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Recent Elphidiidae (Foraminiferida) of the South-West Pacific and fossil Elphidiidae of New Zealand

Authors:
Bruce W Hayward
Bruce W Hayward
Christopher John Hollis at Victoria University of Wellington
Christopher John Hollis
Hugh Grenfell at Auckland Museum
Hugh Grenfell
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Elphidiidae is a family of mostly shallow-water benthic foraminifera that occur throughout the world at present and in sedimentary rocks of Cenozoic age. Two subfamilies (Elphidiinae and Notorotaliinae) and four genera (Elphidium, Cristatavultatus, Parrellina, Notorotalia) occur in the South-west Pacific region today and two further genera (Cribrorotalia, Discorotalia) are present in the New Zealand fossil record. The paper describes the systematics, ecology, biogeography and biostratigraphy of recent Elphidiidae.
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... NEW ZEALAND -ELPHIDIUM Hayward et al. (1997) presented a taxonomic review of the extant morphospecies of the genus Elphidium in the Southwest Pacific (33 spp.). They also reviewed the taxonomy and well-documented time ranges from New Zealand of the 18 extinct and ten extant species (Fig. 5). ...
... The New Zealand fossil record is interpreted to consist of parts of seven branches of the global Elphidium family tree (Hayward et al., 1997). Each branch is inferred to have started in the New Zealand fossil record with a successful immigration event from across the oceans (Fig. 5). ...
... two longest species durations are of T. toddae (23 myrs) in the equatorial Pacific and T. conica (15 myrs) in the Eocene-Oligocene of Europe (Gibson et al., 1991). The average New Zealand total species duration for the 28 species of Elphidiidae is 19 myrs, with an average 12 myrs for the 18 extinct species and an average 34 myrs (double partial species durations) for the ten extant species (Hayward et al., 1997). ...
Biogeography and Species Durations of Selected Cenozoic Shallow and Deep-Water Smaller Calcareous Benthic Foraminifera – A Review
Article
Full-text available
  • Jul 2023
Most previous accounts summarising the biogeography and species durations of smaller calcareous benthic foraminifera have been based on literature reviews or on a massive North American database that had been taxonomically standardised. In this review we limit consideration to extant and fossil families or genera (from nearshore, open shelf, and deep-sea environments) with modern reviews that have standardised their global morphotaxonomy and where available, are complimented by molecular studies. We confirm previous studies that indicate most shelf species have limited geographic ranges and the majority of deep-water species are widespread and cosmopolitan or nearly so. In our intertidal and inner shelf groups only one species (molecular and morphological), Ammonia veneta, has a cosmopolitan distribution, although four warm-water morphospecies, of Ammonia and Rugobolivinella, have or had distributions that spanned more than one ocean in equatorial latitudes. The majority of both warm- and cool-water species in these groups are regionally or locally-restricted endemics (92% of Bolivinellidae, 100% of Tubulogenerina, 73% of Ammoniidae). The biogeographic distribution of the two rarer, warm-water groups (Bolivinellidae, Tubulogenerina) changed dramatically through the Cenozoic with the Paleocene–Eocene North American–European distribution of Bolivinellidae switching to purely Indo-Pacific by the Pliocene–Quaternary. In our shelf–upper bathyal groups (Notorotaliiidae, Plectofrondiculariidae), two genera have been restricted to the Southern Hemisphere since their Eocene originations with their greatest diversity throughout in New Zealand and Australia, respectively. The dominantly cold-water notorotaliid genus Buccella has a biogeographic distribution largely restricted to the Arctic Ocean and both coasts of North and South America. Most notorotaliid species are locally or regionally endemic (100% of Notorotalia, Parrellina, Porosorotalia, 75% of Buccella). At least 50–60% of species in five extinct mid-bathyal–abyssal families are cosmopolitan and have been throughout the Cenozoic since their originations. The majority of these deep-sea species with more-restricted distributions are rare, and many could possibly be more widespread with further extensive study. This review found that the shortest mean species durations (4–5 myrs) occur in two groups of rather rare, tropical–subtropical inner-shelf foraminifera with many locally endemic species. In cooler and progressively deeper water environments the mean species durations increase to 7–11 myrs for temperate shelf–bathyal taxa (Notorotaliidae), 20 myrs for an extinct mid-shelf to bathyal family (Plectofrondiculariidae) and 41–50 myrs for five extinct mid-bathyal–abyssal families (Chrysalogoniidae, Ellipsoidinidae, Glandulonodosariidae, Pleurostomellidae, Stilostomellidae). One species in each of four of these deep-water families had a species duration of 150–120 myrs.
