A snapshot into the Oligocene vegetation of the Tethyan southern shores: new fossil pollen evidence from North Africa (Egypt)

References

• Abbink OA, van Konijnenburg-van Cittert JHA, Visscher H. 2004. A sporomorph ecogroup model for the Northwest European Jurassic - Cretaceous: concepts and framework. Netherlands Journal of Geosciences - Geologie en Mijnbouw. 83(1):17–38.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Adeonipekun PA, Sowunmi MA. 2019. Palaeoclimatology and biostratigraphic significance of late Neogene/Quaternary vegetational changes recorded in the offshore western Niger Delta. Acta Palaeobotanica. 59(2):373–390.
   Google Scholar
• Aristeguieta L. 1973. Familias y géneros de los àrboles de Venezuela. Caracas: Edición Especial Instituto Botánico, 845 pp.
   Google Scholar
• Badawy HS. 2018. Termite nests, rhizoliths and pedotypes of the Oligocene fluviomarine rock sequence in northern Egypt: Proxies for Tethyan tropical palaeoclimates. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 492:161–176.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Beard KC, Coster P, Salem M, Chaimanee Y, Jaeger J-J. 2016. A new species of Apidium (Anthropoidea, Parapithecidae) from the Sirt Basin, central Libya: first record of Oligocene primates from Libya. Journal of Human Evolution. 90:29–37.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Berra F, Angiolini L. 2014. The evolution of the Tethys region throughout the Phanerozoic: A brief tectonic reconstruction. In: Marlow L, Kendall C, Yose L, editors. Petroleum systems of the Tethyan region. Vol. 106. AAPG Memoir; p. 1–27.
   Google Scholar
• Bose TK, Das P, Maiti GG. 1998. Trees of the world. Bhubaneshwar, India: Regional Plant Resource Centre; 50 pp.
   Google Scholar
• Boureau E, Cheboldaeff-Salard M, Koeniguer J-C, Louvet P. 1983. Evolution des flores et de la vegetation Tertiaires en Afrique, au nord de l’Equateur. Bothalia. 14(3–4):355–367.
   Google Scholar
• Bown TM. 1982. Ichnofossils and rhizoliths of the nearshore fluvial Jebel Qatrani Formation (Oligocene), Fayum Province, Egypt. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 40(4):255–309.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bown TM, Kraus M, Wing S, Fleagle J, Tiffney BH, Simons E, Vondra CF. 1982. The Fayum primate forest revisited. Journal of Human Evolution. 11(7):603–632.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Burnham RJ, Johnson KR. 2004. South American palaeobotany and the origins of neotropical rainforests. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences. 359(1450):1595–1610.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Casas-Gallego M, Barrón E. 2020. New pollen genera and species from the Oligocene of northern Spain and a systematic, biostratigraphic and biogeographic re-evaluation of coeval taxa. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 18(23):1961–1994.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Chapman VJ. 1976. Mangrove vegetation. Vaduz: J. Cramer.
   Google Scholar
• Chidumayo EN. 1987. Species structure in Zambian Miombo Woodland. Journal of Tropical Ecology. 3(2):109–118.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Clarke RT, Frederiksen NO. 1968. Some new sporomorphs from the Upper Tertiary of Nigeria. Grana Palynologica. 8(1):210–217.
   Google Scholar
• Cowan RS, Polhill RM. 1981. Detarieae. In: Polhill RM, Raven PH, editors. Advances in legume systematics. Part 1. Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens; p. 117–134.
   Google Scholar
• Dransfield J, Uhl NW, Asmussen CB, Baker WJ, Harley MM, Lewis CE. 2005. A new phylogenetic classification of the palm family, Arecaceae. Kew Bulletin. 60:559–569.
   Google Scholar
• Dupéron-Laudoueneix M, Dupéron J. 1995. Inventory of Mesozoic and Cenozoic woods from equatorial and north equatorial Africa. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 84(3–4):439–480.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• EGPC. 1992. Western Desert oil and gas fields: a comprehensive overview. Cairo: Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation; 431 pp.
   Google Scholar
• EGSMA. 1981. Geological Map of Egypt (Scale 1: 2,000,000). Cairo: Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority.
