physical Geography and Geomorphology (AIGeo) [Articolo su rivista]
Pelfini, Manuela; Fredi, Paola; Bollati, Irene; Coratza, Paola; Fubelli, Giandomenico; Giardino, Marco; Liucci, Luisa; Magagna, Alessandra; Melelli, Laura; Padovani, Veronica; Luisa, Pellegrini; Perotti, Luigi; Piacente, Sandra; Vescogni, Alessandro; Zerboni, Andrea; Pambianchi, Gilberto
abstract

The researches carried out by the AIGeo (Italian Association of Physical Geography and Geomorphology) members, also in collaboration with other researchers, cover various important topics of the Environmental and Earth Sciences and focus on scientific goals and on the development of educational strategies and applications as well. Topics and novelties concerning Physical Geography and Geomorphology fit well with the indications included in the Ministerial National Guidelines for the secondary schools of 2nd level and in the general goals referred to the secondary school of 1st level, where the landscape is discussed by the Geography teachers and natural phenomena by the Science teachers. In this paper, we present an overview about education in Physical Geography and Geomorphology and some examples of the most recent researches planned and tested for the secondary school (1st and 2nd level) and for present and future teachers.

2018 - New paleoenvironmental insights on the Miocene condensed phosphatic layer of Salento (southern Italy) unlocked by the coral‑mollusc fossil archive [Articolo su rivista]
Vescogni, Alessandro; Vertino, Agostina; Bosellini, Francesca R.; Harzhauser, Mathias; Mandic, Oleg
abstract

From the Late Oligocene to the Late Miocene, the central Mediterranean area was characterized by the extensive deposition of phosphate-rich sediments. They are usually represented by 10 to 20-cm-thick hardgrounds made of phosphatic and glauconitic sediments containing a rich macrofossil association. This study represents the first thorough investigation of the biotic assemblage of Mediterranean phosphorites aimed at collecting new information on the environmental factors controlling their deposition. The Serravallian/Tortonian phosphatic deposits of the Salento Peninsula (“Aturia level”) have been selected for the abundance of fossil remains and special attention is given to the coral–mollusc association. Two different facies have been recognized: a basal coral rudstone that includes most of the macrofossils, superimposed by a detrital rudstone made of thin layers mainly composed of phosphatic fragments. These two facies are separated by a phosphatic crust several millimeters in thickness. The coral assemblage contains at least 17 azooxanthellate taxa belonging to four families, while the molluscs are represented by a rich gastropod fauna (26 species), associated with bivalves (18 species) and cephalopods (two species). Four distinct depositional phases have been recognized, with the coral rudstone representing the key-facies to reconstruct the onset of the “Aturia level” and the original environment of its fossil content. The composition of the coral–mollusc association has been reliably compared with present-day analog taxa, suggesting the occurrence of a heterogeneous seafloor formed by rocky substrates and accumulations of soft sediment, at around 100–350-m water depth, and under the influence of moderate-to-strong bottom currents rich in nutrients and resuspended organic matter.

2017 - INTEGRATING SHALLOW BENTHIC AND CALCAREOUS NANNOFOSSIL ZONES: THE LOWER EOCENE OF THE MONTE POSTALE SECTION (NORTHERN ITALY) [Articolo su rivista]
Papazzoni, Cesare Andrea; Fornaciari, Eliana; Giusberti, Luca; Vescogni, Alessandro; Fornaciari, Beatrice
abstract

The Monte Postale section (Bolca, northern Italy), one of the most famous Lagersta ̈tten of the Eocene, has been investigated to reconstruct the sedimentary succession and to determine both the larger foraminiferal and the calcareous nannofossil biozones. The results allowed us to ascribe the Monte Postale limestones to the Shallow Benthic Zone 11 and to the calcareous nannofossil Zone CNE 5-?6 (1⁄4 NP 13-?14a). The direct correlation of the SB and CNE Zones is consistent with the current biostratigraphic schemes and allows assignment of the deposition of the succession to the interval between 50.7 and 48.9 Ma, in the late Ypresian (early Eocene). According to the available biostratigraphic data, the uppermost portion of the Monte Postale section should correlate with the Pesciara limestones.

2017 - Miocene phosphatic hardgrounds of the Mediterranean and their biotic assemblage: new insights from the "Aturia level" of the Salento Peninsula (S. Italy) [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Vescogni, Alessandro; Bosellini, Francesca Romana; Vertino, Agostina; Harzhauser, Mathias; Mandic, Oleg; Cipriani, Anna; Conti, Stefano; Remitti, Francesca
abstract

From the late Oligocene to the late Miocene, the central Mediterranean area was interested by an extensive deposition of phosphate-rich sediments. They are usually represented by 10-20 cm thick, sub-horizontal hardgrounds, made of phosphatic sediments arranged into thin layers separated by erosion surfaces. Macrofossils are very abundant, their assemblage composed of colonial and solitary corals, molluscs, echinoderms, brachiopods, bryozoans and fish teeth. In the past decades, the Mediterranean phosphatic deposits have been the subject of several studies, mainly aimed to understand their depositional processes and the mechanisms leading to phosphogenesis. In particular, the formation of these sediments has been recently interpreted as associated to the occurrence of a complex system of upwelling currents, flowing into the central Mediterranean from the deeper, eastern region of the basin. However, most of the contributions mainly relies on stratigraphic, sedimentary and geochemical features, whereas the macrofossil assemblage, despite its abundance and diversity, has never been analyzed in detail. The main goal of this study is thus a thorough investigation, mainly from a palaeontological/palaeoecological perspective, of the phosphatic deposits of the Salento Peninsula (named “Aturia” level). Special attention is given to the coral and mollusc associations, particularly sensitive to changes in the main environmental stressors and representing the most abundant biotic components of the phosphatic deposits. The Salento Aturia level is up to 25 cm in thickness and made of several phosphatic layers separated by erosion surfaces. Microstratigraphic and microfacies analyses allow to identify two distinct facies. A coral rudstone, about 7-10 cm thick, constitutes the base of the hardground, while on the top lies a detrital rudstone, made of the succession of thinner layers mainly composed of phosphatic fragments. Most of the macrofossils are concentrated within the coral rudstone and particularly abundant are corals, associated to molluscs and to a lesser amount to brachiopods, echinoderms, bryozoans, serpulids and fish teeth. The coral assemblage is composed at least by 16 taxa belonging to 4 families, represented in order of

2016 - Coralgal buildups associated with the Bolca Fossil-Lagerstätten: new evidence from the Ypresian of Monte Postale (NE Italy) [Articolo su rivista]
Vescogni, Alessandro; Bosellini, Francesca; Papazzoni, Cesare Andrea; Giusberti, L.; Roghi, G.; Fornaciari, E.; Dominici, S.; Zorzin, R.
abstract

The Monte Postale and Pesciara di Bolca sites are well-known Eocene Fossil-Lagerstätten. The origin of these deposits has been previously related to a lagoon environment, protected from the open sea by a barrier formed by some kind of reef. However, no detailed description of a bioconstructed system has ever been reported in the area. This study provides the first detailed characterization of the upper Ypresian Monte Postale reef, made of in situ corals, calcareous algae, and encrusting foraminifera. Three main facies associations have been recognized: (1) a coralgal rim, roughly E/W oriented, (2) lagoon deposits in the south and (3) fore-reef sediments towards the north. The coralgal rim is represented by a wave-resistant framework made of heavily calcified organisms associated to Alveolina accumulations; the adaptation of most of these organisms to the euphotic zone promoted their growth in proximity to the sea level, allowing this structure to act as an effective barrier. In particular, during relative sea-level lowstands or highstands, the coralgal rim could have limited the water exchange between the lagoon and the open sea, reducing the oxygenation in the lagoon and allowing the formation of the Fossil-Lagerstätten. During relative sea-level transgressions, the water could have risen well above the margin, establishing normal oxygenation and hampering the fossils’ preservation. The Monte Postale succession represents one of the few examples of lower Eocene bioconstructions. The description of this biotic assemblage provides new data for the characterization of reef communities during a crucial climatic phase, near the end of the early Eocene climatic optimum global warming.

