Saltrio Formation

File:Cava Salnova - Macchinari.jpg

The main outcrop of the formation, represents an active private extraction site. The first extraction activities of the famous Saltrio stone give back to the times of the ancient Romans, with modern reports of activity in this quarry since 1400.{{Cite web |last=Media |first=My |date=2015-01-22 |title=Materiali inerti, massi da scogliera, pietre d'opera, pietre per muratura |url=https://www.salnova.it/ |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=Salnova |language=it-it}} In the Monte Oro area, on the southern slope of Monte Orsa, there were numerous trench quarries which were used to extract this precious rock, used both for structural constructions and for the production of artefacts and artistic works. In more recent times the mining activity has been transformed and we have moved from the extraction of stone for construction to the extraction for the production of stabilized and split crushed stone, useful for the production of motorway foundations and mixtures for the production of asphalt. To date it is the only active quarry where Saltrio stone is extracted.

In today's quarry what is mainly known as the Saltrio Formation emerges, i.e., a group of stratified rocks dating back to the Lower Jurassic. The stratigraphy, however, is much more complex, even if so far no study has focused on this topic. Inside the quarry, Dolomia principale sediment emerges dating back to the Upper Triassic (Norian); yet the succession is dominated by the Saltrio Formation, here 15-20 meters thick.{{Cite book |last=Cita |first=Maria Bianca |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004611252 |title=Jurassic, cretaceous and tertiary microfacies from the Southern Alps (Northern Italy) |date=1965-01-01 |publisher=BRILL |doi=10.1163/9789004611252 |isbn=978-90-04-61125-2}}

Above, the Moltrasio Formation emerges, a greyish-brown limestone composed of biocalcarenite and containing widespread nodules of spongolitic silica. This rock is rarely fossiliferous except in the contact areas between the Formations. At the roof of the Moltrasio Fm, a whitish yellow limestone emerges, again of marine-pelagic origin, where there is a lot of micro-diffused silica within the sediment.

Since the early 1900s, fossil finds have been known in the Salnova Quarry and in the various quarry sites present in the surroundings of this site. The first written testimonies, and subsequent revisions, are reported starting from the sixties by Giulia Sacchi Vialli. The scholar describes the fossil faunas of Saltrio by listing and detailing various taxa belonging to ammonoids, nautiloids, gastropods, crinoids, brachiopods and bivalves.

In that period, the great phase of extraction of ornamental stone using manual-mechanical methods had just ended in the quarry. Paleontologists could only recover fossils from the waste flakes near the quarry and therefore the possibility of seeing more specimens was limited to the length of manual operations. In those years, however, the quarry was acquired by Salnova SPA (1969): the purpose of the extracted material, and therefore the extraction method and processing, changed. From classic and manual extraction we move on to the use of heavy mechanical means and extraction with explosives: the moved rubble increases considerably, making it easier to observe other specimens, new lithologies and above all different faunas.

The fauna present at the base of the Saltrio Formation is condensed and includes ammonoids of species attributed to the entire Upper Sinemurian. The taxa attributable to the Lower Sinemurian found in the Saltrio quarries probably come from the base of the formation or have been reworked. According to Sacchi-Vialli, the Formation includes taxa indicative of all the biozones between the Bucklandi Zone (Lower Sinemurian) and the Obtusum Zone, and possibly also of the Oxynotum Zone of the Upper Sinemurian, present at the base of the Formation. The contact between the Main Dolomite and the Saltrio Formation also contains selachian teeth, glauconite and phosphated internal models of ammonites.{{Cite book |last=Beaumont |first=Gérard de |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fGohzwEACAAJ |title=Contribution à l'étude des genres Orthacodus Woodw. et Notidanus Cuv. (Selachii) |date=1960 |publisher=Birkhäuser |language=fr}}

File:Nautiloide appena estratto dalla Cava Salnova.jpg

Since the beginning of the jurassic, from Hettangian to earliest Sinemurian on the western Lombardy Basin there was a notorious continental area that was found to be wider than previously thought, where a warm humid paleoclimate developed.{{cite journal |last1=Jadoul |first1=Flavio |last2=Galli |first2=M. T. |last3=Calabrese |first3=Lorenzo |last4=Gnaccolini |first4=Mario |title=Stratigraphy of Rhaetian to Lower Sinemurian carbonate platforms in western Lombardy (Southern Alps, Italy): paleogeographic implications |journal=Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia |date=2005 |volume=111 |issue=2 |pages=285–303 |url=https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/RIPS/article/view/6316 |access-date=26 May 2023}} The basin facies are characterized by a gradual transition from Upper Rhaetian shallow-water carbonates to Lombard siliceous limestone and thick Lower Liassic series. The Dinosaur Fossils found on the Saltrio formation can have been translated from this area, or alternatively, the Arbostora swell (that was located at the north of the Saltrio formation, on Switzerland).{{cite journal |last1=Kalin |first1=O. |last2=Trumpy |first2=D.M. |title=Sedimentation und Paläotektonik in den westlichen Südalpen: Zur triasisch-jurassischen Geschichte des Monte Nudo-Beckens |journal=Eclogae Geol Helv. |date=1977 |issue=2 |pages=295–350 |url=https://www.e-periodica.ch/digbib/view?pid=egh-001%3A1977%3A70%3A%3A356#356 |access-date=26 May 2023}} This was an emerged structural high close to the Saltrio Formation, that caused a division between two near subsiding basins located at Mt. Nudo (East) and Mt. Generoso (West). It settled over a carbonate platform linked with other wider areas that appear along the west to the southeast, developing a large shallow water gulf to the north, where the strata deposited was controlled by a horst and tectonic gaben.

