Coralline algae from the prang formation (middle-late Eocene) of the Lumshnong Area,Jaintia Hills,Meghalaya

The present paper records nine species of coralline algae from the Prang Formation of middle-late Eocene age from the Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya. The algae are associated with the larger foraminifera including Nummulites, Alveolina and Discocyclina throughout the succession. The temporal distribution of algal species indicates that seven species are known from the Eocene. Of the remaining two, one ranges from the Palaeocene to Eocene and the other is Palaeocene in age. The coralline algae and larger foraminifers are differentiated into two associations, the lower one indicating inner-ramp environment of high energy and the upper one showing deposition in relatively calm waters of deeper ramp environment.     

Detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology of a Cenozoic foreland basin in Northeast India: Implications for zircon provenance during the collision of the Indian and Asian plates

Geochronology is useful for understanding provenance, and while it has been applied to the central and western Himalaya, very little data are available in the eastern Himalaya. This study presents detrital zircon U–Pb ages from the late Palaeocene–Eocene Yinkiong Group in NE India. The samples are from the late Palaeocene to early Eocene Lower Yinkiong Formation, and the Upper Yinkiong Formation deposited during the early to mid‐Eocene within the Himalayan foreland basin. The U–Pb ages of the detrital zircon within the Lower Yinkiong Formation are older than late Palaeozoic, with a cratonic and early Himalayan Thrust Belt affinity, whereas the Cenozoic grains in the Upper Yinkiong Formation indicate a Himalayan Thrust Belt source and possibly a granitic body within the Asian plate. The shift of the sources and the changes in the foreland basin system strongly suggest that the India–Asia collision in the Eastern Himalaya began before or immediately after the deposition of the Upper Yinkiong Formation, i.e., within the early Eocene (c. 56 to 50 Ma).     

High latitude Eocene climate deterioration: evidence from the northern Antarctic Peninsula

Clay mineral, sedimentological and geochemical data show that the northern Antarctic Peninsula (Seymour Island, La Meseta Formation) experienced a climatic deterioration from very warm, non-seasonally wet conditions at the end of the Palaeogene global optimum (early Middle Eocene ∼47 Ma) to a latest Eocene (post ∼34 Ma) regime that was cold, frost-prone and relatively dry. During the middle Middle Eocene there was an episode of strongly seasonal wet conditions, after which the climate was generally cool and humid. Overall, Eocene climatic trends in the Antarctic Peninsula mirror those recorded at ODP sites in the Southern Ocean. There is no evidence for glacial deposition on Seymour Island during either the latest Eocene (Submeseta) or the short Early Palaeocene (Sobral) cold episodes. Local Eocene climatic changes were registered by alterations in depositional and sedimentary characters of the La Meseta Formation, and reflect regional southern high latitude Palaeogene climatic mileu modulated by local tectonic events.     

Oceanographic and climatic implications of the Palaeocene carbon isotope maximum

We have compared detailed planktonic and benthonic foraminiferal carbon and oxygen isotope records from the Palaeocene and early Eocene successions at DSDP Site 577 (Shatsky Rise, North Pacific), a composite section derived from DSDP Leg 74 sites (Walvis Ridge, South Atlantic) and a composite section from ODP Leg 113 sites (Maud Rise, Weddell Sea). The δ¹³C records of Palaeocene and early Eocene Foraminifera at Site 577 and the Leg 74 sites show that an increase in δ¹³C values in surface waters at 64 Ma (end of Zone P1) resulted in increased vertical carbon isotope gradients (δ¹³C) between surface and deeper dwelling planktonic foraminifera, and between surface-dwelling planktonics and benthonic foraminifera which became progressively steeper until the iniddle Late Palaeocene (Zone P4). This steepening also occurs in the latest Palaeocene of the composite Leg 113 section and can be explained by an increase in surface ocean productivity. This increase in productivity probably resulted in an expansion of the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ). Benthonic δ¹³C values increased during the late Palaeocene in Site 577 and the composite Leg 74 section, suggesting that the Palaeocene carbon isotope maximum was composed of both within-ocean reservoir (increased surface water productivity) and between-reservoir (organic carbon burial) ftactionation effects. The benthonic δ¹³C increase lags the surface ocean δ¹³C increase in the early Palaeocene (63–64 Ma) suggesting that surface water productivity increase probably led an increase in the burial rate of organic carbon relative to carbonate sedimentation. Moreover, inter-site δ¹³C comparisons suggest that the locus of deep to intermediate water formation for the majority of the Palaeocene and the earliest Eocene was more likely to have been in the high southern latitudes than in the lower latitudes. Oxygen isotope data show a decline in deeper water temperatures in the early and early late Palaeocene, followed by a temperature increase in the late Palaeocene and across the PalaeoceneEocene boundary. We speculate that these changes in deeper water temperatures were related to the flux of CO₂ between the oceans and the atmosphere through a mechanism operating at the high southern latitudes.     

