Stratigraphic distribution of the foraminifers of the Ovce Pole paleogene basin, the Republic of Macedonia

The Ovce Pole basin is a large sedimentary mass situated in the eastern part of the Vardar zone in the territory of the Republic of Macedonia. Investigations have determined that the mass is 3.5 km thick and composed of four lithozones: basal lihtozone, lower flysch lithozones, lithozones of yellow sandstones and upper flysch lithozone. The geological age of the sediments has been defined as Upper Eocene based of investigations carried out so far on numerous fossil remains of microfossil groups. The paper presents the results of the micropaleontological investigations on foraminifer fauna discovered in the upper flysch lithozones, which are important for the understanding of the basin. The biostratigraphic significance of the foraminifer fauna in the Paleogene sediments has a stratigraphic distribution of 53 species of benthic and plankton foraminifer fauna, obtained from 5 Paleogene cross-sections. Systematic classification of foraminifer fauna has been carried out after Loeblich and Tappan, 1988.