We report extant ostracods from the Co To Islands in northeastern Vietnam and identified 77 ostracod species. On the basis of the comparison of ostracod species reported from adjacent areas, the assemblages from the Co To Islands have a relationship with those of the Kymerian Province, especially with that of South China, and have little relationship with the East Indian Province. Our result is useful for the reconstruction of the dispersal of the Kymerian ostracods during the Quaternary.

Many major food crops, including rice, wheat, maize, rye, barley, oats and millet, are domesticated species of grass. However, because grass pollen all looks highly similar, it has been challenging to track grass domestication using pollen in archaeological samples. Here, we show that we can use the chemical signature of pollen grains to classify different grass species. This approach has the potential to help unravel the spread of domestication and agriculture over the last 10 000 years.

Species of two important diatoms (algae with silica skeletons and important primary producers) are described formally and incorporated into existing biozonation schemes allowing correlation of Paleocene to Miocene strata in the North Sea, important for hydrocarbon exploration as well as for environmental interpretation. Their abundances are linked to environmentally stressed conditions, including increased global warming and periods of nutrient influx from rapidly eroding land masses nearby.

Morphology of dinoflagellate cysts (which are valuable tools in deciphering past environmental and climate changes) depends not only on genetics, but also on a range of environmental factors. We review frequently occurring (Black Sea) morphotypes and propose use of matrices to record gradual variation between endmember forms as a pragmatic approach until cyst–theca studies and genetic sequencing can demonstrate relationships between genetically and environmentally controlled morphotypes.