Wide rift model in Bohai Bay Basin: insight into the destruction of the North China Craton

The Bohai Bay Basin is a Cenozoic extensional basin along the eastern aspect of Asia. Whether the Bohai Bay Basin is a pull-apart or rift basin is controversial. The Bohai Bay Basin exhibits a high density of extensional faults and records destruction of the North China Craton. Many structural analyses have been performed on the Bohai Bay Basin, especially the Tan-L and Taihang Mountain fault systems which control its boundary. The initial deposition of Kongdian Formation was mainly distributed along the boundary of Bohai Bay Basin during the Palaeocene–early Eocene. Subsequently, tectonic activity migrated toward the interior of the basin during deposition of Shahejie Formation in the middle Eocene–early Oligocene. Bohai Bay Basin crust was thickened in early Mesozoic time and has thinned since late Mesozoic time. The crustal strength profile of Bohai Bay Basin is characterized by very weak lower crust, which differs from that of adjacent crust. In regard to the crustal structure, lithospheric thickness, and extensional style, an alternative rift model is proposed. Initial Bohai Bay Basin rifts were characterized by metamorphic core complexes affecting the North China Craton, which reflects collapse of parts of the early Mesozoic intra-plate orogen. Furthermore, westward subduction of the Palaeo-Pacific Plate led to upwelling of asthenosphere mantle. Persistent upwelling of mantle decreased the strength of lower crust and led to the warm heat-flow regime and generation of a lower crustal fluid layer and wide rifting. Outward flow of ductile lower crust following late Cretaceous extension thinned the lower crust and generated the overall sag appearance of the basin in early Cenozoic time. The model supports a model whereby a wide rift narrows with time. For the Bohai Bay Basin, extension and strike-slip faulting were two independent deformation systems superimposed on each other.     

Taphonomy and abundance of birds from the Lower Eocene Fur Formation of Denmark

The pattern, pace and extent of the evolutionary radiation of modern birds (Neornithes) by the end‐Cretaceous (65 Ma) has long been debated. Well‐dated, taphonomically understood and phylogenetically constrained fossil birds from both sides of the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary are required to quantify the shape of this radiation, but have largely been lacking. Here we report on a large collection of fossil birds from the Lower Eocene of Denmark (ca. 54 Ma) that includes three‐dimensionally preserved, articulated specimens from carbonate concretions as well as skeletal imprints and feathers. These birds are from a marine diatomite sequence (the Fur Formation), a low‐energy deep‐water preservational environment unique to the Cretaceous and Paleogene avian fossil record. We present taphonomic and palaeoecological information gleaned from these birds that in combination with phylogenetic data have implications for unravelling avian survivorship across the K–Pg boundary as well as for the pattern of the neornithine evolutionary radiation. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

西藏仲巴白垩纪-古近纪孢粉组合及其意义

西藏的白垩—古近纪孢粉资料迄今鲜有发掘,因此我们对西藏当时的古植物区系、古植被和陆地生态系统等的了解也就甚为了了。本文对位处当时劳亚大陆南部边缘的仲巴县错江顶白垩系—古近系进行了孢粉分析。研究揭示,剖面的孢粉组合可划分为两个孢粉组合带,自下而上分别为Classopollis-Exesipollenites-Cycadopites组合和Pinuspollenites-Quercoidites-Trilobapollis组合,其时代分别为晚白垩世晚期Santonian—Maastrichtian和古近纪古新世—始新世。剖面的白垩系/古近系界线可能位于曲贝亚组和曲下组之间。针叶树花粉大量繁盛,特别是一些类型如Abiespollenites、Cedripites、Piceapollis和Tsugaepollenites仅见于曲下组顶部至加拉孜组底部的孢粉组合,反映了一次与构造运动密切相关的古环境变化事件,可能指示了印度—劳亚板块碰撞的开始。研究区孢粉植物区系与中国南方植物区系有很好的可比性,而与印度北缘同期植物区系区别明显,暗示着印度与劳亚大陆之间的海域直至始新世仍然具有明显的隔离作用,阻碍着两侧大陆上植物区系间的交流。     

