Small brachiopods tell the story of the Cretaceous sea

Shells of small (micromorphic) brachiopods are not so attractive as other fossils preserved in the white chalk facies, for instance the belemnite rostra or echinoid tests. Despite this, they are important for the Late Cretaceous stratigraphy and palaeoecology. We describe brachiopods from the Maastrichtian chalk at Chełm, eastern Poland. The studied assemblage is dominated by small forms and allows for precise dating of the succession and determination of its depositional environment.

 

Figure: location of the Chełm site, an example of a micromorphic brachiopod shell (Terebratulina longicollis), and the chalk succession with ranges of identified taxa.