Late Paleozoic foraminifera from southern Chile

Abstract

Fusulinids are unusual in the Southern Hemisphere. They are present in northern Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia to about lat 18 S. but are unknown in any of the marine deposits of late Paleozoic age between Bolivia and southern Chile. Fusulinids were recognized in 1952 in southern Chile in limestones quarried on Isla Guarello. In 1955, Cecioni reported the discovery of the fusulinids Millerella and Profusulinella from Isla Donas (lat 5043'S.) and a sequence from Fusulinella to Schwagerina from the archipelago Madre de Dios. The present study is based on additional samples from the islands of Guarello and Tarlton of this archipelago. The forms described are of Late Pennsylvanian and Early Permian age. A rather large fauna of fusulinids and other Foraminifera includes 11 genera and 24 species. Ten species are new, four are referred to forms previously described from the Bolivia and Peru areas, and the remainder are unassigned.