Data from: Blooms of aberrant planktic foraminifera across the K/Pg boundary in the Western Tethys: causes and evolutionary implications

• Main Authors: Arenillas, Ignacio, Arz, José Antonio, Gilabert, Vicente
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Dryad 2018
• Subjects: Planktonic foraminifera; Danian; K/Pg boundary; Foraminiferal abnormality index; Maastrichtian; mass extinction; evolutionary pattern; Life sciences; medicine and health care; socio; archeo
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.n1q6527

Here we report a detailed study of the different categories and types of abnormal morphologies in planktic foraminifera recognizable in the lowermost Danian mainly from the El Kef and Aïn Settara sections, Tunisia. Various types of abnormalities in the test morphology were identified, including protuberances near the proloculus, abnormal chambers, double or twinned ultimate chambers, multiple ultimate chambers, abnormal apertures, distortion in test coiling, morphologically abnormal tests, attached twins or double tests, and general monstrosities. Detailed biostratigraphic and quantitative studies of the Tunisian sections documented a major proliferation of aberrant planktic foraminifera (between approximately 5 and 18% in relative abundance) during the first 200Kyr of the Danian, starting immediately after the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary mass extinction (spanning from the Guembelitria cretacea Zone to the lower part of the P. pseudobulloides Zone). This contrasts with the proportionately low frequency of aberrant tests (generally 18%). These main pulses of aberrants coincide approximately with relevant quantitative and evolutionary turnovers in the planktic foraminiferal assemblages. In this paper we explore the relation of these high values of the foraminiferal abnormality index with the environmental changes induced by the meteorite impact of Chicxulub in Yucatan, Mexico, and the massive eruptions of the Deccan Traps, India. Arenillas et al. supplementary Material