2015 - Cyclical variation in paleoenvironments of the Rotzo formation (Lower Jurassic, Lessini Mts., N Italy) [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Neri, Mirco; Papazzoni, Cesare Andrea; Vescogni, Alessandro; Roghi, Guido
abstract

The Trento Platform is a paleogeographic unit that in the early Jurassic represented a relative high on the southern margin of the Tethys. It was bordered eastward by the Belluno Basin and westward by the Lombardy Basin. We can distinguish two main phases during Jurassic times: the first is represented by a very shallow water paleoenvironment in which the deposition of the Calcari Grigi Group (Hettangian- Pliensbachian) and the Oolite di San Vigilio Group (Toarcian - Aalenian) took place; the second phase corresponds to the drowning of the Trento Platform during the middle and late Jurassic, with the deposition of the deep-water limestones of the Rosso Ammonitico Veronese (Bajocian – Titonian). The Calcari Grigi Group is composed by three formations: the Monte Zugna Formation (Hettangian-Sinemurian), Oolite di Loppio Formation (Sinemurian-Pliensbachian) and the Rotzo Formation (Pliensbachian). The Calcari Grigi Group is overlain either by the Oolite di San Vigilio or directly by the Ammonitico Rosso (Posenato & Masetti, 2012; Masetti et al., 2012; Bosellini & Broglio Loriga, 1971). The Rotzo Formation is the most fossiliferous one, well known for its terrestrial flora, already described by De Zigno in the 19th century and by Wesley in the 20th century (Avanzini et al., 2006). The Rotzo Formation has been interpreted as deposited in shallow tropical lagoons, only a few metres deep. These lagoons were closed seawards by oolitic shoals and bars, and bordered landwards by marshes and emerged areas (Posenato & Masetti, 2012; Dal Corso et al., 2013). The discovery of amber in the clay layers of the Rotzo Formation in the Bellori section (Lessini Mountains, Verona) attracted again the attention to this Lower Jurassic unit (Neri et al., 2013). The Bellori outcrop displays about 20 m of limestones with intercalated clays and marls rich in organic matter and sometimes fossil wood (coal) and amber. The limestones are well stratified, with beds 10 cm to more than one metre thick, whereas the clayey levels range between 3 and 40 cm in thickness. In the Bellori section two biozones were recognized: a lower Orbitopsella zone and an upper Bosniella zone, allowing to date the strata to the Pliensbachian. Five different facies were recognized (Fig. 1): A: clayey and carbonaceous layers; B: fine-grained limestone; C: limestone with bivalves (Lithiotis); D: limestone with Orbitopsella; E: oolitic limestone. The facies are repeating cyclically with two distinct patterns: in the lower part of the stratigraphic column we observe typically the succession D-C-A, whereas in the upper part the Orbitopsella limestone (Facies D) disappear and the fine-grained limestone (Facies B) become common, giving rise to the characteristic succession C-B-A. Inside the A Facies is sometimes visible a microcyclicity with the succession Lithiotis beds-coal-clay repeated. The D-C-A cycles record changing environments from the well oxygenated open lagoon, close to the open sea, up to the continental environment. The C-B-A cycles testify the transition from a protected lagoon to low-oxygen conditions maybe in nonmarine environment. The upper cycles could be linked to the establishment of Lithiotis mounds restricting the water circulation and giving rise to protected eutrophic facies. Close to some of the clay levels we observed plant root traces, testifying the cyclical emersion of at least part of the platform. To explain the observed cyclicity we can advance different hypothesis: 1)high-frequency eustatic oscillations; because the glacio-eustatic cycles are to be excluded during the Jurassic, we consider this explanation very unlikely. 2)Local subsidence, maybe linked to locally high sedimentation rate; this should imply cyclical variations of the organic productivity. 3)Local tectonics; this is coherent with the generalized subsidence due to the rifting phase related to the opening of the Tethys ocean.

2015 - La sezione del Monte Postale (Eocene dei Monti Lessini, Veneto): associazioni fossili e ricostruzione paleoambientale. [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Papazzoni, Cesare Andrea; Vescogni, Alessandro; Bosellini, Francesca; Giusberti, Luca; Fornaciari, Eliana; Roghi, Guido; Dominici, Stefano
abstract

2015 - New insights into the genesis of the Miocene collapse structures of the island of Gozo (Malta, central Mediterranean Sea) [Articolo su rivista]
Galve, J. P.; Tonelli, C.; Gutierrez, F.; Lugli, Stefano; Vescogni, Alessandro; Soldati, Mauro
abstract

The large palaeosinkholes located in the NW of Gozo (central Mediterranean Sea, Malta) offer excellent exposures that provide information on the geometry and kinematics of large karst-related collapse structures. Detailed geological analysis of these peculiar palaeosinkholes indicates that deep-seated evaporite dissolution is the most feasible hypothesis to explain their formation, according to the following evidence. (1) Several structures have been formed by progressive foundering of cylindrical blocks with limited internal deformation as revealed by the synsedimentary subsidence recorded by their Miocene sedimentary fill. This subsidence mechanism is more compatible with interstratal dissolution of evaporites than karstification and cave development in limestone formations. (2) The dimensions and deformation style of the palaeosinkholes are similar to those of other collapse structures related to deep-seated dissolution of salt-bearing evaporites. (3) The arcuate monocline associated with some of these collapse structures is also a characteristic feature of subsidence related to dissolution of evaporites. However, no major evaporite formations have been documented so far in the subsurface of the Malta Platform.

2015 - Shallow Benthic and Calcareous Nannofossil Zones of the Eocene Monte Postale section, northern Italy [Abstract in Rivista]
Papazzoni, Cesare Andrea; Fornaciari, E.; Giusberti, L.; Vescogni, Alessandro; Fornaciari, B.
abstract

The Monte Postale, near Bolca (Lessini Mts., northern Italy), is one of the most famous localities of the Italian Eocene, especially because of the fish-bearing laminated limestones. Recently, a series of intensive fieldwork and studies focused on the non-laminated limestones and marls allowed to collect new data about the biostratigraphy of the Monte Postale section. The larger foraminifera, mainly Alveolina, are very common in the non-laminated limestones along the entire section, more than 90 m thick. Several marly layers were investigated for calcareous plankton analysis, but only in a few of them the calcareous nannofossil content was suitable for dating. The Alveolina assemblages are indeed quite homogeneous along the section, but the range of the index species is different from the one reported in the standard SB Zonation of Serra-Kiel et al. (1998). It seems that a mix of elements from the SBZ 11 and 12 is present throughout the section, whereas some species characteristic of SBZ 10 are scattered only in the lowermost part of the section itself. The latter species could reasonably be reworked, but as to the rest of the assemblages the abundance and the preservation state of the specimens rather suggest the coexistence of species since now regarded as belonging to separate SBZ. Amongst calcareous nannofossils, the presence of Nannotetrina cristata s.l. and the absence of Nannotetrina alata in the lowermost part of the Postale section suggest the CNE 8 Zone (=NP 14b; Agnini et al., 2014) or lowermost Lutetian, according to the recent GSSP formalization of the base of the Lutetian (Molina et al., 2011). The correlation with the SBZ needs therefore to be revised, because both SBZ 11 and 12 are currently regarded as belonging to the Cuisian (=upper part of the Ypresian). References AGNINI, C., FORNACIARI, E., RAFFI, I., CATANZARITI, R., PÄLIKE, H., BACKMAN, J., RIO, D., 2014. Biozonation and biochronology of Paleogene calcareous nannofossils from low and middle latitudes. Newsletters on Stratigraphy, 47/2, 131-181. MOLINA, E., ALEGRET, L., APELLANIZ, E., BERNAOLA, G., CABALLERO, F., DINARÈS-TURELL, J., HARDENBOL, J., HEILMANN-CLAUSEN, C., LARRASOAÑA, J.C., LUTERBACHER, H., MONECHI, S., ORTIZ, S., ORUE-ETXEBARRIAT, X., PAYROS, A., PUJALTE, V., RODRÍGUEZ-TOVAR, F.J., TORI, F., TOSQUELLA, F., UCHMAN, A., 2011. The Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Lutetian Stage at the Gorrondatxe section, Spain. Episodes, 34, 86-108. SERRA-KIEL J., HOTTINGER L., CAUS, E., DROBNE, K., FERRÀNDEZ, C., JAUHRI, A. K., LESS, G., PAVLOVEC, R., PIGNATTI, J., SAMSÓ, J. M., SCHAUB, H., SIREL, E., STROUGO, A., TAMBAREAU, Y., TOSQUELLA, J., ZAKREVSKAYA, E., 1998. Larger foraminiferal biostratigraphy of the Tethyan Paleocene and Eocene. Bulletin de la Société géologique de France, 169 (2), 281-299.

