Table 1 Dinoflagellate cyst and acritarch taxa recorded in the present study, and their classification and authorial attributions. All taxa are considered in situ with the exception of the genus Cleistosphaeridium which is presumed reworked

Subclass PERIDINIPHYCIDAE Fensome et al., 1993

Order GONYAULACALES Taylor, 1980

Suborder GONIODOMINEAE Fensome et al., 1993

Family PYROPHACACEAE Lindemann, 1928

Subfamily HELGOLANDINIOIDEAE Fensome et al., 1993

Genus Tuberculodinium Wall, 1967

Tuberculodinium vancampoae (Rossignol, 1962) Wall, 1967. Fig. 4a.

Subfamily PYRODINIOIDEAE Fensome et al., 1993

Genus Polysphaeridium Davey and Williams, 1966 emend. Bujak et al., 1980

Polysphaeridium zoharyi (Rossignol, 1962) Bujak et al., 1980. Fig. 4b.

Suborder GONYAULACINEAE (Autonym)

Family GONYAULACACEAE Lindemann, 1928

Subfamily GONYAULACOIDEAE (Autonym)

Genus Achomosphaera Evitt, 1963

Achomosphera spp. indet. Grouped with Achomosphera+Spiniferites spp. indet. in the counts.

Genus Impagidinium Stover and Evitt, 1978

Impagidinium aculeatum (Wall, 1967) Lentin and Williams, 1981. Fig. 4e, f.

Impagidinium paradoxum (Wall, 1967) Stover and Evitt, 1978. Fig. 4g–i.

Impagidinium patulum (Wall, 1967) Stover and Evitt, 1978. Fig. 4j–l.

Genus Nematosphaeropsis Deflandre and Cookson 1955 emend. Wrenn, 1988

Nematosphaeropsis labyrinthus (Ostenfeld, 1903) Reid, 1974. Fig. 5a–c.

Genus Spiniferites Mantell, 1850 emend. Sarjeant, 1970

Spiniferites sp. cf. S. belerius Reid, 1974. Fig. 5d–f. Grouped with Spiniferites spp. group A in the counts.

Spiniferites mirabilis (Rossignol 1964) Sarjeant, 1970 emend. Limoges et al., 2018. Fig. 5g–i.

Spiniferites pachydermus sensu Mertens et al. (2015). Non Spiniferites pachydermus (Rossignol 1964) Reid, 1974. Figs. 6a–i, 7a–c.

Spiniferites ramosus (Ehrenberg, 1837) Mantell, 1854 sensu Rochon et al. 1999. Fig. 7d, e. Grouped with Spiniferites spp. group A in the counts.

Spiniferites sp. Fig. 7f, g. Grouped with Spiniferites spp. group A in the counts.

Spiniferites spp. group A.

Spiniferites sp. B. Fig. 7h, i. Not recorded in the counts.

Spiniferites spp. indet. Grouped with Achomosphera+Spiniferites spp. indet. in the counts.

Family LINGULODINIACEAE Sarjeant and Downie, 1974 emend. Gu et al. in Zhang et al., 2020

Genus Lingulodinium Wall, 1967 emend. Dodge, 1989

Lingulodinium machaerophorum (Deflandre and Cookson 1955) Wall, 1967. Fig. 4c, d.

Genus Pyxidinopsis Habib, 1976

Pyxidinopsis reticulata McMinn and Sun, 1994 emend. Marret and de Vernal, 1997. Fig. 8a–c.

Family PROTOCERATIACEAE Lindemann 1928 emend. Gu and Mertens, 2020

Genus Operculodinium Wall, 1967 emend. Matsuoka et al., 1997

Operculodinium centrocarpum (Deflandre and Cookson 1955) Wall, 1967 sensu stricto. Fig. 8d, e.

Operculodinium israelianum (Rossignol, 1962) Wall, 1967. Fig. 8f–i.

