Miocene Pollen and Spore Flora of Eniwetok Atoll, Marshall Islands
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Miocene Pollen and Spore Flora of Eniwetok Atoll, Marshall Islands GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 260-11 Miocene Pollen and Spore Flora of Eniwetok Atoll, Marshall Islands By ESTELLA B. LEOPOLD BIKINI AND NEARBY ATOLLS, MARSHALL ISLANDS GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 260-11 A Miocene pollen and spore flora representing raised island, intertidal, and beach-ridge environments is described from depths of 6JO to 2,500 feet beneath Eniwetok Atoll UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1969 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR WALTER J. HICKEL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY William T. Pecora, Director For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price $1 (paper cover) CONTENTS Page Systematic descriptions—Continued Abstract...________________________________________ 1133 Angiospermae—Continued Introduction._ _____________________________________ 1134 Dicotyledonae—Continued Page Area._________________________________________ 1134 Rhizophoraceae. ___-.________-_--__----_ 1169 Marshall Islands drill holes._____________________ 1135 Rhizophora cf. R. apiculata.- _________ 1169 Acknowledgments___ _ _-____--_-___.____--_____ 1135 Rhizophora cf. R. mucronata- _________ 1170 Geologic relations.__________________________________ 1136 Bruguiera cf. B. gymnorhiza __________ 1170 Lithologic types and ages._______________________ 1136 Ceriops cf. C. tagaL _________________ 1171 Lithologic sequence-___--_-___----_-___--_______ 1136 Combretaceae- ________-___---_____-_-_- 1171 Paleoecoiogy __--_-___--___-___-_-______________ 1138 Terminalia cf. T. catappa ____________ 1171 Paleobotany of the oceanic Pacific islands, by F. R. cf. Combrelum. _____________________ 1172 Fosberg _________________________________________ 1140 Lumnitzera cf. T*. littorea. ______ ______ 1172 Present environment and flora of Eniwetok____________ 1140 Myrtaceae. ____________________________ 1172 Methods of study_______---_-__-__-_________________ 1144 cf. Eugenia.------------------------ 1172 Treatment of fossil samples._____________________ 1144 Boraginaceae. __________________________ 1173 Reference collection of Recent pollen___----__-___- 1145 Tournefortia cf. T. argentea___________ 1173 Cordia cf. C. subcordata-.- ___________ 1173 Composition and relationship of fossil flora to Recent flora. 1146 Verbenaceae____ _ _______________________ 1174 Floristic composition.___________________________ 1146 Avicennia cf. A. marina. _____________ 1174 Modern distribution of Miocene genera-------_--__ 1150 Rubiaceae.____________________________ 1174 Distribution of similar living species_______________ 1150 Ixora cf. /. casei-, _______ ___________ 1174 Abundance of fossil pollen and spores in Eniwetok Gardenia cf. G. grievei-- _____________ 1175 sediments. ___________________________________ 1152 Morinda cf. M. citrtfolia _____________ 1175 Some aspects of modern pollen rain in eastern cf. Guettarda-- _____________________ 1175 Micronesia- ___-____-_-__-___---__-___________ 1152 cf. Timonius- ______________________ 1176 Floral sequence in drill holes.____________________ 1156 Randia cf. R. cochinchinensis - ______ _. 1176 Ecological relations.________________________________ 1159 cf. Scyphiphora- ____________________ 1177 Mangrove swamp forms.________________________ 1159 Dicotyledonous pollen of uncertain family affin Pisonia forest._________________________________ 1160 ity..-------------------------------- 1177 Chroococcalean algal assemblages.________________ 1161 ?Moraceae_ _______-_______---_-_-----_- 1177 Mixed atoll forest versus forest on raised coral Malaisia type______________________ 1177 limestone____________________________________ 1162 ?Leguminoseae ____-_____-_--__---_----_ 1177 Long-distance transport hypothesis.______________ 1162 Sophora type_______________________ 1177 Summary of environmental conditions.____________ 1162 ?Simarubaceae_ ________________________ 1177 Relation of Eniwetok Miocene flora to other fossil floras, Brucea type.____________-___-_----_ 1177 and paleogeographic implications.___-____-----.____ 1163 Picrodendron type___________________ 1178 Systematic descriptions._____________________________ 1165 ?Caliitrichaceae_ _______________-----_- 1178 Angiospermae. _ ________-___----_-__.___________ 1165 Callitriche type.________-_____------ 1178 Monocotyiedonae__ _ ____---_--______________ 1165 ?Hippocrateaceae_ ______________________ 1178 Pandanaceae_ __________________________ 1165 Salacia type____ -------------------- 1178 Pandanus- _________________________ 1165 ?Elaeocarpaceae ________________________ 1179 ?Palmae_ ______________________________ 1166 Elaeocarpus type___________------_ 1179 Livistona type______________________ 1166 ?Rhizophoraceae__--_ _ __________________ 1179 Dicotyledonae_ __--______---_______-______ 1166 Gynolroches type____________________ 1179 Nyctaginaceae...