Micropalaeontology

Foraminifera were investigated across the sapropel unit corresponding to insolation cycle 90 deposited in three different oceanographic and depositional settings of the Mediterranean Sea (Alboran Sea, South Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea). The constant presence of benthic foraminifera throughout the sapropels at <2000 m water depth and their absence within the sapropel at greater depth (>3000 m) indicate that the severity of oxygen depletion at the time of sapropel onset increases with increasing water depth.

Two ammonites Teschenites subflucticulus Reboulet and Criosarasinella mandovi Thieuloy have been found for the first time in the Flysch Carpathians. They occur in the so far poorly dated Early Cretaceous flysch deposits of the Silesian Nappe at Poznachowice Dolne, in the Upper Cieszyn Shale and the Hradiště (Grodziszcze) beds lithotypes, respectively. Teschenites subflucticulus points to Late Valanginian (Furcillata Zone), but nanno- plankton points to Late Hauterivian-Late Barremian and dinocysts to Late Hauterivian, all analyzed from the same sample. Criosarasinella mandovi points also to Late Valanginian (Furcillata Zone), what is not in contra- diction with the nannoplankton assemblage (Early Valanginian-Early Barremian) analyzed from the same bed, but dinocysts suggest Late Hauterivian. Preservation of the ammonites and sedimentary features of their host beds exclude redeposition. The difference in age by almost 3 Ma years between the ammonites and microfossils cannot be satisfactorily explained according to the current knowledge on their biostratigraphic meaning; it is left as it is as a dilemma.

The grey-blue, plastic and non calcareous clay of Wobbanz (SE-Rügen) contains similar phosphatic and sideritic nodules as the Lower Eocene clay of Friedland and Pisede (Mecklenburg), as well as the London Clay (or Tarras) of Fehmarn in Holstein (NW-Germany). The ichnofossil assemblage of the flat sideritic concretions indicates a sedimentation of the clay in a water depth down to 200 m. Pyritized radiolarians, diatoms, and a few agglutinated foraminifers are characteristic for the Lower Eocene 2 of the north-west German micropaleontological division of the Eocene and of the Marnitz Formation of Mecklenburg. Furthermore, also pyritized, poriferan scleres, small gastropods, and echinoid remains, as well as chitinophosphatic remains of bony fishes, scolecodonts of polychaetes and organic-walled dinoflagellates also occur. The erratic clay deposits of SE-Rügen were dislocated about 30-50 km to the East-Northeast in the vicinity of the TornquistTeisseyre Zone (TTZ). The deposition of deeper water sediments contradicts the postulated Lower Eocene basin margin at the tectonic active TTZ and requires a larger extension of the Lower Eocene sea to the East.

The Lower Tortonian Ag. Giannis section, in Gavdos Island, Greece, consists of an outer neritic to upper bathyal, marly hemipelagic sequence which is interrupted by thick turbidite-like sandy deposits. During deposition of the marly intervals, reworking was considerably reduced.

63 conodont elements, referred to four multielement genera (Neosputhodus, Cypridodella, Ketinella and Ellisonia) were recovered from the Upper Anisian-Lower Ladinian 'fossiliferous limestone' member of the Saharonim Formation, Makhtesh Ramon, Israel. The new form-speciesNeospnthodus shagami sp. nov. is here described. Together with associated conodont elements, this species appears to show a close relationship to more advanced Gondolellaceans. Absence of true platform conodonts in the studied fauna may be due to paleoecological or phylogenetic factors.

Lithostratigraphic, foraminiferal and calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphic studies have
been carried out on ditch cutting samples from KR-1 well located in the offshore area of the
Niger delta. The Agbada Formation sediments are made up of shales and sandy shales which
are grey in colour with intercalations of medium to fine grained sandstone beds. The shales
are fissile and slightly calcareous while the sandy shales are light grey, ferruginous and subfissile.
The sediments yielded rare planktonic but relatively rich benthonic foraminifera and
calcareous nannofossils with significant variations in abundance and diversity. The
important foraminifera recovered are Globigerina ciporoensis angustiumblicata,
Globigerinoides praebulloides, Lenticulina inornata, Epistominella vitrea, Hanzawaia
concentrica, Poroeponides lateralis, Quiqueloculina lamarckiana, and Brizalina
mandoroveensis while Helicosphaera truempyi, Calcidiscus leptoporus, Cyclicargolithus
abisectus, Cyclicargolithus floridanus, Discoaster and Helicosphaera euphrati constitute the
principal nannofossils. Early Miocene age was assigned to the section using the top
occurrences of some of these taxa while a marginal marine environment of deposition was
suggested due to the low diversity of nannofossils and very low planktonic/bentonic ratio.

