Reticulofenestra daviesii: Biostratigraphy and paleogeographic distribution across the Eocene–Oligocene boundary

Abstract

Improving the biostratigraphy across the Eocene–Oligocene is fundamental to better constrain the timing and causes of an important global climate change of the Cenozoic, the Eocene–Oligocene Transition (EOT; 34–33.5Ma). Across the EOT, only few nannofossil bioevents are considered globally synchronous and reliable. One of these is the first common occurrence (Bc) of the species Reticulofenestra daviesii that has been proven to be useful for biostratigraphical correlations in the Southern Ocean, but the potential of R. daviesii as a biostratigraphical marker at mid- and low latitudes has not been explored yet in detail. We investigate three deep-sea drill sites located across a N-S transect at mid-low latitudes of the Atlantic Ocean spanning from 34.4 to 33Ma, reviewing the temporal and geographical distribution together with the intraspecific variability of R. daviesii. Our data quantify the occurrence of R. daviesii in (sub)tropical regions of the Atlantic Ocean, although with lower abundances (∼4–12%) compared to Southern Ocean assemblages (40–95%). This suggests that R. daviesii was a cosmopolitan species capable to adapt to a wider range of sea surface temperatures and environmental conditions than previously thought. However, the temporal distributions of R. daviesii at the three studied sites are not comparable to the trends recorded in the Southern Ocean. Its Bc is clearly identifiable only at the equatorial site, occurring ∼500,000years before the age estimated in the Southern Ocean (33.705Ma). Thus, we suggest caution when using the Bc of R. daviesii as a reliable biostratigraphical event at mid- and low latitudes. In addition, our biometrical data reveal that up to 38% of R. daviesii coccoliths is>8–10μm in major axis size, thus bigger than the medium size range (5–8μm) originally described. Refining the size range of R. daviesii is important for estimating its cell volume versus surface area and coccolith carbonate mass.