Correlation and paleoenvironments of middle Paleogene marine beds based on dinoflagellate cysts in southwestern Patagonia,Argentina

An understanding of paleonvironmental and paleoceanographic evolution of the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean during the Palaeogene is prevented by the lack of precise tools to date and correlate the sedimentary units. Palynological samples collected in the upper portion of the Man Aike Formation, which crops out southern Lago Argentino area, in the southwest of the Austral Basin (50°21′45″S–72°14′30″W), contain well preserved marine organic dinoflagellate cysts, which are potentially important biostratigraphic and paleoenvironmental indicators. Herein we describe the composition of the Man Aike Formation's dinoflagellate cyst assemblages and compare them to similar assemblages collected in the same basin in the upper member of the Río Turbio Formation using Compositional Statistical Analysis. The dinoflagellate cyst assemblages from the upper part of the Man Aike Formation are highly correlated to the assemblages from the upper member of the Río Turbio Formation from outcropping sections (51°31′13″S–72°15′11″W) and with the lower part of sediment cores drilled by Yacimientos Carboníferos Fiscales in the Río Turbio Formation area. These dinoflagellate cyst assemblages show a very low correlation with the assemblages from the upper part of the Yacimientos Carboníferos Fiscales's cores. The comparison of our results with the high-resolution Southern Pacific Ocean dinoflagellate cyst zonation for the late Palaeocene to late Eocene allow us to date some of the dinoflagellate events recorded in formations of southwestern Patagonia. The assemblages from the Man Aike Formation and the lower part of the upper member of the Río Turbio Formation relate to the zones SPDZ11 and SPDZ12 and are assigned to the mid-middle Eocene (late Lutetian to early Bartonian). The biostratigraphy proposed herein constrains the age of the Man Aike Formation and equivalent units based on calcareous microfossil data, mollusks affinities and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotopic values to an age ranging between ∼42 and 39 Ma. The assemblages from the upper part of the upper member of the Río Turbio Formation relate to the SPDZ13 Zone, which corresponds to the late Eocene (early Priabonian). The dinoflagellate cyst assemblages indicate that they were under the influence of relatively warm, marine open waters in an inner-shelf environment for the lower part of the sections. In the upper part of the sections, the assemblages suggest shallow marine waters associated with coastal areas and high trophic levels, possibly as a result of freshwater inputs.     

东海盆地椒江凹陷古新统烃源岩地球化学特征及生烃历史

为揭示东海盆地椒江凹陷油气勘探潜力,基于地球化学和盆地数值模拟方法对古新统月桂峰组、灵峰组和明月峰组烃源岩开展生烃能力和生烃过程研究.结果表明,月桂峰组和灵峰组泥岩有机质丰度高,以Ⅱ型干酪根为主,为水生生物和陆源高等植物混合来源,且形成于偏还原环境.夹有薄层炭质泥岩和煤的明月峰组泥岩有机质丰度低,以Ⅲ型干酪根为主,为陆源高等植物来源且形成于氧化环境.古新世至始新世,椒江凹陷大幅度沉降且古热流较高,是古新统烃源岩热演化程度增加的主要时期.受埋藏史和成熟度史共同控制,月桂峰组和灵峰组经历了2次生烃作用,第1次发生在古新世晚期,第2次发生在始新世中期至晚期,生烃强度高.明月峰组仅在始新世末期经历了1次生烃作用,生烃强度低.椒江凹陷古新统烃源岩生烃潜力强,具有广阔的油气勘探前景,应围绕生烃中心尤其是月桂峰组生烃中心选择形成于中新世之前的有效圈闭进行钻探.      

