S T U D I A G E O L O G I C A P O L O N I C AVol. 131, Kraków 2008, pp. 229–235.

Ge ol ogy of the Pi en iny Klip pen Belt and the Ta tra Mts, CarpathiansEd ited by K. Birk en ma jer

Part XIX

Krzysz tof BIRK EN MA JER1

The Szopka Lime stone For ma tion –a new lithos tra tigraphic name for Up per Li as sic beds

of the Pi en iny and Branisko suc ces sions,Pi en iny Klip pen Belt (West Car pa thi ans)2

(Figs 1–3)

Ab stract. A new for mal lithos tra tigraphic name, the Szopka Lime stone For ma tion, is in tro duced forfos si lif er ous spotty lime stones (Fleck enkalk fa cies) of Up per Li as sic (Up per Pli ens ba chian =Domerian) age, de vel oped in pe lagic basi nal suc ces sions of the Pi en iny Klip pen Belt of Po land (WestCar pa thi ans). The for ma tion oc curs pre domi nantly in the Pi en iny Suc ce sion, but has also beenrec og nized in a south ern va ri ety of the Brani sko Suc ces sion.

Key words: Up per Li as sic, lithos tra tigra phy, Pi en iny Klip pen Belt, West Car pa thi ans, Po land.

IN TRO DUC TION

Ju ras sic deep-wa ter ma rine com plex of spotty lime stone, marl and shale (Flec-kenkalk-Fleckenmergel fa cies) has long been known from the Pieniny KlippenBelt of Po land (Fig. 1). Its char ac ter is tic, fre quently oc cur ring bi valve shell of thege nus Posidonia (Posidonomya), gave the name for Posidonienschiefer of Uhlig(1890). The most char ac ter is tic spe cies of this bivalve was Posidonomya alpina(Gras), later re named Bositra buchi (Roemer) af ter palaeontological re vi sion byJefferies and Minton (1965). Its strati graphic age-range is Toarcian throughOxfordian. To the Fleckenkalk fa cies, Uhlig (op. cit.) in cluded also spotty lime -stone found by him as loose block at Stare Bystre, west of Nowy Targ, whichyielded late Li assic ammonites: “Aegoceras Jamesoni Sow.” and “Aegoceras

1 Mail ing ad dress: In sti tute of Geo logi cal Sci ences, Cra cow Re search Cen tre, Pol ish Acad emy ofSci ences, ul. Senacka 1, 31- 002 Kraków, Po land. E- mail: ndbirken@cyf- kr.edu.pl

2 Manu script ac cepted for pub li ca tion June 17, 2008.

Davoei Sow.” = Uptonia jamesoni (Sowerby) and Prodactylioceras davoei (So-werby) – see Birkenmajer (1977, p. 23).

Horwitz (1937a, b, 1963), bas ing on his own col lec tions, de scribed Late Li assicand Bajocian fau nas from these beds, treated by him jointly as the couches ́ Posi-donomyes (see also Horwitz & Rabowski, 1929).

Birk en ma jer sepa rated spotty lime stones and marls/shales with Ba jo cian fos sils(“supra po si dono mya beds” vel “su pra po si do nia beds” – Birk en ma jer, 1953, 1958,1963, 1970), later for mal ized as the Podzamcze Lime stone For ma tion (Birk en ma -jer, 1977), from the Bosi tra-bea ring shales (“Posi dono mya beds” vel “Po si do niabeds”). The lat ter yielded Mid dle Ba jo cian fos sils of the Son ninia sow er byi Zone,the Otoi tes sau zei Zone and low est part of the Stephanoceras humphrie sia numZone de ter mined by Myc zyñski (1973). These shales were sub se quently for mal -ized as the Har cy grund Shale For ma tion (Birk en ma jer, 1977).

