Oligocene foraminifera from Atzendorf, Germany

Prof. Mueller, Geologisch - Palaeontologische Sammlung, University of Leipzig provided a sample from Atzendorf near Stassfurt, Germany. It dates back 30 mya to the Rupelian stage, lower Oligocene. Most foraminifera are small, below 500µm in size and lived benthic. An example is Bolivina fastigia seen to the left. See the whole collection at http://www.foraminifera.eu/atzendorf.html


Some planktonics (well preserved) are found, I classify them as Globigerina globularis (see image to the right. There are several Spiroplectinellas respresenting the agglutinating foraminifera.

I am not much familiar with faunal interpretation, but would interprete from the faunal composition: 5-10% planktonics indicate open waters, which correlate with the overall smaller sized benthonics.

Incoming samples week 9-10

A core sample from Cape Hatteras with 72 single plastic bags representing 190m in depth came in. A chart on the abundance of foraminifera at all depth-levels will help to start with the most promising parts. The core ranges from recent to probably Miocene. This valuable sample definitely needs a close investigation and processing.

Reussella

Reussella - a small perforate taxa is very common in the material from Kemp Beach, Queensland. The genus with a pyramidal test is reported in the fossil record since Middle Eocene (~ 40 Mio. years). The image shows one side and the basis of the pyramid - maybe a bit confusing.

The sample send from Australia by Kirsten is very rich in diversity and total amount of foraminifera. Further images will be added.




Earlier I found a fossilized Reussella in material from Torrente Stirone , Italy in material provided by Michael - one of the first contributors. The image better illustrates the pyramidal form. It's about 1 Mio. years old from Pleistocene.

Please send me your Oligocene or Eocene Reussellas :)