Саратовское Поволжье

In the right-bank part of the Saratov Region, a section of terrigenous and carbonate rocks has been determined to underlie the ?sponge? horizon conventionally dated back to the Santonian. The maximum thickness of the marls, constituting a substantial portion of the section, occurs in the western part of the region.

In the ?Ozerki? sections, in the terrigenous and carbonate rocks, a faunal complex has been determined – unusually diversified and relatively abundant for the right-bank part of the Saratov Region. Examination of the specified groups of fossil invertebrates has allowed to propose variants for biostratigraphic division and correlation of the sections under consideration. The carbonate rocks are supposed to belong to the Turonian-Coniacian and the underlying terrigenouscarbonate rocks are regarded as the Lower Turonian ones. Formation of the ?sponge?

The results of interpretation of biostratigraphic separation of santonian-campanian deposits of the Saratov right-bank Volga region, on the example of earlier conducted detailed and complex investigation of separation near the village Mezino-Lapshinovka have been presented. The ideas of realiability of variants of the detailed (on the level of subtages) subdivision of santonian substage in reference to the territory of the Volga right-bank have been given.