230 K. BIRKENMAJER

Fig. 1. Po si tion of the Pieniny Klippen Belt in the Carpathians. 1 – Autochthonous Neo genemolasse (Foredeep, outer zone); 2 – Allochthonos Neo gene Molasse (Foredeep, in ner zone); 3 –Neo gene flysch nappes; 4 – Mid-Cre ta ceous nappes in East and South Carpathians, and com pa ra blefolded/thrust outer zones else where; 5 – Pieniny Klippen Belt; 6 – East ern and South ern Alps, Cen tralCarpathians, and com pa ra ble folded/thrust and un folded in ner zones else where; 7 – Inter-arcpost-nappe cover in the Carpathians and the Apuseni Mts (Palaeogene, partly Up per Cre ta ceous);blank – Fore land, intramontane molasse and Tertiary volcanics

Up per Li as sic spotty lime stones with Late Li as sic fauna de scribed by Hor witz(1937a, b) from the vi cin ity of the Trzy Korony mas sif (Pi en iny Suc ces sion/Nappe) were left as an in for mal lithos tra tigraphic unit – the “spotty lim stone”(Birk en ma -jer, 1977), await ing more de tailed field and fos sil in ves ti ga tion. Dur ing map ping, itwas of ten dif fi cult to dis tin guish these Up per Li as sic “spotty lime stones” from theMid dle Ba jo cian unit, also de vel oped as the Fleck enkalk fa cies (= the PodzamczeLime stone For ma tion – Birk en ma jer, 1977).

A pos si ble pres ence of sphe ro sid er ite shales (Skrzypny Shale Fm., Up perAalenian–Mid dle Ba jo cian – Birk en ma jer, 1977) in a north ern va ri ety of the Pi en -iny Suc ces sion was sug gested (op. cit., p. 41), based on geo logi cal map ping of east -ern out liers of the Pi en iny Suc ces sion/Nappe south of Szczawnica Ni¿na. In fact,the Skrzypny Shale For ma tion was subsequently found to di rectly over lie theUpper Li as sic “spotty lime stones” (Birk en ma jer & Myc zyñski, 1994). This was anin di ca tion that oc cur rence of sphe ro sid er ite shales could help dis tin guish from onean other in the field the two litho logi cally nearly iden ti cal Fleckenkalk-Flecken-mergel fa cies: the Up per Li as sic “spotty lime stones” from the Mid dle Ba jo cianPodzamcze Lime stone For ma tion. This was proved valid dur ing de tailed geo logi -cal map ping (1:5,000 scale) of the Pi en iny Na tional Park (Birk en ma jer, 2005,2007a, b, 2008).

SZOPKA LIME STONE FOR MA TION

(new name)

His tory. Fossiliferous spotty lime stones and marls with Up per Li assic andBajocian fos sils, were dis tin guished by Horwitz (1937a, b; see also Horwitz, 1963)in the Pieniny Klippen Belt of Po land as the couches ́ Posidonomyes. Their Up perLi assic ammonite fauna was col lected and de ter mined by him from sev eral sites,mainly in the area of the Trzy Korony mas sif, Pieniny Range (Pieniny Na tionalPark). The pres ence of ammonites Amaltheus margaritatus (Montfort) and Arieti-ceras (?) aff. nitescens Young et Bird, pointed to an Up per Pliensbachian (Late Li -assic) age of the lower part of the spotty lime stone com plex (see Horwitz, op. cit.;Myczyñski, 1973).

These Up per Li assic “spotty lime stones”, the low est lithostratigraphic unit inthe Pieniny Suc ces sion/Nappe, were suc ces sively treated as an in for mal unit(Birkenmajer, 1977), await ing more de tailed field de scrip tion. Myczyñski re visedHorwitz’s Late Li assic ammonite col lec tion housed in the Mu seum of the StateGeo log i cal Sur vey (Warszawa), and as sem bled a new one, mainly from type lo cal i -ties in the area of the Trzy Korony Mas sif. The re sults of his fau nal and age de ter mi -na tions were pre sented in a joint ar ti cle by Birkenmajer and Myczyñski (1994).

