UTRECHT MICROPALEONTOLOGICAL BUllETINS CALCAR EOUS NAN NOPLAN KTON B IOSTRA T1G RAPHY OF MIDDLE AND UPPER CRETACEOUS DEPOSITS IN TUNISIA, SOUTHERN SPAIN AND FRANCE 16 Editor C. W. Drooger Department of Stratigraphy and Paleontology State University of Utrecht Oude Gracht 320, Utrecht, Netherlands Bull. 1. T. FREUDENTHAL - Stratigraphy of Neogene deposits in the Khania Province, Crete, with special reference to foraminifera of the family Plan or- bulinidae and the genus Heterostegina. 208 p., 15 pl., 33 figs. (1969) f 32,- Bull. 2. J. E. MEULENKAMP - Stratigraphy of Neogene deposits in the Rethym- non Province, Crete, with special reference to the phylogeny of uniserial Uvigerina from the Mediterranean region. 172 p., 6 pI, 53 figs. (1969) f 29,- Bull. 3.J. G. VERDENIUS - Neogene stratigraphy of the Western Guadalquivir basin, S. Spain. 109 p., 9 pl., 12 figs. (1970) f28,- Bull. 4. R. C. TJ ALSMA - Stratigraphy and foraminifera of the Neogene of the Eastern Guadalquivir basin, S. Spain. 161 p., 16 pl., 28 figs. (1971) f 44,- Bull. 5. C. W. DROOGER, P. MARKS, A. PAPP et al. - Smaller radiate Num- mulites of northwestern Europe. 137 p., 5 pl., 50 figs. (1971) f 37,- Bull. 6. W. SISSINGH - Late Cenozoic Ostracoda of the South Aegean Island arc. 187 p., 12 pl., 44 figs. (1972) f57,- Bull. 7. author's edition. F. M. GRADSTEIN - Mediterranean Pliocene Globoro- talia, a biometrical approach. 128 p., 8 pl., 44 figs. (1974) f39,- Bull. 8. J. A. BROEKMAN - Sedimentation and paleoecology of Pliocene lagoonal- shallow marine deposits on the island of Rhodos (Greece). 148 p., 7 pl., 9 figs. (1974) f 47,- Bull. 9. D. S. N. RAJU - Study of Indian Miogypsinidae. 148 p., 8 pl., 39 figs. (1974) f38,- Bull. 10. W. A. VAN WAMEL - Conodont biostratigraphy of the Upper Cambrian and Lower Ordovician of north-western Oland, south-eastern Sweden. 128p., 8pl.,25 figs. (1974) f40,- Bull. 11. W. J. ZACHARIASSE - Planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy of the Late Neogene of Crete (Greece). 171 p., 17 pl., 23 figs. (1975) f52,- CALCAREOUS NANNOPLANKTON BIOSTRATIGRAPHY OF MIDDLE AND UPPER CRETACEOUS DEPOSITS IN TUNISIA, SOUTHERN SPAIN AND FRANCE Page Abstract . 5 Chapter I. Introduction. 7 Purpose of the investigation .. 7 Previous studies. 8 Method of investigation. .. 11 Acknowledgements. .. 12 Chapter II. The sections . .. 13 El Burrueco. .. 13 El Kef. .. 18 Javernant. .. 26 Stratotypes ; . .. 28 Chapter III. Zonation . .. 29 Prediscosphaera columnata Zone. .. 29 Eiffellithus turriseiffeli Zone. .. 32 Lithraphidites acutum Zone. .. 33 Gartnerago obliquum Zone. .. 34 Quadrum gartneri Zone. .. 35 Eiffellithus eximius Zone . .. 36 Marthasterites furcatus Zone. .. 37 Broinsonia lacunosa Zone. .. 38 Micula concava Zone. .. 39 Rucinolithus hayii Zone . .. 39 Zygodiscus spiralis Zone. .. 40 Broinsonia parca Zone. .. 40 Ceratolithoides aculeus Zone. .. 41 Quadrum gothicum Zone. .. 42 Quadrum trifidum Zone. .. 43 Lithraphidites quadratus Zone . .. 44 Micula murus Zone. .. 45 Chapter IV. Correlation with the stratotypes of Middle and Upper Cre- taceous stages in Europe. .. 47 Introduction. .. 47 Albian. .. 48 Cenomanian . .. 50 Turonian '.' . 51 Coniacian . 53 Santonian . 54 Campanian . 54 Maastrichtian . 56 Chapter V. Remarks on terminology . 59 Introduction . 59 General . 59 The margin . 59 The central area . 62 Definitions of new terms . 62 Chapter VI. Remarks on evolution . 63 Ceratolithoides . 63 Eiffellithus . 65,124 Broinsonia . 68 Chapter VII. Taxonomy . 71 References . 125 Index . 156 22 figures, 12 plates The calcareous nannoplankton floras of sections in Tunisia, Southern Spain and France have been investigated leading to a succession of 17 biozones for the Middle and Upper Cretaceous, of which the Rucinolithus hayii Zone for the Middle Santonian is new. In order to correlate the zona- tion with the chronostratigraphic scale the calcareous nannofossil contents of the stratotypes of the commonly used European Middle and Upper Cretaceous stages have been investigated. The nannofloras of the Cenomanian and Turonian Stages have been published in earlier papers and the stratotype of the Coniacian Stage contains no calcareous nannofossils. From the samples used for the present study the planktonic foraminifera have also been studied to obtain a first order correlation between the zona- tions based on calcareous nannoplankton and planktonic foraminifera. Evolutionary trends have been recognized and are described in detail in the genera Ceratolithoides, Eiffellithus and Broinsonia. For the description of the calcareous nannofossils the generally accepted terminology is used, completed with some new terms. Remarks have been made on the observed taxa and several new combinations are proposed. Calcareous nannoplankton is a composite group for the