Fig. 10

Paleogeographic sketch maps and profiles for 160 Ma (Oxfordian) and 152 Ma (Kimmeridgian–Tithonian boundary), respectively. The figures are modified after Schmid et al. (2008), Kounov and Schmid (2013) and Božović et al. (2013); they also take into account that the ALCAPA, Tisza, and Dacia Mega-Units rifted off Europe side by side when the Alpine Tethys opened (e.g. Klötzli et al. 2004), and partly follow unpublished GPlates reconstructions by Douwe van Hinsbergen. While certain details in a, b remain speculative, the evolutionary scheme presented in c, d is strongly supported by the new data presented. The abbreviations for cities in a and b are as follows: G Geneva; V Vienna; B Bucharest; I Istanbul. a Figure illustrating spreading in an intra-oceanic back arc basin in the South Apuseni area; in Macedonia (FYROM) and Greece back arc spreading was ensialic and split off a continental fragment of the Circum-Rhodope belt; the Paikon arc formed on this continental fragment; b figure showing the emplacement of East Vardar ophiolites and Circum-Rhodope belt onto Dacia. Note that the so-called Circum-Rhodope realm includes E-Vardar ophiolites, island arc complexes and Dacia-derived continental crust (e.g. Bonev et al. 2015); c–e schematic cross sections (not to scale) showing evolution steps of the South Apuseni ophiolites during the Late Jurassic. c Formation of the South Apuseni ophiolites in a back-arc basin (~160 Ma, Oxfordian). d Slab roll-back in the East Vardar realm and onset of island arc magmatism within the Apuseni ophiolites (~157 Ma, Early Kimmeridgian). e Collision of the Apuseni island arc with the Dacia Mega-Unit and obduction of the ophiolites and island arc granitoids onto the continental margin. A similar evolution occurred in the southern parts of the East Vardar ophiolites that are now part of the Circum-Rhodope belt (Zachariadis 2007; Božović et al. 2013), where a continental arc (Paikon arc) formed on a narrow continental ribbon that split off the Dacia Mega-Unit (see a)