The Pignola-Abriola section is a ~63 m long stratigraphic sequence of cherty limestones deposited in the Lagonegro Basin during the latest Norian and the early Rhaetian Stages (Late Triassic Period). The main outcrop () is on the western side of Mount Crocetta along the SP5 road connecting the villages of Pignola and Abriola (Province of Potenza, Basilicata, southern Italy). A smaller outcrop (~7 m thick), overlapping the central part of the main section, is located near a former railway tunnel, few meters below the road level. The Pignola-Abriola section has been recently proposed as GSSP (Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point) of the Rhaetian Stage. Geological Setting The Pignola-Abriola section belongs to the pelagic/hemipelagic marine deposits of the Lagonegro Basin (southern Apennines). The Lagonegro Basin was part of the south-western branch of the Tethys Ocean, bordered northward by the Apenninic carbonate platform and southward by the Apulian carbonate platform. The Pignola-Abriola section represents a portion of the Calcari con Selce Formation, a pelagic sequence of carbonatic and siliceous deposits (cherts and radiolarites) covering a period from late Ladinian to Hettangian. The Calcari con Selce Fm. gradually pass to the overlying Scisti Silicei Formation through the increase of the siliciclastic fraction and the deposition of radiolarites (“Transitional Interval”) that are the main characteristic of the Scisti Silicei Fm. The Transitional Interval is not isochronous, but is related to the distance from the sediment sources; in facts, the age of the Scisti Silicei base may vary from Rhaetian (distal areas) to Hettangian (proximal areas). This change of sedimentation (carbonatic to siliceous) is intended as a consequence of the subsidence of the seafloor below the Calcite Compensation Depth (CCD). Stratigraphy Lithostratigraphy The cherty limestones represent the dominant lithology in the Pignola-Abriola section, sometimes intercalated with calcarenites from gravity flows/turbidites. Dolomitization is present in the lower part of the section, whereas the siliciclastic fraction becomes more abundant in the upper part (as well as the silicification of the limestones). This increment of terrigenous input in the basin is attested by the gradually increase of shales, radiolarites and marls (beginning of the transition to the Scisti Silicei Fm.). The shales are mostly dark and rich in organic matter, suggesting anoxic/disoxyc conditions. Biostratigraphy The main fossils recovered in the Pignola-Abriola section are conodonts and radiolarians. Conodonts especially are very common throughout the entire section, but rare around the Norian-Rhaetian boundary (as observed even in other sections).