\u00a0<\/span>Many palaeogeographic interpretations of the Jurassic-Cretaceous evolution of the\u00a0Betic, Maghrebian and Apennine Chains\u00a0<\/span>have been roughly\u00a0grouped into two main general families: (1) Type\u00a0A\u00a0 <\/span>models: they state the presence of a single oceanic\u00a0area (i.e., the Tethys) located between the African and\u00a0European Plates; (2) Type B\u00a0 <\/span>models: they consider the\u00a0occurrence of two oceanic branches of the Tethys surrounding\u00a0one or more microcontinents located between\u00a0the African and European Plates. Both classes of models\u00a0imply a different evolution during the Pangea breakup\u00a0and during the Cretaceous-Cenozoic convergence.\u00a0According to Type A\u00a0 <\/span>models the Pangea broke with\u00a0a single oceanic branch located between Europe and\u00a0Africa, meanwhile according to Type B\u00a0 <\/span>models the fragmentation\u00a0was more complex leading to two oceanic\u00a0branches with several microplates located between\u00a0Europe and Africa.<\/p>\n Reproduction of some original figures from literature concerning Type B models (A to D boxes) showing some inappropriate use of terms. The figures presented show Type B models which use the term AlKaPeCa instead of Mesomediterranean Microplate (MM). (a). Palaeogeographic sketch map (at Jurassic times) and evolutionary cross sections from Late Jurassic to Middle Miocene (after Michard et al. 2002); (b). Evolutionary palaeogeographic cross sections from Eocene to Oligocene (after Viti et al. 2009); (c). Evolutionary palaeogeographic sketch maps from 55 to 45 My (after Schmid et al. 2017); (d). Palaeogeographic sketch map at Early Miocene times (after Lepr\u00eatre et al. 2018).<\/p><\/div>\n According to Guerrera et al. (2019) \u00a0the original meaning\u00a0of AlKaPeCa should be reserved to indicate\u00a0a detached piece of the European Margin while\u00a0the Mesomediterranean Microplate \u00a0should be used exclusively for the independent\u00a0microplate even though during the Maghrebian-\u00a0Apennine orogeny these elements actually coincide to\u00a0form the Internal Zones of these chains.\u00a0For this reason, the\u00a0use of this acronym is not appropriate for models\u00a0which consider the occurrence of an independent microplate\u00a0surrounded by different oceanic branches of the\u00a0Tethys since Mesozoic. A more common name used in\u00a0literature for this microplate is the Mesomediterranean Microplate.<\/p>\n Cite as: Guerrera, F., Mart\u00edn-Mart\u00edn, M., and Tramontana, M. (2019): Evolutionary geological models of the central-western peri-Mediterranean chains: a review. International Geology Reviews. 1-22. doi:\u00a010.1080\/00206814.2019.1706056<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The use of terms strictly\u00a0related to the original formulation of different models\u00a0caused, in some cases, inaccuracies in the univocal\u00a0identification of some main palaeogeographic elements. Bouillin et al. (1986) introduced the acronym AlKaPeCa for a lithospherical block formed by\u00a0Alboran-Kabylian-Peloritan-Calabrian Internal Zones, … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.ua.es\/westerntethys\/files\/2020\/05\/terminologia.png\")