2015 - The Middle Eocene Monte Postale succession: a new record of a greenhouse coral reef-building association (Veneto, northern ltaly). [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Vescogni, Alessandro; Bosellini, Francesca; Papazzoni, Cesare Andrea; Fornaciari, Eliana; Giusberti, Luca; Roghi, Guido; Dominici, Stefano; Olivieri, Andrea
abstract

2014 - First evidence of coral bioconstructions in the Monte Postale succession (Lower Eocene of Lessini Mts., Veneto, northern Italy) [Articolo su rivista]
Papazzoni, Cesare Andrea; Vescogni, Alessandro; Bosellini, Francesca; Giusberti, L.; Roghi, G.; Dominici, S.
abstract

The world-famous Fossil-Lagerstätten of the Bolca area have long been interpreted (e.g., Sorbini, 1972) as deposited in a carbonate platform setting, within an intra-platform depression or basin, protected from the open-marine environment by some kind of threshold (Papazzoni & Trevisani, 2006; Schwark et al., 2009). The presence of corals, both in the Pesciara di Bolca site and in the nearby Monte Postale succession, suggests that the threshold may be formed by some kind of bioconstructed margin. Although the occurrence of a possible “reef” environment has been suggested by the composition of the fish fossil assemblage (Landini & Sorbini, 1996; Belwood, 1996; Bellwood et al., 2014), no direct observation of a preserved coral bioconstruction has ever been reported for the Bolca area. The Monte Postale succession represents the most complete stratigraphic record of the area, tracing the depositional history before and after the deposition of the laminated limestones containing the fish fauna of the Bolca Lagerstätten. Considering that the last detailed study of the area dates from the beginning of the last century (Fabiani, 1914), a new survey was necessary to update the knowledge of both paleoecological and biostratigraphic aspects. During this survey, some massive limestone bodies were observed, and their in situ position within the stratigraphic succession was ascertained. They turned out to be small bioconstructions, a few metres thick, with abundant coral colonies in growth position or preserved as broken rubble. Detailed field mapping and facies analysis of several of these structures allowed the identification of a discontinuous belt along the northern side of the Monte Postale, and to recognize four different facies types: - Facies A: Coral boundstone. It forms the bulk of the massive outcrops (Fig 1a, b). Dominant genera are Goniopora, Stylophora, Actinacis, Goniastrea, Astrocoenia and Astreopora, while Stylocoenia, Siderastrea, Pachygyra and Caulastrea are subordinate. Corals are often encrusted by foraminifera and coralline red algae. A fine-grained micritic wackestone fills the small cavities among the colonies, associated also with a coarser Alveolina packstone. In both cases, fragments of dasycladacean green algae represent one of the most important bioclastic components. - Facies B: Stratified Alveolina grainstone. This facies represents the sediment above and within Facies A (Fig 1a). Associated with the larger forams, coral fragments are also abundant. - Facies C: Well-bedded, fine-grained packstone. These sediments onlap on the south-eastern side of the massive outcrops (Fig. 1b), and mainly contain small fragments of Alveolina and corals. The stratified packstone succession is sometimes interrupted by the presence of fine-grained, laminated strata, characterized by few fossil remains and a darker colour related to the abundant presence of organic matter. - Facies D: Nummulites packstone. This facies crops out along the northern boundary of Facies A. Nummulites are also associated with Alveolina and abundant coral fragments. The rich Alveolina assemblages of Facies A and B contain, among others, Alveolina cremae, A. aff. croatica, A. decastroi, A. cf. dainellii, and A. distefanoi, that date the depositional system to SBZ 11 (Middle Cuisian, Lower Eocene) of Serra-Kiel et al. (1998). The preliminary interpretation of these four facies allows recognition of distinct paleoenvironments. The massive carbonates of Facies A, dominated by corals and associated with a remarkable amount of dasycladacean algae, indicate the presence of a wave-resistant structure, represented by a discontinuous alignment of small coral bioconstructions that developed in a very shallow-water environment, located within the upper part of the photic zone. This interpretation is also supported by the coalescence of these buildups with the sediments of Facies B, whose Alveolina grainston

2014 - Stratigraphy and facies analisys of the Langhian Dağpazarı reef complex (Mut Basin, Southern Turkey) [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Vescogni, Alessandro; Bosellini, Francesca; Cipriani, Anna; Gürler, Gonca; Ilgar, Ayhan; Paganelli, Emanuele; Chiossi, Irene .
abstract

During the Early/Middle Miocene, the eastern part of the Mediterranean region registered the narrowing, and the ultimate interruption of the connections with the Indian Ocean. This event represented one of the most important episodes in the Cenozoic evolution of the Mediterranean marine biota. For this reason, the study of Middle Miocene reefal communities from this area can offer an important contribution for the reconstruction of the palaeogeography and palaeoecological settings of the Mediterranean shallow-water, carbonate-producers. The primary aim of the present study is to provide a small-scale, detailed reconstruction of the stratigraphy and facies associations of a Langhian reef complex from the Mut Formation (Mut Basin, Southern Turkey). This study has been based on field observation and microfacies analysis, with a particular emphasis on the characterization of calcareous algae associations (both corallines and green codiacean) and coral fauna. The Dağpazarı reef represents a portion of a small, isolated carbonate platform located 12 Km north from the town of Mut. Its early Langhian age has been determined by 87Sr/86Sr isotope analyses performed on several well preserved oyster samples. Dağpazarı reef is represented by two main stratigraphic sequences separated by a major erosion surface. Only a few meters of lowermost sequences are exposed, while the upper one measures about 72 meters in thickness and is characterized by the superimposition of four different cycles. During the first cycle, the amplitude of the sea transgression allowed the growth of a massive coral framestone on the shelf-edge, associated to well developed slope deposits toward the basin. In particular, concentrations of small rhodoliths with large nuclei and laminar/columnar structure characterize the shallower part of the slope, while in the middle slope the presence of Halimeda bioherms indicates a palaeodepth of about 30/50 meters. The two subsequent cycles show the superimposition, on the shelf-edge, of two similar shallowing-upward sequences, each of them related to a small-scale, transgressive phase. In particular, each sequence exhibits at the base a coralline red algae bindstone, typical of low hydrodynamic conditions, made of thin, laminar/foliose crusts associated to discoidal/irregular rhodoliths. This facies is followed by Halimeda bioherms and biocalcarenite deposits, the latters characterized by the presence of abundant “hooked” and foliose coralline algae crusts associated to gastropods concentrations. The coexistence of the latter features within biocalcarenite deposits is considered a reliable marker of the presence of seagrass beds. Both sequences terminate with the occurrence of shallow-water, massive coral framestone on the top. The fourth Dağpazarı reef cycle developed on the shelf-edge and started with a coralline red algae bindstone, but in this case, corallines colonizations were followed by a fine-grained, mud-supported biocalcarenite whose stratification dips landward. The top of the succession is characterized by coarser biocalcarenite deposits containing small, coral patches. Due to its stratigraphic setting and composition, this last sequence has been interpreted as a back-reef facies association, related to the progradation of a reef framework (now eroded) as a consequence of a final highstand phase of the sea-level. This work provides new information on some important shallow-water carbonate producers, for example Dağpazarı Halimeda bioherms represent so far the oldest recorded examples of this kind of structures; at the same time it offers a detailed frame for further, specific studies on Middle Miocene reef-building associations.

2014 - The Dağpazarı carbonate platform (Mut Basin, Southern Turkey): facies and environmental reconstruction of a coral reef system during the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum. [Articolo su rivista]
Vescogni, Alessandro; Bosellini, Francesca; Cipriani, Anna; G., Gurler; A., Ilgar; E., Paganelli
abstract

Plate tectonics and climate change have deeply influenced the evolution of coral reef systems of the Mediterranean during the Miocene. Most of this information is based on studies of coral reefs from the western and central sectors of th eMediterranean. This study reports facies analyses, Sr isotope stratigraphy and environmental reconstructions of the Dagpazarı coral reef system, located within the Mut Basin in Southern Turkey. Stratigraphic correlations and Sr isotope ratios on several oyster shells date the Dağpazarı reef to the early Langhian. Ten different facies have been recognized and their arrangement has led to the identification of two main depositional units. Interpretation of the biotic associations indicates that the Dağpazarı depositional system developed constantly within the euphotic zone. The reef framework was mainly built by massive faviid and poritid zooxanthellate corals, whereas loose-grain sediments were essentially produced by Halimeda, coralline red algae, or influenced by the presence of seagrass colonizations. This study highlights for the first time the great importance of Halimeda as sediment producer in the eastern Mediterranean coral reef systems. This role is related to the common occurrence of Halimeda plates within almost all the reef facies, but especially to the presence of large in situ bioherms dominated by the algal segments. Dağpazarı Langhian Halimeda bioherms also represent the oldest of these structures so far recorded in the fossil record. The development of the Dağpazarı platform was mainly controlled by eustatic fluctuations of the sea-level and by the morphology of the antecedent substrate. In particular, the occurrence of a pre-existent topographic high promoted the constant presence of shallow-water environments throughout the depositional history of the reef system, with the production of euphotic carbonates both landward and basinward and the consequent formation of a small, elliptical platform. 87Sr/86Sr ages place the Dağpazarı reef system exactly within the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum phase, the most recent warm phase of the Earth. This suggests that zooxanthellate corals were able to exert their reef-building capacity in shallow-water settings even during periods of global warming, thus being not exclusively an adaptation to cooling climates as proposed in the recent debates.

