MILIOLIDAE - Acta Palaeontologica Polonica

MILIOLIDAE FROM MIOCENE OF POLAND 17
A. planciana, Pyrgoella controversa, Sinuloculina microdon and Triloculina
eggeri are species, absent from the lower layer. In the deeper zone of the
Foredeep, as in the Lower Tortonian, the Miliolidae are conspicuously
poorer both in genera and in species.
Two miliolid assemblages from the coastal zone, referred to this zone,
deserve special attention: the assemblage from the Haliotis limestones of
Wt;glinek near Zaklik6w in the Roztocze Mts, which has hitherto been
considered to be of Lower Tortonian age (Aren, 1962; Bielecka, 1959) and
that from the clay and sand layers overlying the lignite formations at
Niskowa near Nowy SqCZ, formerly referred to the Upper Tortonian
(Skoczylas6wna, 1930) and recently to the Lower Tortonian (Baluk, 1970).
As regards the miliolid fauna of Wt;glinek, it has many species in common
with the assemblage from Gliwice Stare (Quinqueloculina spondiungeriana,
Cycloforina lachesis, C. lucida, C. suturata, Hauerina aspergilla, H. compressa,
H. podolica, H. tumida, Affinetrina planciana, Pyrgo inornata).
In addition, a few species unobserved below appear in it: Pyrgo
subsphaerica, Sinuloculina rixatoria, Affinetrina ucrainica, Flintina
truncata and Miliolinella banatiana. Other foraminifera, too, indicate the
Upper Tortonian age of these strata e.g. Praeorbulina indigena (Luczkowska,
1955, vide Luczkowska, 1971) and therefore the determination of
their Lower Tortonian age raises doubts. The age of the deposits from
Niskowa is also controversial. To be sure, the numerous miliolids present
in the lowest clay layer, capped by sands, are endemic in character and,
as a whole, they can hardly be compared with the assemblages from other
areas (e.g. it is only from here that Miliola fabularoides, Siphonaperta
ovalis, Podolia compacta and Crenatella mira have been recorded), some
elements, however, suggest the similarity of this microfauna to that of
Wt;glinek or Gliwice Stare rather than to the Lower Tortonian fauna
of Korytnica. The common elements are: Quinqueloculina spondiungeriana,
in the older layers met with only in the highest portion of the sub-salt
clays of Wieliczka (in the so-called "makowica"), Cycloforina hauerina,
C. lucida, Hauerina aspergilla, H. podolica, Sinuloculina inflata and
S. cyclostoma. For the above-mentioned reason the marine sediments at
Niskowa have been referred provisionally to the Upper Tortonian, the
closer determination of age being left as an open problem.
The rich Upper Tortonian miliolid assemblages, as well as the rest of
the microfauna, suddenly vanish from the whole area of the occurrence
of the Miocene deposits in Poland. New assemblages appear above them in
the Sarmatian layers east of Cracow, whereas west of Cracow the Miocene
sedimentation comes to an end and land deposits appear in the region of
Gliwice Stare and further to the west, towards Kt;dzierzyn and G1og6wek
(Krach, 1954; Alexandrowicz, 1969).
2 Acta Palaeontolo[(ica nr 1/74