Paleontologie des marnes tortoniennes affleurant dans le lit du Tanaro pres d'Alba (Piémont, Italie)

Palaeontology of the Tortonian marl outcropping in tbe bed of the Tanaro river, near Alba (Piedmont, Italy). During field work made by the museum "F. Eusebio" in the marls of Tortonian age outcropping in the bed of the Tanaro river, near Alba, a rich material of fish articulated skeletons was collected. Additionally, the skeleton of a marine turtle, some echinoderms and molluscs were also found. The study of the nannoplankton has made possible a precise age determination of the fossiliferous strata. Myctophids are, together with Clupeids, the main components of the fish fauna. This association is indicative of an environment of moderate depth which was probably less than 200 metres, as confirmed by the study of the malacofauna. The predominance of the mesopelagical components in the fish fauna was probably produced by marine currents which are supposed to have been active in the west¬ern part of the Paduan gulf.