Birkenmajer (2005, 2007a, b, 2008) mapped the area of the Pieniny Na tionalPark in a de tailed scale of 1:5,000. There, he was able to dis tin guish the Up perLiassic “spotty lime stones” from the Mid dle Ju ras sic ones, i.e. the BajocianPodzamcze Lime stone For ma tion. (Birkenmajer, 1977), both of very sim i larlithologies, us ing a marker ho ri zon of the spherosiderite shales – the Skrzypny

THE SZOPKA LIMESTONE FORMATION 231

Shale For ma tion (op. cit.) which sep a rate then, lo cally also the Bositra-bear ingshales = the Harcygrund Shale For ma tion (op. cit.) which succedes the SkrzypnyShale Formation.

The pres ent state of knowl edge of li thol ogy, ar eal dis tri bu tion, age, and po si tionin lithostratigraphic col umn, al lows to in tro duce a new for mal lithostratigraphicname for these Up per Li assic “spotty limestones”.

Name. The name is de rived from the Prze³êcz Szopka pass lo cated at the mainwa ter shed which di vides north ern from south ern slopes of the Pieniny Range,north west from the Trzy Korony mas sif (Fig. 3).

Type area. The type area of oc cur rence of the Szopka Lime stone For ma tionem braces west ern and north-east ern slopes of the Trzy Korony mas sif, as far east asthe Huliñski Potok creek, the Zamkowa Góra Mt and the Potok Pieniñski creek(Fig. 3). The Szopka Lime stone For ma tion be longs there to the Pieniny Suc ces -sion/Nappe.

The type sec tion has not been des ig nated, as there are mainly iso lated, poor ex -po sures of the Up per Li assic spotty lime stones (see, e.g., Birkenmajer & Myczyñ-ski, 1994) at trib ut able to the Szopka Lime stone Formation.

Ref er ence sec tions. The main sites of the Szopka Lime stone For ma tion are at:

232 K. BIRKENMAJER

Fig. 2. Dis tri bu tion of se lected units in the Pieniny Na tional Park (af ter Birkenmajer, 2007a). 1 –Niedzica Suc ces sion/Nappe; 2 – Branisko Suc ces sion/Nappe; 3 – Pieniny Suc ces sion/Nappe; 4, 5 –Haligovce Suc ces sion/Nappe (4 – Ju ras sic and Cre ta ceous de pos its; 5 – Tri as sic de pos its); 6 –Czorsztyn and Czertezik suc ces sions/units; 7 – Ju ras sic and Cre ta ceous of the Magura Suc ces sion(Grajcarek Unit) and transgressive Jarmuta Fm. (Maastrichtian) in the Pieniny Klippen Belt; 8 –Magura Palaeogene; 9 – Podhale Palaeogene (Podhale de pres sion and transgressive Palaeogene in the Pieniny Klippen Belt); 10 – se lected transversal Mid dle Mio cene faults; Note: Fresh-wa ter Neo geneand Mid dle Miocene andesite intrusions omitted

Quaternary cover

Palaeogene Klippen Mantle: Szczawnica Formation

Czertezik Succession

P i e n i n y S u c c e s s i o n

809.4

870

940.2982

851

684

923

732.8

438.8

947.1

864.3 774.9

7560

85

85

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60 85

85

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65

60

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3045

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Jaworki Formation and Kapuœnica Formation

Pieniny Limestone Formation

Czorsztyn Limestone Formation

Czajakowa Radiolarite Formation

Sokolica Radiolarite Formation

Podzamcze Limestone Formation

Skrzypny Shale Formation

Szopka Limestone Formation

0 100 200 m

85

Miocene faults

Laramian overthrusts

Tourist paths

Escarpments

Strike and dip

Vertical dip

Fig. 3. Distribution of the Pieniny Succesion and occurrence of the Szopka Limestone Formation in the Pieniny National Park

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(1) the Prze³êcz Szopka pass at cross ing of the tour ist paths Czorsztyn–TrzyKorony and Kroœcienko–Sromowce Ni¿ne; (2) the Huliñski Potok creek west ofZamkowa Góra Mt.; (3) east ern slopes of the Zamkowa Góra Mt; and (4) thePieniñski Potok creek (see Horwitz, 1937a, b, 1963; Birkenmajer & Myczyñski,1994, figs 4, 5). The sites (1), (2) and (3) are se lected as ref er ence sections.