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... Cann and Clarke (1993), Lee et al. (2016) Elphidium crispum Normal salinity conditions (34-36%) in both exposed and sheltered sandy environments, including open estuaries, sheltered oceanic embayments, and shallow subtidal to intertidal zone of inner shelves (0-20 m). Hayward et al. (1997Hayward et al. ( , 1999, Yassini and Jones (1995) Elphidium macellum Normal salinity conditions in moderately sheltered sandy environments, including estuaries, enclosed lagoons, bays, shallow subtidal to intertidal zone of inner shelves (0-20 m). Hayward et al. (1997), Yassini and Jones (1995) Rosalina bradyi Lives epifaunally on rocks and shells within sheltered to moderately sheltered environments, including shallow subtidal to intertidal coastlines adjacent to rocky areas, inlet channels of coastal lagoons, estuaries, bays and inner shelf. ...
... Hayward et al. (1997Hayward et al. ( , 1999, Yassini and Jones (1995) Elphidium macellum Normal salinity conditions in moderately sheltered sandy environments, including estuaries, enclosed lagoons, bays, shallow subtidal to intertidal zone of inner shelves (0-20 m). Hayward et al. (1997), Yassini and Jones (1995) Rosalina bradyi Lives epifaunally on rocks and shells within sheltered to moderately sheltered environments, including shallow subtidal to intertidal coastlines adjacent to rocky areas, inlet channels of coastal lagoons, estuaries, bays and inner shelf. Water depth 1-10 m. ...
Peesey Swamp—a Last Interglacial (MIS 5e) marine corridor across southern Yorke Peninsula, southern Australia
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2021
Peesey Swamp on southern Yorke Peninsula, southern Australia, is a north-northwesterly—southsoutheasterly trending lowland depression, approximately 24km long and 4 to 10 km wide. The richly fossiliferous mollusc and foraminiferal faunal assemblages of the last interglacial Glanville Formation in Peesey Swamp indicate that the paleoenvironment was a low- to medium-energy, sheltered sandflat to shallow-water seaway during the Last Interglacial Maximum (Marine Isotope Substage [MIS] 5e; 128–116 ka). The presence of the fossil bivalve molluscs Katelysia rhytiphora, Chlamys (Equichlamys) bifrons and Fulvia tenuicostata, in life position, indicate that the paleowater depth was �4m in Peesey Swamp. The seaway cut across southern Yorke Peninsula, establishing a marine connection between southern Spencer Gulf and Investigator Strait during deposition of these taxa. Amino acid racemisation dating of the fossil marine molluscs Katelysia sp. and Fulvia tenuicostata confirms that the shelly assemblages at Peesey Swamp are correlative with the last interglacial Glanville Formation, a succession of richly fossiliferous, mixed quartz–skeletal carbonate sands documented from many sites along the southern Australian coastline. This study illustrates the significant changes in the geographical configuration of coastlines that may accompany relatively modest (<5m) sea-level changes on low-gradient coastal landscapes.
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... It is a public species that occur in the low tidal, and also existed in shallow subtidal with depths not exceeding twenty meters, it prefers the pure sand in normal marine salinity (Hayward et al., 1997). (Plate 4-10, and 4-10A). ...
Combined Ostracoda and Foraminiferal Biozonation with Environment of Fatha Formation (Middle Miocene) In Different Oilfields, Southern Iraq
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2023
The Fatha Formation is a significant stratigraphic unit that was deposited during the Miocene; its sediments covered the basin from the north to the south of Iraq. Six oil wells within four oilfields were chosen for the current study. Both types of samples (core and cutting) were prepared to extract the existing fossils. Forty-two foraminifera species belonging to twenty-one genera and forty ostracods species belonging to thirty genera were identified. On the basis of the biostratigraphic distribution of the foraminifera and ostracoda species, one biozone for foraminifera was plotted which is Elphidium craticulatum taxon range zone, also one biozone of ostracoda was determined which is Schneiderella unispinata Assemblage zone. The age of Fatha Formation is Middle Miocene depending on the index fossils of the ostracods. All genera recorded in the study area belong to benthic foraminifera except one genus (Globigerina quinquelob) belongs to the planktonic foraminifera. The environment of the Fatha Formation in the southern basin is slightly different from the northern basin, but the main environment is still a lagoon but it is accompanied by several other environments such as shallow water, tidal and subtidal. The lagoon was partially closed, and it was affected by marine water, especially in the lower part of the studied formation.