2013 - Materiali malacologici dell’Ospitale medievale di Spilamberto [Capitolo/Saggio]
Papazzoni, Cesare Andrea; Vescogni, Alessandro
abstract

l materiale malacologico rinvenuto durante gli scavi alla periferia meridionale di Spilamberto (MO) presenta una notevole uniformità tasso- nomica, essendo formato per la maggior parte da piccoli frammenti (da 1 a circa 4 cm di diametro massimo) di bivalvi attribuibili al genere Pecten. Fra questi sono da segnalare: a) un grosso frammento di Pecten, lungo circa 6 cm e largo circa 2,5 cm, di colore bianco (US 115 REP 9), caratterizzato da dettagli morfologici differenti rispetto agli altri frammenti attribuiti allo stesso genere (fig. 1). b) le conchiglie rinvenute nelle tombe 20 e 24, anch’esse attribuibili al genere Pecten e simili per morfologia e colore al frammento di cui sopra. Fa eccezione invece il reperto (US 61 REP9 9), un frammento di gasteropode della Famiglia Turridae, attribuito dubitativamente al genere Bathytoma. L’interpretazione parte da alcune considerazioni generali a proposito delle conchiglie del genere Pecten che verosimilmente possono essere state raccolte e utilizzate in epoca medievale. Secondo Dijkstra (1999) la specie Pecten maximus (LINNAEUS 1758) ha conchiglia grande (da 5 fino a 15 cm di diametro massimo), con valva sinistra piatta e valva destra convessa, entrambe ornate da 12-17 coste radiali arrotondate, mentre la specie Pecten jacobaeus (LINNAEUS 1758) ha conchiglia ancora grande (da 3 a 15 cm di diametro massi- mo), valva sinistra piatta e valva destra convessa, entrambe ornate da 14-17 coste radiali, arrotondate sulla valva sinistra ma fortemente angolari sulla valva destra. La distribuzione geografica delle due specie è considerata chiaramente distinta1, essendo P. maximus una specie essenzialmente atlantica, con qualche popolazione mediterranea limitata soltan- to alla costa meridionale della Spagna, mentre P. jacobaeus si trova unicamente in Mediterraneo. Le conchiglie rinvenute negli scavi dell’Ospitale di Spilamberto sono per la maggior parte attribuibili a P. jacobaeus sulla base della forma delle coste radiali. Soltanto il frammento di US 115 REP 9 e le con- chiglie rinvenute nelle tombe 20 e 24 (figg. 1-2) si possonoidentificareconvalvedestrediP.maximus sulla base delle dimensioni generali e di forma e numero di coste radiali. Questi tre reperti, riferibili ad una specie atlantica, rafforzano l’ipotesi del loro uso come testimonianza di un pellegrinaggio avvenuto in località del nord della Spagna. Più problematica è l’interpretazione delle altre conchiglie, tutte rinvenute all’interno dell’Ospita- le. L’ipotesi di un uso alimentare delle conchiglie appare poco sostenibile data la dimensione decisamente ridotta di almeno alcune di esse (meno di 3 cm; fig. 1). Inoltre, il frammento di gasteropode, anche se troppo limitato per dare indicazioni cer- te, presenta morfologia compatibile con la specie estinta Bathytoma cataphracta (BROCCHI 1814)2. Considerandochenegliaffioramentipliocenici negli immediati dintorni di Spilamberto Pecten jacobaeus e Bathytoma cataphracta sono fossili decisamente comuni e solitamente in ottimo stato di conservazione, si può avanzare l’ipotesi che le conchiglie rinvenute negli scavi siano state raccolte dai frequentatori dell’Ospitale nel greto del Panaro o sulle colline adiacenti. L’uso plausibile in questo caso sarebbe quello ornamentale, essendo per ovvi motivi da escludere quello alimentare.

2013 - To Teach is To Learn: High-School Students, Local University and Informal Science Educators Collaborate in Communicating Science to the Public [Articolo su rivista]
Padovani, Veronica; Buckler, Carlyn S.; Gualtieri, Alessandro; Vescogni, Alessandro
abstract

Background: Informal education, especially if in collaboration with formal education, can be an important vehicle for communicating current research in science to the public as well as significant in drawing the young nearer to science and helping them to understand the inherent processes. Methods: In this paper we describe an international collaboration between a group of high-school students in Italy and Earth scientists and museum professionals from Italy and the US to plan and implement a scientific exhibition on symmetry, a topic chosen because of its connections to both Earth science and evolution. Results: By directly involving the high-school students in the design and implementation of the exhibition, they were given ownership of the project as well as ‘hands-on’ experience of communicating science to the public. The students involved helped design the content and layout of the exhibition, as well as with the design and fabrication of exhibition elements, marketing of the exhibition and evaluation. The design allowed the project manager to collect input from the students on how to make exhibitions more ‘user friendly’ to their age demographic, as well as to children and young adults in general. Although more research on similar projects is needed, evaluation results from this project showed that the response of the students - and of visitors - to the exhibition was significantly positive, and suggest that the project was engaging, cost effective and easy to implement. Conclusions: This project may serve as a template for other formal and informal educators to develop these types of collaborations, using informal science education as a bridge to link science researchers and middle- and high-school students in creating an environment where students learn through actively participating in the public communication of science.

2012 - Characterization of the micrites in the Late Miocene vermetid carbonate bioconstructions, Salento Peninsula, Italy: Record of amicrobial/metazoan association [Articolo su rivista]
Guido, A.; Vescogni, Alessandro; Mastandrea, A.; Demasi, F.; Tosti, F.; Naccarato, A.; Tagarelli, A.; Russo, F.
abstract

Small carbonate bioconstructions, composed of micrite and vermetids, occur in the Salento Peninsula (southern Italy) at the base of the reefal early Messinian Novaglie Formation. These lens-shaped bioconstructions are tens of meters in length and up to 2.5 m in thickness, and crop out patchily along the South-Eastern Salento coast line.Micrite is the most abundant component. Its origin and role in this association have been investigated by means of microfacies, epifluorescence, and organic matter analyses. Three different types of micrite were recognized: (I) not/weakly fluorescent detrital micrite with a few fine bioclasts; (II) fluorescent micrite rich in fine bioclasts; (III) fluorescent clotted peloidal micrite (automicrite). The first type of micrite, mainly present in the basal layer of the carbonate bioconstructions surrounds vermetids in life position. The type (II) and type (III) micrites occur in the overlying deposits, characterized by sub-horizontally isooriented vermetid shells. The high fluorescence of the type (II) and (III) micrite can be related to organic matter derived respectively from decaying metazoan and microbial organisms. Twofold organic matter origin was supported by FT-IR and GC-MS analyses, carried out on the extracted organic matter. Micrite (I) shows very low intensity of organic matter functional groups, confirming its abiotic origin. The spectra of the automicrite (III) are characterized by the presence of stretching C=C vibrations attributable to alkene and/or unsaturated carboxylic acids, that may be synthesized by microbes. GC-MS investigations indicate the presence of extended hopane series, straight chain saturated (C14, Cl6), monounsaturated (C16, C18), and diunsaturated Cl8-acids, diagnostic of microbial activity. Microbial communities appear to have played a prominent role in the deposition and stabilization of Salento micrite-vermetid carbonate bioconstructions. The type (III) micrite, classifiable as microbialite or automicrite, can be regarded a sort of “primary framework” of these small “bioconstructions”.

2012 - Forma e funzione: l'evoluzione della simmetria nei viventi. [Capitolo/Saggio]
Vescogni, Alessandro
abstract

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2011 - Microbialite-Vermetid Community Salento Peninsula (southern Italy): a Late Miocene Example of Automicrite Deposition. [Capitolo/Saggio]
Vescogni, Alessandro; A., Guido; A., Mastandrea; F., Russo
abstract

A carbonate facies made up mainly of micrite and vermetid shells has been identified in the early Messinian coral reef complex of the Novaglie Formation on the Salento Peninsula of southern Italy. Vermetids (Mollusca, Prosobranchia, and Caenogastropoda) can form large colonies that are usually attached to hard substrates (Vescogni et al. 2008). The micrite-dominated facies with a large number of vermetid shells (most of them horizontal) is unusual. Moreover, this facies shows completely different sediment textures and organism compositions than the associated reefal carbonates. To explain the origin of this facies and identify the source of the micrites, field, microfacies and epifluorescence observations were carried out along with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), EDS and FT-IR analyses.

