Exotic Devonian Palynomorphs from the Sifa-1X Well in the Western Desert, Egypt

The Devonian strata in the Western Desert of Egypt contain diverse plant and animal remains, in addition to the commonly reported miospores, acritarchs and chitinozoans. These remains are of significant paleoenvironmental and biostratigraphic value. This is the first study dedicated to recording the...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Palynology 2021-04, Vol.45 (2), p.363-380
Main Authors: Makled, Walid A., Hints, Olle, Hosny, Atef M., Shahat, Wafaa I., Gentzis, Thomas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Africa
Annelida
Arachnida
Arachnids
Arthropoda
Arthropods
Chelicerata
cuticles
Deserts
Devonian
Dimensions
Egypt
electron microscopy data
Epicuticle
Eurypterida
eurypterids
Exoskeleton
Exoskeletons
faunal studies
floral studies
Fragments
Granulation
jaws
lithostratigraphy
Merostomata
microfossils
morphology
Nematophyta
nematophytes
North Africa
Paleontology
Paleozoic
Plantae
Polychaeta
scolecodonts
scorpions
SEM data
Shape
Sifa-1X Well
Spines
statistical analysis
Stomata
Western Desert
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The Devonian strata in the Western Desert of Egypt contain diverse plant and animal remains, in addition to the commonly reported miospores, acritarchs and chitinozoans. These remains are of significant paleoenvironmental and biostratigraphic value. This is the first study dedicated to recording these assemblages in the Devonian section in the Sifa-1X well. The zooclast assemblage described herein consists mainly of scolecodonts and remains of arthropods, notably eurypterids, arachnids and scorpions. The recovered scolecodonts belong to several species and likely three different families. The eurypterids are represented by several spines and exoskeleton cuticles. The shape and dimensions of the spines are analyzed and described. The spines vary in shape and size. A fragment of the arachnid Attercopus fimbriunguis was found in the Early Devonian. Additionally, fragments of scorpions were recovered, including pedipalp manus fragments of Compsoscorpius elegans and Corniops mapesii. The phytoclasts contain nematophytal cuticles and early plant tracheids. Some other fragments bear stomata and are attributed to the lycopsid Drepanophycus spinaeformis and the zosterophyllopsid Forania plegiospinosa. The nematophytes are represented by Nematothallus and Cosmochlaina cuticles and other tubular elements such as Porcatitubulus annulatus, Porcatitubulus spiralis, Constrictitubulus cristatus, Laevitubulus, Ornatifilum lornensis and Ornatifilum granulatum.
ISSN:0191-6122
1558-9188
DOI:10.1080/01916122.2020.1829726