Pyrite framboids in pyritized Radiolarian skeletons (Mid-Cretaceous of the Pieniny Klippen Belt, Western Carpathians, Poland)

Well preserved pyritized radiolarian skeletons have been found within the grey-green Mid-Cretaceous (Upper Cenomanian) shales in the Pieniny Klippen Belt (Carpathians, Poland). The skeletons contain numerous pyrite framboids in different positions, in channels and inside the abdomen of cryptothoracic forms, but their genetic context is not known. They were formed as a result of the reaction between dissolved iron and sulphide originated from the bacterial sulphate reduction. Two sources of organic matter, "post mortem" in situ decaying organic matter of radiolaria and disseminated organic matter from the surrounding sediment could be available for this process. Pyrite found in the radiolarians probably originates from different processes. It is suggested that pyritization of the radiolarian skeletons took place in the water column whereas pyrite framboids in the skeleton's free spaces could have been formed later during the diagenesis of the sediment. However, their simultaneous formation in the water column or in the sediment cannot be excluded.