bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Basal Dinantian miospores from the Cockermouth area, West Cumbria
Authors: Butterworth M. A. , Butcher C. E.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. Miospore assemblages are described from basal Dinantian argillaceous strata lying below and above the Cockermouth Lavas, and within the Seventh Limestone in the area to the north east of Cockermouth, West Cumbria. The strata enclosing the Lavas are assigned to the Schopfites claviger-Auroraspora macra miospore zone, indicating the Ivorian stage (Tournaisian, Tn3). The Lavas are thus shown to be of similar age to the Solway Plateau Lavas to the north which represent an early stage in the formation of the Solway Basin.Shales from below the Seventh Limestone are assigned to the Lycospora pusilla miospore zone and from this and other fossil evidence are presumed to be of Chadian or early Arundian age. Shales from within the Seventh Limestone are assigned to the Perotrilites tessellatus – Schulzospora campyloptera miospore zone (Asbian stage)It is concluded that the Ivorian-Asbian sequence in this area is greatly attenuated compared with its development on the northern margin of the Solway Basin.
Velumousspora, a megaspore genus from the Namurian of northern England
Authors: Spinner Edwin
Published: July 2010

Abstract. A new megaspore genus Velumousspora is described from Namurian (Stenozonotriletes triangulus-Rotaspora knoxi (TK.) concurrent range zone (E2a – E2b(pars) goniatite zonation) sediments from the Stainmore outlier, northern England.
New British Pliocene species of the Australian Recent genus Austroparadoxostoma Hartmann, 1979 (Ostracoda)
Authors: Whatley R. C. , Maybury C.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. Two new Pliocene species of the genus Austroparadoxostoma Hartmann, 1979; Austroparadoxostoma pliocenica and Austroparadoxostoma sp. are described from the Upper Pliocene deposits of St. Erth, Cornwall. This genus has hereto only been recorded from the Recent of the west coast of Australia.
Some species of the ostracod genus Bythocythere Sars from British waters
Authors: Athersuch John , Horne David J. , Whittaker John E.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. A reappraisal of the genus Bythocythere shows that five species (B. bradyi Sars, B. intermedia Elofson, B. zetlandica sp. nov., B. robinsoni sp. nov. and B. bradleyi sp. nov.) live in British coastal waters. A sixth species, found in Quaternary deposits in Scotland and the North Sea, is not thought to live in this area today. Past records of B. turgida Sars and B. constricta Sars from the Recent of the British Isles are shown to be incorrect.
Benthic foraminifera: indicators for a long-term improvement of living conditions in the Late Valanginian of the NW German Basin
Authors: Klein Christian , Mutterlose Jörg
Published: July 2010

Abstract. Foraminiferal occurrences in marine sediments of Late Valanginian age (Early Cretaceous) are described from NW Germany. The distribution patterns of benthic foraminifera are discussed with respect to their abundance and diversity. Benthic foraminifera are characterized in terms of moderate diversity and abundance. Vertical fluctuations in foraminifera contents are discussed with respect to their palaeoecology and palaeobiogeography. Benthic foraminifera, which are represented by a total of 101 species, show a gradual increase of diversity throughout the Late Valanginian. This improvement of living conditions in an epicontinental sea over a period of approximately 2 million years indicates a gradual recolonization of the formerly non-marine semi-restricted basin. The associations are dominated by agglutinated taxa with common Ammobaculites, Ammovertella, Bulbobaculites, Haplophragmoides, Proteonina, Psammosphaera and Reophax. The calcareous species Epistomina caracolla, which is extremely common in certain intervals, may reach significant abundances. Further agglutinated and calcareous taxa occur rarely. The early Late Valanginian is marked by the occurrence of the Tethyan species Cerobertinella subhercynica, reflecting a major sea-level highstand.
An oxidation and stable mounting technique for geothermally altered Upper Devonian palynomorphs from western Venezuela
Authors: Harvey Craig
Published: July 2010

Abstract. Upper Devonian sediments from western Venezuela have yielded palynomorphs that exhibit the palynomorph re-darkening and cracking phenomenon during post-oxidation mounting. A preparation technique has been developed, utilizing a diluted Schultze solution for prolonged periods, that appears not to affect substantially the structure of the palynomorphs, and thus prevents re-darkening. The use of PVA and Petropoxy 154 for mounting ensured the post-oxidative stability of the palynomorphs at room temperature. Conversely, the use of Elvacite 2044 as a mounting medium may cause cracking of the palynomorphs, related to shrinkage during solvent evaporation.
Upper Triassic and Lower Jurassic stratigraphy from exploration well L134/5-1, offshore Inner Hebrides, west Scotland
Authors: Ainsworth Nigel R. , Boomer Ian
Published: July 2010

Abstract. A thick (c.1368 m) Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic sedimentary sequence from exploration well L134/5-1, offshore Inner Hebrides, has yielded a rich and diverse foraminiferal and ostracod microfauna. Many of the taxa have been previously described throughout northwest Europe. Poor preservation (often due to crushing and/or overgrowth) and low numbers preclude a complete taxonomic review of this material, although changes in the faunal composition, rates of faunal turnover and palaeoenvironmental analyses are discussed. This is the first published account of ostracod and foraminiferal assemblages from the Sea of Hebrides and they indicate that the sediments (argillaceous, arenaceous and carbonates) were deposited in a shelf-marine setting with environmental fluctuations that are possibly the result of local relative sea-level changes.
New distinctive miospore species from the Namurian of the Upper Silesia Coal Basin, Poland
Authors: Oliwkiewicz-Miklasińska Marzena
Published: July 2010