The Saltrio layers represent a unique sedimentary environment that is different from both the "Formazione di Saltrio" and the "Saltrio calcarenite" described by earlier researchers. These layers are characterized by being transgressive deposits, meaning they formed as the sea advanced over previously exposed land. The Saltrio deposits show signs of stratigraphic condensation, which refers to slow sediment accumulation over time, often resulting in hardgrounds, surfaces drilled by marine organisms, and the presence of minerals like Glauconite and Phosphorite. Biologically, these layers are rich in fossils, especially Encrinite (crinoid-rich limestones) and bivalve lumachellas (fossilized bivalve shells). Other marine creatures like cephalopods and brachiopods appear occasionally. Faunas from the condensed Saltrio beds indicate early subsidence in the Hettangian. Additionally, the involutine limestones with a rich ammonite fauna support subsidence during the same period. The sediment composition varies in different areas, often containing reworked material from older rocks. The Saltrio environment was complex, with different layers showing distinct conditions. In some areas, the Saltrio layers blend with the "Broccatello d'Arzo", a related limestone formation, but they can still be separated based on differences in their structure and fossil content. The region also experienced sedimentary discontinuities, where layers were not deposited continuously, likely due to tectonic activity or submarine erosion. Overall, the Saltrio paleoenvironment reflects a shallow marine setting with fluctuating sea levels, rich marine life, and periods of sediment reworking and erosion, all influenced by local tectonics.

Several outcrops of the so-called “terra rossa” paleosoils were also found, including at Castello Cabiaglio-Orino, a dozen of kilometers West of Saltrio.{{cite journal |last1=Leuzinger |first1=P. |title=Geologische Beschreibung des Monte Campo dei Fiori u. der Sedimentzone Luganersee-Valcuvia. Mit 3 Tafeln und 6 Textfiguren. Inaugural-dissertation |journal=Buchdruckerei Emil Birkhäuser & Cie., Basel |date=1925 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=1–177}}{{cite journal |last1=Wiedenmayer |first1=F. |title=Obere Trias bis mittlerer Lias zwischen Saltrio und Tremona:(Lombardische Alpen) |journal=Eclogae Geologicae Helv. |date=1963 |volume=56 |issue=11 |pages=22–148 |url=https://www.iberlibro.com/Obere-Trias-mittlerer-Lias-zwischen-Saltrio/30567697585/bd |access-date=26 May 2023}} This outcrops show that the emerged areas that on the Hettangian-Sinemurian, the current location of the modern Maggiore Lake were covered with forests, what was proven by the presence of large plant fragments on the Moltrasio Formation. The plants have been recovered between the locations of Cellina and Arolo (eastern side of Lake Maggiore), from rocks that have been found to be coeval in age to the Saltrio Formation.Lualdi, A. (1999). New data on the Western part of the M. Nudo Basin (Lower Jurassic, West Lombardy) Tubingen Geowissenschaftliche Arbeiten, Series A, 52, 173-176. The Flora includes genera such as Bennettitales (Ptilophyllum), terrestrial Araucariaceae (Pagiophyllum), and Cheirolepidiaceae (Brachyphyllum), that developed on inland areas with dry-warm conditions.

