Lower Carboniferous Foraminiferal Faunas of the Boring Ørslev No. 1, Island of Falster, Denmark

Abstract

Lower Carboniferous foraminifera from a 1700' thick series of limestone, marlstone, and claystone in the boring Ørslev No. 1 are studied.

48 forms are described. 17 of these are identified to species, two of which are established as new species and two as new subspecies, namely Lituotubella glomospiroides minima n. subsp., Septabrunsiina spissusvoluta n. sp., Endothyra danica n. sp., and E. michoti spinata n. subsp. The remaining 31 forms are given with open nomenclature; nine of these are morphospecies, provisionally referred to already known species. The study and description of the foraminifera are based on the external morphology of the tests and on defined sections of the tests.

On the basis of the biostratigraphy, the deposits are referred to the Lower and Middle (?) Visean. The interval 6740'-6945', which has a fauna dominated by the family Ozawainellidae, may probably be correlated with certain parts of the Russian and the Belgian Middle Visean (Visean 2), while the interval 6945'-8440' correlates with the Lower Visean in Belgium (Visean 1) on the basis of its faunas, characterized by the genus Endothyra.