Micropaleontological, mineralogical and geochemical data of the Ypresian-Lutetian transition at the Sejnen section, Tunisia, allowed us to trace a precise correlation with the Global Stratotype Section and Point for the Ypresian/Lutetian boundary recently defined at Gorrondatxe, Spain. The planktic foraminifera assemblages are diversified and enable the biozones of Acarinina pentacamerata (E6), Acarinina cuneicamerata (E7a), Turborotalia frontosa (E7b), Guembelitrioides nuttalli (E8) and Globigerinatheka kugleri/Morozovella aragonensis (E9) to be identified, revealing a hiatus across the E8/E9 boundary. Comparison with the boundary stratotype indicates that the Ypresian/Lutetian boundary in the Sejnen section is located near the base of the E7b zone, just above the first appearance of the species T. frontosa. In the Sejnen section, there are several events identical to those recorded in the boundary stratotype at the Gorrondatxe section. In the middle of this interval, the species diversity of planktic foraminifera is the first to decline, followed by that of the benthic foraminifera in the two sections. Furthermore, taxa with calcareous test peter out while those with agglutinated test reach their peak. There is a marked fall in carbonates in the two sections; while also variations in clay minerals, smectite and kaolinite are very abundant. In the Sejnen section, smectite is the dominant mineral and silica reached its peak. All these data indicate that in northern Tunisia at the Ypresian-Lutetian transition, the marine environment was deep and bathyal, with low energy, oxygenated and characterized by a warm tropical to subtropical climate. Consequently, the Sejnen section may be a suitable section to be defined as auxiliary section (=hypostratotype).

The present investigation is based on detailed taxonomical analyses combining light microscopy (LM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and critical reviews of publications and type material. This method revealed a higher number of diatom taxa than that reported for the Altiplano, reports that are based on LM and SEM, but force-fitting the taxa into their European relatives. It also became evident that some taxa often reported from the Altiplano do not occur or are less common in this region and that misidentifications are the consequence not only of force-fitting, but also of misinterpretation of the original protologues and illustrations (taxonomic concept drift). These findings have important repercussions on past palaeoecological assessments for the Altiplano, which have been based on ecological information for taxa developing in ecosystems of highly contrasting conditions. Here we present the case of three araphid diatoms, which were reported as known taxa from Europe and elsewhere, but in fact correspond to taxa described as new for the Altiplano or unpublished taxa. It is recommended that: (1) a flora for this region is developed utilizing sound microscopical data and reviewing pertinent type material, (2) key common taxa used for past palaeoecological studies in the Altiplano are reviewed using a taxonomically thorough and critical method, and future palaeoecological studies for the Andes are supported by prior detailed taxonomical analysis.

Biostratigraphic analysis of the Eocene-Oligocene transition (E-O) at the Menzel Bou Zelfa and Jhaff composite section in the Cap Bon Peninsula (North East Tunisia) allowed us to recognize a continuous planktic foraminiferal biozonation: E14 Globigerinatheka semiinvoluta Zone, E15 Globigerinatheka index Zone, E16 Hantkenina alabamensis Zone and O1 Pseudohastigerina naguewichiensis Zone. A quantitative study of benthic and planktic foraminifera assemblages was carried out and the richness and diversity of foraminifera allowed us to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental evolution from marine to terrestrial environments. From the Eocene E14 Zone, the foraminiferal association characterizes a relatively warm climate with considerable oxygen content and a dominance of keeled and spinose planktic foraminifera, which became extinct at the E/O boundary, possibly due to cooling of the planktic environment. Nevertheless, the small benthic foraminifera do not show an extinction event at the Eocen...