The ammonites from the Saltrio Formation allow the formation to be dated to the Early Sinemurian. Animals probably lived in emerged parts of carbonated platform or an area to the northwest, whose presence had never been established. In the early Sinemurian, the Arbostora swell became again a shallow open sea (ramp-slope), still surrounded South and South-West by emerged land. The dinosaur bones where washed on this period, flowed into a gulf of the Mt. Nudo basin, where they became fossilized. The latter possibility was suggested by Lualdi (1999), in which he analyzed the local geology based on the presence of terrestrial plants and terrigenous content (sands from igneous or metamorphic rocks exposed to sub-aerial erosion) in the limestones. Terrestrial plants are essentially represented by leaves and small branches of Araucariaceans and Bennettitales, the typical flora of the early Mesozoic. However, plants and sand (which are not abundantly referred) can be carried by wind and ocean currents. Also, according to the most current paleogeographic maps, truly continental land located closer these Jurassic times lower were the Mountains of Sardinia, Corsica, distanced many tens of kilometers WNW.{{cite journal |last1=Dalla Vecchia |first1=F.M. |title=A new theropod dinosaur from the Lower Jurassic of Italy, Saltriosaurus |journal=Dino Press |date=2001 |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=81–87}} Coeval and slightly younger in age, large dinosaurs, carnivorous and herbivorous, were present as shown in various footprints of the lower Jurassic (Hettangian-Sinemurian) in the province of Trento, around {{convert|160|km|mi}} east of Saltrio, which changed the traditional view of the palaeoenvironments and paleogeography of the region, considered a tropical sea with small islands of the atoll type.{{cite journal |last1=Avanzini |first1=M. |last2=Petti |first2=F. M. |title=Updating the dinosaur tracksites from the Lower Jurassic Calcari Grigi Group (Southern Alps, Northern Italy). Italian Ichnology |journal=Proceedings of the Ichnology Session of Geoitalia 2007. Studi Trent. Sci. Nat., Acta Geol. |date=2008 |volume=83 |issue=4 |pages=289–301 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235891375 |access-date=26 May 2023}} Fossil footprints and tracks are preserved in tidal carbonates deposited in a relatively narrow carbonated platform in Trento, flanked to the east and west by relatively deep marine basins. Large theropods could not live in an atoll, since large areas had to be emersed to provide food and fresh water, and their herbivorous prey needed land with vegetation.{{cite journal |last1=Masetti |first1=D. |last2=Claps |first2=M. |last3=Giacometti |first3=A. |last4=Lodi |first4=P. |last5=Pignatti |first5=P. |title=I Calcari Grigi della piattaforma di Trento (Lias inferiore e medio, Prealpi Venete) |journal=Atti Ticinensi di Scienze della Terra |date=1998 |volume=40 |issue=5 |pages=139–183 |url=https://arts.units.it/handle/11368/1697434 |access-date=26 May 2023}}

"It is more likely that the Peri-Adriatic Platforms worked with temporary continental bridges that connected with Laurasia Gondwana in central Tethis, allowing migration between the two hemispheres and colonization of local coastal habitats. During the marine transgressions, some of these lands were isolated, implicating genetic Mutations in their terrestrial faunas, with typical biological consequences, as endemism and possible dwarfism".{{Cite journal |last=Dal Sasso |first=Cristiano |date=2003 |title=Dinosaurs of Italy |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s1631-0683(03)00007-1 |journal=Comptes Rendus Palevol |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=45–66 |doi=10.1016/s1631-0683(03)00007-1 |bibcode=2003CRPal...2...45D |issn=1631-0683|url-access=subscription }}

In 2016 new vertebrate remains were discovered in the Salnova quarry, the remains are being studied to understand if it is a new dinosaur or some other creature.{{Cite web|last=Giorno|first=Il|date=2016-03-10|title=Saltrio, trovati resti ossei: potrebbero appartenere a un dinosauro|url=https://www.ilgiorno.it/varese/cronaca/saltrio-resti-dinosauro-1.1962311|access-date=2021-12-30|website=Il Giorno|language=it}}{{Cite web|date=2016-03-11|title=La Soprintendenza conferma, sono ossa del Giurassico|url=https://www.varesenews.it/2016/03/la-sovrintendenza-conferma-sono-ossa-del-giurassico/496297/|access-date=2021-12-30|website=VareseNews|language=it}} Latter has been confirmed to be Marine Diapsid material.{{cite journal |last1=Zazzera |first1=Andrea |last2=Brivio |first2=Keefer |last3=Rolfi |first3=Jacopo |last4=Bindellini |first4=Gabriele |last5=Balni |first5=Marco |last6=Renesto |first6=Silvio |title=New marine diapsid remains from the Saltrio Formation (Sinemurian) Monte San Giorgio, UNESCO WHL |journal=Paleodays 2022 |date=2022 |volume=22 |issue=1 |page=133 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361262723 |access-date=26 May 2023}}

• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Italy
• List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
• Moltrasio Formation, Sinemurian fossiliferous formation of Italy
• Coimbra Formation, Sinemurian fossiliferous formation of Portugal
• Aganane Formation, Pliensbachian Formation of Morocco

{{Reflist}}

• F. M. Dalla Vecchia. 2001. Terrestrial ecosystems on the Mesozoic peri-Adriatic carbonate platforms: the vertebrate evidence. VII International Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems. Asociación Paleontología Argentina, Publicación Especial 7:77-83

Category:Geologic formations of Italy

Category:Jurassic System of Europe

Category:Early Jurassic Europe

Category:Sinemurian Stage

Category:Limestone formations

Category:Paleontology in Italy

Category:Geography of Lombardy