The Priabonian is generally recognized and accepted as a stage name for
the uppermost Eocene. The name is derived from the small village ofPriabona
in the North Italian province of Vicenza (fig. 1). Since the underlying and
overlying stages of the idealized chronostratigraphic scale are based on sections
in completely different sedimentation areas in northwest Europe which
are remote from each other and from Priabona, the correlation between the
type sections, especially at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary has been a subject
of much discussion.
The predominantly carbonate facies of the Priabonian deposits contain
abundant larger foraminifera, and were therefore of great interest to paleontologists
at the beginning of the 20th century. Unfortunately the groups
represented belong to poorly defined lineages without distinct or sufficiently
well-known evolutionary trends. In addition, the scarcity of planktonic organisms
means that the type Priabonian is not very promising as a basis for
establishing modern biostratigraphic correlations.
The primary object of this study is to provide an illustrated record of the
smaller foraminifera, both benthonic and planktonic. The widest possible
range of habitats was obtained by investigating the contents of three sections:
the Buco della Rana section, thought to lie close to the Late Eocene shallow
carbonate platform; the off-shore Bressana section; and the Priabona section,
paleogeographically situated in an intermediate position on the slope between
platform and off-shore area. An additional study has been carried out involving
microfacies analysis of the carbonates ~nd quantitative investigations of the
benthonic faunas from intercalated marls. The purpose of this study was to
obtain a better appreciation of the environments of the deposition and a
correct biostratigraphic correlation of the three sections.
The original intention was to give a thorough account of biometrical data
on the larger foraminifera, but this had to be restricted to a detailed study of
certain assemblages of the Discocydinidae
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