The Laurinswand section in the Rosengarten/Catinaccio Massif (Dolomites, Southern Alps, Italy) covers the Permian-Triassic boundary in a proximal marine setting. The section has been studied for palynology, ostracods and carbonate microfacies. Five microfacies types are defined for the carbonates of the Bellerophon Formation (Changhsingian) in this section. Ostracod assemblages from the upper Bellerophon Formation show a moderate to high diversity and mostly indicate normal marine conditions, with some samples from the upper Casera Razzo Member being dominated by eurytopic forms. The ostracod fauna follows transgressive-regressive trends with low diverse assemblages occurring in the regres-sive parts. These trends are also reflected in the microfacies and can be assigned to three sequences. Palynological assemblages are dominated by phytoclasts, which is typical for proximal marine environments. Sporomorphs are represented predominantly by bisaccate and asaccate pollen grains and are mostly minor components of the palynofacies. Other minor , but consistent components in the Bellerophon Formation are acritarchs, Reduviasporonites and unidentified possible algae or fungi. The latter are particularly abundant in samples with ostracod faunas indicating restricted conditions. The Werfen Formation (uppermost Permian to Lower Triassic) yielded quantitatively poor palynological assemblages, with one sample from the Tesero Member showing a notable increase in spores and spore tetrads. This is indicative of the so-called "spore spike", a well-known signal from this interval. One sample from the overlying Mazzin Member demonstrated a high relative abundance of Reduviasporonites, which may be related to mass occurrences of this taxon in the Tesero Member at Tesero and at other localities near the Permian-Triassic boundary. Such a mass occurrence normally pre-dates the spore spike, whereas at the Laurinswand, the former postdates the latter considerably.

The Latest Danian Event (LDE) is a proposed early Palaeogene transient warming event similar to the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, albeit of smaller magnitude. The LDE can be correlated with a carbon isotope excursion ('CIE-DS1') at Zumaia, Spain, and the 'top Chron C27n event' defined recently from ocean drilling sites in the Atlantic and Pacific, supporting a global extent. Yet, records of environmental change during the LDE (e.g. warming and sea-level fluctuations) are still rare. In this study, we focus on the micropalaeontology (calcareous nannofossils and benthic foraminifera), mineralogy and trace element geochemistry of the LDE in the Qreiya 3 section from the southern Tethyan margin in Egypt. In this section, the LDE is characterized by the occurrence of anomalous beds intercalated within upper Danian shales and marls. The event beds of the LDE are situated above an unconformity on top of a shallowing-upwards sequence deposited in a well-oxygenated outer neritic to upper bathyal marine palaeoenvironment. The lower LDE bed is barren of benthic foraminifera, but contains pyrite and fish remains, and is interpreted as an anoxic level formed during rapid relative sea-level rise. Incursion of a Neoeponides duwi (Nakkady, 1950) benthic assemblage in LDE bed II is interpreted as repopulation of the seafloor after anoxia. The sea-level cycle associated with the LDE is estimated at about 50 m maximum in the Qreiya 3 section. The environmental changes at Qreiya 3 are of supraregional extent, since a similar sequence of events has been observed at other southern Tethyan locations.

The Baelen mud mounds in eastern Belgium represent a local member of the mid-Famennian Souverain-Pré Formation (an important carbonate interval within the Condroz Sandstone Group). The lower part of this member contains silty bioclastic wackestones and packstones that are particularly rich in the problematical protists Serrisinella and Dreesenulella. Plurilocular foraminifera (Septabrunsiina and Baelenia) and rare solitary rugose corals (Neaxon? sp.) occur within crinoidal grainstones (tempestites) interfingering with the latter bioclastic wacke-/packstones and with red-stained stromatactoid spiculitic mudstones (carbonate mud mound core facies). Although Serrisinella is quite common in other mid-Famennian limestones of Belgium, Dreesenulella is almost endemic of the Baelen Member. Both genera apparently inhabited the muddy sediment-water interface, constituting meadows probably in zones of intermittently strong bottom currents. The taxonomic similarities between Dreesenulella and Saccamminopsis are discussed, as well as their possible affinities with the Xenophyophora and Kokomiacea. The first stages of the Septabrunsiina-Baelenia foraminiferal lineage are analysed in detail. The taxonomic and palaeoecological positioning of Serrisinella and Dreesenulella adds to the discussion about the palaeobathymetry of the Baelen mud mounds and corroborates sedimentological evidence for their relatively shallow carbonate ramp depositional setting.

