ABSTRACT

The planktonic and benthic foraminifera of the Wilcox Group (Paleocene-Eocene) in east-central and southwestern Louisiana were studied in order to place Wilcox Group strata in a biostratigraphic framework and to determine the paleoecology and paleoenvironment of Wilcox Group faunas. Planktonic foraminifera "tops" (extinction points) were picked from five wells on subregional cross-sections. The strata range in age from Paleocene to Eocene and include the following biostratigraphic zones: Globorotalia angulata-G. pusilla (P3), G. pseudomenardii (P4), G. velascoensis-G. edgari-G. subbotinae (P6), and G. aragonensis (P8). Assemblages of benthic foraminifera from the lower Wilcox in Allen Parish are dominated by species of agglutinated foraminifera and represent bathyal paleoenvironments. Calcareous fauna have been removed by diagenetic processes. Locally anoxic conditions on the seafloor during Wilcox deposition are indicated.