Frasnian (Late Devonian) foraminiferal biostratigraphy from Taurides, southern Turkey

The stratigraphic sections Halevikdere, Kocadere and Eceli covering the Devonian succession in the Eastern and Central Taurides have been measured and studied for biostratigraphy, geochemistry, sedimentology and facies in the context of the project "Devonian Ecosystems and Climate of Turkey (DEVEC-TR)". The Devonian sedimentary succession consists of carbonates and siliciclastic sediments mostly deposited in shallow marine environments. The samples taken from the carbonate beds throughout the sections reveal abundant and diverse assemblages of the foraminifera. This paper, however, includes the foraminifers described only from the Frasnian (Late Devonian) depositional sequence in the studied sections. The Frasnian foraminiferal microfauna in the Taurides can be characterized predominantly by a common occurrence of nanicellids, paratikhinellids and tikhinellids which are biostratigraphically significant elements of the Frasnian strata in the Russian Platform and Urals. The foraminiferal assemblages from the Frasnian deposits in the measured sections consist of 15 genera and 12 species. The distribution of the foraminifers described herein allowed the recognition of three biostratigraphic zones characterized successively by Nanicella ovata Zone, Paratikhinella cannula Zone and Tikhinella fringa Zone.