Towards a Better Definition of the Middle Triassic Magnetostratigraphy and Biostratigraphy in the Tethys Realm

Magnetostratigrapic and biostratigraphic data of Middle Triassic (Anisian) age were obtained from the Nderlysaj section from the Albanian Alps and the Dont-Monte Rite composite section from the Dolomites region of northern Italy. The Nderlysaj section is biochronologically bracketed between the late Bithynian and the early Illyrian (i.e., late Early and early Late Anisian), whereas the Dont-Monte Rite section is comprised between the late Pelsonian and the early Illyrian. The data from Nderlysaj and Dont-Monte Rite, in conjunction with already published data, allow us to construct a yet uncomplete composite geomagnetic polarity sequence tied to Tethyan ammonoid, conodont and benthic foraminifer biostratigraphy from the Late Olenekian (late Early Triassic) to the Late Ladinian (late Middle Triassic).