Planktonic Foraminiferal Biostratigraphy of the Upper Cretaceous of the Central European Basin

Danuta Peryt,Zofia Dubicka,Weronika Wierny

doi:10.3390/geosciences12010022

Abstract

Planktonic foraminifera are one of the most stratigraphically important groups of organisms for the Cretaceous system. However, standard foraminiferal zonations based mostly on species from the Tethyan bioprovince are hardly applicable in temperate regions where warm-water taxa are scarce or lacking. We propose a foraminiferal zonation based on foraminiferal events recognized in the northern Foraminiferal Transitional Bioprovince, which likely has a high correlation potential at least at a regional scale. Fifteen planktonic foraminiferal zones are distinguished from the upper Albian up to the uppermost Maastrichtian strata in extra-Carpathian Poland and western Ukraine. From the bottom to the top, Thalmanninella appenninica, Th. globotruncanoides, Th. reicheli, Rotalipora cushmani, Whiteinella archaeocretacea, Helvetoglobotruncana helvetica, Marginotruncana coronata, M. sinuosa, Pseudotextularia nuttalli, Globotruncana linneiana, G. arca, Contusotruncana plummerae, Rugoglobigerina pennyi, Globotruncanella petaloidea and Guembelitria cretacea. These zones are calibrated by macrofaunal zonations.

Highlights

Planktonic foraminifera are widely recognized as one of the most stratigraphically important groups of organisms for the Late Cretaceous period with a high correlation potential
The boundaries of foraminiferal provinces are altered regularly by the seasonal variability of foraminiferal occurrences. This horizontal distributional pattern has been recorded in Cretaceous planktonic foraminiferal assemblages with five generalized bioprovinces (Austral, Tethyan, Boreal and two Transitional provinces located between them) [1,7,8]
Foraminiferal zones that have been established in Tethyan successions in the Cenomanian and lower Turonian could be recognized at higher latitudes, e.g., in the epicontinental Central Polish Basin

Summary

Introduction

Planktonic foraminifera are widely recognized as one of the most stratigraphically important groups of organisms for the Late Cretaceous period with a high correlation potential. The boundaries of foraminiferal provinces are altered regularly by the seasonal variability of foraminiferal occurrences This horizontal distributional pattern has been recorded in Cretaceous planktonic foraminiferal assemblages with five generalized bioprovinces (Austral, Tethyan, Boreal and two Transitional provinces located between them) [1,7,8]. Due to palaeoenvironmental changes during the Cretaceous period, such as climate swings and changes in ocean circulation or sea-level fluctuations, the biogeography of planktonic foraminiferal assemblages has varied markedly through time [9,10]. All these factors limit the application of standard planktonic foraminiferal zonation, established mainly for the Tethyan bioprovince, within higher latitudinal domains

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion