Article: Dinoflagellate cysts and acritarchs from the Bearpaw Formation (Upper Campanian) of southern Alberta, Canada

Fifty-three species of dinoflagellate cysts and six species of acritarchs are reported from the upper Campanian Bearpaw Formation of southern Alberta. These include Diconodinium firmum sp. nov., Lejeunia parva sp. nov., L. ampla sp. nov., Spinidinium clavum sp. nov. and Hystrichosphaeridium dowlingii sp. nov. The Bearpaw Formation is divided into three informal assemblage zones. A parameter called the gonyaulacacean ratio is used as a possible guide to the salinity of the Bearpaw sea or to the proximity of the coastline. Three periods of open marine conditions are postulated. These open marine conditions are intimately connected with the assemblage zones erected for the formation. Comparisons are made with Campanian assemblages of other areas.