A NEW CAMPANIAN DINOFLAGELLATE CYST FROM ANTARCTICA: A BIOSTRATIGRAPHIC AND PALEOECOLOGICAL KEY SPECIES

Abstract

Palynological analysis of Upper Cretaceous marine rocks from the Rabot and Snow Hill Island formations, James Ross Basin, northeastern Antarctic Peninsula, has revealed the record of a previously undescribed dinoflagellate cyst species, previously assigned to Oligosphaeridium sp. A. Here, we provide a formal description of this new species, which we name Stiphrosphaeridium sobralii sp. nov. and we add some features to the description of the genus Stiphrosphaeridium. The new species is found in Campanian strata, which are calibrated with magnetostratigraphic data. It is considered an important Late Cretaceous biostratigraphic marker commonly recorded in offshore environments of Antarctica.

Keywords

• Marine Palynology
• Offshore paleoenvironments
• Biostratigra´phy
• Late Cretaceous
• James Ross Basin
• Antarctic Peninsula