From ref. 2006:
Formed by rudist framestones and bafflestones, the shelf edge-related rudist complexes, unlike the rudist banks, are commonly not well preserved in situ as the main source of the bioclastic sediments (Figure 10). In the Murge region they are clearly associated with (Begin page 1569) the fault systems that form the eastern shelf edge (Borgomano and Philip, 1987), and in the Gargano they occur as megablocks (>103 m3) in base-slope deposits (Figure 11). A detail study of the biogenic components of those bioclastic sands and blocks has shown that they were mainly sourced from rudist associations not found in the inner platform. Combined analyses of a few preserved shelf edge-related rudist complexes and the associated deeper marine sediments have allowed some of their characteristics to be established. They were dominated by recumbents rudists, including caprinids and Sabinia. The diversity, size, and shape of those rudists, commonly associated with rounded and well-sorted bioclastic gravels, suggest that they lived in a high-energy subtidal setting (Figure 10). These shelf edge-related rudist complexes could be considered as reefs (Longman, 1981), defined as carbonate buildups, influenced by organisms, that controlled depositional processes in adjacent zones and were situated on a topographic high.

