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33907

First Palynological Record from the Upper Carboniferous/Lower Permian Succession in West Beni Suef Basin, Egypt, with Paleoecological and Paleogeographical Implications

Article

Last updated: 22 Jan 2023

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Abstract

FOR THE FIRST time, a palynological assemblage was recovered from the Safi Formation in the west Beni Suef Basin of the Western Desert in Egypt. A total of 65 miospore taxa were recognized; they included 31 species of pteridophyte spores (related to 20 genera) and 34 species of gymnosperm pollen (related to 14 genera). The dominance of monosaccate pollen confirms an age not older than Westphalian (Late Carboniferous) as documented in various Gondwanan basins. Besides the restricted presence and limited counts of typical guide taeniate bisaccate and non-taeniate bisaccate pollen in the present assemblage constrain and limit the age to the Asselian (Early Permian) and not younger. The paleovegetation of the studied palynoassemblage is reconstructed based on the paleobotanical affinities of the identified miospores, which are generally consistent with other macrofloral fossil records obtained from Egyptian outcrops during the Late Carboniferous and Early Permian. The paleoecological significance of the reconstructed paleovegetation enabled the recognition of two paleofloral communities: A lowland paleoflora represented by a cold climate wetland fern community associated with Lycopsida and Sphenopsida and an upland paleoflora dominated by a primitive group of gymnospermic plants with a unique moisture-independent reproduction strategy developed under the influence of a glacial climate. The high representation of the bilaterally or radially symmetrical monosaccate pollen genera, which are typical Late Paleozoic Gondwanan gymnospermic vegetation, in the present material supports the hypothesis that Egypt's Western Desert was part of the Gondwanan floral province during the Late Carboniferous/Early Permian.

DOI

10.21608/ejbo.2019.10083.1298

Keywords

Egypt, Gondwana Province, Late Carboniferous/Early Permian, Miospores, Paleoecology, Paleogeography

Authors

First Name

Zainab

Last Name

El-Noamani

MiddleName

M.

Affiliation

Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

Email

zainabelnoamani@yahoo.com

City

Cairo

Orcid

-

First Name

Sameh

Last Name

Tahoun

MiddleName

S.

Affiliation

Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt

Email

stahoun@yahoo.com

City

-

Orcid

-

Volume

59

Article Issue

3

Related Issue

9474

Issue Date

2019-11-01

Receive Date

2019-03-04

Publish Date

2019-11-01

Page Start

779

Page End

801

Print ISSN

0375-9237

Online ISSN

2357-0350

Link

https://ejbo.journals.ekb.eg/article_33907.html

Detail API

https://ejbo.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=33907

Order

18

Type

Original Article

Type Code

111

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Egyptian Journal of Botany

Publication Link

https://ejbo.journals.ekb.eg/

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Article

Created At

22 Jan 2023