Dinoflagellate cysts from the Palaeogene of the Łukowa-4 borehole (Carpathian Foredeep, SE Poland) : biostratigraphy and palaeoenvironment

This paper documents the presence of Eocene marine strata in the Carpathian Foredeep area in Poland. Assemblages of marine dinoflagellate cysts have been found in sands penetrated by the Łukowa-4 borehole below the Miocene succession of the foredeep. Their age is interpreted as Late Eocene. The presence of marine strata of this age in this area sheds new light on the palaeogeography of the Carpathian foreland during the Late Eocene. The dinoflagellate cysts described are compared with coeval Carpathian and epicontinental assemblages; possible connections between these two basins are discussed. Phytogenetic deposits that occur above the marine sands of the Łukowa-4 borehole contain freshwater palynomorphs, indicating their swamp and lacustrine origins. The overlying sand contains impoverished dinoflagellate cyst assemblages; their age is discussed.