Thick ness: (1) at Szopka Pass, the Szopka Lime stone For ma tion amounts to70–80 m (Birkenmajer & Myczyñski, 1994, fig. 5); (2) be tween Zamkowa Góraand Trzy Korony, along the tour ist path, the Szopka Lime stone For ma tion and theSkrzypny Shale For ma tion are to gether over 50 m thick (Birkenmajer, 2007a, fig.17); (3) in the Pieniñski Potok creek, some 400 m SE from the Wielka Pustelnicaklippe, thick ness of the Szopka Lime stone For ma tion amounts to 60–70 m.

Dom i nant li thol ogy. The Szopka Lime stone For ma tion pre dom i nantly con -sists of well bed ded blu ish to dark-grey spotty lime stones in the lower part, pass ingup wards, at tran si tion to the Skrzypny Shale For ma tion (see Birkenmajer &Myczyñski, 1994, fig. 5), into grey lime stones al ter nat ing with marly shales. Spotty char ac ter of the lime stones is caused by the pres ence of nu mer ous bur rows by bot -tom-dwell ing marine organisms.

Lithologically, es pe cially if weath ered, the rocks are very sim i lar to the Bajo-cian Podzamcze Lime stone For ma tion.

Bound aries. Lower bound ary is tec tonic: in the Pieniny Na tional Park, theSzopka Lime stone For ma tion, to gether with suc ces sive lithostratigraphic units, isthrust over the Czertezik Unit (see Birkenmajer, 2007a).

Up per bound ary – tran si tion to the Skrzypny Shale For ma tion (see Birkenmajer & Myczyñski, 1994, fig. 5).

Geo log i cal age. Based on ammonite fauna de ter mined by Myczyñski, the for -ma tion rep re sents the Up per Pliensbachian (= Domerian) stage of the Up per Li -assic. Two fau nal (ammonite) as sem blages of dif fer ent age have been dis tin guished (Birkenmajer & Myczyñski, op. cit.):

(1) The older as sem blage cor re sponds to the Margaritatus Ammonite Zone,prob a bly mainly to the Stokesi Ammonite Subzone (sensu Meister, 1989), but con -tains also some ammonites of the Figulinum Ammonite Subzone (i.e., the DavoeiAmmonite Zone of Late Carixian – Birkenmajer & Myczyñski, 1994, tab. 3):Audaxlytoceras cf. audax (Meneghini), Aegoceras (Aegoceras) sp. cf. A. (A.)capricornus (Schlotheim), ?Amaltheus sp., Fuciniceras cf. celebratum (Fucini), F.isseli cf. cantaluppii Géczy, F. cf. monestieri (Fischer), F. sp., Ugdulenaia cf.ugdulenai (Gemmellaro), Ugdulenaia sp. and ?Ugdulenaia sp.;

(2) The youn ger asemblage cor re sponds to the Spinatum Ammonite Zone, the“Apyrenum” and the Hawskerense ammonite subzones. It con tains: Pleurocerassolare (Phillips), P. cf. spinatum (BruguiÀre), Arieticeras delcampanai (Fucini),Emaciaticeras sp. cf. densiradiatum (Gemmellaro), ?Emaciaticeras sp. and Inoce-ramus cf. quenstedti Pcelincev.

Tak ing into ac count that the Szopka Lime stone For ma tion is di rectly over lainby the Skrzypny Shale For ma tion, whose age in the Pieniny Klippen Belt cor re -sponds to the Mid dle Aalenian through Lower Bajocian (Ludwigia murchisonae

THE SZOPKA LIMESTONE FORMATION 233

through Hyperlioceras discites ammonite zones – see Myczyñski, 2004), theToarcian–Early Aalenian age fos sils could be ex pected to oc cur in the top part ofthe Szopka Lime stone Formation.

