Paleoecology and paleobiogeography of Paleocene ostracods in Dineigil area, South Western Desert, Egypt

Abstract

Seventy three rock samples were extracted from the Paleocene interval (fourty three meter) in the Dineigil area, South Western Desert, Egypt. The ostracod assemblages in these samples were qualitatively studied. The ostracods are well preserved which allowed us to recognize thirty two species belonging to eighteen genera and nine families. The recorded ostracods could be differentiated into two assemblages. The first assemblage comprises an overlapping combination of the Esna Type and Garra Type and indicates an inner-middle shelf environment (50–70 m depth). The second one comprises a combination of the Tethyan Type and Esna Type, indicating a transitional environment from the middle shelf to the outer shelf (deep infraneritic). The paleobiogeographic distribution of the investigated ostracods shows a strong resemblance to those in many areas of North Africa and Middle East, and a slight affinity to those in West Africa and the South Atlantic.