Cenomanian-Santonian Foraminifera and Ostracodes from Horus Well-1, North Western Desert, Egypt

Abstract

Fifteen species and three subspecies of foraminifera and forty-four species of ostracods are described from subsurface borehole Horus Well-in the northwestern desert of Egypt. The stratigraphic significance of some benthonic foraminifera (Thomasinella, Nezzazata and Nezzazatinella) furnish new information on the age determination. Cenomanian-Santonian time is suggested for the studied interval (Bahariya and Abu Roash Formations). Among the identified ostracodes, three species of Bairdia are described for the first time: B. bassiounii, B. compressa, and B. elongata. Also, one new subspecies of Nezzazata, N. convexa conica, is discussed. The identified foraminiferal species belong to 12 families:

A reconstruction of the palaeoecology and environmental dynamics of the Bahariya Formation of Egypt

“…Foraminifera Foraminifera are also known from this Formation (Zobaa et al 2008). Record families include the Cibicididae, Vaginulinidae, Hauerinidae, Nezzazatidae, Mayncinidae, Favusellidae, Hedbergellidae, Rosalinidae, Heterohelicidae, Thomasinellidae, Textulariidae and the Discorbidae (Ismail & Soliman, 1997). Known species include Favusella washitensis (Carsey, 1926), Charentia cuvillieri & Mayncina orbignyi (Neumann, 1965), Whiteinella archaeocretacea (Pessagno, 1967), Thomasinella fragmentaria & T. aegyptia (Omara, 1956), T. punica (Schlumberger, 1893) Loeblich & Tappan 1983along with Rotalipora reicheli & R. cushmani (Morrow, 1934.…”

“…The most diverse crustaceans are the ostracods with the families Cytherellidae, Loxoconchidae, Bythocyprididae, Cytherideidae, Paracyprididae, Xestoleberididae, Trachyteberididae, Bairdiidae, Bythocytheridae, Cytheruridae, Progonocytheridae and Brachycytheridae present (Ismail & Soliman, 1997;Gebhardt;. …”

Ostracoda (Arthropoda, Crustacea) from the Riachuelo Formation, Sergipe-Alagoas Basin, Brazil, Upper Aptian-Albian

“…According to Kempf (1986), more than 300 taxa have been described and assigned to this genus, despite its quite conservative shell morphology and the fact that it was originally described based on soft part morphology (Puckett et al 2012). Many papers describe, identify or partially identify Xestoleberis species in the Cretaceous (Veen 1936;Bonnema 1941;Schmidt 1948;Benson & Tatro 1964;van den Bold 1964;Holden 1964;Crane 1965;Herrig 1966;Rosenfeld & Raab 1974;Dingle 1980;Weaver 1982;Damotte & Fleury 1987;Ismail & Soliman 1997;Gebhardt 1999;Morsi et al 2008;Piovesan et al 2009Piovesan et al , 2013Tesakova 2010;Babinot & Colin 2011;Puckett et al 2012). For these reasons, the species observed from the Riachuelo Formation is left in open nomenclature, as Xestoleberis?…”

A reconstruction of the palaeoecology and environmental dynamics of the Bahariya Formation of Egypt

“…Foraminifera are also known from this Formation (Zobaa et al 2008). Record families include the Cibicididae, Vaginulinidae, Hauerinidae, Nezzazatidae, Mayncinidae, Favusellidae, Hedbergellidae, Rosalinidae, Heterohelicidae, Thomasinellidae, Textulariidae and the Discorbidae (Ismail & Soliman, 1997). Known species include Favusella washitensis (Carsey, 1926), Charentia cuvillieri & Mayncina orbignyi (Neumann, 1965), Whiteinella archaeocretacea (Pessagno, 1967), Thomasinella fragmentaria & T. aegyptia (Omara, 1956), T. punica (Schlumberger, (Morrow, 1934).…”

“…Bahariya crabs are referred to the Necrocarcinidae (Schweitzer et al 2003) and Stromer (1936) also mentioned fragmentary lobster remains. The most diverse crustaceans are the ostracods with the families Cytherellidae, Loxoconchidae, Bythocyprididae, Cytherideidae, Paracyprididae, Xestoleberididae, Trachyteberididae, Bairdiidae, Bythocytheridae, Cytheruridae, Progonocytheridae and Brachycytheridae present (Ismail & Soliman, 1997;Gebhardt; (Rosenfeld, 1974), Bythocypris eskeri (Bassiouni & Luger, 1990), Metacytheropteron berbericum, Paracypris mdaouerensis (Bassoullet & Damotte, 1969), Cytherella ovata (Roemer, 1841), C. paenovata (Alexander, 1932) (Grosdidier, 1979), Paracypris angusta (Alexander, 1929), Veeniacythereis jezzineensis (Bischoff, 1963) along with Fabanella sp. A & sp.…”