Age equiv a lents. The Late Toarcian Pleydellia aalensis Subzone and the EarlyAalenian Leioceras opalinum and Tmetoceras scissum ammonite zones are welldoc u mented from the Krempachy Marl For ma tion (see Myczyñski, 2004), the lat -ter char ac ter is tic for Klippen suc ces sions more north ern that the Pieniny one: theBranisko-, the Niedzica-, the Czertezik-, and the Czorsztyn suc ces sions (Birken-majer, 1977, tab. 11). The Krempachy Marl For ma tion may be re garded as a fa cialequiv a lent of the up per part of the Szopka Lime stone For ma tion. Thus far, noammonites of the Toarcian and Early Aalenian ages have been re ported from theSzopka Lime stone For ma tions (see Birkenmajer & Myczyñski, 1994; Myczyñski,2004).

Dis tri bu tion. The for ma tion oc curs in the Pieniny Suc ces sion/Nappe, mainly in the area of the Trzy Korony Mas sif, Pieniny Range – Fig. 2 (see Birkenmajer,2005):(1) north west ern, north ern and north east ern slopes of the Trzy Korony mas -sif;(2) the Zamkowa Góra Mt area: at Potok Huliñski creek and Potok Pieniñskicreek; (3) the Polana Kosarzyska alp south of the Ostry Wierch peak.

An iso lated out crop of the Szopka Lime stone For ma tion, suc ceeded by theSkrzypny Shale and the Podzamcze Lime stone for ma tions, was found in the PodZagroñ creek south of Tylka (near Kroœcienko). It was at trib uted to the BraniskoSuc ces sion (Birkenmajer, 2005).

Equiv a lents. Li assic part of the “couches ́ Posidonomyes” (Horwitz, 1937a, b;1963, geo log i cal map, east ern part); Li assic “spotty lime stones” of Birkenmajer(1977, and later pa pers) and Birkenmajer and Myczyñski (1994).

Pliensbachian spotty lime stone with Uptonia jamesoni (Sowerby) and Pro-dactylioceras davoei (Sowerby), found as loose block at Stare Bystre (west ern partof the Pieniny Klippen Belt in Po land) by Uhlig (1890; see also Birkenmajer, 1977,p. 23) is of sim i lar age as the Szopka Lime stone For ma tion. Prov e nance of the StareBystre loose block is, how ever, un known (cf. Birkenmajer & Myczyñski, 2000). Itcould de rive from ex otic-bear ing Up per Cre ta ceous con glom er ates of the JarmutaFor ma tion ex posed nearby (cf. Birkenmajer, 1958).

REF ER ENCES

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Birkenmajer, K., 1958. Przewodnik geologiczny po pieniñskim pasie ska³kowym, I-IV (PieninyKlippen Belt of Po land, Geological Guide – in Pol ish). Wydawnictwa Geologiczne, Warszawa.

Birkenmajer, K., 1963. Esquisse de la stratigraphie du MésozoÎque et du PaléogÀne des KlippesPiénines en Pologne. Instytut Geologiczny, Biuletyn, 181: 207–223.

Birkenmajer, K., 1970. Przedeoceñskie struktury fa³dowe w pieniñskim pasie ska³kowym Polski(Pre-Eocene fold struc tures in the Pieniny Klippen Belt, Carpathians, of Po land). Studia Geolo-gica Polonica, 31: 77 pp.

Birkenmajer, K., 1977. Ju ras sic and Cre ta ceous lithostratigraphic units of the Pieniny Klippen Belt,Carpathians, Po land. Studia Geologica Polonica, 45: 159 pp.

234 K. BIRKENMAJER

Birkenmajer, K., 2005. Mapa geologiczna Pieniñskiego Parku Narodowego w skali 1:5.000, wraz zobjaœnieniami (Geo log i cal Map of the Pieniny Na tional Park, 1:5,000 scale, with ex pla na tions).Mscr. arch. Pieniñski Park Narodowy, Kroœcienko n/Dunajcem.

Birkenmajer, K., 2007a. The Czertezik Suc ces sion in the Pieniny Na tional Park, West Carpathians:stra tig ra phy, palaeo ge ogra phy, tec ton ics. Studia Geologica Polonica, 127: 7–50.

Birkenmajer, K., 2007b. Mapa geologiczna Pieniñskiego Parku Narodowego w skali 1:5.000(Geo log i cal map of the Pieniny Na tional Park, 1:5,000 scale – in Pol ish). Jubileusz 75-rocznicyPieniñskiego Parku Narodowego i 40-rocznicy Pieninského Narodného Parku v Pieninach.Przewodnik Polsko-S³owackiej Sesji Posterowej, Kroœcienko nad Dunajcem: 5.

