Fig. 2

Lithostratigraphic nomenclature of Cretaceous formations in the Swiss Jura (colours correspond to the codes of the Swiss Geological Survey). Fossils important for biostratigraphy are indicated in the column “Bio”. J Jurassic, LC Late Cretaceous, E Eocene. Vertical time axis not to scale (for the distribution of geological ages see Fig. 4). For the geographical distribution and completeness of the formations see Fig. 3 and text (this concerns mainly the Vions, Chambotte, and Vallorbe formations). Note that some stage boundaries are not always well defined in the sediment stack, and that formation boundaries may be diachronous (see text). The Chambotte Formation in the Swiss Jura ends in the latest Berriasian whereas in France it reaches into the earliest Valanginian. The top of the Perte du Rhône Formation, at its type locality in France, has a Cenomanian age, while in Switzerland this formation ends in the latest Albian