Late Paleocene-Early Eocene diatoms and dinocysts from biosiliceous facies of the middle Trans-Urals region

The Paleocene-Eocene transition is one of the most remarkable Cenozoic periods coinciding with the global thermal maximum (PETM). Based on the complex biostratigraphic analysis of diatoms, silicoflagellates, and dinocysts, this global event is revealed in three sections of the Middle Trans-Urals region (Kamyshlov, Korkino, Chumlyak) represented by marine biosiliceous sediments of the Serov and Irbit formations. The interval of the Trinacra ventriculosa-Hemiaulus proteus-Coscinodiscus uralensis diatom zones is marked by the appearance of new genera Moisseevia, Solium, Fenestrella, Craspedodiscus, Podosira, Pseudotriceratium, intense radiations of Grunoweiella and Coscinodiscus, and development of extreme morphotypes among silicoflagellates. The defined diatom assemblages differ slightly from their coeval counterparts from the Middle Volga region, which casts doubt upon the assumed stable water exchange between these basins. On the contrary, the dinocyst assemblages are lacking zonal index species (Appectodinium homomorphum, A. augustum) and Apectodinium acme characteristic of the transitional Paleocene-Eocene strata in many worldwide localities. The facies settings of his period with intense vertical mixing and relatively low temperatures and salinity are characterized by the dominant role of dinocysts belonging to the genera Areoligera, Deflandrea, Spiniferites, and Operculodinium.