2010 - Evidence of synsedimentary cementation in vermetid association from the Upper Miocene (Salento Peninsula, Italy): micro facies and organic matter analyses. [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Guido, A.; Vescogni, Alessandro; Demasi, F.; Mastandrea, A.; Naccarato, A.; Tagarelli, A.; Tosti, F.; Russo, F.
abstract

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2010 - Micrite-vermetid association from the Late Miocene of the Mediterranean: genesis and palaeoecological interpretation [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Vescogni, Alessandro; Guido, A.; Braga, J. C.; Petrizzo, M. R.; Mastandrea, A.; Russo, F.
abstract

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2010 - Multidisciplinary geological excursion in the open-air laboratory of the Island of Malta. 11-18 November 2010. Field-Trip Guide. [Monografia/Trattato scientifico]
Soldati, Mauro; Barbieri, Massimo; S., Biolchi; Buldrini, Fabrizio; Devoto, Stefano; E., Forte; S., Furlani; Gualtieri, Alessandro; Lugli, Stefano; M., Mantovani; A., Mocnik; Padovani, Veronica; A., Pasuto; Piacentini, Daniela; Prampolini, Mariacristina; Remitti, Francesca; J., Schembri; Tonelli, Chiara; Vescogni, Alessandro
abstract

Si tratta della guida all'escursione geologica multidisciplinare tenutasi a Malta dall'11 al 18 novembre 2010, nell'ambito del progetto di internazionalizzazione dell'Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia dal titolo "Multidisciplinary research in the open-air laboratory of the island of Malta: an internazional network for landslide hazard assessment in coastal areas" (2008-2010) finanziato dalla Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Modena e Reggio Emilia, per i Corsi di Laurea Triennale in Scienze Geologiche e Magistrale in Scienze e Tecnologie Geologiche.

2009 - A Messinian micrite-vermetid association indicating a microbial induced biomineralization (Salento Peninsula, southern Italy). [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Vescogni, Alessandro; Guido, A.; Mastandrea, A.; Russo, F.
abstract

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2009 - Coralline algae (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) in western and central Mediterranean Messinian reefs [Articolo su rivista]
J. C., Braga; Vescogni, Alessandro; Bosellini, Francesca; J., Aguirre
abstract

Coralline algae are common components in Messinian reefs in the Sorbas Basin in SE Spain and in the Salento Peninsula (southern Italy). They occur encrusting coral skeletons and other bioclasts, forming rhodoliths, and as fragments in back-reef, reef-framework, and proximal-to middle slope facies. Corallines also occur in Halimeda boundstones associated to coral reefs. Incontrast, no coralline algae have been recorded in the fine-grained distal slope deposits in both areas and lagoonal marly limestones in Salento. The relative abundance of corallines in reefs and their species richness is significantly higher in the Salento platform than in the intermontane Sorbas Basin, which was affected by terrigenous influx. Neogoniolithon brassica-florida and Spongites fruticulosus dominate the shallow-water assemblages; Lithophyllum records peak at the base ofreef-core and upper slope deposits (around 20 m palaeodepth) and Phymatolithon calcareum and species of Lithothamnion are most abundant in deeper slope facies. The main components of the Messinian Mediterranean reef coralline assemblages are extant species, common in the Mediterranean and along the north Atlantic coast from Morocco (and the Canary Islands) to theBritish Islands. A few, such as Spongites fruticulosus and Phymatolithon calcareum, have been living in the Mediterranean region for more than 25 Ma. Four species still live in the Indo-Pacific but disappeared from the Mediterranean during the Messinian Salinity Crisis. The typical componentsof present-day Indo-Pacific coral reefs do not occur in the Mediterranean Messinian reefs. The 'Mediterranean-Atlantic' character of the Messinian reef corallines reflects the decrease in tropical biotas in the Mediterranean throughout the Miocene, probably related to global cooling and isolation of the Mediterranean from the Indian Ocean since the Middle Miocene.

2009 - Evidence of bioinduced cements in the Messinian Novaglie Formation (Salento Peninsula, Italy). [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Guido, A.; Vescogni, Alessandro; Mastandrea, A.; Brachert, T. C.; Russo, F.
abstract

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2009 - Geochemical proxy data from reef systems suggests high salinity variability and stable sea level within the Mediterranean region during the Messinian prior to the MSC. [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Brachert, T. C.; Vescogni, Alessandro; Mertz Kraus, R.; Bosellini, Francesca; Reuter, M.
abstract

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2009 - High fluorescent isopachous cements in the Messinian Novaglie Formation (Salento Peninsula): evidence of bioinduced cementation? [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Vescogni, Alessandro; Guido, A.; Mastandrea, A.; Brachert, T. C.; Russo, F.
abstract

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2009 - Micrite characterization of the Messinian vermetid association from the Salento Peninsula: an organic matter approach. [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Vescogni, Alessandro; Guido, A.; Mastandrea, A.; La Russa, M. F.; Demasi, F.; Russo, F.
abstract

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2009 - Organic matter characterization in a Messinian vermetid association from the Salento Peninsula (Italy) [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Guido, A.; Vescogni, Alessandro; Mastandrea, A.; La Russa, M. F.; Demasi, F.; Russo, F.
abstract

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2009 - Studio multidisciplinare finalizzato alla riqualificazione ambientale della valle del Rio della Rocca (Comune di Castellarano, Provincia di Reggio Emilia) [Articolo su rivista]
Soldati, Mauro; Bruschi, M. V.; Buldrini, Fabrizio; Campana, G.; Coratza, Paola; Dallai, Daniele; Devoto, Stefano; Lodesani, U.; Piacentini, Daniela; Rabacchi, R.; Santini, C.; Tosatti, Giovanni; Vescogni, Alessandro
abstract

La valle del Rio della Rocca nel Comune di Castellarano (Reggio Emilia) è stata interessata a partire dagli anni ‘50 del secolo scorso da attività estrattive che in parte ne hanno profondamente modificato le caratteristiche ambientali, in particolare quelle geomorfologiche. In considerazione dell’interesse paesaggistico della valle e ai fini di una riqualificazione ambientale del territorio, è stato realizzato uno studio multidisciplinare volto a delineare i principali aspetti geologici, paleontologici, floristici e faunistici. Specifica attenzione è stata posta alla valutazione dell’instabilità dei versanti e alla individuazione dei geositi presenti nell’area. Sulla scorta dei risultati delle ricerche effettuate sono state elaborate proposte di riqualificazione del territorio che prevedono una valorizzazione della valle a fini geoturistici e ricreativi.

2009 - The paleontological apulian heritage: a preliminary list [Abstract in Rivista]
Landini, W.; Bianucci, G.; Bosellini, Francesca; Carnevale, G.; D'Alessandro, A.; Vescogni, Alessandro
abstract

Five paleontological sites have been selected, on the bases of their scientific importance, their main paleontological features and their potential enhancement.Nardò: an important cretaceous fish assemblage of the Tethyan realmUpper Cretaceous (Coniacian-early Campanian) fish beds extensively outcrop in the territory surrounding the town of Nardò, in the Lecce Province. The ichthyolitiferous strata have been exploited from three main localities, Porto Selvaggio, Canale and Cava. All of them are easily accessible. Representatives of the actinopterygian orders Aspidorhynchiformes, Aulopiformes, Beryciformes, Characiformes, Clupeiformes, Elopiformes, Gasterosteiformes, Gonorhynchiformes, Ichthyodectiformes, Lampridiformes, Perciformes, Pycnodontiformes, Tetraodontiformes, and Zeiformes, as well as of some elasmobranchs have been found. The Nardò ichthyofauna certainly represents one of the most important and diverse Cretaceous fish assemblage of the Tethyan realm. This assemblage provides among the earliest representatives of several clades which dominates the marine environments today.Altamura: a significant cretacean dinosaur trackwaysThree distinct dinosaur track sites are presently known from the Apulian carbonate platform. The main one crops out in an abandoned quarry (ECOSPI quarry ) opened in the Altamura limestone (Turonian–Maastrichtian?) near the Altamura town (Bari). It includes thousands of medium-sized quadruped trackways ascribed to ornitischians. A single trackway and a few isolated footprints are the type material of A medium-sized hadrosaurid Apulosauripus federicianus.A single tridactyl footprint is tentatively referred to a theropod and one trackway “might pertain to a very small sauropod”. The age of the fossiliferous level is “Santonian, excluding the earliest part of this stage”Castro: the Oligocene coral reef complex of the Castro LimestoneThe coral reef complex of the Castro Limestone (lower Chattian) is extensively exposed along the eastern coast of the Salento Peninsula (Apulia), from the city of Otranto to S.M. di Leuca Cape. One of the best outcrops is located in close proximity to the entrance of the Zinzulusa cave (Castro Marina, Lecce). The coral fauna is characterized by a high diversity and about 20 different genera can be recognized. Together with corals, other common fossils are represented by coralline algae, larger (lepidocyclinids) and planktonic foraminifers, bivalves, gastropods and echinoids.The Castro Limestone represents a rare example of a fossil reef really comparable with present day coral reefs. The large suite of recognized and described reef features, the types of coral assemblages and interpretation of paleoenvironmental conditions can be used as a reliable reference model for understanding Cenozoic coral reef evolution. Lecce: the Miocene marine megavertebrates of the Pietra LecceseThe Burdigalian to Messinian fossiliferous biocalcarenites of the Pietra Leccese largely outcrop in the Salento peninsuls, most notably in the area surrounding the city of Lecce. The study of the fossils collected from the numerous productive sites located in the nearby of Lecce started in the XVI century, resulting in a huge amount of published articles and monographic papers. The characteristic fossil assemblage primarily consists of articulated skeletal remains of large marine vertebrates, including cetaceans, sirenians, chelonians, crocodiles, and teleostean fishes, and shark teeth, but mollusks, crustaceans, echinoids and brachiopods are also rather common. The fossil assemblage consists of a mixture of shallow water and oceanic taxa, and provides an excellent overview of the structure and composition of the Miocene megavertebrate communities of the Medterranean Basin.Apricena: the mammalian fossil association and the oldest European lithic industryThe site of Pirro Nord (also known as Cava Pirro or Cava dell’Erba) is known in literatur