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... Another common species is Elphidium craticulatum, abundant at AM and along the Tutong transect. This species is usually found between 0 to 20 mwd, thrives on sandy substrates (Hayward et al., 1997), and tolerates mesotrophic conditions and nutrient-rich or unstable conditions (e.g., Renema, 2002). Furthermore, the most abundant species found at DW are Asterorotalia pulchella and Poroeponides lateralis. ...
Diversity and Depth Distribution of Modern Benthic Foraminifera Offshore Brunei Darussalam
Article
  • Jul 2022
The distribution of modern benthic foraminifera is studied from offshore mixed carbonate-siliciclastic settings of Brunei Darussalam located in northwestern Borneo (South China Sea). The sediments were collected from 17 sites (i.e., shallow reefs, sunken wrecks, and two depth transects). A total of 231 species were identified from 8 to 63 m water depth. We conducted several analyses to understand the patterns of faunal composition, including: (1) Cluster analysis and Principal Component Analysis together with correlation to define relation among the sites; (2) Diversity indices, such as Shannon Index and Fisher's Alpha Index to assess diversity patterns at sites; and (3) Foram Index (FI) to determine whether the water quality indicates conditions that support reef growth. The most abundant foraminiferal groups from the reef and most wreck samples are larger benthic foraminifera (LBF), especially Calcarinidae and Amphisteginidae, whereas in the muddier sites the most abundant are smaller benthic foraminifera (SBF) with the genera Pseudorotalia and Asterorotalia. Certain species from the groups have shown patterns that do or do not correlate with depth and clay content.
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... To adequately characterise and quantify the foraminiferal assemblages, a total of 300 foraminiferal tests were counted and identified from the > 0.063 mm sized fractions of each sample split (Schönfeld et al. 2012). This method Foraminiferal tests were dry picked and identified to genus level under a stereomicroscope using published taxonomies (Collins 1958;McCulloch 1977;Haig 1988;Jones 1994;Loeblich and Tappan 1994;Hayward et al. 1997). Where samples contained less than 300 individual foraminiferal specimens, a second sample split was taken and specimens counted until the target number was attained. ...
Depositional and palaeoecological characteristics of incipient and submerged coral reefs on the inner-shelf of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef
Thesis
Full-text available
  • Jan 2018
Understanding how coral reefs have developed in the past is crucial for placing contemporary ecological and environmental change within appropriate reef building timescales (i.e. centennial to millennial). On Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR), coral reefs situated within nearshore settings on the inner continental shelf are a particular priority. This is due to their close proximity to river point sources, and therefore susceptibility to reduced water quality as the result of extensive modification of adjacent river catchments following European settlement in the region (ca. 1850 CE). However, the extent of water quality decline and its impact on the coral reefs of the GBR’s inner-shelf remains contentious and is confounded by a paucity of long-term (> decadal) datasets. Central to the on-going debate is uncertainty related to the impact of increased sediment loads, relative to the natural movement and resuspension of terrigenous sediments, which have accumulated on the inner-shelf over the last ~6,000 years. The main aim of this thesis was to characterise and investigate the vertical development of turbid nearshore coral reefs on the central GBR. This aim was achieved through the recovery of 21 reef cores (3 - 5 m in length) from five proximal turbid nearshore reefs, currently distributed across the spectrum of reef ‘geomorphological development’ within the Paluma Shoals reef complex (PSRC). The recovered reef cores were used to establish detailed depositional and palaeoecological records for the investigation of the (1) internal development and vertical accretionary history of the PSRC; and (2) compositional variation in turbid nearshore coral and benthic foraminiferal assemblages