__-_____-_____-_--___._ 1166 ?Verbenaceae____ _ _____-_-__--_--------- 1180 Pisonia cf. P. grandis_______________ 1166 Callicarpa type_ -------------------- 1180 Euphorbiaceae __________________________ 1167 ? Gesneriaceae ______________-_--_-_----- 1180 Acalypha __________________________ Cyrlandra type_______-_____-_-----_ 1180 Malvaceae. _----________-__.____-______ 1167 ? Rubiaceae ---------------------------- 1180 Thespesia cf. T. lampas- _____________ 1167 Coprosma type- --------------------- 1180 Sonneratiaceae -_______---______--_-_-_- 1168 References cited-____________---____--_------------- 1181 Sonneratia cf. S. alba. ________________ 1168 Index.__-_-_-____--_----_------------------------- 1183 m IV CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS [Plates follow index] Page PLATE 304. Miocene algae and marine cysts from Eniwetok and recent algae from the Gilbert Islands. 305. Miocene fern spores and monocotyledonous pollen of Eniwetok and selected modern counterparts. 306. Miocene dicotyledonous pollen of Eniwetok and their modern counterparts, Nyctaginaceae, ?Leguminoseae, Euphorbiaceae, ?Hippocrateaceae, Malvaceae. 307. Miocene Sonneratiaceae pollen of Eniwetok and modern comparative material. 308. Miocene Rhizophoraceae pollen of Eniwetok and Guam and modern comparative material. 309. Miocene Combretaceae pollen of Eniwetok and modern comparative material. 310. Miocene dicotyledonous pollen of Eniwetok and their modern counterparts, Myrtaceae, Boraginaceae, Ver- benaceae, Rubiaceae. 311. Miocene dicotyledonous pollen of Eniwetok and their modern counterparts, Rubiaceae and undetermined pollen types. FIGURE 332. Map of western Pacific region, showing location of Eniwetok and the Marshall Islands.____________________ 1135 333. Drill-hole sections, Eniwetok and BikinL___-___--___-----__-_----_____-__-__________________________. 1137 334. Paleoecology logs of drill holes E-l and F-l on Eniwetok and drill holes 2A and 2B on Bikini_____________ 1139 335. Map of Eniwetok Atoll showing location of drill holes F-l, K-lB, and E-l_______________________________ 1141 336. Generalized depth chart and section of Eniwetok Atoll-__----_----_--_--__--_-___-_____________________ 1142 337. Map of Bikini Atoll showing location of drill holes 2A and 2B__.________________________________________ H42 338. Map of northern Marshall Islands showing vegetation zones. ___________________________________________ 1142 339. Map showing distribution of modern and fossil Sonneratia.. _____________________________________________ 1148 340. Bar graph showing calculated number of pollen, spores, and colonial algae per gram of sediment in drill hole E-l_----____-_-_____--_______----_______--_---_---__--___-_-----_--_--__________________ 1153 341. Bar graph showing calculated number of pollen, spores, and colonial algae per gram of sediment in drill hole F-l____._____________________________________________________________________________________ 1153 342. Pollen diagram showing percentages of total pollen and spores in Eniwetok drill holes E-l and F-l__________ 1154 TABLES Page TABLE 1. Calculated number of pollen, spores, and Chroococcalean algal colonies per gram of sediment, Eniwetok and Bikini drill holes____--_______________________________--_-----_-__--_--_---_____------_-_----. 1145 2. Distribution of living taxa (native occurrences only) with which Eniwetok fossils show affinity-_____________ 1152 3. Calculated number of pollen and spores and Chroococcalean algal colonies in modern sediments from eastern Micronesia. -_-_____-_____________________________-____-_____-__----__-___-_--___-___--__-_---_ 1155 4. Percentage composition and absolute numbers of pollen and spores per gram in modern sediments from Metal- anim Harbor area, Ponape, Caroline Islands-______-___________--___________----_-__--------_---_- 1155 5. Percent total pollen and spores tallied in sediments from drill holes F-l and E-l, Eniwetok_________________ 1157 6. Habits and habitats of living taxa with which Miocene fossils of Eniwetok show affinity.___________________ 1160 BIKINI AND NEARBY ATOLLS, MARSHALL ISLANDS MIOCENE POLLEN AND SPORE FLORA OF ENIWETOK ATOLL, MARSHALL ISLANDS By ESTEULA B. LEOPOLD ABSTRACT 1. If the island or atoll has a land area smaller than 5 square miles and has a maximum elevation below 20 feet, pollen Drill-hole sediments from depths of 670 to 2,500 feet beneath rain is negligible, and pollen usually can not be found in Eniwetok contain zones in which pollen, spores, and colonial sediments except in muds of thickly vegetated swamps. blue-green algae are very abundant. The Miocene age of these Large numbers of blue-green