Predation on Miocene ostracods of Wadi Um Ashtan, Mersa Matruh, Western Desert, Egypt

Abstract

Predation on Miocene ostracods of Egypt received little attention due to the lack of information on taxonomy of these ostracods. This situation continued until Bassiouni and Elewa introduced, probably, the first Egyptian Miocene ostracod taxonomic record in 2000. Two years later, Reyment and Elewa (2002) noticed post-mortem holes made by marine fungi on carapaces of these ostracods. Consequently, the present study is the first detailed description of predation along with change in environment in Wadi Um Ashtan of Mersa Matruh on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. © 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.