Pacific Coast coccolith stratigraphy between Point Conception and Cabo Corrientes, Deep Sea Drilling Project Leg 63

DSDP Leg 63 recovered Neogene coccoliths from south of Point Conception, California (Site 467), to north of Cabo Corrientes, Mexico (Site 473), as part of a traverse exploring the sedimentary record of the California Current along the Pacific Coast. A combination of temperate and tropical zonations were used to date Leg 63 coccolith assemblages because of intergradations of warm and cool species along the transect. Variations in the abundance and the presence and absence of Discoaster species are useful in recognizing warm-cool intergradations. New taxa described in this report include Discoaster okadai n. sp., D. sanmiguelensis n. sp., Helicosphaera californiana n. sp., H. crouchii n. sp., H. gertae n. sp., and H. vedderi n. sp.