Paleontology, paleogeography and Paleoenvironment of the Paleocene benthic foraminiferal species of Plummer in the Tethys; a review

Abstract

Forty two Paleocene benthic foraminiferal species of the Midway Formation in the Gulf Coastal Plain of Texas, USA were firstly investigated by Plummer (1927), and its paleogeographic distribution in some other countries in the Tethyan province were recorded: North America (USA, Mexico), South America (Argentina), Europe (North Sea Basin, Spain, France, Italy, Czech Republic, Bulgaria), North Africa (Tunisia, Libya, Egypt), West Africa (Ivory Coast, Gulf of Guinea), West Asia (Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran), Central Asia (Pakistan) and East Asia (Japan and New Zealand). Eight out of Plummer's new species (about 19%) seems to be confined in USA, eight species (about 19 %) are recorded in South America, while twenty two species (about 52%) in Europe, twenty eight species (about 67%) in North Africa, seventeen species (about 40%) in West Asia, seven species (about 17%) in Pakistan, three species (about 7%) in West Africa, two species (about 5%) in New Zealand and one Plummer's species is recorded in Japan, East Asia. The Tethyan continental shelf fauna (Midway-Type Fauna , MTF) of middle-outer neritic environment (~50-200 m) is interpreted for the Midway Formation. As a token of appreciation of her outstanding career and faunal contributions, she has recognized in several instances with a dedication taxa bearing Plummer name, and one new species of them was erected by the present author: <em>Citharina plummerae</em> Anan (2001) from the Paleocene of Duwi section, Red Sea coast, Egypt. The paleontology, paleoecology and stratigraphy of the Plummer's species are presented and discussed.