Brief History of Nannofossils

Ehrenberg (1836, 1854) was the first to discover nannofossils, but their organic nature was proved independently by Wallich (1861) and Sorby (1861). Lohman (1902) published a comprehensive taxonomic study of nannofossils, supplemented by additional published research between the 1920s and 1850s by Kamptner and Deflandre.

The application of nannofossil to biostratigraphy was pioneered by Bramlette & Riedel (1954), Stradner (1959, 1961), Bramlette & Sullivan (1961), Bramlette & Wilcoxon (1967), Hay & Mohler (1967), Hay et al. (1967), Gartner (1969). Numerous taxonomic and biostratigraphic papers were published in the 1970s by Perch-Nielsen, Bukry and Reinhardt. In the 1970s, the widely used Cenozoic zonation scheme by Martini (1971) and the Cretaceous zonation scheme by Sissingh (1977) were published.

In subsequent years several global and local zonation schemes have been published.

waiting to be updated soon

Bramlette, M.N. & Riedel, W.R., (1954): Stratigraphic value of discoasters and some other microfossils related to Recent coccolithophores. - Journal of Paleontology, 28:385-403.

Bramlette, M.N. & Sullivan, F.R., (1961): Coccolithophorids and related Nannoplankton of the early Tertiary in California. - Micropaleontology, 7:129-188.

Bramlette, M.N., and Wilcoxon, J.A., (1967): Middle Tertiary calcareous nannoplankton of the Cipero Section, Trinidad, W.I. Tulane Stud. Geol, 5:93-132.

Ehrenberg, C. C., (1836): Bemerkungen uber feste mikroskopische, anorganische Formen in den erdigen und derben Mineralien. - Ber. Disch. Akad. Wiss., 1836:84-5

Ehrenberg, C.G., (1854): Mikrogeologie. 2 vols., Leipzig,

Gartner, S., (1969): Correlation of Neogene planktonic foraminifer and calcareous nannofossils zones.-Trans. Gulf Coast Assoc. Geol. Soc., 19:585– 599.

Hay, W.W. & Mohler, H.P. (1967): Calcareous nannoplankton from early Tertiary rocks at Pont Labau, France, and Paleocene-Eocene correlations. - Journal of Paleontology, 41:1505-1541.

Hay, W.W., Mohler, H.P., Roth, P.H., Schmidt, R.R. & Boudreaux, J.E., (1967): Calcareous nannoplankton Zonation of the Cenozoic of the Gulf Coast and Caribbean-Antillean area, and transoceanic correlation. - Transactions of the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies, 17:428-480.Stradner (1959)

Lohmann, H., (1902): Die Coccolithophoridae, eine mongraphie der Coccolithen bildenden Flagellaten, zugleich ein Beitrag zur Kenntnis des Mittelmeer auftriebs. - Arch. Protistenkd., 1:89-165.

Martini, E., (1971): Standard Tertiary and Quaternary calcareous nannoplankton zonation. In Farinacci, A. (Ed.), Proc. 2nd Int. Conf. Planktonic Microfossils Roma: Rome (Ed. Tecnosci.), 2:739-785.

Sissingh, W., (1977): Biostratigraphy of Cretaceous calcareous nannoplankton. - Geologie en Mijnbouw 56:37–65.

Sorby, H. C., (1861): On the organic origin of the so-called crystaloids of the chalk. Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 8: 193-200.

Stradner, H., (1959): Die fossilen Discoasteriden Osterreichs. II. Teil. Erdoël-Zeitschrift, 75:472-488.

Stradner, H., (1961): Vorkommen von Nannofossilien I’m Mesozoikum und Alttertiar. - Erdoël-Zeitschrift, 77:77-88.

Wallich, G. C., (1861): Remarks on some novel phases of organic life, and on the boring powers of minute annelids, at great depths in the sea. Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 8: 52-58.