Abstract Organic-walled resting cysts of planktonic dinoflagellates occur commonly in modern marine sediment where they represent, with rare exceptions, the only geologically preservable part of the life cycle. Although many species do not produce fossilizable resting cysts, upper Quaternary sediments contain a diverse cyst record that is used frequently for paleoenvironmental reconstruction and stratigraphic analysis. Reconstructions of past sea-surface conditions rely on an understanding of the distributions of dinoflagellate cysts in modern sediments linked to their respective environmental parameters, underpinned by sound taxonomy and standardized nomenclature. Stratigraphic studies additionally require knowledge of morphological details to distinguish extant from similar extinct taxa. Here, 51 dinoflagellate cyst species and two informal cyst morphotypes that are commonly encountered during routine palynological analysis of upper Quaternary marine sediments from the Northern Hemisphere are briefly described taxonomically and illustrated. In addition, their lowest stratigraphic occurrences are provided.

中文翻译：

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北半球表层沉积物中常见海洋有机壁甲藻孢囊分类群的概述和简要描述

摘要 浮游甲藻的有机壁静止包囊普遍存在于现代海洋沉积物中，除了极少数例外，它们是生命周期中唯一在地质上可保存的部分。尽管许多物种不产生可化石化的静止囊肿，但上第四纪沉积物包含经常用于古环境重建和地层分析的多样囊肿记录。过去海面条件的重建依赖于对现代沉积物中甲藻包囊分布的了解，这些分布与其各自的环境参数相关，并以健全的分类法和标准化命名法为基础。地层研究还需要了解形态细节，以区分现存的和类似的灭绝分类群。这里，对北半球上第四纪海洋沉积物的常规孢粉学分析中常见的 51 种甲藻囊肿物种和两种非正式的囊肿形态类型进行了简要的分类描述和说明。此外，还提供了它们的最低地层产状。