Birkenmajer, K., 2008. New geo log i cal map of the Pieniny Na tional Park in the scale 1:5,000.SlovTec 08 (6th Meet ing of the CETeG & 13th Meet ing of the ÈTS, 23-26 Apr. 2008, Upohlav,Pieniny Klippen Belt, Slovakia). In: Németh Z. & Plašienka, D. (eds). Pro ceed ings and Ex cur sionGuide: 15–16.

Birkenmajer, K. & Myczyñski, R., 1994. Pliensbachian (Early Ju ras sic) fauna from the PieninyKlippen Belt, Carpathians, Po land: its strati graphic and palaeogeographic po si tion. Bul le tin of the Pol ish Acad emy of Sci ences, Earth-Sci., 42: 223–245.

Birkenmajer, K. & Myczyñski, R., 2000. Bajocian age of the Podzamcze Lime stone For ma tion atStare Bystre, Pieniny Klippen Belt (Carpathians, Po land), based on its macrofauna. StudiaGeologica Polonica, 117: 49–68.

Horwitz, L., 1937a. Fauna i wiek warstw posidoniowych w Pieniñskim Pasie Ska³kowym. A. Czêœæogólna (La faune et l’âge des couches ´ Posidonomyes, Zone Piénine des Klippes, KarpatesPo lo naises. A. Partie générale). Sprawozdania Pañstwowego Instytutu Geologicznego, 8: 69–128.

Horwitz, L., 1937b. Fauna i wiek warstw posidoniowych w Pieniñskim Pasie Ska³kowym. B. Czêœæszczegó³owa (La faune et l’âge des couches ́ Posidonomyes, Zone Piénine des Klippes, KarpatesPo lo naise. B. Partie détaillée). Sprawozdania Pañstwowego Instytutu Geologicznego, 9: 165–272.

Horwitz, L., 1963. Budowa geologiczna Pienin. Wydanie poœmiertne przygotowa³ do druku i opa-trzy³ przypisami K. Birkenmajer (Ge ol ogy of the Pieniny Mts – post hu mous pa per. Com ments byK. Birkenmajer). Prace Instytutu Geologicznego (Warszawa), 38: 152 pp.

Horwitz, L. & Rabowski, F., 1929. Przewodnik do wycieczki Polskiego Towarzystwa Geologicz-nego w Pieniny, 18-21. V. 1929 (Ex cur sion dans les Piénines de la Société Géologique dePologne, 18-21. V. 1929). Rocznik Polskiego Towarzystwa Geologicznego (Annales de la Société Géologique de Pologne), 6: 1–49.

Jefferies, R.P. & Minton, P., 1965. The mode of life of two Ju ras sic spe cies of Posidonia (Bivalvia).Palae on tol ogy, 8 (1): 156–185.

Meister, Ch., 1989. Les ammonites des Domérien des Caus ses (France). Ca hiers de Paléontologie(CNRS, Paris) : 80 pp.

Myczyñski, R., 1973. Stratygrafia jury œrodkowej serii braniskiej okolic Czorsztyna, pieniñski passka³kowy (Mid dle Ju ras sic stra tig ra phy of the Branisko Suc ces sion in the vi cin ity of Czorsztyn,Pieniny Klippen Belt, Carpathians). Studia Geologica Polonica, 42: 122 pp.

Myczyñski, R., 2004. Toarcian, Aalenian and Early Bajocian (Ju ras sic) ammonite fau nas andbiostratigraphy in the Pieniny Klippen Belt and the Tatra Mts, West Carpathians. Studia Geolo-gica Polonica, 123: 7–131.

Uhlig, V., 1890. Ergebnisse geologischer Aufnahmen in den westgalizischen Karpathen. 2. Derpieninische Klippenzug. Jahrbuch der k.k. Geologischen Reichsanstalt, Wien, 40 (3-4): 559–824.

THE SZOPKA LIMESTONE FORMATION 235