Abstract. Three new miospore species, Pilosisporites aleksandrae, Neoraistrickia crinita and Pteroretis obliquus are described from the Namurian of the Upper Silesia Coal Basin. The first two species appear to be stratigraphically restricted to the Arnsbergian–Marsdenian stages. Pilosisporites aleksandrae occurs in miospore assemblages representing the west European miospore zones Stenozonotriletes triangulus–Rotaspora knoxi (TK), Kraeuselisporites ornatus–Lycospora subtriquetra (SO) and Crassispora kosankei–Grumosisporites varioreticulatus (KV), while Neoraistrickia crinitaoccurs in the SO and KV zones. Pteroretis obliquus is recorded from the upper part of the SO Zone and KV Zone and has a slightly shorter stratigraphical range, probably Chokierian–Marsdenian.
A new species of microforaminifera (Gavelinopsis caledonia) from the continental shelf, west of Scotland
Authors: Murray John W. , Whittaker John E.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. Gavelinopsis caledonia. sp. nov. is a distinctive, tiny (<160 μm in greatest diameter) foraminifer which has the compressed trochospiral, low planoconvex shape commonly associated with an attached or clinging mode of life. It is described from modern sediments on the continental shelf to the west of Scotland. Previously, it had been recorded from Recent sediments off Ireland and in the North Sea, and from the Quaternary of Northern Ireland, but under the name of the Cretaceous taxon, Rotalina (or Discorbina) polyrraphes of Reuss.
Taxonomy and ecology of Cornucoquimba ramosae sp. nov. (Ostracoda, Crustacea) on the Brazilian Equatorial shelf
Authors: Coimbra J. C. , Do Carmo D. A.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. Three species of Cornucoquimba Ohmert, 1968 are known from the Brazilian shelf: C. decorata, and C. nana in the north and northeast, and C. conulata in the south. An analysis of 339 samples collected between the international boundary at the Oiapoque river (Amapá State) and Cape São Roque (Rio Grande do Norte State), a distance of almost 1400 km, has discovered a new species of this genus, C. ramosae sp. nov. It is restricted to the equatorial shelf and prefers biodetrital sand, from 15 to 67 m water depth.
Testing of palynological processing techniques: an example using Silurian palynomorphs from Gotland
Authors: Gelsthorpe David N.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. Well-preserved acritarchs and prasinophyte algae recovered from the Lower Wenlock of Gotland (Sweden) were used to test the effects of centrifuging in heavy liquid, treatment with nitric acid to remove pyrite, and the loss of material through a 7 μm sieve during washing of a sample. The centrifuge test showed that the relative proportions of different genera stabilized after three heavy liquid separations and the number of acritarchs extracted fell consistently by about 35% at each separation. Treatment with nitric acid yielded a slightly lower number of acritarchs per gram of sediment, but it appears to have yielded more herkomorph and sphaeromorph acritarchs. Treating samples with nitric acid renders them more comparable with those not containing pyrite. The loss of specimens whilst washing through a 7 μm sieve proved to be minimal. It was concluded that three heavy liquid separations should routinely be carried out, in conjunction with treatment with nitric acid and regular tests to examine material passing through a 7 μm sieve.
Revision of acritarchs and prasinophyte algae from the lower Silurian of Belgium
Authors: Mullins Gary L.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. The type acritarch and prasinophyte algal material of Stockmans & Willière (1963), from the Silurian of the Courtrai region, Belgium, has been re-examined. Revised descriptions for the holotypes of several type species are given, which detail the greater morphological diversity recognized. Four new combinations are proposed (Buedingiisphaeridium parveroquesi, Dictyotidium deflandrei, Helosphaeridium echinodermum and Multiplicisphaeridium pentagonale). Micrhystridium? radians is provisionally retained, although it is probable that this species should be referred to a new, unrecognized genus (it possesses a pylome and spinose, simple and branched processes). The synonymy of Diexallophasis denticulata and Diexallophasis remota (proposed by Playford, 1977) is rejected, as the latter has broader-based and more robust processes. The generic assignment of Diexallophasis mucronata is confirmed. Several of the taxa proposed by Stockmans & Willière have been re-illustrated to show clearly the features of taxonomic importance. These descriptions and illustrations will enable the reliable recognition of these taxa in contiguous sections elsewhere, and will help to form the basis of future population studies.
Ontogeny and sexual dimorphism in the Middle/Late Devonian rhomboentomozoid ostracod Franklinella
Authors: Olempska Ewa
Published: July 2010

