Paleogene planktonic foraminifera from the southern Kerguelen Plateau

Recovery deteriorated in the middle Eocene and down to the upper Paleocene because of the presence of interbedded cherts and chalks. The stratigraphic distribution of about 70 taxa of planktonic foraminifers recovered at Sites 747-749 is reported in this paper.

Faunas exhibited fairly high diversity (approximately 20-25 species) in the early Eocene, followed by a gradual reduction in diversity in the middle Eocene. A brief incursion of tropical keeled morozovellids occurred near the Paleocene/Eocene boundary, similar to that recorded on the Maud Rise (ODP Sites 689 and 690). The high-latitude Paleogene zonal scheme developed for ODP Leg 113 sites has been adopted (with minor modifications) for the lower Eocene-Oligocene part of the Kerguelen Plateau record.