Although it is often suggested that diatom wall morphology is faithfully replicated at each cell division, it is also well known that the average cell size of a diatom population usually decreases as cells proliferate. Comparisons between the two valves of a single frustule may also reveal morphological differences, indicating that valve ontogenetic processes are susceptible to modification. This paper will discuss the different factors affecting valve morphology in diatoms and some of the implications for ecological and palaeo-ecological studies using diatoms. It will also consider some of the problems of evaluating variation between clonal populations, and the influence of findings from molecular biology and reproductive studies on the interpretation of morphology and species concepts.

Foraminiferal assemblages in the stratigraphically
lower part of the Bouse Formation
in the Blythe basin (lower Colorado
River corridor, western USA) indicate
marine conditions, whereas assemblages in
the upper part of the Bouse Formation indicate
lacustrine conditions and suggest the
presence of a saline lake. Benthic foraminiferal
assemblages in the lower part of the
Bouse Formation are similar to lagoonal
and inner neritic biofacies of the modern
Gulf of California. Evidence suggesting a
change from marine to lacustrine conditions
includes the highest occurrence of planktic
foraminifers at an elevation of 123 m above
sea level (asl), the change from low diversity
to monospecifi c foraminiferal assemblages
composed only of Ammonia beccarii (between
110 and 126 m asl), an increase in abundance
of A. beccarii specimens (above ~110 m asl),
increased number of deformed tests (above
~123 m asl), fi rst appearance of Chara (at
~85 m asl), lowest occurrence of reworked
Cretaceous coccoliths (at ~110 m), a decrease
in strontium isotopic values (between 70 and
120 m), and δ18O and δ13C values similar to
seawater (between 70 and 100 m asl). Planktic
foraminifers indicate a late Miocene age
between 8.1 and 5.3 Ma for the oldest part of
the Bouse Formation in the southern part
of the Blythe basin. Benthic and planktic foraminifers
correlate with other late Miocene
sections in the proto–Gulf of California and
suggest that the basal Bouse Formation in
the Blythe basin was deposited at the northern
end of this proto-gulf. After the marine
connection was restricted or eliminated,
the Colorado River fl owed into the Blythe
basin, forming a saline lake. This lake supported
a monospecifi c foraminiferal assemblage
of A. beccarii until the lake spilled into
the Salton Trough and the Colorado River
became a through-fl owing river.

Despite abundant geologic literature about the Po coastal plain, stratigraphic architecture beneath modern Po River Delta is virtually unknown. In this paper, combined sedimentological, micropalaeontological and geochemical investigations of three continuous cores (cores 1 to 3), about 40 m thick, enable for the first time the detailed reconstruction of subsurface stratigraphy in the Po River Delta area, along with its late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental evolution. Lowstand deposits, formed during the Last Glacial Maximum, are expressed as a fining-upward succession of fluvial-channel and related overbank deposits, capped by a stiff, overconsolidated horizon. Above this unconformable surface, the lower post-glacial succession (transgressive systems tract or TST) is less than 7 m thick and includes a deepening-upward succession of back-barrier, shoreface and inner-shelf deposits. On the other hand, the overlying highstand systems tract is considerably thicker (up to 27 m) and comprises the bulk of recent delta progradation (i.e., vertically stacked prodelta, delta front and delta-plain deposits). Stratigraphic correlations within early transgressive, back-barrier deposits show vertically stacked, thin shallowing-upward successions, reflecting an internal subdivision of TST into small-scale parasequences. The homogeneous shallow-marine clay that accumulated at the turnaround from transgressive to highstand conditions can be palaeontologically differentiated into two packages (Miliolidae-dominated and Ammonia/ Cribroelphidium-dominated), reflecting open-marine and river-influenced conditions, respectively. Timing of maximum marine ingression (maximum flooding surface-MFS) is recorded within the open-marine clays at about 5500 calibrated yr BP by minor changes in microfauna. Geochemical characterization of Core 1 testifies that distinct changes in sediment provenance accompanied the palaeoenvironmental evolution of the study area under changing relative sea-level conditions. At lowstand times, the study area was an alluvial plain under the influence of Adige River, as suggested by comparatively high Ba/Al values within pre-Holocene fluvial deposits. Increasing upward values of Cr/Al 2 O 3 and Ni/Mg within TST suggest an increasing sediment provenance from the Po River during early stages of transgression, via the longshore drift. The onset of modern-age Po Delta in the study area is precisely identified in Core 1 at 25.10 m depth, and has a distinctive, double signature. In terms of microfaunal assemblages, Po River sediments are clearly marked by the development of a characteristic foraminiferal association dominated by the opportunistic species Nonionella turgida, a taxon typically abundant in the marginal zone of present northern Adriatic Sea mudbelt. Po River deposits are also fingerprinted by a peculiar geochemical composition, corresponding to maximum Cr and Ni concentrations.

