Cenozoic silicoflagellates from Rockall Plateau, Deep Sea Drilling Project Leg 81.

Abstract

Eocene to Pliocenne silicoflagellates from the Rockall Plateau are sparse to moderately abundant and include assemblages at the upper and lower boundaries of the Miocene Series. Relative paleotemperature values for silicoflagellates from the upper Miocene and lower Pliocene at DSDP Hole 552A based on quantitative data are cooler than those from equatorial Pacific Sites 503 and 504, but show a matching warm peak at the Miocene/Pliocene boundary and a major cooling in the lower Pliocene. Five new taxa of silicoflagellates are defined from Rockall Plateau assemblages: Corbisema panda Bukry, n. sp., Dictyocha pulchella var. inflata Bukry, n. var., Distephanus xenus Bukry, b. sp., Mesocena apiculata evexa Bukry, n. subsp., and Naviculopsis pacifica pansa Bukry, n. subsp. -Author