Depositional Environments of Upper Cenomanian Limestones with Rudists and Dinosaur Footprints, Istria, Croatia

Upper Cenomanian limestones exposed in southern and western Istria, (Croatia) are rich in radiolitid remains and also contain dinosaur footprints. At investigated localities, the rudists are elevator types and mud-supported sediment-dwellers which thrived in the soft substrate, where dinosaurs have left footprints. Dinosaur tracks are preserved in both types of subtidal limestones, while radiolitid congregations laterally appear and disappear within foraminiferal-peloidal limestones.The presence of dinosaur footprints on the upper bedding plane of rudist floatstones, implies that the Istrian part of the Upper Cenomanian carbonate platform was a shallow protected platform interior.