Radiolarians and Their Role in the Study of Stratigraphy and Paleogeography of Shale Oil Basins (Based on the Example of the Bazhenovo Formation in Western Siberia and the Arctic)

Radiolarians are rock-forming constituents of siliceous beds of the Bazhenovo Formation in Western Siberia. Studying radiolarians is necessary for stratigraphy and correlation of the organic-rich Bazhenovo Formation, as they provide reliable dating of productive intervals of the section and detailed stratigraphy and zonation, which is especially important when data on other fossils groups are absent or insufficient. The evolution of the radiolarian fauna in the Bazhenovo Basin of Western Siberia is briefly reviewed. At different times radiolarian paleocommunities were dominated by different morphotypes. Two new species, Orbiculiforma sibirica sp. nov. and Emiluvia retorta sp. nov. are described.