Five planktonic foraminiferal relations common to the lower Pliocene marine record of Italy and southern California are: (1) "Sphaeroidinellopsis" has an upper limit within or near the top of the lower Pliocene; (2) "Sphaeroidinella dehiscens" (Parker and Jones) makes its first appearance within or at the base of the lower Pliocene; (3) Globigerina woodi decoraperta Takayanagi and Saito extends through the lower Pliocene into the middle Pliocene; (4) rare specimens referable to Turborotalia globorotaloidea (Colom), a typical upper Miocene species, continue to occur in the lower Pliocene; and (5) Turborotalia puncticulata (d'Orbigny) appears to be restricted to the lower Pliocene in both areas.

End_Page 465------------------------------

Differences between the lower Pliocene planktonic foraminiferal ranges of Italy and southern California include: (1) appearance of Globorotalia crassaformis Galloway and Wissler in the lower Pliocene of California whereas it does not appear until the middle Pliocene in Italy; (2) Turborotalia inflata (d'Orbigny) first appears as a rare member of T. puncticulata populations in the lower Pliocene of southern California whereas it first appears in the upper Pliocene of Italy; and (3) Globigerina pachyderma (Ehrenberg) occurs in the lower Pliocene of both areas; it is dextrally coiled in southern California and probably is dextral in Italy as well.

End_of_Article - Last_Page 466------------