Benthic foraminifera of ODP Leg 104 holes

This sequence has been subdivided into seven assemblage zones. The Eocene to middle Miocene deposits are characterized by an agglutinated fauna.

This reflects an environment causing dissolution of calcareous tests rather than the original living fauna. The upper Miocene to middle Pliocene deposits contain a diverse benthic foraminiferal fauna dominated by calcareous forms. The uppermost part of the sediment record, deposited during late Pliocene to Holocene, is characterized by many barren intervals and samples containing shallow-water species as well as ice-rafted material indicating glacial periods.