2008 - Coralline Algae in Messinian (Upper Miocene) Mediterranean Reefs [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
BRAGA J., C; Vescogni, Alessandro; Bosellini, Francesca; Aguirre, J.
abstract

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2008 - High salinity variability during the early Messinian revealed by stable isotope signatures from vermetid and Halimeda reefs of the Mediterranean region [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
T. C., Brachert; Vescogni, Alessandro; Bosellini, Francesca; M., Reuter; R., MERTZ KRAUS
abstract

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2008 - Il Museo di paleontologia [Capitolo/Saggio]
Vescogni, Alessandro; Serventi, Paolo
abstract

Viene descritto il museo di paleontologia, la sua storia dalle origini fino ai giorni nostri. Viene illustrata anche l'attività didattica e le mostre. Un paragrafo è dedicato ai semiofori del Museo, vale a dire i reperti più importanti o più rappresentativi.

2008 - Microbialite-Vermetid Community (Salento Peninsula, southern Italy): a Late Miocene Example of Automicrite Deposition in Confined Spaces [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Vescogni, Alessandro; Guido, A; Mastandrea, A; Russo, F.
abstract

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2008 - Palaeoecological significance of vermetid reefs during the early Messinian of the Mediterranean Basin [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Vescogni, Alessandro; Bosellini, Francesca; Reuter, M; Brachert, T. C.
abstract

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2008 - Vermetid reefs and their use as palaeobathymetric markers: new insights from the Late Miocene of the Mediterranean (Southern Italy, Crete) [Articolo su rivista]
Vescogni, Alessandro; Bosellini, Francesca; Reuter, M.; Brachert, T. C.
abstract

Vermetids are a poorly known family of reef-building gastropods characterized by an extremely irregular growthof the shell. Vermetid reefs are known from the Badenian (Middle Miocene) to present-day and their mainimportance is related to their use as sea-level indicators, strictly associated to the intertidal or immediate subtidalzone. During their evolution, two different vermetid genera have been recognized as reef-builders: Petaloconchuswas the major component of vermetid reefs until the Holocene when, for still unknown reasons, it was almostcompletely replaced by Dendropoma. In the Mediterranean Basin, Petaloconchus reefs have been frequently foundin close association to Late Miocene coral bioconstructions. New finding of Petaloconchus reefs within the slopefacies of the Salento Messinian reef complex (southern Italy), together with new data from late Tortonian–earlyMessinian reefs of Crete (Greece) provide further information on the palaeoecology of these peculiarbioconstructions. Stratigraphical and sedimentological contexts of Salento and Crete vermetid reefs have beendescribed, together with an account of their size, shape and inner structure. Biotic (vermetids, serpulids,bryozoans and coralline algae) and abiotic components (earlymarine cements and intra-reef sediment) have beenidentified by microfacies analysis, and their percentage-abundance has been reported. These data allow thedescription of vermetid reefs from two different depositional settings: along the shelf edge and, for the first time,within the coral reef slope. Shelf-edge and slope Petaloconchus reefs show the same inner structure andcomposition, but they differ by their shape, by the density of the framework, and by the relative proportion of theassociated reef-building organisms (serpulids, bryozoans and coralline algae). Additional information on theirpalaeobathymetric setting have been acquired from the presence of other reef-building biota (Porites corals andHalimeda green algae)which occur in close proximity to slope vermetid reefs, together with observations on someanatomical feature of Petaloconchus shells. Results clearly indicate for Petaloconchus reefs a palaeobathymetricrange spanning from the upper subtidal zone down to 30–50 m of depth. The present study confirms vermetidreefs as important tools for the reconstructions of ancient sea-level, but great attention has to be paid to theidentification of the main reef-building vermetid. Actually, while a great number of present-day Dendropomareefs can be associated to the mean sea-level, Late Miocene vermetid reefs from Salento and Crete indicate forPetaloconchus bioconstructions a wider palaeobathymetric range.

2008 - Vermetid-microbialite association: an example of carbonate production from the Late Miocene of the Salento Peninsula [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Vescogni, Alessandro; A., Guido; F., Russo
abstract

Alla base di un complesso di scogliera del Messiniano affiorante nella Penisola Salentina è stata rilevata la presenza di una particolare associazione a vermetidi e microbialiti.Le osservazioni in affioramento hanno permesso di distinguere due facies: una inferiore, rappresentata da sottili colonizzazioni a vermetidi in posizione di vita, ed una superiore costituita da depositi clinostratificati con gusci di vermetidi isoorientati.L’analisi delle microfacies (SEM, EDS ed epifluorescenza) hanno messo in evidenza due tipi di micrite: una microbialitica, la cui deposizione in situ è stata indotta dal degrado della materia organica (che prevale nei depositi isoorientati), el’altra detritica (che prevale nelle colonizzazioni in situ).Questi dati hanno permesso di riconoscere due fasi deposizionali: in un primo momento si avrebbe la colonizzazione del substrato da parte della comunità a vermetidi, accompagnata dalla deposizione di micrite di origine detritica. In un secondo tempo, fenomeni di risedimentazione porterebbero alla morte deivermetidi e alla isoorientazione dei relativi gusci, accompagnate dalla deposizione di micrite di origine microbica.

2008 - Vermetids-microbialites association: an example of peculiar carbonate production from the Late Miocene of the Salento Peninsula [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Vescogni, Alessandro; Guido, A; Russo, F.
abstract

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2007 - Early Messinian aragonite event reveals high salinity variability prior to the “Messinian Salinity Crisis” (Late Miocene) in the Mediterranean region. [Abstract in Rivista]
Brachert, T. C.; Bosellini, Francesca; Reuter, M.; Vescogni, Alessandro; MERTZ KRAUS, R.
abstract

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2007 - High salinity variability during the early Messinian revealed by stable isotope signatures from vermetid and Halimeda reefs of the Mediterranean region. [Articolo su rivista]
Brachert, T. C.; Bosellini, Francesca; Vescogni, Alessandro; Reuter, M.; Grimm, K. I.
abstract

The early Messinian deep-water record of the Mediterranean region reveals increasing evidenceof significant salinity stress prior to the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC). In shallow reef environments such apattern has not yet been documented, however, the paleoecological interpretation of some sedimentarycomponents, such as stromatolites in coral reef frameworks, has remained ambiguous. We present data from openand semi-restricted reef settings of southern Italy and Greece (Crete), where stable isotope analyses have beenmade on early marine carbonate cements from vermetid reefs and Halimeda bioherms. d18O compositions ofmarine cements translate into sea surface salinity (SSS) peaking at 50 to 60‰, certainly too high for most shallowwater biota (i.e. zooxanthellate corals). It seems, therefore, that recurrent events of high salinity have occurredcausing events of community replacement eventually ending up in “abiotic” episodes. These events, however, weretoo short to be recorded as discrete beds in 4th order depositional sequences. Because the cements reflecting highsalinity occur equally in the platform margin and reefal slope facies, salinity build-up was not linked to evaporativedraw-downs of sea level. Such a scenario fits concepts of the MSC starting synchronously over great part of theMediterranean as a deep brine pool.