兰坪中新生代沉积盆地模拟与流体势

本文利用沉积盆地模拟技术对兰坪地区中新生代的古水动力场进行了详细研究，结果表明盆地晚白垩世地下水是由中、西部向南部一带流动，流速约为1．85mm/a-2.93mm/a，平均2．24mm/a。由北部的相对高势区和中西部的相对高势区向金顶－马登一带的相对低势区流动，流速约为1．64mm/a－2.38mm/a，平均2．01mm/a，至古新世，水头增高，水头差90m。到始新世平均流速较古新世时稍有增大，为16．12mm/a－20.90mm/a。云龙组单元的水动力面貌基本雷同于上白垩统。古新世、水头值约0．3m-2.0m。地下水令在盆地西偏北部一带形成一小块相对高势区，并向四周的相对低势区流动，其流速较缓，约为0．65mm/a-1.72mm/a。以始新世，由于金顶一带其相关的渗透系数仍很大（约0.2mm/a-34.16mm/a。综上所述，兰坪盆地上白垩统和云龙组单元水势分布及水动力场面貌同古构造的发展关系密切，金顶－一带则正位于该低势区内，这就为含矿物质的水溶液的运移，聚集提供了良好的构造和水动力条件。     

Sedimentology and isotopic composition of Upper Palaeocene to Eocene non-marine stromatolites, eastern Ebro Basin, NE Spain

Stromatolites are abundant in Upper Palaeocene to Eocene fluvial deposits from the Eastern Ebro Basin, whereas they are scarce in the lacustrine facies. The fluvial stromatolites display a variety of growth forms: oncoids, domes, laminated crusts and locally irregular bioherms. These morphologies are related to the hydrological behaviour of the fluvial systems. Elongate domes, dome heads and ovoid to subspherical oncoids accreted in flowing water. Laminated crusts and small-sized cylindrical to lenticular oncoids formed during low-discharge and ponding phases. In the lacustrine environments only small-sized ovoid oncoids occur. The main characteristics of the Ebro Basin non-marine stromatolites are: (1) laminations and concentric banding exhibited by all morphologies; (2) the occurrence of well-preserved cyanobacterial filaments in several laminae, suggesting that these microbiotas are the major contributors in growth; (3) the asymmetrical growth of cortices in domes and oncoids with polar thickening on the upper side suggesting in situ growth under low energy conditions. δ¹³C values of carbonate stromatolites range from - 11.3%o (Late Palaeocene) to — 4.4%o (Middle-Late Eocene). During the Late Palaeocene, under tectonically quiescent conditions, the δ¹³C values mainly reflect the influence of soil-derived CO₂. During the Eocene, the progressive uplift of the surrounding catchment areas led to an increase of exposures of Mesozoic rocks. Consequently, the δ¹³C values of the Eocene stromatolites reflect the influence of the CO₂ derived from the dissolution of Mesozoic marine carbonates. There is a 2.5%o shift in δ¹⁸O values of stromatolites from the Late Palaeocene to Middle-Late Eocene which is consistent with the variation in δ¹⁸O of precipitation due to changes in altitude of the catchment area during this time. The isotopic values of all Middle-Upper Eocene laminated crust samples show distinct covariant trends, suggesting that these stromatolites were formed either in ponding zones of fluvial channels or in disconnected pools developed during low-discharge episodes.     

吉林“珲春组”的地质时代

“珲春组”系分布于吉林省东部的珲春、延吉和龙井等地区不同盆地的一套煤系地层,这套地层被认为代表下第三系古新统至渐新统。据研究,各地区不同盆地的岩性及植物化石成分差别甚殊,依据各地区植物化石的组合特征确定珲春二道沟的地质年代属晚白垩世,为使用方便仍可延用珲春组组名;延吉清茶馆的植物化石归古新世,龙井三合的植物化石归渐新世,因其各自地质年代不同,建议这二地区可分别另建新地层组名。     

Did Paleogene North Atlantic rift-related eruptions drive early Eocene climate cooling?

The delivery of volcanogenic sulphur into the upper atmosphere by explosive eruptions is known to cause significant temporary climate cooling. Therefore, phreatomagmatic and phreatoplinian eruptions occurring during the final rifting stages of active flood basalt provinces provide a potent mechanism for triggering climate change.

