INA8
8th International Nannoplankton Association Conference


ABSTRACTS


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Spyridon M. Bellas, Rolf Kohring:
First evidence of calcareous dinoflagellate cysts from Flysch of Epirus, Greece and correlation to calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy
(Poster)


The Ionian Zone of Greece generally represents deep pelagic deposits, mainly cherty limestones of the pre-existing Ionian palaeobasin. Stratigraphically, the older 'strata' at the base are evaporites of Triassic age, while the younger ones are considered to be siliciclastic 'Flysch' sequences of post-Eocene to Early Miocene age. Traditionally, the zone is subdivided into three parts, the External, Middle and Internal, moving from west to east, respectively. The present study is concentrated on the External Ionian Zone and the samples processed for their micro- and nannofloral content are from the siliciclastic Argyrotopos section (upper part, Ayii Pantes Formation; IGRS/IFP, 1966) located in the Plataria Basin (co. Bellas et al., 1995).

The only calcareous dinoflagellate cysts reported from Greece have been described from Tortonian/Messinian to Pliocene (Frydas & Keupp, 1992; Keupp & Kohring, 1999) and Quaternary sediments (Keupp et al., 1994), especially from Crete. This is the first record of this microfossil group from older deposits, such as the Oligocene, of Greece. The calcareous dinoflagellate cysts (Calciodinellaceae Deflandre, 1947) of the Argyrotopos section represent a low-diversity assemblage which is composed of three allochthonous (Pirumella multistrata, P. cf. P. thayeri, P. edgarii) and two autochthonous (Fuettererella tesserula, F. cf. F. tuberosa) species. While the Pirumella taxa are interpreted as neritic and were presumably transported, the fuettererelloid species are clear indicators for open marine, pelagic conditions.

The rich calcareous nannofossil associations from the studied section were partly placed in the Sphenolithus predistentus and S. distentus (NP23-24) Biozones sensu Martini & Müller (1986). This stratigraphic interval is equivalent to the Cyclicargolithus abisectus Partial Range Zone (Rhabdosphaera spp. and S. predistentus Interval Subzones) and the lower part of the Reticulofenestra scissura Interval Zone of Late Rupelian to Early Chattian age sensu Bellas (1997). The latter zones were specially established for the widely extended siliciclastic 'Flysch' sequences of the Oligocene to Early Miocene of Greece.

Identification of the calcareous nannofloras (nannofossils and dinoflagellate cysts) from geographically new areas and sedimentary basins (like the Ionian palaeobasin of NW Greece) and stratigraphically new levels (e.g. the Oligocene) enables us not only to make a better reconstruction of the local palaeoenvironments, but significantly enriches our knowledge of the distribution of these microfossils in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

References

Bellas, S.M. 1997. Calcareous nannofossils of the Tertiary Flysch (Post Eocene to Early Miocene) of the Ionian Zone in Epirus, NW Greece: Taxonomy and Biostratigraphical Correlations. Berl. Geowiss. Abh., E22: 1-173.

Bellas, S.M., Mertmann, D., Manutsoglu, E., Bartholdy, J. & Frydas, D. 1995. The Oligocene Argyrotopos Profile in the External Ionian Basin (Epirus, Greece): Microfacies and microfossils. Facies, 33: 107-120.

Deflandre, G. 1947. Calciodinellum nov. gen., premier représentant d'une famille nouvelle de Dinoflagellés fossiles à thèque calcaire. Acad. Sci. Paris, Compte Rendu, 224: 1781-1782.

Frydas, D. & Keupp, H. 1992. Kieseliges und kalkiges Phytoplankton aus dem Neogen von NW- und W-Kreta, Griechenland. Berl. Geowiss. Abh., E3: 97-111.

IGRS/IFP Institute for Geology and Subsurface Research (Athens)/Institut Français du Petrole 1966. Etude géologique de l'Epire (Grèce nord-occidentale): 306pp.

Keupp, H., Bellas, S., Frydas, D. & Kohring, R. 1994. Aghia Irini, ein Neogenprofil auf der Halbinsel Gramvoússa, NW-Kreta. Berliner Geowiss. Abh., E13 (B. Krebs Festschrift): 469-481.

Keupp, H. & Kohring, R. 1999. Kalkige Dinoflagellatenzysten aus dem Obermiozän (NN11) W von Rethimnon (Kreta). Berl. Geowiss. Abh., E30: 33-53.

Martini, E. & Müller, C. 1986. Current Tertiary and Quaternary calcareous nannoplankton stratigraphy and correlations. Newsl. Stratigraphy, 16(2): 99-112.


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