Abstract
The Taleh Zang Formation is predominately carbonate lithostratigraphic unit that outcrops in
eastern side of Lorestan
Basin,SW Iran. This Formation was stuidied from microbiostratigraphic point of view at Four
measured section, in the west of khorram abad (Robat section), Gahalebi and  Veisian sections
(south of khorram Abad), Type section. In all sections, the lower and upper boundary of TalehZang

Formation with Amiran and Kashkan Formations are confortable.Microbiostratigraphic
data minly based on foraminifera indicate the Middel Paleocene to Late Paleocene for the Taleh
Zang Formation for Tang-e Tir and Veisian Chenar sections, Late Paleocene to Middle Eocene 
for Type Section.

Key words: Taleh Zang, Formation, Iran, Lorestan Basin,Late Paleocene, Eocene,

Three new species of ostracodes are reported from the dinosaur-bearing Escucha Formation at Ariño in Eastern Spain (Iberian Range): Rosacythere denticulata sp. nov., Theriosynoecum escuchaensis sp. nov. and Theriosynoecum arinnoensis sp. nov. Associated charophyta include Clavator harrisii harrisii and Clavator harrisii zavialensis indicating a Lower Albian age, therefore extending the stratigraphic range of the genus Theriosynoecum into the Albian in southern Europe. The environment of deposition for the dinosaur bonebed is interpreted as permanent lacustrine given the association of limnic ostracodes and charophytes.

Concretions of the Wenlock Series Herefordshire Konservat-Lagerstätte of the Welsh Borderland have yielded one of the few recorded Silurian radiolarian faunas world-wide and the only one known from the Silurian of Britain. The low diversity radiolarian fauna consists of new forms of Inaniguttidae (Inanihella sagena sp. nov. and Inanihella sp.), Haplentactiniidae (Haplentactinia armista sp. nov.) and a previously reported form of Secuicollactidae (Secuicollacta hexatinia (Won et al., 2002)). The fauna has affinities with Silurian radiolarian assemblages of the Urals, the Canadian Arctic and Alaska. Stratigraphically the Herefordshire fauna appears transitional between established Silurian radiolarian biozones. J. Micropalaeontol. 26(1): 87-95, April 2007.

Microfossils can be a common component of ancient ceramic artefacts. Their analysis in this unusual context is a little-known, yet promising, cross-disciplinary application of micropalaeontology. This article presents the first detailed assessment of the phenomenon of microfossils in ancient ceramics and demonstrates how micropalaeontology can contribute to a range of issues in archaeological ceramic analysis and the reconstruction of the human past. In describing a methodology by which micropalaeontologists and archaeologists can analyse microfossiliferous ceramics, this paper presents the foundations of an approach, which is here referred to as ‘ceramic micropalaeontology’.

The origin of flowering plants is still a matter of dispute. Several lines of evidence suggest
that their origin may go back to the Triassic. This paper reports on pollen grains with angiosperm-like
morphologies from marine Middle Triassic sediments of the Boreal Realm (Norwegian Arctic, Barents
Sea area). The morphology of these pollen grains is comparable to forms recorded from the Early
Cretaceous, which are generally attributed to angiosperms. The new finds of angiosperm-like pollen are
the earliest in the fossil record so far and show an astonishing high diversity. In contrast to other early
records, they come from high palaeolatitudes with an inferred warm-temperate climate. The new finds
suggest the presence of the first angiosperms during the Middle Triassic (242–227 Ma) or, alternatively,
provide evidence for an as-yet unknown group of gymnosperms, possibly an extinct sister group of the
flowering plants.

