Late Albian (Early Cretaceous) ammonites from the Provincial Formation of central Cuba

A late Albian ammonite assemblage from the Provincial Formation of Villa Clara Province, Cuba is described. The Provincial Formation is a lithostratigraphic unit of Albian-Cenomanian age extensively exposed in central Cuba and formed within a part of the Caribbean Tethys that was volcanic during the Cretaceous. The formation is mainly composed of calcareous, terrigenous marine, and volcano-sedimentary deposits characterized by a series of micritic limestones intercalated with marls, sandstones, calcareous conglomerates, ash, and tuffaceous material. A rich assemblage of ammonites recovered from the calcareous biomicrites and marls is of late Albian (Stoliczkaia dispar Zone, Mortoniceras rostratum Subzone) age. The ammonite fauna shows a strong Tethyan affinity, and only a single hoplitid ammonite species was recorded. Although scarce, the first Cuban report of this and other boreal ammonite species now allows precise correlations to be made between Cuba and Albian sediments elsewhere in the world. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.