Abstract. A large number of three-dimensionally preserved, pyritized specimens of different instars of the rhomboentomozoid ostracod Franklinella (Franklinella) lysogorensis n. sp. were recovered from a mudstone of the Givetian/Frasnian transition beds at Wzdół in the Holy Cross Mountains, Poland. Seven growth stages are identified. Sexual dimorphism is manifested by differences of ribbing pattern in adults. Within the superfamily Entomozoacea, the presence of two types of sexual dimorphism is suggested: ornamental in rhomboentomozoids and domiciliar in entomoprimitiids. Formerly poorly known morphological features of the rhomboentomozoids, including the anteroventral indentation and a contact list ornamented by fine striation, are described.
On confidence intervals from micropalaeontological counts
Authors: Revets Stefan A.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. In micropalaeontology, statistics resulting from counts are rarely reported with error margins or confidence intervals. A short discussion of taxon proportions and of Fisher’s α diversity index is augmented with tables and graphs to assist the researcher in calculating confidence intervals. Any results, discussions or further calculations based on counts can then be put on a more secure statistical footing.
The distribution of dinoflagellate cysts across a Late Cenomanian carbon isotope (δ13C) anomaly in the Pulawy borehole, central Poland
Authors: Dodsworth Paul
Published: July 2010

Abstract. Late Cenomanian dinoflagellate cyst assemblages in the Pulawy borehole, central Poland, exhibit similarities with those from west European and North American localities. A comparable change in assemblage composition around the base of a positive carbon isotope (δ13C) anomaly occurs in all three areas.
The Holocene palaeoceanographic history of Muck Deep, Hebridean shelf, Scotland: has there been a change of wave climate in the past 12 000 years?
Authors: Murray John W.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. Depressions (known as deeps) on the Scottish continental shelf are sediment sinks and they, thus, provide important sources of information on past oceanography and climate. Muck Deep is a partially infilled relict glacial valley cut in the continental shelf. A 70 cm core shows an upper buff sandy mud layer (0–4500 BP, radiocarbon years) overlying a dark grey mud layer (4500–12 000 BP). The foraminiferal faunas suggest that the upper sandy layer formed under higher energy conditions comparable to those existing now, where storm waves from southwesterly gales are responsible for transporting material from the adjacent shelf into the deeps. The grey mud formed under lower energy conditions as a consequence of lower storm wave influence on the sea floor (therefore, reduced transport of tests from the shelf into the deep). Because of the interaction of changing sea-levels and glacial rebound, water depths over Muck Deep were 35 m greater at 14–15 ka and have never been less than now. Therefore, the likely explanation of the lower energy deposits at the base of the core is related to the impact of storm waves on sediment transport from the adjacent shelves. Either water depths over the adjacent shelves were too great to be influenced by storm waves or the wave climate (direction) differed at that time.
Foraminiferal evidence for inner neritic deposition of Lower Cretaceous (Upper Aptian) radiolarian-rich black shales on the Western Australian margin
Authors: Haig David W.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. Diverse foraminifera, Lingula-like brachiopods and the geological setting indicate that Aptian radiolarian-rich black shales forming the Windalia Radiolarite were deposited at water depths probably less than 40 m in the Southern Carnarvon Basin. Elsewhere in Australia, coeval radiolarian-rich deposits are widespread in other western-margin basins and in vast interior basins. The organic-rich mudstones containing the radiolaria include the foraminiferal Ammobaculites Association, a sparse benthic macrofauna and kerogens of mainly terrestrial plant origin. The deposits suggest that there was substantial high-nutrient freshwater input into the epeiric seas as well as high levels of dissolved silica resulting from marine flooding of a mature silicate-rich landscape bordered on the eastern and western continental margins by large volcanic provinces. The widespread presence of organic-rich muds through the broad, shallow Southern Carnarvon Basin and through the coeval interior basins suggests that regional geomorphology controlled the distribution of eutrophic facies in the Australian Aptian rather than any global expansion of the oceanic oxygen minimum zone. The foraminiferal assemblage from the Windalia Radiolarite consists of calcareous hyaline benthic types (diverse Lagenida as well as abundant Lingulogavelinella, Epistomina and Coryphostoma) and organic-cemented agglutinated species (including common Ammobaculites humei, Haplophragmoides–Recurvoides spp., and Verneuilinoides howchini). Planktonic foraminifera are very rare and present only in the northern, more open part of the basin.
New species of prunoid radiolarians from the Antarctic Neogene
Authors: Lazarus David , Faust Karoline , Popova-Goll Irina
Published: July 2010

Abstract. Radiolarians with ‘prunoid’ morphologies (here defined as spumellarians with distinct external, generally ellipsoidal shells, usually bearing a pylome and having a lithelid, pylonid or spongy internal structure) are very common in polar Neogene sediments. Use of these taxa would improve resolution in Antarctic Neogene biostratigraphic and palaeoceanographic studies significantly, but the taxonomy of prunoids is poorly known. This paper reviews the existing literature of generic names commonly used for prunoids, mostly dating from the nineteenth century. With the exception of Larcopyle Dreyer 1889, these names are either assigned to other, non-prunoid groups or are considered to be nomina dubia. Fourteen species, subspecies or varieties – most of them new – of Larcopyle from Antarctic Neogene sediments are described, illustrated with full plates and stratigraphic range data are provided: L. augusti n. sp., L. buetschlii Dreyer, 1889, L. eccentricum n. sp., L. hayesi Chen, 1975 hayesi n. variety, L. h. irregularis n. variety, L. labryinthusa n. sp., L. nebulum n. sp., L. peregrinator n. sp., L. polyacantha (Campbell & Clark 1944) n. comb. polyacantha n. subsp., L. p. titan n. subsp., L. p. amplissima n. subsp., L. titan (Campbell & Clark, 1944) n. comb., L. pylomaticus (Riedel, 1958) n. comb. and L. weddellium n. sp.
Late Maastrichtian dinoflagellate cysts from the Cerro Butaló section, southern Mendoza province, Argentina
Authors: Prámparo Mercedes B. , Papú Oscar H.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. The Late Cretaceous Atlantic transgression in southern South America is recorded in western Argentina in the upper part of the Malargüe Group. The Cerro Butaló section outcrops in the south of Mendoza Province and comprises sediments attributable to the Jagüel and Roca formations. Well-preserved palynological associations were recovered from this section. Only the marine associations – dinoflagellate cysts, acritarchs and green algae – are considered in this article. A Late Maastrichtian age is suggested for the Roca and Jagüel formations based on the presence of Deflandrea galeata and Disphaerogena carposphaeropsis in the lower part of the section and Glaphyrocysta perforata in the upper part of the section and the absence of any Danian cosmopolitan markers. Variations in dinoflagellate cyst species diversity throughout the section permit recognition of two intervals that are probably related to different palaeoenvironmental conditions connected with episodes of sea-level fluctuation.
Navilithus altivelum: a remarkable new genus and species of deep photic coccolithophores
Authors: Young Jeremy R. , Andruleit Harald
Published: July 2010