during vertical reef accretion towards sea level. Established chronostratigraphic and palaeoecological records were further used to assess the impact of post-European settlement associated water quality change in a turbid nearshore reef setting on the central GBR. Radiocarbon dating (n = 96 dates) revealed reef initiation within the PSRC to have occurred between ~2,000 and 1,000 calibrated years before present, with subsequent reef development occurring under the persistent influence of fine-grained (< 0.063 mm) terrigenous sediments. The internal development of the PSRC was characterised by discrete reef facies comprised of a loose coral framework with an unconsolidated siliciclastic-carbonate sediment matrix. A total of 29 genera of Scleractinian coral and 86 genera of benthic foraminifera were identified from the palaeoecological inventory of the PSRC. Both coral and benthic foraminiferal assemblages were characterised by distinct assemblages of taxa pre-adapted to sediment stress (i.e. low light availability and high sedimentation). At the genus level, no discernable evidence of compositional change in either coral or benthic foraminiferal assemblages was found, relative to European settlement. Instead, variations in assemblage composition were driven by intrinsic changes in prevailing abiotic conditions under vertical reef accretion towards sea level (e.g. hydrodynamic energy, light availability, and sedimentation rate). These findings therefore highlight the importance for considering reef ‘geomorphological development’ when interpreting contemporary reef ecological status. Furthermore, this research emphasises the robust nature of turbid nearshore reefs and suggests that they may be more resilient to changes in water quality than those associated with environmental settings where local background sedimentary conditions are less extreme (e.g. towards the inner/mid-shelf boundary). To this end, this thesis presents new baseline records with which to assess contemporary ecological and environmental change within turbid nearshore settings on the central GBR.
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... The test morphology of the family Elphidiidae and their systematic position has been studied in detail by Russian (Gudina and Levchuk, 1983 et al.;Krasheninnikov, 1960;Voloshinova, 1958;Voloshinova and Dain, 1952;Voloshinova and Kuznetsova, 1964;Voloshinova et al., 1970) and foreign micropaleontologists (Asao, 1937(Asao, , 1958Buzas et al., 1985;Cushman, 1930Cushman, , 1936Cushman, , 1939Galloway, 1933;Hayward et al., 1997;Wade, 1957). Therefore, this article is focused on the important biostratigraphic role of this family in developing local and regional stratigraphic scales of the Far East Region. ...
Foraminifera of the Family Elphidiidae from the Cenozoic of the Far East: Paleontology, Detailed Stratigraphy, and Paleobiogeography
Article
Full-text available
  • Feb 2022
Representatives of the foraminiferal family Elphidiidae Galloway, 1933 are widely distributed in the Cenozoic deposits of the Far East, where the main oil-and-gas fields of the region are concentrated. Species of this family are important stratigraphic and correlative markers and are used as index species for local and regional stratigraphic zones and for beds with fauna. Some characteristic species are described taxo-nomically.
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... Ballast water is generally invoked to be among of the major pathways for the introduction of nonindigenous marine species (Ruiz et al., 1997;Carlton et al., 1999;Molnar et al., 2008;Seebens et al., 2016), but hardly anything is kown about the potential role of transoceanic ship deballasting as a vector for the introduction of alien foraminifera in the Mediterranean Sea (Galil & Hülsmann 1997;McGann et al., 2020). The release of ballast water and the transport stowaway pathway related to shipping traffic (biofoulers and hitchhikers) have been widely suspected as vectors for the introduction of non-native foraminifera (Hayward, 1997;Hayward et al., 1999;McGann et al., 2000;Calvo-Marcilese & Langer, 2010;Polovodova Asteman & Schönfeld, 2016;Eichler et al., 2018;Deldicq et al., 2019), has led to a breakdown of classical biogeographic regions and is considered a major vector for Red-to-Med alien species invasions (Zenetos et al., 2012). ...
