Stratigraphy and micropalaeontology of the upper cretaceous of Western Australia

Abstract

The distribution, relationships, and stratigraphieal significance of the microfaunas (mainly foraminifera) in the Upper Cretaceous deposits of Western Australia are discussed, and palaeogeography and palaeoecology considered.Formations deposited during the Cenomanian--Turonian are the Gearle Siltstone and Alinga Greensand and perhaps the Moleeap Greensand. Among the foraminifera recorded are the stratigraphically restricted planktonic forms Globotruncana (Praeglobotruncana) stephani subspp, and G. helvetica.

Aptian–Albian Benthonic Foraminifera from DSDP Leg 27, Sites 259, 260, and 263, Eastern Indian Ocean

“…Drilling in the Indian Ocean, especially on Leg 27, contributed data on deeper (upper middle slope) Albian assemblages to add to the existing information on inner and outer shelf associations in the Cretaceous (Crespin, 1953;1963;Ludbrook, 1966;Scheibnerová, 1971a;1971c;1971d;1972a) (Table 1). It also confirmed existing data (Belford, 1958;Edgell, 1957;1962;Belford and Scheibnerová, 1971) on some Upper Cretaceous mixed (Austral and Tethyan) faunas and enabled the existing tropical biostratigraphic zonation to be correlated with the nontropical one.…”

Site 747

“…The fauna is very similar in composition to that described by Belford (1960) from the Santonian-Campanian of Western Australia, as is to be expected from the close geographic proximity and age at the time of deposition of this section. The benthic component is less and the miliolid/nodosariid content is much less on Kerguelen Plateau than in Western Australia.…”

“…Therefore, they are of a cooler water aspect than the coeval transitional/austral assemblages of the western margin of Australia documented by Belford (1959Belford ( , 1960) that contain a higher globotruncanid component (see Sliter, 1976, for discussion), even though geographically close at the time of deposition.…”

“…The fauna is diverse, very dominantly calcareous, and consists largely of "Anomalinoides" (sensu Belford, 1960), Gyroidinoides, Gioborotalites, Osangularia, and Quadrimorphina with few nodosariids, uvigerinids, miliolids, or agglutinated forms. Bolivinoides strigillatus (Chapman) occurs sporadically throughout (more commonly in the later part of the section) and Bolivinoides paleocenicus (Brotzen) in the Maestrichtian.…”

Cretaceous Radiolaria in the Eastern South Atlantic, Deep Sea Drilling Project, Leg 40

“…A rare similar form, smaller in size and with coarser meshwork, is known from an outcrop sample of the Gearle siltstone of Western Australia, probably Albian (Belford, 1958, Etymology: From the Latin adjective quadrus, meaning square.…”