Abstract. A very distinctive new deep-photic coccolithophore is described from the NE Indian Ocean. The new species is trimorphic with: 200–300 body coccoliths bearing low spines attached by narrow stems to a basal narrow-rimmed placolith structure; up to 18 circum-flagellar coccoliths with tall sail-like spines; and up to 22 coccoliths with moderately elevated spines occurring both around the circum-flagellar coccoliths and antapically. These features make the coccolithophore unique and require placement in a new species and genus. The basal structure, however, shows similarities to a recently recognized group of narrow-rimmed placoliths. Hence, the new coccolithophore provides some support for this grouping as a significant addition to our understanding of coccolithophore biodiversity, and potentially an explanation for a set of anomalous molecular genetic results. In addition the new taxon provides further evidence that the deep-photic coccolithophore community is more diverse than has been assumed.
On the stratigraphical and palaeobiogeographical significance of Borelis melo melo (Fichtel & Moll, 1798) and B. melo curdica (Reichel, 1937) (Foraminifera, Miliolida, Alveolinidae)
Authors: Jones Robert W. , Simmons Michael D. , Whittaker John E.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. The stratigraphical and palaeobiogeographical significance of Borelis melo melo (Fichtel & Moll, 1798) and B. melo curdica (Reichel, 1937) is re-assessed in the light of a taxonomic review. Borelis melo melo ranges at least throughout the Miocene, whereas B. melo curdica is restricted to the late Early to Middle Miocene. Both sub-species occur only in the Indo-Pacific Province in the late Early Miocene (‘early’ Burdigalian), but in both the Indo-Pacific and Mediterranean provinces in the latest Early–early Middle Miocene (‘middle’ Burdigalian–Langhian), implying a marine (re-)connection between the two regions at this time.
Comments on the spelling of ‘archaeopyle’, the germination aperture in dinoflagellate cysts
Authors: Feist-Burkhardt Susanne
Published: July 2010

Abstract. INTRODUCTIONDuring editorial work for the Journal of Micropalaeontology, a discussion arose between authors, reviewers and editors on the correct spelling of a technical term in palynology: ‘archeopyle’ or ‘archaeopyle’, the germination aperture in dinoflagellate cysts. One opinion was that there is only one correct spelling, namely ‘archeopyle’, with a single ‘e’ in the middle of the word, irrespective of the use of British English or American English. The other opinion was that spelling of the word should follow the language used in the rest of the text – allowing for ‘archeopyle’ with ‘e’ in American English and ‘archaeopyle’ with ‘ae’ in British English. This Notebook illustrates the reasons for this controversy and argues for the alternative spellings of the word according to American or British English spelling used.THE CAUSE OF THE ‘PROBLEM’ AND LINE OF ARGUMENTThe term ‘archeopyle’ was introduced in 1961 by William R. Evitt in one of his seminal papers on the morphology of fossil dinoflagellates, in which he recognized that many organic microfossils, then called ‘hystrichospheres’, showed a germination opening and were actually of dinoflagellate affinity. As derivation of the word he gave the following information: ‘... the presence of this opening (pyle – gate, orifice) in fossil (archeo – ancient) dinoflagellates ...’ (Evitt, 1961, p. 389). Since then, the term has become accepted and used widely by palaeontologists and biologists alike. Definitions and descriptions of the word itself and derivative terms can be looked up in the latest glossary of terminology by Williams et al. (2000). . . .
The Radiolaria of the Herefordshire Konservat-Lagerstätte (Silurian), England
Authors: Siveter David J. , Aitchison Jonathan C. , Siveter Derek J. , Sutton Mark D.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. 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.
Calcareous dinoflagellate turnover in relation to the Messinian salinity crisis in the eastern Mediterranean Pissouri Basin, Cyprus
Authors: Bison Katarzyna-Maria , Versteegh Gerard J. M. , Hilgen Frits J. , Willems Helmut
Published: July 2010

