Hauterivian shallow marine calcareous biogenic mounds: S.E. Spain

Hauterivian biogenic deposits from the Prebetic northern margin near Caudete (Albacete Province, southeastern Spain) are represented by low domed bodies, less than 10 m thick, surrounded by bioclastic sediments and capped by siliciclastics. They consist of a coral, stromatoporoid and microbial framework with cavities filled by mud, rapidly lithified. Intermound bioclastics, derived from the mound organic community, reflect high energy conditions and shallow water settings. Mound growth and architecture were controlled by nutrient fluxes and internal light gradients. Comparisons with closely related structures from the Palaeozoic and the Recent show some similarities but also significant differences; the example documented here also departs from other Cretaceous occurrences.