Introductory Remarks

To avoid repetitions in the treatment of the numerous taxa which are identical in the three areas covering Trinidad, Venezuela (Falcon) and Barbados, the systematics of all chosen late Early Eocene to Middle Miocene taxa are combined in a single chapter. Their ranges and illustrations are however attached to the individual parts: Trinidad (Figs. 50–52, 53–64), Falcon (Figs. 73–75, 76–81) and Barbados (Figs. 86, 87–89).

The selected late Early Eocene to Middle Miocene benthic foraminifera included here were described and illustrated from Trinidad by Cushman & Renz (19476,1948) and Cushman & Stainforth (1945), from Falcon by Cushman & Renz (1941), Renz (1948), Blow (1959), Diaz de Gamero (1977a) and from Barbados by Beckmann (1953), Saunders et al.(1984) and Wood et al.(1985). The incorporation in the present book of all the taxa published by these authors from the three areas would have grown beyond the limits set. A selection similar to that for the Barremian to Early Albian of Trinidad had therefore to be made.

Instead of randomly choosing taxa it was decided rather to concentrate on certain characteristic genera represented in each area, many of them of stratigraphic significance, and only in second place to include taxa from additional genera.