Abstract. The extent to which the Messinian salinity crisis modified the initially Tethyan, eastern Mediterranean phytoplankton community has been investigated by monitoring the fate of calcareous dinoflagellate cyst assemblages prior to, during and after the salinity crisis in the Pissouri section (Cyprus). A rich, but low diversity open oceanic assemblage, dominated by Calciodinellum albatrosianum, is found in the upper Tortonian and lower Messinian. The upper Messinian (pre-evaporitic) sediments yield only few cysts but the assemblage is much more diverse and reflects unstable more neritic conditions (Bicarinellum tricarinelloides), fluvial influence (Leonella granifera) and varying, temporally increased salinities (Pernambugia tuberosa), probably related to the increasingly restricted environment. The basal Pliocene sediments reflect the return to normal marine conditions; the dinoflagellate assemblage is rich in cysts and again has a low diversity. However, in contrast to the C. albatrosianum-dominated upper Tortonian and pre-evaporitic Messinian sediments, L. granifera clearly dominates the basal Pliocene association just after the replenishment of the Mediterranean basin. Apart from this shift in dominance, the onset of the Pliocene is furthermore marked by the first appearance of Calciodinellum elongatum, which must have immigrated from the Atlantic Ocean. Lebessphaera urania, a postulated remnant of the Tethyan Ocean survived the salinity crisis, possibly in as yet unidentified marine refuges in the Mediterranean itself. Although the environmental changes caused by the Messinian salinity crisis did not lead to an extinction of calcareous dinoflagellate species of the Pissouri Basin, it resulted in a significant change in the assemblages and contributed to a more modern character of the Pliocene dinoflagellate association in the eastern Mediterranean.
Ostracods as freshwater pollution indicators: a case study from the Ouseburn, a polluted urban catchment (Tyneside, NE England)
Authors: Boomer Ian , Attwood Frances
Published: July 2010

Abstract. The relationship between ostracod occurrence and water quality is investigated in the Ouseburn (Newcastle upon Tyne, NE England) in both a spatial and temporal context. For the first time, ostracod assemblages are used alongside traditional biological water quality indices. Physico-chemical parameters of the water are used in conjunction with standard macro-invertebrate-based biological indices (BMWP, ASPT) to assess general water quality. This is also the first detailed study of ostracod occurrence within a small urban catchment. Ostracod, macro-invertebrate and environmental samples were taken during the summer of 2001, with a small number of late autumn replicates taken to characterize the impact of known pollution events. The pollutants encountered in this study are primarily organic in nature and include sewage, agricultural sources (such as slurry) and de-icer runoff from the local airport. The head-water and tributaries are generally characterized by good water quality despite a number of pollution events recorded during the study. Ostracod diversity and abundance, although often low, support the evidence from the traditional methods of water quality assessment, both of which decrease downstream. An inverse relationship observed between ostracod abundance and macro-invertebrate indices suggests that relatively clean-water macro-invertebrate assemblages out-compete the ostracods or may be preying upon them.
Biogeography and ecological distribution of shallow-water benthic foraminifera from the Auckland and Campbell Islands, subantarctic southwest Pacific
Authors: Hayward Bruce W. , Grenfell Hugh R. , Sabaa Ashwaq T. , Daymond-King Rhiannon
Published: July 2010

Abstract. One hundred and forty-eight species of benthic foraminifera are recorded from depths shallower than 80 m around the subantarctic Auckland (130 spp.) and Campbell (71 spp.) Islands, southwest Pacific. Comparisons with other circum-polar, subantarctic island groups suggest that they all have relatively low diversity, shallow-water benthic, foraminiferal faunas, with their sheltered harbours dominated by species of Elphidium, Notorotalia, Cassidulina, Haynesina and Nonionella-Nonionellina. More exposed environments are dominated by a small number of species of Cibicides, Miliolinella, Rosalina, Quinqueloculina and Glabratellidae. The extremely low species richness (three species) in high-tidal grass-dominated salt marsh on Campbell Island is similar to that reported from Tierra del Fuego at a similar latitude. The faunas of Auckland and Campbell Islands have their strongest affinities (70–75% species in common) with New Zealand’s three main islands, 460–700 km away. Ten percent of their fauna has not been recorded from mainland New Zealand, reflecting one endemic species and a small element of apparently subantarctic and bipolar-restricted species. Since there have been no shallow-water (<500 m) links to other lands since these two Miocene volcanic islands were formed, it is concluded that most benthic foraminiferal species have arrived in suspension in eddies of surface water, many since the peak of the Last Glacial.
Oculobairdoppilata gen. nov. (Ostracoda, Bairdiidae): a new genus from the Paleocene of Tunisia
Authors: Van Itterbeeck Jimmy , Morsi Abdel-Mohsen M. , Horne David J. , Speijer Robert P.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. A new marine ostracod genus, Oculobairdoppilata, belonging to the family Bairdiidae, is described from Paleocene deposits in Tunisia. Its main characteristic is the occurrence of an eye tubercle in the anterodorsal part of the valves. Internally, small denticles and corresponding sockets are present at the terminal parts of the dorsal edge of the right and left valves, respectively. It is the first bairdiid with an external eye structure to be described, although the existence of such a genus was predicted previously.
The 2007 recipient of the Brady Medal: Professor John W. Murray
Authors: Hart Malcolm B. , Smart Christopher W.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. The first recipient of the Brady Medal, which was presented on 7 November 2007, is Professor John W. Murray of the National Oceanographic Centre, University of Southampton. The awardee is singularly appropriate as Henry Bowman Brady studied (mainly benthic) foraminifera. John was also one of the speakers at the first open meeting of the then British Micropalaeontological Group when it met at Sheffield University in March 1971 under the Chairmanship of Professor Leslie R. Moore (one of the founding fathers of the TMS). Other speakers on that day included Charles Downie, Alan Higgins, Keith Gueinn, Eric Robinson, Ron Austin, Geoff Warrington, Gerry Orbell, Malcolm Hart, Geoff Eaton and Mike Boulter.John was born in London in 1937 and was evacuated to the north of England during the Second World War. The family returned south to Worthing in 1953. As a teenager John asked his parents for a biological microscope with which he developed his interest in microscopy (both biological and geological). In 1956 he enrolled on the BSc (Hons) Geology programme at Imperial College (London University) in the first year of which he was introduced to foraminifera by David Carter, who also supervised a final year project on the planktonic foraminifera recovered from one of the early boreholes for the Channel Tunnel Site Investigation. For his PhD research (again supervised by David Carter) John elected to study the benthic foraminifera of Christchurch Harbour in Dorset. This involved regular sampling of the harbour sediments, staining the living foraminifera and taking measurements . . .
Late Quaternary benthonic foraminifera in a bathyal core from the Leeward Islands, Lesser Antilles, NE Caribbean Sea
Authors: Wilson Brent
Published: July 2010

