Planktic Foraminiferal Biostratigraphy of the Coral Sea, Pleistocene-Holocene

Fifteen of 27 potential planktic foraminiferal biostratigraphic events from the latest Pliocene-Holocene have been examined from cores in the Coral Sea. The Australian Ocean Data Network hosts this dataset, which proposes two new subzones and describes a new species, Bolliella praeadamsi. The data shows faunal assemblages dominated by spinose, oligotrophic taxa with tropical and subtropical species being dominant.

Use Cases

• Refining regional biostratigraphic zonation schemes based on the described planktic foraminiferal events.
• Studying faunal stability and dominance of oligotrophic taxa in Pleistocene-Holocene marine sediments.
• Investigating potential reworking of microfossils in sediment cores as mentioned in the description.
• Calibrating evolutionary lineages of foraminifera, such as the transition between Bo. calida praecalida and Bo. adamsi.

Strengths

• Examines 15 specific biostratigraphic events from a potential set of 27.
• Proposes two new formal subzones and redefines two existing ones.
• Describes a single new species, Bolliella praeadamsi, identified for its biostratigraphic utility.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• A hiatus in one core prevented study of most of the early Pleistocene, as noted in the description.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Biostratigraphic analysis of sediment cores.

Time Range

Latest Pliocene to Holocene, with a noted hiatus in the early Pleistocene.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-27 16:27:59.581450; freshness should be verified

Geography

Coral Sea, offshore Queensland, Australia.