Alien and cryptogenic Foraminifera in the Mediterranean Sea: A revision of taxa as part of the EU 2020 Marine Strategy Framework Directive
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2020
The human-mediated translocation of marine alien species beyond their natural ranges started as early as people began navigating the sea and is of growing concern to nature conservation. The Mediterranean Sea is among the most severely affected areas by biological invasions, a phenomenon that has been fostered by the opening and recent extension of the Suez Canal, the transport and release of ballast water, aquaculture and aquarium trade, ichthyochory and other active or passive dispersal mechanisms. The increase of marine invasions has stimulated considerable research, but for some important groups, in particular microorganisms, data are still limited. In this paper we have reviewed the current status of marine alien foraminifera in the Mediterranean Sea. Our survey includes a comrephensive taxonomic revision of previously recognized alien taxa, and new information obtained from the fossil record and from molecular studies. Our survey and reexamination of alien benthic foraminifera yielded a total of 44 validly recognized species and two species of cryptogenic taxa and reduces the number of previous recordings. The revised list includes both larger symbiont-bearing and smaller benthic foraminifera, including 16 hyaline-perforate, 3 agglutinated and 25 porcelaneous taxa. The vast majority of alien foraminifera recorded so far have become established in the Eastern and Central Mediterranean Sea, indicative for translocation and introduction via the Suez Canal pathway. Only one species, Amphistegina lobifera, causes significant ecological impacts and fulfills the criteria to be considered as an invasive alien. This species is a prolific carbonate producer, and displays extreme forms of ecosystem invasibility with capabilities to reduce native diversity and species richness. The proliferation and rates of recently observed range extensions, track contemporary sea surface temperature increases, provide strong support for previous species distribution models, and corroborate findings that rising water temperatures, global climate change and the extension of climate belts are major drivers fueling the latitudinal range expansion of larger symbiont-bearing and smaller epiphytic foraminifera. Intensified efforts to study alien foraminifera on a molecular level, in dated cores and in ballast water are required to trace their source of origin, to identify vectors of introduction and to verify their status as true aliens.
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... E, F, Elphidium aff. maorium Hayward; species recorded by Hayward et al. (1997) from the Upper Eocene to Holocene, widespread in south-west Pacific region. G, H, Elphidium cf. ...
Widespread seagrass meadows during the Early Miocene (Burdigalian) in southwestern Australia paralleled modern seagrass distributions
Article
  • Jun 2020
  • PALAEOGEOGR PALAEOCL
The Trealla Limestone, which forms a veneer of foraminiferal-rich limestone and covers over 4000 km² of the tectonically stable Southern Carnarvon Platform, contains the oldest evidence for seagrass meadows known in Western Australia. It belongs to Lower Tf1 Letter Stage (based on larger benthic foraminifers) of the Burdigalian, within interval 19–16 Ma, and is the only Miocene unit on the platform. The Trealla Limestone here is coeval to the deeper water lower part of the much thicker Trealla Limestone in the Exmouth Sub-basin to the northwest. A seagrass-meadow depositional environment is indicated by most of the studied microfacies based on comparisons with modern sediment composition and foraminiferal assemblages found in innermost shelf seagrass banks between 23°S and 32°S on the present Western Australian coast. Some levels in the Trealla Limestone on the platform (e.g. with abundant miliolid foraminifers, and absence of coral debris) probably were deposited in and around dense seagrass meadows similar to those present today in the metahaline (40–55 ppt salinity) reaches of Shark Bay; whereas other levels (e.g. coral floatstone) were deposited under normal-marine conditions. Based on comparisons with modern carbonate sediment and biota in the region, the biogenic composition of the Trealla Limestone on the platform suggests winter minimum sea-surface temperatures within the range of 17–22 °C. The Nullabor Limestone in the Eucla Basin, at 10° further south on the southern Australian margin, is similar, at least in part, in composition and age to the Trealla Limestone on the Southern Carnarvon Platform. Both may have been deposited during a Burdigalian sea-level rise, and during part of the Miocene climate optimum recognized elsewhere. Sediment composition and foraminiferal assemblages (including epiphytic types) found in the Trealla and Nullabor limestones are similar to those in the modern seagrass banks of the region. This suggests that seagrasses similar to the extensive Posidonia and Amphibolus stands, which are dominant today between 25°S and 35°S along the Western Australian coast, were widespread during the Burdigalian.