Abstract. The 3.13 m long bathyal piston core En20-2 from the northern Leeward Islands (17°49.9′N, 63°02.4′W, water depth 680 m) was sampled every 20 cm. The Pleistocene-Holocene boundary occurred at 107 cm, and the base of the core lay above the Atlantic extinction of Pulleniatina obliquiloculata (34 ka BP). The core yielded throughout both (a) a deep-water association (DWA) of middle bathyal benthonic foraminifera and (b) a shallow-water association (SWA; up to 56% of total recovery) comprising back-reef, epiphytal species. The environmental trends suggested by the two groups are compared.Although sea-levels during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene rose abruptly, there was no abrupt change in the DWA at the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary, but a gradual change from a higher-productivity fauna (Bulimina spp., Uvigerina spp.) at the base of the core to a lower-productivity fauna (Cassidulina spp., Globocassidulina spp.) at the top. Microhabitat preference changed from shallow-infaunal at the core base to primarily epifaunal at the top. Diversity and species dominance did not differ significantly between the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene.Percentage abundances of species were calculated separately for the DWA and SWA. Seventy significant correlations were found between the percentage abundances of individual DWA and SWA species, the two strongest correlations - both positive - being between (a) Neoconorbina terquemi and Uvigerina laevis, and (b) Amphistegina gibbosa and Cassidulina curvata. The percentage abundance of U. laevis decreased up-section, whereas the percentage abundance of A. gibbosa increased up-section, reflecting a change in the nutrient flux over time that impacted on both the DWA and the SWA. Positive correlations between the DWA low-productivity indicator Globocassidulina subglobosa and the SWA species Asterigerina carinata, Elphidium discoidale, Peneroplis bradyi and P. proteus suggests that these four SWA species comprise a guild.
Riedeliusella, a new name for the genus Riedelius De Wever, 1982 (Radiolaria), non Hudec, 1961 (Gastropoda)
Authors: De Wever Patrick , O’dogherty Luis
Published: July 2010

Abstract. De Wever (1982) proposed the new radiolarian name Riedelius from the Lower Jurassic of Turkey. It has been found that this name has already been used by Hudec in 1961 for a mollusc gastropod. Therefore, in accordance with Article 60 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (1999), the name Riedeliusella nomen novum is proposed as a replacement name (type species Riedelius williami De Wever, 1982, p. 201; 1982, by original designation) for the preoccupied homonym Riedelius De Wever, 1982, non Hudec, 1961, p. 110.
Further visions of Dollo’s Law through ostracods’ eyes: an essay
Authors: Dingle R. V.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. In a previous paper, Dingle (2003) considered the possibility of gene reactivation leading to the re-appearance of eyes in certain blind ostracod taxa after sightedness had been lost in lineages several million years earlier. These observations were based on two marine genera found at Marion Island in the Southern Ocean (Eocene–Recent Poseidonamicus Benson, and Campanian–Recent Dutoitella Dingle) that have evolved numerous deep-water species that were/are blind. The discovery of Recent, sighted, shallow-water forms led to the suggestion that adaptive pressure from the advantages of sightedness had resulted in the reactivation of genes that allowed an evolutionary advantage to be regained (Dingle, 2003).While such transformations have not been enunciated in these terms by other micropalaeontologists, there have been tacit assumptions in the literature that similar processes do occur. Confrontation with the phylogenetic issues raised by these phenomena has so far been fudged by inconsistency, but, in this essay, further examples will be looked at to highlight the taxonomic swamp into which we are in danger of wading.One of the issues is whether such processes violate Dollo’s Law (Dollo, 1893) at the phenotypic, if not genetic, level. Dollo’s Law has been expressed in modern terms by Marshall et al. (1994) as ‘degradation of genetic information . . . sufficiently fast that genes or developmental pathways released from selective pressure will rapidly become non-functional’. Gould (1970, p. 192) preferred to call this Dollo’s ‘notion of irreversibility’, while recent accounts stress its relevance only to ‘complex characters’ (e.g. Collin & Miglietta, 2008).
A bisected Pelosina rejoined!
Authors: Alve Elisabeth
Published: July 2010

