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Dinoflagellate cyst biostratigraphy of Tertiary and Quaternary deposits of offshore NW Borneo
| Besems, R.E. | |
| 1993 | |
| Geological Society of Malaysia, Bulletin 33: 65-93 | |
| Dinoflagellate cyst biostratigraphy of Tertiary and Quaternary deposits of offshore NW Borneo |
Besems, R.E., 1993; Dinoflagellate cyst biostratigraphy of Tertiary and Quaternary deposits of offshore NW Borneo. Geological Society of Malaysia, Bulletin 33: 65-93 Palynological investigations in the Tertiary and Quaternary of SE Asia traditionally have been focussed upon the interpretation of quantitative and qualitative changes in the successive pollen and spore spectra of the fossil record. These changes have been used to establish detailed (inter) regional stratigraphical correlations and to interpret the depositional environment of the predominantly coastal plain to shallow marine sequences. Microplankton (dinoflagellate cysts and acritarchs) played a minor role in these palynological investigations. However, preliminary results of recent palynological investigations focussed upon microplankton from offshore Tertiary and Quaternary deposits of NW Borneo, demonstrate that the potential of especially dinoflagellate cysts in stratigraphical correlations has not been fully exploited. This paper presents the stratigraphic ranges of selected microplankton taxa from 56 wells in the Late Paleocene to Quaternary interval, offshore NW Borneo. In addition, published dinoflagellate cyst and acritarch records from SE Asia s.l. are summarized. The dinoflagellate cysts generally are a minor constituent of the palynological assemblages. Most of the taxa recorded are long-ranging and well-known from other low, mid and high latitude areas. The data available suggests the presence of seven informal dinoflagellate cyst assemblage groups in the Late Paleocene to Quaternary interval. Preliminary results on environmental preferences of dinoflagellate taxa suggests that representatives of the Cribroperidium-Apteodinium complex, Homotryblium spp., Hystrichokolpoma spp., Achomosphaera spp. and non-tabulate chorate cysts like Lingulodinium? pycnospinosum and Operculodinium spp. show relationships with specific depositional environments.