Pre-Zanclean end of the Messinian Salinity Crisis: new evidence from central Mediterranean reference sections

The concept of a geologically instantaneous earliest Zanclean reflooding the Mediterranean Basin after Messinian drawdown has dominated geological thinking and is ingrained in scientific literature. base Trubi Formation southern Italy, formally defined as Global Boundary Stratotype Section Point (GSSP) at 5.33 Ma, traditionally been considered marking marine Mediterranean. However, several studies provide evidence that occurred prior to GSSP, most reliable which comes from Calabria. Here, we show sedimentary coastal prism cropping out extensively immediately below this region correlatable with Arenazzolo Unit Sicily contains fully micropalaeontological association calcareous nannofossils dinoflagellate cysts, thus pointing both high sea-level conditions before deposition (i.e. latest Messinian).