Cenomanian to Lower Eocene deep-water agglutinated Foraminifera from the Zumaya Section, Northern Spain

Abstract

Głębokowodne otwornice aglutynujące z osadów w profilu Zumaya, w północnej Hiszpanii (cenoman - eocen) An analysis o f 71 samples from the Zumaya Section of northern Spain ranging in age from Cenomanian to lower Eocene enabled us to calibrate the biostratigraphic ranges of Deep-Water Agglutinated Foraminifera (DWAF) to the standard planktonic foraminiferal zonal schemes. Comparison with the standard “Geroch and Nowak” zonation o f DWAF provides further evidence for the supraregional validity of this zonation, as well as new information on the palaeobiogeography of many o f the species first described from the Flysch Carpathians. The nominate taxa of six of the seven Turonian-Palaeocene DWAF zones defined by Geroch and Nowak (1984) were observed in their proper stratigraphie succession at Zumaya (the Ammobaculites problematicus, Uvigerinammina jankoi, Goesella rugosa, Hormosina ovulum gigantea, and Spiroplectammina spectabilis zones of Geroch & Nowak). Only the index taxon of the lower Paleocene Rzehakina fissistomata Zone was not observed, however this zone may be recognised based on alternate criteria (the last occurrence of Goesella rugosa). The benthic foraminiferal extinction at the Palaeocene/Eocene boundary is proposed as an alternate criterion to delimit the top of the Spiroplectammina spectabilis Zone.