Abstract: The Stomiosphaeridae and Cadosinidae Families: New Use of Applied Micropaleontology to Oil Exploration

Fernández-Carmona, Jose and Amador, Marlene Pendas - Ceipet, Cuba

The families Cadosinidae and Stomiosphaeridae have been considered to have marked biostratigraphic application in the "Maiolica" or "Biancone" facies as known in the Equatorial Tethys, where Cuba is part of the Mexican-Caribbean Tethys. These deposits have been recovered from May Island to Central America and the Caribbean.

The study of these planktonic microfossils is for the first time carried out in Cuba, aiming at dating Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous organic-rich strata, which are the main petroleum source rocks in Cuba.

This work has allowed the dating of main source rock levels of Cuba, to carry out high resolution stratigraphic correlations over long distances and the dating of the Jurassic succession of the continental margin.

A description of the genera and species of these families is presented, as well as the paleoecological characteristics associated with conditions of high source rock potential. The occurrence of these fossil groups in Argentina further extends their known biogeographic distribution, which may represent an important tool for global biostratigraphic correlation and dating of Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous rocks.

This work is a contribution to IGCP (UNESCO/IUGS) Project n°322 "Jurassic events of South America and the Caribbean."

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90933©1998 ABGP/AAPG International Conference and Exhibition, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil