Bulk oxygen and carbon isotopic variation in the Late Cretaceous along with morphometric analysis of biserial planktonic foraminifera

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Expected [delta]13C shifts are absent in Tanzanian samples that span the majority of the Turonian Age (93.5 - 89.3 Ma). The [delta]13C values of bulk carbonate and organic carbon were measured throughout the Turonian section and showed only relatively subtle [delta]13C variation and those variations do not match distinctive isotopic changes documented in deposits of the same age from the North Atlantic and Tethyan Oceans. The lack of expected isotopic patterns cannot be explained as an artifact of changing sources of organic matter, based on biomarker analyses, and suggest [delta]13C variations are not globally expressed. The absence of expected [delta]13C patterns in the Turonian has made accurate correlation among sites difficult. Thus, a second phase of this project was examination of the phylogenetic history of Cretaceous biserial planktonic foraminifera. Recent efforts to develop an evolutionary classification of the biserial taxa have led to a radical revision of their species and genus level taxonomy. The high-quality of shell preservation of foraminiferal assemblages from Tanzania makes Tanzanian specimens ideal for testing previously proposed revisions to the Late Cretaceous biserial taxonomy and phylogeny. To investigate proposed taxonomic concepts we use SEM and X-ray images of over 200 biserial specimens and identify five distinct lineages.