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Foraminiferal and Palynological Records of an Abrupt Environmental Change at the Badenian/Sarmatian Boundary (Middle Miocene): A Case Study in Northeastern Central Paratethys
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2024
The Badenian/Sarmatian boundary in the Central Paratethyan basins is characterised by a change from open marine conditions during the late Badenian to the assumed brackish conditions during the early Sarmatian. The foraminiferal and palynological results of the Badenian/Sarmatian boundary interval in the Babczyn 2 borehole (in SE Poland) showed that the studied interval accumulated under variable, unstable sedimentary conditions. The Badenian/Sarmatian boundary, as correlated with a sudden extinction of stenohaline foraminifera, is interpreted as being due to the shallowing of the basin. The lack of foraminifera and marine palynomorphs just above the Badenian/Sarmatian boundary can reflect short-term anoxia. The composition of the euryhaline assemblages, characteristic for the lower Sarmatian part of the studied succession, indicates from marine to hypersaline conditions.
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Benthic foraminiferal assemblages from the Mauritanian shelf and upper slope and their association with cold-water coral habitats
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2023
This study documents foraminiferal faunas from the Mauritanian upper slope and shelf and analyses their association with cold-water coral habitats (=CWCH). It is based on the analysis of foraminiferal tests in 28 sediment samples of the >250 µm fraction only. One hundred and fifty seven benthic species are recorded, described and one hundred and fifty four are imaged. It increases the number of benthic foraminiferal species so far reported in this area from 102 to 157 and their description from 33 to 157.An analysis of the structure, composition, and diversity of the species-rich benthic foraminiferal faunas is given. It reveals the existence of three main faunal clusters: a living coral cluster, a non-living coral cluster and a low diversity/Tetragonostomina rhombiformis Mikhalevich, 1975 cluster. The living coral cluster is dominated by the species Rosalina vermiculata (d'Orbigny, 1839 in Jones, 1994), which until now not has been reported specifically reported as an important species from CWCH. The non-living coral cluster lacks a dominant species and is characterised by a set of species more evenly distributed. A subcluster is found to be associated with dead coral debris. The low diversity/Tetragonostomina rhombiformis cluster is interpreted as an endemic fauna at shallower water-depths with mud as its preferred substrate. This study extends the knowledge on benthic foraminiferal faunas from CWCH and the Mauritanian upper bathyal slope and shelf.
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Ecology and Palaeoecology of Benthic Foraminifera
Book
  • Oct 2014
This is an important and authoritative review of foraminiferal ecology, the first for over a decade. Professor Murray relates ecological data on living forms of foraminifera to the palaeoecology of fossil species, and defines in detail areas of global distribution.
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Atlas of Benthic Shelf Foraminifera of the Southwest Atlantic
Book
  • Jan 1980
Area of Study.- Water masses.- Cape Horn current.- Malvin current.- Coastal Argentine waters.- Area influenced by the Rio de la Plata.- Coastal waters of Uruguay and Southern Brazil.- Benthic foraminifera provinces.- North Patagonian subprovince.- South Patagonian subprovince.- Malvin subprovince.- Summary of Benthic Foraminiferal Investigations in the Area.- Principal Factors Influencing the Benthic Foraminiferal Distribution.- Salinity.- Euhaline foraminifera.- Hypohaline foraminifera.- Fresh water foraminifera.- Salt marsh foraminifera.- Temperature.- Depth.- Water mass.- Systematics and Distribution.- Euhaline species.- Hypohaline and fresh water species.- References.- Plates.- Maps.
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Manual of New Zealand Permian to Pleistocene foraminiferal biostratigraphy
Article
  • Jan 1989
This manual is a concise, illustrated practical guide to the foraminiferal basis for the correlation and classification of New Zealand marine strata. The first part consists of seventeen short introductory chapters on the collection, preparation, curation and illustration of fossil foraminifera as well as containing sections on biology, nomenclature, classification, publishing journals, biostratigraphic practice and stages. A chapter on time scales and overseas correlations deals briefly with radiometric dating methods and the application of magnetic polarity stratigraphy to geochronology. A chapter on depth paleoecology deals with well known examples of Cretaceous and Cenozoic biofacies. The second part deals with the key fusulinid foraminifera of the Permian and key species of the Triassic and the New Zealand Cretaceous and Cenozoic stages. The history, definition, key foraminifera, stratotypes and distribution of the Cenozoic stages are dealt with in most detail. Over 500 species of benthic and planktonic foraminifera are illustrated and their updated time ranges are given. -from Authors
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