2007 - Orto Botanico (redazione testi scientifici in CD interattivo - serie CD multimediali Musei Scientifici Universitari di UNIMORE) [Altro]
Dallai, Daniele; Bosi, Giovanna; Vescogni, Alessandro
abstract

La serie di CD multimediali dedicata ai Musei Scientifici Universitari costituisce parte di un più ampio pro- getto, grazie al quale l’Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia si propone di “aprire” in modo sempre più efficace le proprie risorse culturali. I Musei universi- tari costituiscono un settore fondamentale di questo patrimonio. Essi sono doppiamente preziosi in quanto, accanto al ruolo di divulgazione delle ultime scoperte scientifiche, sono al contempo testimonianza storica dell’evoluzione delle scienze e della passione che da secoli anima gli studiosi del nostro Ateneo. Rendere sempre più accessibile questa ricchezza è quindi un compito irrinunciabile, da intra- prendere ricercando modi di comunicazione atti a coinvolgere la totalità dei possibili utenti. Da questa esigenza è nata la collaborazione fra i Dipartimenti cui i Musei fanno capo e il Ser- vizio Accoglienza Studenti Disabili dell’Ateneo. Due sono gli ambiti in cui si è scelto di operare: in primo luogo è stata intrapresa una progres- siva rimozione delle barriere architettoniche che impediscono un completo accesso alle strut- ture museali. Parallelamente si sta procedendo alla creazione di percorsi e supporti didattici innovativi, che risultino pienamente utilizzabili anche da chi per problemi fisici, sensoriali o cognitivi, può avere difficoltà nell’attingere a queste risorse. I Cd di presentazione dei Musei sono stati strutturati per poter essere pienamente sfruttati sia da chi utilizza periferiche di ausilio visivo (ingranditori, screen reader) sia da chi non è in grado di utilizzare il mouse per operare la selezione dei contenuti. Gli scopi sono molteplici: fornire un’immagine sintetica ma esauriente del contenuto dei diversi Musei, consultabile an- che quando non sia possibile collegarsi ai relativi siti internet; una “visita guidata” utilizzabile anche nell’impossibilità di recarsi personalmente nella sede; uno strumento prezioso per chi volesse “prepararsi” ad una visita e gustare appieno la ricchezza delle collezioni museali.

2007 - Palaeoecological implications of coralline algal assemblages from a Messinian reef complex (Salento, southern Italy) [Abstract in Rivista]
Vescogni, Alessandro; Braga, J. C.; Bosellini, Francesca
abstract

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2006 - Meraviglie dal mare-origine ed evoluzione dei pesci [Esposizione]
Tintori, A.; Lombardo, C.; Vescogni, Alessandro; Serventi, Paolo; Russo, Antonio; Leonardi, Giancarlo
abstract

La mostra ripercorre la storia evolutiva dei pesci dalla loro comparsa fino ai giorni nostri. Viene anche presentato il passaggio dalla vita acquatica a quella terrestre come anfibi. Vengono presentati reperti provenienti da diverse località italiane ed estere con particolare attenzione alla famosa località italiana di Bolca (VR) di età eocenica.

2006 - Percorsi museali [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Vescogni, Alessandro
abstract

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2006 - Res Mutinenses-le collezioni storiche del Museo di Paleontologia di Modena [Esposizione]
Russo, Antonio; Vescogni, Alessandro; Serventi, Paolo; Leonardi, Giancarlo
abstract

Mostra dedicata alle collezioni storiche paleontologiche del Museo di Paleontologia dell'Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia. Attraverso decine di reperti fossili viene ripercorsa l'attività di ricerca dei vari studiosi che hanno dato lustro all'Ateneo modenese.

2005 - Il Progetto “Siti Aperti”, itinerari geo-paleontologici per diversamente abili. [Altro]
Vescogni, Alessandro; Corradini, Elena; Ragni, M.; Russo, Antonio
abstract

Il Progetto “Siti Aperti”, itinerari geo-paleontologici per diversamente abili. Il progetto definitivo è stato realizzato in particolare per due siti del comune di Modena: Rocca Santa Maria nel Comune di Serramazzoni e le Salse di Mirano nel Comune di Fiorano

2005 - Paleontologia per non vedenti – esperienze nell’ambito della mostra “Conchiglie, meraviglie di un mondo sconosciuto” [Articolo su rivista]
Padovani, Veronica; Vescogni, Alessandro
abstract

Esperienze nell’ambito della mostra “Conchiglie, meraviglie di un mondo sconosciuto”, tenutasi a Modena, presso la struttura espositiva del Foro Boario, dal 2 Ottobre all'11 Novembre 2004.

2005 - Una nuova rete per nuovi percorsi di lettura nei Musei Universitari e nel territorio per giovani, adulti e diversamente abili [Altro]
Corradini, Elena; Menziani, Giovanna; Vescogni, Alessandro; Russo, Antonio
abstract

Introduzione al progetto "Siti Aperti", percorsi geo-paleontologici per diversamente abili in Emilia-Romagna

2005 - Una nuova rete per nuovi percorsi di lettura nei Musei Universitari modenesi e nel territorio per giovani, adulti e diversamente abili [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Corradini, Elena; G., Menziani; Vescogni, Alessandro; A., Russo
abstract

La giornata internazionale dei musei, 18 Maggio 2005, promossa dall'ICOM (International Council of Museums) in tutto il mondo, con l'accattivante tema "I musei ponti tra culture" è stata l'occasione pre presentare il nuovo portale dei Musei Universitari modenesi. Il portale (www.musei.unimo.it) consente di fornire un accesso guidato agli importanti e storici musei universitari di settecentesca tradizione, le cui raccolte si sono andate incrementando nel corso degli anni e che sono ospitati in sedi storiche di grande rilievo. La presentazione pubblica del portale ha costituito una importante occasione per riflettere sulla storia dei musei e delle loro collezioni, presente, passata, ma soprattutto futura con l'auspicio che l'attenzione dedicata a questi importanti istituti culturali possa corrispondere a un rinnovato interesse istituzionale, finalizzato al reperimento di nuove risorse umane ed economiche che consentano necessari adeguamenti funzionali e continui aggiornamenti culturali. Il portale dei Musei Universitari consente di accedere anche al nuovo sito del museo di Paleontologia (www.museopaleo.unimo.it) nel quale è visibile l'ultimo progetto realizzato: "siti aperti" ovvero siti geopaleontologici per diversamente abili individuati nella regione Emilia Romagna, accessibili anche a chi non è in grado di affrontare percorsi lunghi o impegnativi.

2004 - Archaeopteryx, animali alla conquista dell’aria [Monografia/Trattato scientifico]
Arbulla, D.; Bressi, N.; Colla, A.; Serventi, Paolo; Vescogni, Alessandro
abstract

Catalogo della mostra "Archaeopteryx, animali alla conquista dell’aria"

2004 - Conchiglie, meraviglie di un mondo sconosciuto. [Curatela]
Ferretti, Annalisa; Papazzoni, Cesare Andrea; Lipparini, G.; Negra, O.; Padovani, Veronica; Vescogni, Alessandro
abstract

Guida in braille alla mostra omonima

2004 - Conchiglie-meraviglie di un mondo sconosciuto [Esposizione]
Russo, Antonio; Vescogni, Alessandro; Serventi, Paolo; Mazzanti, Marta; Bosi, Giovanna; Ferretti, Annalisa; Guioli, S.; Papazzoni, Cesare Andrea; Corradini, Domenico; Corradini, Elena; Padovani, Veronica; Leonardi, Giancarlo
abstract

Mostra dedicata al mondo delle conchiglie. La storia evolutiva dei molluschi dalla loro origine fino ai giorni nostri. Vengono esaminati tutti gli aspetti della tematica: paleontologia, paleoecologia, paleogeografia, mitologia, l'importanza alimentare e di costume

2003 - A Messinian reef at the northern limit of the Mediterranean coral reef zone (Northern Apennines, Italy). [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Vescogni, Alessandro; Bosellini, Francesca; Russo, Antonio
abstract

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2003 - Ciottoli e blocchi di origine recifale nei conglomerati basali della Formazione a Colombacci (Messiniano, bassa Val Secchia, Appennino settentrionale) [Articolo su rivista]
Bosellini, Francesca; Panini, Filippo; Vescogni, Alessandro
abstract

Recent erosion in the lower valley of the Secchia River has uncovered part of the late Messinian and Pliocene succession, which consists of the Colombacci and Argille Azzurre formations, respectively. A conglomerate unit, about twenty meters thick and discordant on the underlying epi-Ligurian substratum, occurs at the base of the Colombacci Formation. This conglomerate holds carbonate cobbles and boulders of reefal origin. A detailed analysis of these carbonate clasts allowed to recognize some typical microfacies (bioclastic rudstone, coral packstone, algal crust wackestone, mudstone-wackestone rich in bryozoans and serpulids), which suggest a correlation with the lower Messinian reefal deposits outcropping in several circum-Mediterranean localities. At present, lower Messinian deposits characterized by similar reefal facies do not occur in the Apennines of Modena and Reggio provinces; the only outcrops of Messinian reefal carbonates located on the Po plain side of the Apenninic chain occur in the Parma-Piacenza foothill area (Vigoleno, Scipione). The large size and the sedimentological characters (alluvial and fan-delta environments) of the conglomerate suggest that the provenace of the carbonate clasts was the present-day sector of the Modenese Apennines and that the original reefal deposits were completely eroded during a relative short time, i.e. between the late Messinian and the Early Pliocene. These reefal sediments, likewise those of northwestern Emilia, most probably constituted the basal unit of the Messinian depositional sequence which includes also the pre-evaporite and evaporite deposits. The reefal carbonates of the Modena Apennines, together with those of northwestern Emilia and Monferrato, represent the northern boundary of the Messinian coral reefs distribution. Their occurrence at these latitudes may correspond to a particular warm period which, according to isotope and radiometric data from oceanic sediments, should be placed between 6.4 and 6.2 Ma ago.

