Benthic foraminiferal morphogroups from the Paleogene of the Republic of Macedonia - characterization and paleoecological significance.

Behthic foraminiferal assemblages belonging to clayey-carbonate-sandy successions of Late Eocene–Early Oligocene age from seven sedimentary basins of central (Vardar Zone) and eastern part (Serbian-Macedonian Massif) of the Republic of Macedonia were analyzed. The foraminiferal data, obtained from 13 sections (146 samples studied), allowed the definition and illustration of 11 morphological groups (morphogroups or morphotypes) based on the test shape and the nature of test coiling (i.e. chamber addition): rounded trochospiral (RT), plano-convex trochospiral (PT), biconvex trochospiral (BT), milioline (M), rounded planispiral (RP), lenticular (L), tapered and cylindrical (T/C), spherical (S), flattened tapered (FT), tube-shaped (T), and heteromorphous (H). The present article aims to expand the paleoenvironmental analysis by combining of the morphological features with inferred life-style (epifaunal, shallow infaunal and deep infaunal) and feeding strategy (suspension feeder, deposit feeder, herbivores, etc.) of the foraminifera. Comparison of our morphogroup system to modern and fossil ones is outlined accordingly. Generally, the investigated assemblages are slightly dominated by morphogroups characteristic for shallow (shelf) environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]