Abstract The Early Jurassic was marked by several episodes of rapid climate change and environmental perturbation. These changes culminated during the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE), an episode of global warming that led to the widespread deposition of organic-rich shales. The Toarcian shales of NW Europe have also yielded exceptionally preserved fossils of marine vertebrates and invertebrates, but the potential links between the occurrences of these exceptionally preserved fossils and the T-OAE remain poorly investigated. Palaeontological excavations realized in Toarcian strata near Lodève (Hérault, southern France) have yielded several specimens of marine vertebrates and abundant invertebrate fauna. We have developed a multiproxy approach (ammonite biostratigraphy, X-ray diffraction-bulk mineralogy, Rock-Eval pyrolysis, stable isotopes, trace element, phosphorus and mercury contents) to place these findings in a well-defined temporal and palaeoenvironmental context, and hence constrain the factors that led to their remarkable preservation. The Jenkyns Event interval, unambiguously identified at the base of the Toarcian organic-rich shales by a 5‰ negative carbon isotope excursion, records higher mercury fluxes, which suggest a causal link with intense volcanic activity of the Karoo–Ferrar large igneous province. This interval is very condensed and unfossiliferous, and might have been deposited under abnormally low-salinity conditions. Our data show that the deposition of the vertebrate-yielding horizons post-dated the T-OAE by several hundreds of ka, and took place during a prolonged period of widespread oxygen-deficiency and elevated carbon burial. Our results indicate that the unusual richness in vertebrates of the studied site can be explained by a combination of regional factors such as warming-induced, prolonged seafloor anoxia, and more local factors, such as extreme condensation owing to reduced dilution by carbonate and detrital input.

ABSTRACT The Guerrero-Morelos carbonate platform (southwestern Mexico) is one of the rare platforms that persisted throughout the Cenomanian–Turonian oceanic anoxic event 2 (OAE 2). Two sections from this carbonate platform exhibit the typical δ 13 C positive excursion characterizing the OAE 2. This enables the precise distribution of larger benthic foraminifers and their biotic response to paleoenvironmental changes to be characterized during this event. At Axaxacualco, oligotrophic conditions prevailed during the δ 13 C positive excursion in the distal part of the carbonate platform. In the more proximal part, at Barranca del Cañon, OAE 2 impact was more significant and is marked by thick laminated microbialite deposition, indicating mesotrophic conditions. Low phosphorus and trace-element contents confirm the persistence of oligotrophic to mesotrophic conditions throughout OAE 2 in the Central Mexico carbonate platform despite the proximity of the Caribbean-Colombian oceanic plateau. Before the δ 13 C positive excursion, which characterizes the OAE 2, the microfauna assemblage was well diversified, including corals, rudists, and large benthic foraminifera ( Pseudorhapydionina chiapanensis , Pseudorhapydionina dubia , Cuneolina parva , Dicyclina sp., Chrysalidina gradata , and large miliolids). During the δ 13 C positive excursion, significant biotic changes occurred, with increasing dominance of organisms adapted to high-stress conditions. Endobenthic assemblages such as Nezzazatinella sp. and Nezzazata sp. were still present. The green symbiotic benthic foraminifera nearly disappeared, except C. parva and Dicyclina sp. During the basal Turonian, the carbonate platform returned to a more open and oxygenated environment, with the reappearance of pre-OAE microfauna, but without the large benthic foraminifera, which did not survive. The definitive drowning of the Guerrero-Morelos carbonate platform took place after the early Turonian, well above the end of the δ 13 C shift. The deposition of black shale and turbidites, which indicate deeper, anoxic environments, precluded large benthic foraminifera reestablishment. Correlation with the pelagic environments of the Eastbourne section (UK) reveals a synchronicity of biotic responses between basin and platform environments. Low-oxygen conditions are marked by multiple blooms of Heterohelix species in the basin, corresponding to an assemblage dominated by ? Decastronema , Thaumatoporella , and Istriloculina on the carbonate platforms.