00373_00913_Al
Al-Hajri, Sa'id A
ipc2008_360d_00913_alhajri
Abstract title:
A distinctive marginal marine
palynological assemblage from the
Pridoli of Northwestern Saudi Arabia
Abstract: This paper describes a rare occurrence of a rich and diverse palynological assemblage from a controversial stratigraphic unit in well EW8 in northwestern Saudi Arabia. The composition of this assemblage strongly suggests a Pridoli age and therefore it is referred here to the Tawil Formation. The assemblage encountered contains very characteristic chitinozoans, acritarchs, tasmanities, scolecodontsm, eurypterid cuticle and common land-derived miospores and hilate cryptospores. Chitinozoans such as
Margachitina elegans, Ancyrochitina fragilis brevis, Ancyrochitina fragilis,
Sphaerochitina sphaerocephala, Urnochitina urna, Pseudochlathrochitina carmenchui
and Lagenochitina brevicollis confer the Pridoli age assignment. This assemblage of chitinozoans correlates very well with Assemblage D from the Alternances Gréso-Argileuses Formation of the A1-61 well in northwestern Libya. Among the acritarchs present are: Cymbosphaeridium pilar, Leoniella carminae,Diexallophasis spp.,
Tunisphaeridium cf caudatum, Leiofusa estrecha and Eupoikilofusa striatifera.
Furthermore, the join occurrence of U. urna, P. carmenchui and M. elegans is clearly indicative of the middle part of the Pridoli as in the Libyan well A1-61, and in many wells in Algeria. This corresponds to what is considered to be a transgressive mid Pridoli event in the Algerian Sahara, with non marine intervals bracketing this brief marine sea level rise. This event is likely to have extended into all of north Gondwana including Arabia.
Pref. Session: 40. Miller/Steemans/Wellman: Paleozoic palynology of the Arabian Plate and adjacent areas Pref.
Presentation: oral
Author(s) University Name Country Organization Email
Al-Hajri, Sa'id A Saudi ArabiaSaudi Aramco said.hajri.1@aramco.com Verniers, Jacques Belgium Univeriteit Gent
Paris, Florentin France ” Université de Rennes Al-Ruwaili,
Mansour Saudi ArabiaSaudi Aramco Steemans,
Philippe Belgium University of Liège Le Hérissé, Alain France , université de « Bretagne Occidentale
