Biotic changes linked to a minor anoxic event (Faraoni Level, latest Hauterivian, Early Cretaceous)

The third and last stage of the renewal process started in the upper part of the P. picteti Subzone, coinciding with a drastic sea-level fall. It is characterised by the extinction of many of the species that had appeared in the two previous events, resulting in an extensive modification of the assemblage structure. The regression would probably cause a drop in the primary productivity and, consequently, an improvement in the oxygenation level of the sea bottom. This would explain the extinction of several planktic ammonite species and the appearance of new nektic and nektobenthic lineages.