American Larger benthic Foraminifers

Introduction

Larger benthic foraminifers (LBF) are abundant in many Cretaceous and Cenozoic rocks in the Americas. We are currently revising occurrences and developing a biostratigraphy. Links are provided below for some of this work.

Late Cretaceous

The Late Cretaceous is characterised by the development of many groups of orbitoid foraminifers, of which the genera Pseudorbitoides and Orbitoides are probably the most significant. Secimens in rock are difficult to identify, but free specimens (from poorly indurated rocks or weathering out in soils above exposures) can be used with great advantage. Other groups are also present, and free specimens are great to work with.

Selected papers.

Mitchell, S. F. 1996. Foraminiferal assemblages from the late Lower and Middle Cenomanian of Speeton, North Yorkshire: relationships with sea-level fluctuations and watermass movements. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 15, 37-54.

Mitchell, S. F. and Veltkamp, C. J. 1997. Schackoina moliniensis Reichel from the Lower Cenomanian of north-east England and its stratigraphical significance. Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society, 51, 367-372.

Mitchell, S. F. and Carr, I. T. 1998. Foraminiferal response to mid-Cenomanian (Upper Cretaceous) palaeoceanographic events in the Anglo-Paris Basin (Northwest Europe). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 137, 103-125.

Paul, C. R. C., Lamolda, M. A., Mitchell, S. F., Vaziri, M. R., Gorostidi, A. and Marshall, J. D. 1999. The Cenomanian-Turonian boundary at Eastbourne (Sussex, UK): a proposed European reference section. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 150, 83-121.

Gunter, G. C., Robinson, E. and Mitchell, S. F. 2002. A new species of Omphalocyclus (Foraminiferida) from the Upper Cretaceous of Jamaica and its stratigraphical significance. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 21, 149-153.

Mitchell, S. F. 2005. Biostratigraphy of Late Maastrichtian larger foraminifers in Jamaica and the importance of Chubbina as a late Maastrichtian index fossil. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 24, 123-130.

Paleogene

Our main focus at the moment is understadnig the evolution of the LBF in the Paleogene. We are establishing a high-resolution stratigraphy for the paleogene of the Americas. This will be published as a series of papers and also presentations (which ara available below).

Selected papers.

Robinson, E. and Mitchell, S. F. 1999. Upper Cretaceous to Oligocene stratigraphy in Jamaica. In Mitchell, S. F. (ed.), Contributions to Geology, UWI, Mona, #4, 1-47. Contributions to Geology UWI Mona #4.

Mitchell, S. F., Robinson, E. and Robinson, N. 2020. Nomenclatural clarification on some Jamaican Eocene Larger benthic Foraminifera. Caribbean Journal of Earth Science, 52, 1-6. [PDF]

Mitchell, S. F. 2021. The first Paleogene transgression onto the Clarendon Block (Jamaica). Caribbean Journal of Earth Science, 53, 1-10. [PDF]

Özcan, E., Yücel, A.O., Mitchell, S. F., Pignatti, J., Simmons, M. D., Okay, A. I., Erkızan, L. S. and Gültekin, M. N. 2022. New records of Caudriella Haman and Huddleston from the middle and late Eocene of Neo-Tethys: taxonomic and paleobiogeographic implications. Journal of foraminiferal research, 52, 21-39.

Özcan, E., Mitchell, S. F., Pignatti, J., Simmons, M.D., Yücel, A.O. and Robinson, N. 2022. A new, complex hyaline larger benthic foraminifer, Bigaella orbitoidiformis n. gen., n. sp., from the upper Bartonian-Priabonian of NW Turkey. Journal of Paleontology, 16 pp.

Schlagintweit, F. and Mitchell, S. F. 2022. Robinsoniella jamaicaensis Schlagintweit, n. gen., n. sp., Orbitolinidae (Foraminifera): middle Eocene-early Oligocene of the Caribbean Faunal Province. Caribbean Journal of Earth Science, 54, 1-10. [PDF]

Mitchell, S.F., Robinson, E., Özcan, E., Jiang, M.M. and Robinson, N. (In Press). A larger benthic foraminiferal zonation for the Eocene of the Caribbean and central American region. Carnets Geol.

Presentations.

The basis for the Larger Benthic Foraminifer zonation of the American Paleogene. Presentation to the Foram Group, Micropaleontological Society and Cushman Foundation, 13th June 2022. Presentation