Valanginian to Barremian Benthic Foraminifera from ODP Site 766 (Leg 123, Indian Ocean)

A Valanginian to Barremian bathyal foraminiferal assemblage (118 taxa belonging to 51 genera) is documented from ODP Site 766, drilled near the foot of the Exmouth Plateau off northwest Australia. The majority of taxa are cosmopolitan species previously described from the boreal assemblages of northern Europe and the northern margins of the Tethys, but 32 taxa could not be assigned to previously described species and are left in open nomenclature. The chronostratigraphy of this section is based upon nannofossils, palynomorphs, and radiolarians. The foraminiferal succession is divided into four assemblages based on the first and last occurrences of characteristic benthic foraminifera: 1) An upper Valanginian Lenticulina ouachensis - Textularia bettenstaedti assemblage with Ammodiscus tenuissimus, Bulbobaculites sp., and Aaptotoichus clavellatus. The last occurrences of these taxa are observed near the transition between the Valanginian and Hauterivian. 2) A lower Hauterivian assemblage is characterized by Lenticulina heiermanni and Saracenaria forticosta. 3) An upper Hauterivian assemblage contains Planularia crepidularis, Patellina subcretacea, and Reinholdella hofkeri. A major faunal discontinuity is observed at the top of this assemblage between Cores 766A-32R and 766A-30R, probably associated with a depositional gap between the late Hauterivian and the Barremian. 4) The overlying Barremian assemblage is characterized by Gavelinella barremiana, Glomospira spp., and Pseudogaudryinella sp. This record enables long-distance comparisons of the stratigraphic ranges of benthic foraminiferal species in the austral bioprovince with their reported ranges in the North Atlantic region and the northern Tethys. Although the assemblages at Site 766 consist of ca. 74% cosmopolitan species, they differ from Tethyan assemblages in the rarity or absence of index taxa such as Praedorothia spp., Lenticulina nodosa and L. eichenbergi, as well as ornamented, palmate morphotypes such as Citharina spp., Flabellina spp., and Frondicularia spp. They differ from the typical boreal assemblages by the lack of diverse agglutinated taxa. As a result, benthic foraminiferal zonations established for the Lower Cretaceous of the northern Tethys and Tethyan DSDP sites could not be applied at Site 766. Taxonomic and biostratigraphic differences at Site 766 support the existence of a taxonomically distinct Early Cretaceous austral bioprovince

Response of deep-water agglutinated foraminifera to dysoxic conditions in the California Borderland basins

Analysis of agglutinated benthic foraminifera from surface samples collected in the San Pedro and Santa Catalina Basins reveals a predictable relationship between the proportions of morphogroups with decreasing bottom water oxygen levels and with the TOC content of the surficial sediment. Living (Rose Bengal stained) foraminiferal faunas from dysaerobic environments display low diversity and high dominance, suggesting stressed conditions. There is an inverse relationship between oxygen and the relative abundance of deep infaunal morphogroups. Samples collected from shallow stations above the oxygen minimum zone are comprised of epifaunal and shallow infaunal morphotypes. At intermediate depths (~500 m), there is a peak in the abundance of suspension-feeding and "climbing" forms (watchglass-shaped trochamminids attached to Rhabdammina). Specimens from intermediate stations display the largest overall size. Deeper in the San Pedro Basin the living fauna is dominated by a small, flattened, tapered, species that is interpreted as having a deep infaunal microhabitat. In the dysaerobic environments off California the greatest degree of faunal change occurs when bottom water dissolved oxygen values drop from 0.5 ml/l to 0.2 ml/l. The effect of TOC content on the benthic fauna is demonstrated at two stations from the same depth in the San Pedro Basin. The station with the higher TOC content (4.2% vs. 2.9%) contains greater proportions of the small, deep infaunal morphotype. These faunal changes may be attributed to differences in the depth of the oxygenated zone within the sediment surface layer. Agglutinated faunas from areas that experience seasonal anoxia are comprised of a large proportion of opportunistic forms such as Reophax and Psammosphaera. These are the same taxa that colonised abiotic sediment trays in a recolonisation experiment in the Panama Basin. This study further demonstrates that agglutinated foraminiferal morphotypes respond in a similar manner to calcareous benthic foraminifera in dysaerobic environments

Neaguammina n.gen., a new agglutinated foraminiferal genus from the Lower Cretaceous of DSDP Site 263 (Indian Ocean) / Neaguammina n.gen., nowy rodzaj w obrębie otwornic aglutynujących z dolnej kredy Oceanu Indyjskiego (DSDP, "Site 263")

The new genus Neaguammina n.gen. is proposed for organically-cemented prolixoplectid foraminifera with trochospiral-triserial-biserial coiling and an interiomarginal aperture. We believe that many taxa that have formerly been assigned to the genus Gaudryina can now be placed in Neaguammina n.gen. / Wyróżniono nowy rodzaj Neaguammina n.gen. w grupie otwornic aglutynujących z rodziny Prolixoplectidae. Otwornice tego rodzaju charakteryzuje trochospiralno-trójszeregowo-dwuszeregowy układ komór skorupki, ujscie u podstawy ostatniej komory oraz sciany aglutynowane cementem organicznym. Autorzy uważają, że niektóre gatunki należące do rodzaju Gaudryina można obecnie zaliczyć do rodzaju Neaguammina n.gen