2003 - The changing biotic composition and its control on the nature of reef tracts and reef slopes: a case from the Oligo-Miocene of the Apulia Platform margin (Southern Italy). [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Bosellini, Francesca; Russo, Antonio; Vescogni, Alessandro
abstract

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2002 - Quando i dinosauri avevano le piume - I fossili cinesi dell'area di Benxi [Altro]
Dalla Vecchia, F. M.; Bosellini, Francesca; Ferretti, Annalisa; Papazzoni, Cesare Andrea; Serventi, Paolo; Vescogni, Alessandro; Corradini, Elena
abstract

Pubblicazione divulgativa in occasione di esposizione temporanea.

2002 - The Messinian reef complex of the Salento Peninsula (Southern Italy): Stratigraphy, facies and paleoenvironmental interpretation [Articolo su rivista]
Bosellini, Francesca; Russo, Antonio; Vescogni, Alessandro
abstract

An integrated study of the early Messinian reef complex cropping out along the eastern coast of the Salento Peninsula (southern Italy), including stratigraphy, facies analysis and paleoecological aspects, is here presented. Fourteen facies types belonging to three main facies associations (back reef and shelf, shelf-edge, slope) have been recognized. They document a wide spectrum of depositional environments, reef building organisms and growth fabrics, in response to depth and other environmental factors in different parts of the reef complex. The biotic structure of the reef is also described and discussed in detail. It consists of different types of reef building organisms and of their bioconstructions (mainly Porites coral reefs, Halimeda bioherms and vermetidmicrobial trottoirs), that differ in composition and structure according to their position on the shelf edge-to-slope profile. Results indicate that the reef complex of the Salento Peninsula has strong similarities with the typical early Messinian reefs of the Mediterranean region. However, the recognition of some peculiar features, i.e. the remarkable occurrence of Halimeda bioherms and of vermetid-microbial trottoirs, gives new insights for better understanding reef patterns and development of the reef belt during the Late Miocene in the Mediterranean.

2001 - Dinosauri e dintorni [Curatela]
Corradini, Domenico; Corradini, C.; Papazzoni, Cesare Andrea; Serventi, Paolo; Vescogni, Alessandro
abstract

Pubblicazione divulgativa in occasione di una esposizione temporanea.

2001 - Messinian reef-building assemblages of the Salento Peninsula (southern Italy): palaeobathymetric and palaeoclimatic significance [Articolo su rivista]
Bosellini, Francesca; Russo, Antonio; Vescogni, Alessandro
abstract

This paper mainly addresses the description and interpretation of different reef-building assemblages recognised within an early Messinian reef complex recently discovered along the eastern margin of the Apulia Platform (Salento Peninsula, southern Italy), It is the first Late Miocene reef recorded for the 'Adriatic region' and its location partly changes boundaries of coral reef distribution during this time in the Mediterranean. The Messinian reef complex (Novaglie Formation) is interpreted as a succession of fringing reefs accommodated in palaco-reentrances or palaeoembayments of the original Messinian rocky shore and overlying discordantly the underlying Cretaceous to Oligocene units. It consists of a discontinuous reef tract and associated clinostratified fore-reef slope. Relatively precise dating of the reef complex has been achieved using benthic foraminifera and ostracods associations. Three main different reef-building assemblages have been recognised: (1) Halimeda bioherms (2) Porites reef and (3) vermetid-microbial 'trottoirs'. Each assemblage is described in detail according to its architecture and structure (setting, shape, quantitative estimation of the framework density), biotic components (taxonomic composition and relative abundance of the reef-builders, growth form, associated fauna), and intra-reef sediment (texture and fabric). Palaeoecologic analysis, based on physical observation within the margin-slope of the reef complex and in comparison with present-day analogues and their ecological demands, indicates that distribution and vertical succession of the three different reef assemblages are strictly depth-related, suggesting an ecological replacement consequent on small relative sea-level changes (fourth order), closely comparable with those already indicated for the early Messinian. Special attention is given to the remarkable abundance of vermetids that, together with microbial crusts, formed scattered 'trottoirs' along the shoreline. Vermetid occurrences have been extensively cited in the literature for the Late Miocene of the Mediterranean but poorly studied in detail. Here, their palaeoecologic significance is emphasised, indicating that these organisms can be used as reliable palacobathymetric and palaeoclimatic indicators. Regarding the Miocene of the Mediterranean. development of vermetid-microbial 'reefs', so far recorded for the Messinian, is preferentially associated with low-diversity coral reefs and is interpreted as being mainly controlled by climatic constraints. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

2000 - Evoluzione delle biocostruzioni a vermetidi e loro utilizzo come "markers" paleobatimetrici e paleoclimatici [Articolo su rivista]
Vescogni, Alessandro
abstract

Il rinvenimento di livelli biocostruiti a vermetidi all'interno di un complesso di scogliera messiniano nella Penisola Salentina ha permesso il primo studio di queste particolari biocostruzioni per il Miocene Superiore. Le biocostruzioni a vermetidi oloceniche ed attuali vengono normalmente utilizzate come ottimi indicatori ecologici ed il confronto con diversi esempi di questo tipo, soprattutto dell'area mediterranea, ha messo in evidenza alcune differenze riguardanti i principali generi biocostruttori (Petaloconchus per il Miocene, Dendropoma durante l'Olocene e attualmente) e gli organismi incrostanti ad essi associati. Nonostante queste diversità, è stato possibile verificare anche per il Miocene la possibilità di utilizzare tali biocostruzioni come "markers" paleoclimatici e paleobatimetrici (legate alla fascia intertidale o alla zona immediatamente sottostante). Un'ipotesi preliminare considera la sostituzione fra questi due diversi generi come la conseguenza di mutamenti di tipo climatico.

2000 - Importanza paleobatimetrica e paleoclimatica delle biocostruzioni a vermetidi nel Miocene Superiore della Penisola Salentina (Italia meridionale). [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Vescogni, Alessandro; Bosellini, Francesca; Russo, Antonio
abstract

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1999 - Significance of Porites - Halimeda and vermetid assemblages. An example from a Messinian reef of the Salento Peninsula (southern Italy). [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Bosellini, Francesca; Russo, Antonio; Vescogni, Alessandro
abstract

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1999 - Stratigraphic architecture of the Salento Coast from Capo d’Otranto to S.Maria di Leuca (Apulia, Southern Italy) [Articolo su rivista]
A., Bosellini; Bosellini, Francesca; Ml, Colalongo; M., Parente; Russo, Antonio; Vescogni, Alessandro
abstract

The Cretaceous to Quaternary succession of the Apulia Platform cropping out on the eastern coast of the Salento Peninsula shows a special stratigraphic architecture. Whereas on the platform top, i.e. on the Salento Peninsula proper, the succession is at most a few tens of metres thick and is punctuated by unconformities, on the margin and slope of the platform, along the present-day eastern coast of the peninsula, several carbonate systems are laterally disposed and grafted one upon the other. Three of these systems are clinostratified and include well developed reef tracts of Priabonian, early Chattian and early Messinian age.The geologic conclusion of our study is that, since the Late Cretaceous, the eastern coast of the Salento Peninsula grossly coincided with the margin of the Apulia Platform. This paleogeographic element acted as a foreland horst and registered important geodynamic events related to the growth of the adjacent Hellenide and Apennine thrust belts. During the last 60 m.y., the horst carapace was constantly near sea level and sediments were mainly accommodated and preserved on the deep margin and slope of the platform.