Manual identification of foraminiferal morphospecies or morphotypes under stereo microscopes is time consuming for micropalaeontologists and not possible for nonspecialists. Therefore, a long-term goal has been to automate this process to improve its efficiency and repeatability. Recent advances in computation hardware have seen deep convolutional neural networks emerge as the state-of-the-art technique for image-based automated classification. Here, we describe a method for classifying large foraminifera image sets using convolutional neural networks. Construction of the classifier is demonstrated on the publicly available Endless Forams image set with a best accuracy of approximately 90 %. A complete automatic analysis is performed for benthic species dated to the last deglacial period for a sediment core from the northeastern Pacific and for planktonic species dated from the present until 180 000 years ago in a core from the western Pacific warm pool. The relative abundances from automatic counting based on more than 500 000 images compare favourably with manual counting, showing the same signal dynamics. Our workflow opens the way to automated palaeoceanographic reconstruction based on computer image analysis and is freely available for use.

A combined geochemical and micropalaeontological study of the late Albian 'Amadeus Segment' of the Aptian-Albian organic-rich Scisti a Fucoidi Formation in central Italy shows that planktic foraminiferal assemblages record changes in abundance and composition which are markedly related to CaC03 and Total Organic Carbon content of the sediments. The distribution pattern of different genera seems to record changes in nutrient supply and surface water temperature. Changes in palaeoceanographic regime are also reflected in abundance, composition and trophic structure of benthic foraminiferal assemblages as a response to variations of oxygen content and organic flux to the sea floor.

Foraminifera are abundant in all marine and coastal settings. Their microfossils have proved to be particularly useful in Quaternary stratigraphic, paleoenvironmental, and paleoclimate reconstructions. Since the 1980s, benthic foraminifera have been employed to answer important archaeological questions mainly focused on the study of provenance and technology of ancient ceramics, the distinction between natural and cultural marine shell deposits, the reconstruction of sea-level changes and submerged Paleolithic and Mesolithic sites, and the investigation of coastal human occupation since the Neolithic, particularly ancient harbours.

South America Conodonta Reference List - 92 entries

This is a reference list of scientific papers (published) and thesis (unpublished) concerning Conodonta in South America. Abstracts and conference papers not included.
It is a sub product of my compilation of the South American Vertebrate Paleontology Reference List (1774-2018)
Hope it would be of some help for Micropaleontology researchers everywhere.
Please do not change the list or include any reference. Any inclusion (I'm sure there will be many) or correction, please forward me directly to the email <[email protected]>
I also ask that, whenever you quote this list, please give the credit as follows:

De Luna P. 2018. South America Vertebrate Conodonta Reference List - version 20180128, DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.15321.21605
Available at:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/rrqd10le11ahi1r/South_America_Conodonta_Reference_List.pdf

Early Devonian charophytes are reported from Australia (Buchan, Victoria) and Europe (Landeyran, southern France): Moellerina australica n. sp. Feist and Pinnoputamen occitanicum n. sp. Feist. Sedimentological data and associated faunas from these localities accord with both species having inhabited lacustrine or estuarine environments. A critical review of Devonian biotopes confirms that, as with present day species, Mid Palaeozoic charophytes could not have lived in open marine habitats. Originating in Baltica during the Silurian, charophytes appeared in Gondwana in the earliest Devonian.

Where a licence is displayed above, please note the terms and conditions of the licence govern your use of this document. When citing, please reference the published version. Take down policy While the University of Birmingham exercises care and attention in making items available there are rare occasions when an item has been uploaded in error or has been deemed to be commercially or otherwise sensitive.

Planktonic foraminifera are widely used in biostratigraphic, palaeoceanographic and evolutionary studies, but the strength of many study conclusions could be weakened if taxonomic identifications are not reproducible by different workers. In this study, to assess the relative importance of a range of possible reasons for among-worker disagreement in identification, 100 specimens of 26 species of macroperforate planktonic foraminifera were selected from a core-top site in the subtropical Pacific Ocean. Twenty-three scientists at different career stages-including some with only a few days experience of planktonic foraminifera-were asked to identify each specimen to species level, and to indicate their confidence in each identification. The participants were provided with a species list and had access to additional reference materials. We use generalised linear mixed-effects models to test the relevance of three sets of factors in identification accuracy: participant-level characteristics (including experience), species-level characteristics (including a participant's knowledge of the species) and specimen-level characteristics (size, confidence in identification). The 19 less experienced scientists achieve a median accuracy of 57 %, which rises to 75 % for specimens they are confident in. For the 4 most experienced participants, overall accuracy is 79 %, rising to 93 % when they are confident. To obtain maximum comparability and ease of analysis, everyone used a standard microscope with only 35× magnification, and each specimen was studied in isolation. Consequently, these data provide a lower limit for an estimate of consistency. Importantly, participants could largely predict whether their identifications were correct or incorrect: their own assessments of specimen-level confidence and of their previous knowledge of species concepts were the strongest predictors of accuracy.

