Análisis preliminar de los foraminíferos bentónicos Holocenos de Martinica (Pequeñas Antillas)

Abstract

A total of 94 species of benthonic Foraminifera have been identified in the shelf and bathyal sediments of Martinique (Lesser Antilles). The authochtonous representatives only occur in the eastern area of the island, while robust, reworked specimens (mostly Amphistegina gibbosaj dominate the assemblages in the remaining studied samples. These allochtonous individuals are derived from the demise of palaeoreefs formed 2500 years ago. In the channels that connect the Caribbean and the Atlantic waters, the assemblages contain also species typical of colder waters (Hyalinea balthica, Reophax scorpiurus, Gyroidina soldanii and Cibicides wuellestorfi) that have been described as characteristic of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW), as well as Cyclammina cancellata, species belonging to shallow North Atlantic Water (NAW)