Cretaceous (Albian–Coniacian) dinoflagellate biostratigraphy of the Vomb Trough, southern Sweden

We document diverse and well-preserved dinoflagellate cyst assemblages from Cretaceous successions in the Kullemölla 1 drill core (640.0 m–590.0 m), Vomb Trough, southern Sweden. Palynology reveals a nearshore marine environment. Dinoflagellate index taxa indicate an Albian to Coniacian age, thus spanning the Early–Late Cretaceous boundary. The lower part of the core is Albian, based on the presence of the index dinocyst taxa Pareodinia and Callaiosphaeridium asymmetricum. The First Appearance Datum (FAD) of Oligosphaeridium prolixispinosum, together with the presence of Achomosphaera ramulifera, Heterosphaeridium difficile and Oligosphaeridium pulcherrimum, reveals a Cenomanian age for the interval 635– m–617 m. The Turonian interval is characterized by an increase in the dinocysts Chatangiella spectabilis and Florentinia spp., in combination with the FAD of Senoniasphaera rotundata, whereas the youngest samples are dated to the Coniacian as defined by the appearance of Glaphyrocysta sp.