Abstract. INTRODUCTIONDuring a NIVA (Norwegian Institute for Water Research) environmental monitoring cruise along the Norwegian Skagerrak coast, a 16 mm long specimen of the foraminifer Pelosina arborescens Pearcey, 1914, was found in light brown, bioturbated, soft muddy sediment collected with a Gemini corer on 29 May 2008, in 350 m water depth SE of Arendal, Norway (58° 24.177′ N, 9° 01.648′ E). In an effort to pull the individual out of the sediment with forceps, it was accidentally cut into two separate parts (the ‘root’ and the dendritic part). The two pieces were isolated in a 180 ml, 72 mm diameter, plastic container with about 1 cm of sea water and stored in a fridge at near-ambient temperature (about 7°C). On return to the lab four days later (2 June), the two test-pieces had rejoined in their original position and were photographed using a Nikon Coolpix 990 digital camera attached to a Nikon SMZ1000 binocular microscope. The mended fracture (where the two pieces had rejoined) was clearly visible (Fig. 1). The individual was kept in a fridge at 9–10°C and, two days later (4 June), it was still in one piece, even when the water in the container was carefully swirled. The plan was to cut the individual one more time (this time deliberately) to see if the process of rejoining the two pieces would be repeated. However, when manipulating the test to take a new picture, it broke at the old fracture. The test looked worn and the . . .
Revision of Late Tithonian charophytes from Lisbon and Sintra-Cascais (Portugal): taxonomy, biostratigraphy and palaeobiogeographical significance
Authors: Pereira Ricardo , Azerêdo Ana Cristina , Feist Monique
Published: July 2010

Abstract. The re-evaluation of the charophyte content of ‘Purbeckian’ sediments from several sections around Lisbon (Olelas and Brouco) and Sintra-Cascais (Murches, Atrozela and Malveira-Guincho) revealed new palaeofloral associations from the Late Tithonian of the South Lusitanian Basin (Portugal). These sections contain Globator rectispirale, G. aff. nurrensis, Nodosoclavator bradleyi, Clavator reidi, Clypeator cf. discordis, Porochara maxima, and newly described occurrences of P. jaccardi, Mesochara harrisi and nodosoclavatoroide utricles. These revised data reinforce the evidence for assigning most of the studied deposits to a Late Tithonian age, instead of the formerly accepted wider interval Tithonian to Early Berriasian (‘Purbeckian’). Population analysis and statistics were applied in order to better assess population variation of the different species.The results of this study are relevant as they contribute to improve the biostratigraphical definition of the ‘Purbeckian’ formations of Portugal and allow more accurate palaeobiogeographical interpretations within the central Tethyan domain, by comparison of the identified charophyte assemblages with documented Jurassic–Cretaceous transition charophytes from other regions.
The Ordovician zone index conodont Amorphognathus ordovicicus Branson & Mehl, 1933 from its type locality and the evolution of the genus Amorphognathus Branson & Mehl, 1933
Authors: Bergström Stig M. , Leslie Stephen A.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. The 2003 rediscovery of the long ‘lost’ Ozora, Missouri classical conodont locality of Branson & Mehl (1933b), from which the world’s first Late Ordovician conodont fauna was described, has made it possible to obtain topotype specimens of the several important conodont species introduced by Branson and Mehl from this site. A taxonomic reassessment of the Ozora conodont fauna indicates that it includes at least 14 multi-element species, eight of which were previously known from this locality. Several specimens of the taxonomically diagnostic M element of the biostratigraphical key species Amorphognathus ordovicicus were recovered. This element was previously not known from the type locality of the species at Ozora. A general review of the evolution of the genus Amorphognathus shows that some elements, particularly the M and Pa elements, exhibit relatively rapid gradual morphological changes that are helpfull for distinguishing a series of biostratigraphically useful species through the Upper Ordovician (Sandbian–Hirnantian) interval. No ancestor of Amorphognathus has yet been identified but currently available data suggest that the genus appeared in the latest Darriwilian or earliest Sandbian and went extinct in the late Hirnantian. None of the Early Silurian platform genera appears to be closely related to Amorphognathus.
Some geometrical aspects of fusiform planispiral shape in larger foraminifera
Authors: Brasier Martin D.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. Fusiform planispiral tests are found in many lineages of larger foraminifera (e.g. fusulinids, lituolids, alveolinids, soritids, amphisteginids) in which a general trend from spherical or discoidal to elongate test shape has often been noted. Geometrical models are used to illustrate an increasing surface area and the shortened spiral lines of communication of such a trend, with whorl and chamber proportions and volume or spiral length held constant. The suggestion that fusiform planispiral growth is a device to shorten lines of communication from the proloculus to the poles is questioned.
The dinoflagellate cyst genus Polygonifera; emendation and taxonomic stabilization
Authors: Mehrotra Naresh C. , Sarjeant William A. S.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. The taxonomic identity of the dinoflagellate cyst genus Polygonifera Habib, 1972 is confirmed, through the recognition of additional morphological characters during the study of specimens from Early-Middle Cretaceous sediments of India. A revised definition of this genus is presented. Leberidocysta Stover & Evitt, 1978 is considered a subjective junior synonym of Polygonifera and its type species Leberidocysta (ex: Hexagonifera) chlamydata (Cookson & Eisenack) is transferred to Polygonifera. The other species placed in Leberidocysta are provisionally reattributed to other genera, becoming Craspedodinium (ex: Hexagonifera) defloccata (Davey), Craspedodinium (ex: Palaeostomocystis) pergamentacea (Burger), Hexagonifera laticaudata Vozzhennikova and Hexagonifera scabrata Jain & Taugourdeau-Lantz. A new species, Polygonifera eisenackii, is described. Morphological differences between the camocavate genera Polygonifera and Dingodinium are clarified.
Erratic palynomorphs from some British tills
Authors: Hunt Chris O.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. The palynological investigation of tills (boulder clays) may provide considerable information about the direction of ice movement in lowland areas during the Pleistocene. Tills from Dyfed, Cheshire, Devon, Suffolk and Lincolnshire were subjected to palynological investigation. The palynomorphs recovered enabled some of the formations traversed by the ice-sheets to be identified, and thus an estimate of the direction of ice movement to be made. In most cases these estimates agreed with estimates based upon other methods of determining the direction of ice movement.
Miospores, correlation and age of some Scottish Lower Old Red Sandstone sediments from the Strathmore region (Fife and Angus)
Authors: Richardson John B. , Ford Jancis H. , Parker Frances
Published: July 2010

