Neogene Benthic Foraminifera from the southern Bering Sea (IODP Expedition 323)

Abstract

This study describes a total of 95 calcareous benthic foraminiferal taxa from the Pliocene-Pleistocene recovered from IODP Hole U1341B in the southern Bering Sea with illustrations produced with an optical microscope and SEM. The benthic foraminiferal assemblages are mostly dominated by calcareous taxa, and poorly diversified agglutinated forms are rare or often absent, comprising only minor components. Elongate, tapered, and/or flattened planispiral infaunal morphotypes are common or dominate the assemblages reflecting the persistent high-productivity and hypoxic conditions in the deep Bering Sea. Most of the species found in the cores are long-ranging, but we observe the extinction of several cylindrical forms that disappeared during the mid-Pleistocene Climatic Transition.