This paper describes five new Mesozoic, deep-water benthic foraminifera from the former British Petroleum microfossil reference collections at the Natural History Museum, London. The focus is on selected calcareous and agglutinating taxa that are of stratigraphical and/or palaeoecological significance for academic and industrial related activities.

To commemorate the publication of the 25 th Volume of the Journal of Micropalaeontology, the first issue of which came out in 1982, this celebratory review article was commissioned. Officers of each TMS Group (Ostracod, Foraminifera, Palynology, Nannofossil, Microvertebrate and Silicofossil) were requested to reflect over the last 25 years and assess the major advances and innovations in each of their disciplines. It is obvious from the presentations that all Groups report that research has moved on from the basic, but essential descriptive phase, i.e. taxonomy and establishing biostratigraphies, to the utilization of new technologies and application to issues of the day such as climate change and global warming. However, we must not lose sight of the fact that the foundation of micropalaeontology is observation and the building block for all these new and exciting innovations and developments is still good taxonomy. Briefly, the most obvious conclusion that can be drawn from this review is that micropalaeontology as a science is in relatively good health, but we have to ensure that the reported advancements will sustain and progress our discipline. There is one issue that has not really been highlighted in these contributions -we need to make sure that there are enough people being trained in micropalaeontology to maintain development. The last 25 years has seen a dramatic decrease in the number of post-graduate MSc courses in micropalaeontology. For example, in the UK, in the 1980s and early 1990s there were five specific MSc courses to choose from (Hull, Southampton, Sheffield, Aberystwyth and UCL) now there is just one left, run jointly by UCL and the Natural History Museum, in London. This decrease occurred for a variety of reasons but was related initially to fluctuations in oil price, leading to a lack of stability and confidence in the oil industry which used to attract many postgraduates. Fortunately, there has been a recent trend to try and bolster student numbers with the introduction of multidisciplinary postgraduate courses which include an element of micropalaeontology, and there are more students entering the subject through PhD programmes than in the past.

The organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst) assemblages in an unusually thick (>800m) Oligocene-Miocene boundary succession from the eastern North Sea Basin (the Frida-1 Well) were studied. Six successive dinocyst assemblages are described: the Wetzeliella gochtii Assemblage (early Chattian), the Distatodinium biffii Assemblage (Chattian), the Deflandrea phosphoritica Assemblage (latest Chattian), the Homotryblium spp. Assemblage (early Aquitanian), the Caligodinium amiculum Assemblage (Aquitanian) and the Cordosphaeridium cantharellus Assemblage (latest Aquitanian to early Burdigalian). The dinocyst assemblages are compared with informal dinocyst zonations proposed for the southern North Sea Basin (Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands).

The origin and function of a biomineralised skeleton in many of the non-motile groups of plankton remains an open question. Morphological diversity within these groups has often been explained by its relevance to hydrodynamic behaviour, principally buoyancy and settling. Consequently, ecological and evolutionary patterns of morphology have been associated with changes in surface water properties, but these hypotheses have rarely been critically assessed. Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations present a way to quantify the relative effect of size (maximum diameter), shape of the test and density (ratio between calcite and cavity volumes) of the specimen on settling velocity, as all variables can be manipulated independently. Here we interrogate the morphological diversity in planktic foraminifera as model organisms to explore the range of evolutionary options open to plankton to modulate settling velocity under varying environmental conditions. The evolutionary changes in morphology required to accommodate physical changes in the upper water column due to environmental changes, such as increased temperature, are small compared to the ecophenotypic variability of the population. In the modern ocean, the pattern of species distribution with depth is not likely to be determined by hydrodynamics as it is inconsistent with predictions based on settling velocity. These results suggest that intrinsic constraints on size, shape and calcification, such as heritage, exposure of the symbionts to light or oxygen diffusion into the cell, are likely to be more important than hydrodynamic function in determining the depth distribution and test morphology of planktic foraminifera.