PALEONTOLOGY AND PALEOENVIRONMENT OF THE EARLY PALEOGENE PAKISTANIAN BENTHIC FORAMINIFERAL SPECIES OF HAQUE – SUBORDERS MILIOLINA AND LAGENINA

Abstract

Thirteen Early Paleogene Pakistanian smaller Miliolid and eight Lagenid benthic foraminiferal species and subspecies from the Ranikot and Laki Formations of the Nammal Gorge, Salt and Sor Ranges, Punjab of Northern Pakistan have been studied. The modern taxonomic consideration and systematic description of the species is based on the diagnostic morphology, and provides a list of synonyms, short remarks about morphological features of the taxa and some annotations about taxa with problematic generic status. Two species of them belong to the genus Spiroloculina(haquei, pakistanica), four of Quinqueloculina (inflata, pseudosimplex, pseudovata, ranikotensis), two of Triloculina (psudoenoplostoma, sarahae), two of Agglutinella (reinemundi, sori) and three of Dentostomina (ammobicarinata, ammoirregularis, gapperi). One species of the Lagenid belongs to the genus Frondicularia (nammalensis), one of Lenticulina (reussi), one subspecies of Palmula (woodi nammalensis), one of Astacolus (vomeriformis), one of Vaginulinopsis (nammalensis), one of Lagena (reticulatostriata), one of Galawayella (nammalensis) and one of Parafissurina (pakistanica). The two species of the Miliolids: Spiroloculina (haquei, pakistanica) and one Lagenid Parafissurina (pakistanica) are believed to be new. Some of these species are recorded outside of Pakistan in Northern Tethys (France): Astacolus vomeriformis and Vaginulinopsis nammalensis. The high abundance of pelagic Pakistanian foraminiferal assemblage indicate open connection to the Tethys, which represents middle-outer neritic environment (100-200 m depth) and shows an affinity with ‘Midway-Type Fauna’.