During the early Eocene, the northeast Atlantic margin was subjected to repeated ashfall for 0.5 m.y. This was the result of extensive phreatomagmatic activity along 3000 km of the opening northeast Atlantic rift. These widespread, predominantly basaltic ashes are now preserved in marine sediments of the Balder Formation and its equivalents, and occur over an area extending from the Faroe Islands to Denmark and southern England. These ash-bearing sediments also contain pollen and spore floras derived from low diversity forests that grew in cooler, drier climates than were experienced either before or after these highly explosive eruptions. In addition, coeval plant macrofossil evidence from the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, USA, also shows a comparable pattern of vegetation change. The coincidence of the ashes and cooler climate pollen and spore floras in northwest Europe identifies volcanism as the primary cause of climate cooling. Estimates show that whilst relatively few phreatomagmatic eruptive centres along the 3000 km opening rift system could readily generate 0.5–1 °C cooling, on an annual basis, only persistent or repeated volcanic phases would have been able to achieve the long-term cooling effect observed in the floral record. We propose that the cumulative effect of repeated Balder Formation eruptions initiated a biodiversity crisis in the northeast Atlantic margin forests. Only the decline of this persistent volcanic activity, and the subsequent climatic warming at the start of the Eocene Thermal Maximum allowed the growth of subtropical forests to develop across the region.     

Failles normales Paléocène à Lutétien en zone sud-pyrénéenne (Aragon,Espagne) et flexuration de la plaque ibérique

Close to the South Pyrenean thrust front, synsedimentary normal faults develop in the ‘Garumnian’ continental deposits (Maastrichtian to Palaeocene) and in the carbonate platform during the Lutetian. During the Lutetian, this deformation is accompanied by a change in the sedimentation characterized by the deposit of two series of laminated limestones associated to monogenetic breccias. These normal faults would have formed at the bending of the Iberian plate subducting under Europe. They may also be considered as the starting point for the megaturbidites that deposited further north in the Eocene turbiditic basin. To cite this article: Y. Hervouët et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Cenozoic basin evolution of the Central Patagonian Andes: Evidence from geochronology,stratigraphy, and geochemistry

The Central Patagonian Andes is a particular segment of the Andean Cordillera that has been subjected to the subduction of two spreading ridges during Eocene and Neogene times. In order to understand the Cenozoic geologic evolution of the Central Patagonian Andes, we carried out geochronologic(U-Pb and⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar), provenance, stratigraphic, sedimentologic, and geochemical studies on the sedimentary and volcanic Cenozoic deposits that crop out in the Meseta Guadal and Chile Chico areas(～47°S). Our data indicate the presence of a nearly complete Cenozoic record, which refutes previous interpretations of a hiatus during the middle Eocene-late Oligocene in the Central Patagonian Andes. Our study suggests that the fluvial strata of the Ligorio Marquez Formation and the flood basalts of the Basaltos Inferiores de la Meseta Chile Chico Formation were deposited in an extensional setting related to the subduction of the Aluk-Farallon spreading ridge during the late Paleocene-Eocene. Geochemical data on volcanic rocks interbedded with fluvial strata of the San Jose Formation suggest that this unit was deposited in an extensional setting during the middle Eocene to late Oligocene. Progressive crustal thinning allowed the transgression of marine waters of Atlantic origin and deposition of the upper Oligocene-lower Miocene Guadal Formation. The fluvial synorogenic strata of the Santa Cruz Formation were deposited as a consequence of an important phase of compressive deformation and Andean uplift during the early-middle Miocene. Finally, alkali flood basalts of the late middle to late Miocene Basaltos Superiores de la Meseta Chile Chico Formation were extruded in the area in response to the suduction of the Chile Ridge under an extensional regime. Our studies indicate that the tectonic evolution of the Central Patagonian Andes is similar to that of the North Patagonian Andes and appears to differ from that of the Southern Patagonian Andes, which is thought to have been the subject of continuous compressive deformation since the late Early Cretaceous.     

