The extent and seasonality of Arctic sea ice during the Last Interglacial (129,000 to 115,000 years before present) is poorly known. Sediment-based reconstructions have suggested extensive ice cover in summer, while climate model outputs indicate year-round conditions in the Arctic Ocean ranging from ice free to fully ice covered. Here we use microfossil records from across the central Arctic Ocean to show that sea-ice extent was substantially reduced and summers were probably ice free. The evidence comes from high abundances of the subpolar planktic foraminifera Turborotalita quinqueloba in five newly analysed cores. The northern occurrence of this species is incompatible with perennial sea ice, which would be associated with a thick, low-salinity surface water. Instead, T. quinqueloba’s ecological preference implies largely ice-free surface waters with seasonally elevated levels of primary productivity. In the modern ocean, this species thrives in the Fram Strait–Barents Sea ‘Arctic–Atlantic gateway’ region, implying that the necessary Atlantic Ocean-sourced water masses shoaled towards the surface during the Last Interglacial. This process reflects the ongoing Atlantification of the Arctic Ocean, currently restricted to the Eurasian Basin. Our results establish the Last Interglacial as a prime analogue for studying a seasonally ice-free Arctic Ocean, expected to occur this century.

Biometric measurements undertaken on two relevant taxa, Cribrosphaerella and Microrhabdulus, make the core of this paper. The results of this paper allowed us to describe two new species of Microrhabdulus and suggest that the peculiar climatic evolution across the Campanian and Maastrichtian triggered a rise in diversity and size of nannofossils following both Cope’s and Bergmann’s rules and its possible effects on the morphometric changes of Cribrosphaerella and Microrhabdulus. In this study, the link between climate variability and diversification has been discussed, and two new species of Microrhabdulus are described.

Biometric measurements undertaken on two relevant taxa, Cribrosphaerella and Microrhabdulus, make the core of this chapter. The results of this paper allowed us to describe two new species of Microrhabdulus and suggest that the peculiar climatic evolution across the Campanian and Maastrichtian triggered a rise in diversity and size of nannofossils following both Cope’s and Bergmann’s rules and its possible effects on the morphometric changes of Cribrosphaerella and Microrhabdulus. In this study, the link between climate variability and diversification has been discussed, and two new species of Microrhabdulus are described.