SBZ 2-6 larger foraminiferal assemblages from the Apulian and Pre-Apulian domains.

After almost a decade since their establishment, the SBZ biochronozones proposed by Serra-Kiel et al. (1998) are routinely employed in studies on Paleocene-Eocene larger foraminiferal assemblages. We present a synthesis on ongoing research on SBZ 2-6 larger foraminiferal assemblages from Central-Southern Italy and the Jonian Islands, in order to point out the biostratigraphic potential of additional larger foraminiferal markers (e.g., smaller keramospherinids and Daviesina), the need to re-examine the ranges of selected taxa, and the necessity of detailed sampling of selected sections from various depositional settings and paleogeographic units. Also, we present an as yet unpublished SBZ 4 assemblage from the northern Maiella Mt., in which loose specimens of larger foraminifera occur; here, a new orbitoclypeid is present. Biometrical data for several taxa are given, in order to enhance the biostratigraphic potential of some lineages. The occurrence of several as yet unrecorded taxa from the Apulian and Pre-Apulian domains testifies to the species richness of these areas, although this may merely reflect greater sampling intensity than elsewhere.