Il Tubiphytes Triassico e il suo contributo alla formazione della piattaforma del Latemar

Tubiphytes and other morphologically similar organisms are the most abundant problematic microfossils described from the Permian to the Cretaceous in shallow-water carbonates. This study focuses on the observation of Middle Triassic Tubiphytes, which have been found in the Lastei di Valsorda locality within the Latemar carbonate platform (Dolomites, northern Italy). The differences with the Jurassic body-like fossil, interpreted as a symbiotic consortium between an agglutinated foraminifer and a bacterial biofilm, are discussed. The size of micrite crystals that constitute the wall of Tubiphytes is extremely fine, < 1 μm, a typical feature of microbial carbonate. In conclusion, we can say that the ultrastructure of the Triassic Tubiphytes is similar to that of Jurassic Tubiphytes morronensis, although we couldn’t prove the presence of a foraminifer at the axis of the organism. Tubiphytes have contributed to the formation of the Latemar platform through the accumulation and deposit of fine materialskeletal fragments on the slopes.