skeletal elements of the coccosphaeres of golden brown algae. The size of these elements usually is smaller than about SO p. The group includes nannofossils of un- certain origin with a rather unusual shape, of which a coccosphaere or part of a coccosphaere has so far not been reported. The oldest known elements considered as calcareous nannofossils are reported from Paleozoic deposits (Noel, 1961; Deflandre, 1970; Pirini Radrizzani, 1971; Gartner and Gentile, 1972). As pointed out by Gartner and Gentile (1972), the assignment of these fossils to the calcareous nanno- fossils is rather doubtful. The stratigraphic record in the Paleozoic seems to be discontinuous and some of these "fossils" may be of inorganic origin. The more continuous record starts in the Lower Jurassic (Prins, 1969; Barnard and Hay, 1974) and extends without interruption to the Recent. The present study deals with the nannoplankton of the Middle Albian-Upper Maastrich- tian interval. The purpose of this study was to develop a zonation for the Middle Albian to Upper Maastrichtian based on calcareous nannofossils. A preliminary version of this zonation was published already (Verbeek, 197 6b). For the zonation now proposed, full profit is gained from the criticism received from several colleagues. The calcareous nannofossils of the investigated interval are described in the systematic part of the paper. An attempt has been made to recognize evolutionary trends. Some selected taxa were therefore given special attention. In order to establish a detailed zonation, sections that cover long strati- graphic intervals without notable gaps in the sedimentation were required. The Kef section in Tunisia contains a rather complete sequence from Albian to Maastrichtian of which the Upper Cenomanian to Upper Maastrichtian interval was studied. The section forms the primary control for the proposed zonation. Other sequences which are shorter, but useful for well defined portions of the Middle and Upper Cretaceous are those of El Burrueco (Southern Spain) and J avernant (Paris Basin). Subsequently the scattered stratotypes of the European Middle and Upper Cretaceous stages have been correlated to the proposed zonation, whenever possible. The same sections and samples have been studied for planktonic foramini- fera by A. A. H. Wonders (in preparation). This allows a direct comparison between the calcareous nannoplankton zonation and a zonation based on planktonic foraminifera. Results of this comparison are presented as well. Arkhangelsky (1912) published the first paper on systematics of Upper Cretaceous calcareous nannofossils, as a part of his study of the Upper Cretaceous of the USSR. This is the only paper dealing with this subject from the first half of the 20th century. In 1952 Deflandre started a series of papers on Upper Cretaceous cal- careous nannofossils. At about the same time Deflandre and Fert (1952, 1954) introduced the use of the electron microscope as a means to obtain more detailed observations. Most of Deflandre's publications that followed described a few species at a time. In 1959 he gave a more extensive review of the Upper Cretaceous calcareous nannofossil taxonomy. Gorka (1957) described the nannoflora of the Maastrichtian of Poland. Her figures are rather schematic, which makes the recognition of her new species somewhat difficult. In 1967 Reinhardt and Gorka revised some of Gorka's species and gave better illustrations. The third author on calcareous nannofossils from Upper Cretaceous sediments between 1950 and 1960 was Vekshina (1959), who worked on the Maastrichtian of Western Siberia. Vekshina used the electron microscope to figure her new species and gave detailed descriptions. After 1960 the number of authors increased. In Austria Stradner started to publish (1961, 1962, 1963). At first his work was only of taxonomic interest, afterwards he also considered biostratigraphy. In the DDR Rein- hardt (1964, 1965, 1966a, b, 1967, 1969, 1970a, b, 1971) refined the taxonomy by using the electron microscope and a quartz plate in the light microscope to observe the details of the structure of calcareous nannofossils. In 1964 Bramlette and Martini published their paper on the mass extinc- tion of calcareous nannofossils at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. After 1966 a large number of publications appeared with numerous well- documented and well-figured species. Papers which contain the most useful information about Middle and Upper Cretaceous calcareous nannoplankton taxonomy are those of Stover (1966, France, Netherlands), Perch-Nielsen (1968, Denmark), Gartner (1968, Texas, Arkansas), Bukry (1969, Texas, Europe), Noel (1969, 1970, Paris Basin), Thierstein (1971, 1973, France, Switzerland, Atlantic Ocean), Manivit (1971, France), Black (1972,