Thin bioclastic limestone beds (‘coquinas’) in the Vectis Formation (Wealden Group, Lower
Cretaceous) of the Isle of Wight, southern England, exhibit a range of biofabrics and internal stratigraphies.
These features are attributed to both simple and complex storm deposition of allochthonous
biogenic and siliciclastic materials in coastal lagoons and on adjacent mudflats. These modes of deposition
facilitated preservation of dinosaur trackways, desiccation cracks, shallow-tier trace fossils and in
situ bivalve colonies through rapid burial. The coquinas thus preserve a record of surficial muds, commonly
lost through reworking. The principal components of the coquinas comprise dispersed elements
from within the argillaceous ‘background’ facies. Some of these beds are laterally traceable for up to
27 km, providing the foundations for a high-resolution event-stratigraphic framework.