Abstract. The age of some Lower Old Red Sandstone sediments (Arbuthnott Group) is reassessed and confirmed as Lower Devonian (lower Gedinnian) on the basis of a reinvestigation of spore assemblages. The data upon which this age assessment is based are provided by recent palynological researches in the Welsh Borderland, the type area of the Gedinnian (Belgium), and the graptolite-bearing parastratotype for the Silurian-Devonian boundary (Podolia). Samples from the Arbuthnott Group at Wormit (Fife), associated with rocks dated as 407± 6 Ma by Thirlwall (1983) and regarded by him as Silurian, have yielded miospore assemblages of early but not earliest Devonian when compared with the Podolian Silurian-Devonian sequence. Samples throughout the sequence of the Arbuthnott Group as exposed in Angus and Fife have yielded miospores. These assemblages, occurring at levels above and below the Wormit samples, are all of lower Gedinnian age. The whole of the spore-bearing succession of the Arbuthnott Group, which is about 1,800 m thick, belongs to the micrornatus-newportensis Zone (lower and middle subzones) and is equivalent to part of the lower Ditton Group of Brown Clee Hill (Shropshire) of 20 to 30 m in thickness. There is no critical palaeontological evidence for age in the strata associated with the Arbuthnott Group, neither in the underlying Dunnottar and Crawton Groups nor in the overlying Garvock Group so the exact position of the Silurian-Devonian and Gedinnian-Siegenian boundaries is uncertain. A new spore Anteturma, namely Cryptosporites, is proposed. Qualisaspora fragilis gen. et sp. nov. is described herein and appears to have potential as an index fossil for the lower Dittonian of the British Isles. Some regional differences also occur as ?Dibolisporites sp. A and ?Samarisporites sp. A occur in beds dated as lower Gedinnian in Sotland whereas spores of similar sculpture and structure are present higher in the Anglo-Welsh sequence in beds dated as lower Siegenian.
Some techniques for preparing, manipulating and mounting dinoflagellates
Authors: Evitt William R.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. Twentytwo techniques from among those in use in the palynological laboratory at Stanford University are outlined. Many of them are adaptable to different scales of production and to different purposes of research or industrial service work. Sophisticated equipment beyond that conventionally present in any moderately well equipped palynological laboratory is not necessary. Techniques applicable to fossil dinoflagellates are emphasised but a few procedures for obtaining and preparing modern dinoflagellates are included.
Cyst-theca relationships in some Protoperidinium species (Peridiniales) from Scottish sea lochs
Authors: Lewis Jane , Dodge J. D. , Tett P.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. Recent dinoflagellate cysts were collected from Scottish west coast sealoch sediments and germinated to establish cyst-theca relationships. Fourteen different Protoperidinium species have been germinated and studied using the scanning electron microscope. New cyst-theca relationships are described for Protoperidinium subinerme, P. thorianum and ?P. hangoei.The archeopyle of the P. excentricum cyst is described for the first time. The archeopyles of the cysts of P. pentagonum (Trinovantedinium capitatum) and P. leonis (Quinquecuspis concretum) have previously been described as representing the loss of the second intercalary paraplate, but are here considered to represent the loss of this paraplate and also the fourth precingular paraplate.
Structure and encystment in some fossil cavate dinoflagellate cysts
Authors: Eaton Geoffrey L.
Published: July 2010

Abstract. A study of some peridinioid and gonyaulacoid cavate cysts which develop a dorsal archaeopyle with a double aperture reveals two significant morphological differences. First, the physical separability of the outer and inner body can only be demonstrated in the peridinioid cysts. Second, although the peridinioid double aperture is covered by two opercula, only the inner aperture is operculate in the corresponding gonyaulacoid archaeopyle. These differences reflect two fundamentally different structural and encystment styles. In the peridinioid cysts, the outer and inner bodies are structurally independent and represent the separate development of outer and inner walls. In the gonyaulacoid cysts, the outer and inner bodies are structurally more intimately related, and represent the differentiation of a single wall into outer and inner layers.