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The Late Cretaceous to Early Tertiary sediments of the western Tarim Basin are well developed. They have been subdivided into the following nine formations, in ascending order: the Upper Cretaceous Kukebai Formation, Wuyitake Formation, Yigeziya Formation and Tuyilouke Formation; the Palaeocene Artashi Formation; the Palaeocene to Eocene Qimugen Formation; the Eocene Kalater Formation, Wulagen Formation and the Eocene to Oligocene Basebulak Formation respectively. Most of these formations yield well preserved and abundant marine fossils, including dinoflagellate cysts.
Seven suface sections were sampled for this study. They are located along the piedmont of the southern Tianshan Mountains and the western Kunlun Mountains of the western Tarim Basin. The Basebulak section, situated at the foot of the western part of southern Tianshan in the western Wuqia County, contains an almost complete sequence of the Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary formations and is rich in diverse dinocysts, together with green algae and acritarchs.
Twelve microphytoplankton assemblages and three subassemblages have been recognized in this study. These assemblages are based upon the stratigraphic ranges of the dinoflagellates. Three assemblages occur in the Upper Cretaceous, four in the Palaeocene, and five in the Eocene.

 

 

1. Pyrrhophyta
(1) Dinophyceae Fritsch, 1929
2. Chlorophyta
(1) Chlorophyceae Kutzing, 1843
(2) Prasinophyceae Christense, 1962
3. Xanthophyta
(1) Heterococcales
4. Acritarcha

 

 

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