Palynology and micropaleontology of the cretaceous of the james ross basin, antarctica. Review of current knowledge

• Main Authors: Amenábar, C.R., Caramés, A., Lescano, M., Concheyro, A.
• Format: Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Subjects: Antarctica; Biostratigraphy; James Ross sedimentary basin; Micropaleontology; Palynology; Cretaceous; nanofossil; sedimentary basin; taxonomy; Australia; James Ross Island; New Zealand; Seymour Island; West Antarctica; Foraminifera; Antarc*; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Ross Island
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_03660176_v125_n4_p493_Amenabar

This paper presents a review of the palynomorph, foraminiferal and calcareous nannofossil record from the Cretaceous sedimentary outcrops of the Gustav and Marambio Groups in the James Ross Basin, Antarctic Peninsula. Fossiliferous localities are described for the James Ross, Vega, Humps, Cockburn, Seymour and Snow Hill islands. Palynomorphs are abundant in almost all sedimentary sections dated from the Berriasian to Maastrichtian. Permian and Jurassic species derived from Antarctic Pensinsula are reworked into the Cretaceous sediments. The strong similarity between Cretaceous palynological associations from Antarctica and from other high latitude sites has allowed the establishment of a biostratigraphic correlation between the James Ross Basin and localities in New Zealand and Australia. Regarding the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary at Seymour Island, marine and non-marine palynomorph species show a gradual change across such a boundary. Cretaceous foraminifera from the James Ross Basin comprise 339 taxa: 179 agglutinated benthic, 142 calcareous benthic and 18 planktonic. The most extensive studies in the basin focused on the Campanian and Maastrichtian deposits of James Ross and Seymour islands. Furthermore, previous discoveries of some calcareous nannofossil markers in the basin, have allowed the improvement of the correlations for the lower Campanian and upper Maastrichtian sediments of the Marambio Group. This comprehensive review suggests that palynological and micropaleontological studies in the James Ross Basin are still insufficient to reconstruct the characteristics of the microbiota of this Cretaceous marine basin. However, new explorations, increased intensity of sampling and innovative laboratory techniques will ensure valuable future results. © 2014, Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana. All rights reserved. Fil:Caramés, A. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Fil:Lescano, M. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ...