The Late Campanian and Maastrichtian in northwestern Tunisia: palaeoenvironmental inferences from lithology, macrofauna and benthic foraminifera

Late Campanian through Maastrichtian sea-level changes are examined based on lithology, macrofossils and benthic foraminifera at the Elles and El Kef sections in Tunisia. Six major sea-level regressions are identified during the late Campanian (74.4–74.2 Ma, 74.0–72.5 Ma), the Campanian-Maastrichtian transition (72.2–70.3 Ma), early Maastrichtian (69.6–69.3 Ma, 68.9–68.3 Ma), and late Maastrichtian (∼65.5 Ma). Correlation of the Maastrichtian sea-level regressions with the oxygen isotope record of DSDP Site 525 in the middle latitude South Atlantic reveals that they coincide with episodes of high latitude cooling and appear to be of eustatic origin.