Operculodinium? longispinigerum Matsuoka, 1983. Fig. 9d–f.

Genus Protoceratium Bergh, 1881 emend. Gu and Mertens, 2020

Protoceratium reticulatum (Claparède and Lachmann, 1859) Bütschli, 1885. Figs. 8j–l, 9a–c.

Protoceratium reticulatum – short processes. This morphotype occurs only rarely and was grouped with Protoceratium reticulatum in the counts.

Family UNCERTAIN

Genus Cleistosphaeridium Davey et al., 1966 emend. Eaton et al. 2001

Cleistosphaeridium placacanthum (Deflandre and Cookson 1955) Eaton et al. 2001. Fig. 14d–f. Presumed reworked. Grouped with Cleistosphaeridium spp. in the counts.

Cleistosphaeridium spp. Presumed reworked.

Order PERIDINIALES Haeckel, 1894

Suborder PERIDINIINEAE (Autonym)

Family PROTOPERIDINIACEAE Balech, 1988

Subfamily PROTOPERIDINIOIDEAE Balech, 1988

Genus Brigantedinium Reid, 1977 ex Lentin and Williams, 1993. Grouped with round brown cysts in the counts.

Brigantedinium cariacoense (Wall, 1967) Lentin and Williams, 1993. Fig. 9g. Grouped with round brown cysts in the counts.

Brigantedinium simplex Wall, 1965 ex Lentin and Williams, 1993. Grouped with round brown cysts in the counts.

Brigantedinium sp. Fig. 9h, i. Grouped with round brown cysts in the counts.

Genus Lejeunecysta Artzner and Dörhöfer, 1978, emend. Lentin and Williams, 1976

Lejeunecysta sp. A. Fig. 10a–c. Grouped with Lejeunecysta spp. total in the counts.

Lejeunecysta sp. B. Fig. 10d–f. Grouped with Lejeunecysta spp. total in the counts.

Genus Quinquecuspis Harland, 1977

Quinquecuspis concreta (Reid, 1977) Harland, 1977. Fig. 10g–i.

Genus Selenopemphix Benedek, 1972 emend. Head, 1993, nom. cons.

Selenopemphix quanta (Bradford, 1975) Matsuoka 1985. Fig. 11a–c.

Selenopemphix nephroides Benedek, 1972 emend. Bujak in Bujak et al., 1980. Fig. 11d, e. Grouped with Selenopemphix nephroides + undulata in the counts.

Selenopemphix undulata Verleye et al., 2011. Fig. 11f–i. Grouped with Selenopemphix nephroides + undulata in the counts.

Genus Trinovantedinium Reid, 1977, emend. de Verteuil and Norris, 1992

Trinovantedinium applanatum (Bradford, 1977) Bujak and Davies, 1983. Fig. 12a–d. Not seen during counting.

Trinovantedinium sp. cf. T. harpagonium de Verteuil and Norris, 1992. Fig. 12e–i.

Genus Xandarodinium Reid, 1977

Xandarodinium xanthum Reid, 1977. Fig. 13a, b.

Subfamily UNCERTAIN

Genus Echinidinium Zonneveld, 1997 ex Head et al., 2001

Echinidinium aculeatum Zonneveld, 1997 ex Mertens et al. 2020. Fig. 13c–f.

Family THORACOSPHAERACEAE Schiller, 1930 emend. Tangen in Tangen et al., 1982

Genus Pentapharsodinium Indelicato and Loeblich III, 1986 emend. Montresor et al., 1993

Pentapharsodinium dalei Indelicato and Loeblich III, 1986

Genus Scrippsiella Balech, 1959 ex Loeblich III, 1965

Scrippsiella trifida Lewis, 1991 ex Head, 1996. Fig. 13g–i.

Group ACRITARCHA Evitt, 1963

Genus Nannobarbophora Habib and Knapp, 1982

Nannobarbophora walldalei Head, 1996. Fig. 14a–c.