山东平邑—蒙阴地区古近纪地层时代讨论

通过对山东平邑—蒙阴地区古近纪地层的野外地质调查和实测剖面,对分布于该区内的古近系进行了详细的研究和划分。提供了新的ESR测年数据,并结合生物地层序列确定了该区古近系的地层顺序为：古近系渐新统汶东组（E3w）、古近系上始新统大汶口组（E2^3d）、古近系中始新统朱家沟组（E2^2Z）、古近系下始新统常路组（E2^1c）、古近系上古新统卞桥组（E12b）和古近系下古新统固城组（E1^1g）。为华北地区乃至全国古近系的研究与划分提供了重要依据。     

Phanerozoic stratigraphy and structure of the northern Barrier Ranges,western New South Wales

Devonian strata near Fowlers Gap and Nundooka Stations, northern Barrier Ranges comprise ～2.7 km of sparsely fossiliferous, fluvially deposited sandstones (Mulga Downs Group). These strata are subdivided into the Coco Range Sandstone (oldest, Emsian‐Eifelian) found west of the north‐trending Nundooka Creek Fault, and the Nundooka Sandstone (youngest, ?Frasnian‐Famennian found east of the fault). Eleven stratigraphic units are mapped and two of these in the Coco Range Sandstone are formally named as The Valley Tank Arenite and Copi Dam Arenite Members. The Coco Range Sandstone and Nundooka Sandstone are tentatively correlated with strata in the Bancannia Trough. Deposition of the Coco Range Sandstone and Nundooka Sandstone was, however, separate from that of the Bancannia Trough, probably due to topographic highs which occurred east of the Western Boundary Fault.

The Coco Range Sandstone is cut by northeast‐trending faults splaying from the Nundooka Creek Fault. These faults have vertical planes and are thought to predate deposition of the Nundooka Sandstone. In the Late Cretaceous the Nundooka Creek and Western Boundary Faults became active and areas west of these faults were uplifted to form Coco Range and Bald Hill. This fossil landscape was progressively buried by deposition of the Palaeocene‐Eocene Eyre Formation until it was half covered by strata. During the Oligocene silcrete of the Cordillo Surface formed and was overlain conformably by the sandy Doonbara Formation (Miocene). Since the Miocene, much of the Eyre Formation has been removed by erosion to exhume a Late Cretaceous landscape. Subsequently in the ?Pliocene there was some faulting along the Nundooka Creek and Western Boundary Faults because locally the Cordillo Surface and the Doonbara Formation dip toward the faults at 30–72°. At three localities there is evidence of probable Quaternary activity on the Nundooka Creek and the Western Boundary Faults (downthrow to the east) suggesting a different style of tectonics from that in the Miocene.     

Magnetostratigraphic and cyclostratigraphic calibration of a prospective Palaeocene/Eocene stratotype at Zumaia (Basque Basin, northern Spain)

ABSTRACT Detailed magnetostratigraphic work at the Palaeocene/Eocene boundary interval in the Zumaia section has led to a precise delineation of the position of polarity Chron C25n from −35.0 m (or −35.7 m) to −25.2 m below the base of the Carbon Isotopic Excursion that marks the Palaeocene/Eocene boundary. This chronostratigraphic constraint suggests that the lithological carbonate–marl couplets making up most of the studied section are the expression of orbital precession cycles, and confirms the expanded and continuous nature of the section, with mean sediment accumulation rates of ∼ 2.5 cm kyr⁻¹. The new data render Zumaia a unique land-based marine section with available magnetostratigraphic data coupled to cyclostratigraphy. The revised chronostratigraphic framework presented supports previous cyclostratigraphic calibration of the latest Palaeocene geomagnetic timescale; it should facilitate better assessment of the different chemobiostratigraphic events that span this critical interval as a consequence of past climate and oceanographic change. Consequently, the Zumaia section is proposed as a candidate Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the Palaeocene/Eocene boundary.     

Distribution of Cainozoic foraminiferida in the Scott Reef No. 1 well,Western Australia

Micropalaeontological investigation of samples from Scott Reef No. 1 has revealed a thick Cainozoic carbonate sequence. Rich planktonic faunas have enabled the identification of Lower Miocene to Oligocene (N6 to P19) and Lower Eocene to Lower Palaeocene intervals (P6 to Pic). The remainder of the succession has been dated on benthonic evidence and spot age‐determinations on isolated planktonic occurrences. The palaeoenvironmental history of the Cainozoic sequence appears to be regressive from a bathyal situation in the Palaeocene through indeterminate marine Eocene, bathyal to inner shelf Oligocene to Middle Miocene, to reefal conditions which have persisted from the Middle Miocene to the present day.