Coral Sea Planktic Foraminifera Biostratigraphy From Pleistocene To Holocene

Fifteen planktic foraminiferal biostratigraphic events from the latest Pliocene-Holocene were examined in cores from the Coral Sea, offshore Queensland, Australia. The Australian Ocean Data Network published this research, which proposes two new subzones and describes a new species, Bolliella praeadamsi. Most of the early Pleistocene was not studied due to a hiatus in the one core penetrating that period.

Use Cases

• Establishing a formal zonal scheme using events like the Globigerinoides quadrilobatus fistulosus and Bolliella praeadamsi Subzones.
• Identifying reworking events and hiatuses by analyzing faunal changes and the presence of late Miocene Zone N.17 in cores.
• Studying evolutionary relationships between species like Bolliella praeadamsi, Bo. calida praecalida, and Bo. adamsi.
• Characterizing stable, oligotrophic faunal assemblages dominated by spinose, tropical, and subtropical foraminifera species.
• Redefining existing subzones such as the Globorotalia crassaformis viola and Globorotalia crassaformis hessi Subzones based on new event correlations.

Strengths

• Examines 15 of 27 potential biostratigraphic events from the latest Pliocene-Holocene.
• Proposes two new formal subzones and describes one new species, Bolliella praeadamsi.
• Analyzes multiple sediment cores, including one penetrating from the Pleistocene into the Pliocene.

Limitations

• Early Pleistocene largely unstudied due to a hiatus in the key core.
• Sample size is limited to cores from a single geographic region, the Coral Sea.
• Data availability is restricted to published formats like HTML and PDF, not raw structured data.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Biostratigraphic analysis of sediment cores.

Time Range

Latest Pliocene to Holocene

Freshness

Metadata last updated April 2026.

Geography

Coral Sea, offshore Queensland, Australia