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. 2015 Oct 28;6:8659. doi: 10.1038/ncomms9659

Figure 2. Dinoflagellate cyst biostratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions for the early Pliocene Nordic Seas.

Figure 2

(a) Early Pliocene dinoflagellate cyst extinction events at ocean drill sites in the Nordic Seas and North Atlantic demonstrating the synchronous response of the dinoflagellate cyst assemblage around 4.5 Ma within the Nordic Seas, and the delayed extinctions in the North Atlantic. The grey-shaded area indicates the time interval wherein R. actinocoronata, O. tegillatum, C. devernaliae and B. micropapillata complex get extinct. HCO, highest common occurrence. (b) Dinoflagellate cysts and acritarch concentrations and assemblage composition reflect a major assemblage turnover around 4.5 Ma (as indicated by the black rectangle) at ODP Hole 642B and ODP Hole 907A. The Warm/Cold (W/C) index at ODP Hole 642B reveals a cooling associated with the assemblage turnover. Shaded areas for concentration records indicate error. Barren intervals contain less than 10 counted dinoflagellate cysts. Inset box legend Fig. 2b presents the colour coding used for the dinoflagellate cyst assemblage composition graphs. Spin./Achomo. spp., Spiniferites/Achomosphaera spp.