Biostratigrafia dei sedimenti Pleistocenici affioranti sul bordo NW della Piana di Fondi (Lazio meridionale)

Abstract

The sand-clay sediments outcropping on the NE border of the Fondi plain in Latium, were examined from the stratigraphic, lithological and paleontological points of view. Environmental conditions range from coastal to lagoonal and lacustrine. Paleontological analysis, despite of the paucity of the fauna suggests an early Pleistocene age. The occurrence of some benthic foraminifera and the cold species Venerupis rhomboides, together with other elements, such as a deeply evolved soil (podzoluvisol) at the highest levels, along with the presence of volcanic minerals from the Pontinian acid volcanism indicate a pre-mid-Pleistocene age. Geological setting, biostrati graphical correlation with Latium deposits of Sicilian age and the recognition of a shoreline at 27 m a. s. I., provide information on the relative tectonic movements which took place in Latium at the end of early Pleistocene.