   Google Scholar
• Eisawi A, Schrank E. 2008. Upper Cretaceous to neogene palynology of the Melut basin, southeast Sudan. Palynology. 32(1):101–129.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• El Atfy H, Anan T, El-Soughier MI. 2017a. Paleoecologic and stratigraphic significance of the freshwater algae Pediastrum in the Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) marine deposits, north Western Desert, Egypt. Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 91(2):273–281.
   Google Scholar
• El Atfy H, Brocke R, Uhl D. 2017b. Miocene palynology of the Rudeis and Kareem formations (Gharandal Group), GH 404-2A Well, Gulf of Suez, Egypt. Abhandlungen Der Senckenberg Gesellschaft Für Naturforschung. 573:1–134.
   Google Scholar
• El Atfy H, El Beialy SY, El Khoriby EM, Uhl D. 2021. Continental palynomorphs from the Dabaa Formation, North-Western Desert, Egypt: a contribution to the reconstruction of the vegetation on the southern shores of the Tethys Ocean during the Early Oligocene. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 197(3):291–321.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• El Beialy SY, Head MJ, El Atfy H, El Khoriby EM. 2019. Dinoflagellate cyst evidence for the age and palaeoenvironments of the Upper Eocene–Oligocene Dabaa Formation, Qattara Depression, north Western Desert, Egypt. Palynology. 43(2):268–291.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• El Beialy SY, Zobaa MK, Taha AA. 2016. Depositional paleoenvironment and hydrocarbon source potential of the Oligocene Dabaa Formation, north Western Desert, Egypt: a palynofacies approach. Geosphere. 12(1):346–353.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ellison JC. 1989. Pollen analysis of mangrove sediments as a sea-level indicator: assessment from Tongatapu. Tonga. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 74(3–4):327–341.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• El-Saadawi WE, Nour-El-Deen S, El-Noamani ZM, Darwish MH, Kamal El-Din MM, et al. 2020. Fossil flora of Egypt. In: Hamimi Z., editors. The geology of Egypt. Regional geology reviews. Switzerland, Cham: Springer; p. 495–520.
   Google Scholar
• Gastony GJ, Tryon RM. 1976. Spore morphology in the Cyatheaceae. II. The genera Lophosoria, Metaxia, Spheropteris, Alsophila and Nephelea. American Journal of Botany. 63(6):738–758.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Gengwu L, Rongyu Y. 1999. Pollen assemblages of the late Eocene Nadu Formation from the Bose basin of Guangxi, southern China. Palynology. 23(1):97–114.
   Google Scholar
• Germeraad JH, Hopping CA, Muller J. 1968. Palynology of Tertiary sediments from tropical areas. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 6(3–4):189–348.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• González AE. 1967. A palynological study on the Upper Los Cuervos and Mirador Formations (Lower and Middle Eocene), Tibu area, Colombia. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 68 pp.
   Google Scholar
• Graham A. 1993. Contribution toward a Tertiary palynostratigraphy for Jamaica: The status of Tertiary paleobotanical studies in northern Latin America and preliminary analysis of the Guys Hill Member (Chapelton Formation, middle Eocene) of Jamaica. In: Wright RM, Robinson E, editors. Biostratigraphy of Jamaica. Vol. 182. Boulder, CO: Geological Society of America Memoir; p. 443–462.
   Google Scholar
• Graham A. 1995. Diversification of the Gulf/Caribbean mangrove communities through Cenozoic time. Biotropica. 27(1):20–27.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hantar G. 1990. North Western Desert. In: Said R, editor. The geology of Egypt. The Netherlands: A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam; p. 293–319.
   Google Scholar
• Harland R. 1983. Distribution maps of recent dinoflagellate cysts in bottom sediments from the north Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas. Palaeontology. 26:321–387.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Haston EM, Lewis JP, Hawkins JA. 2005. A phylogenetic reappraisal of the Peltophorum group (Caesalpinieae: Leguminosae) based on the chloroplast trnL-F, rbcL and rps16 sequence data. American Journal of Botany. 92(8):1359–1371.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Helenes J, Cabrera D. 2003. Oligocene-Miocene palynomorph assemblages from Eastern Venezuela. Palynology. 27(1):5–25.
   Google Scholar
• Herman AB, Spicer RA, Aleksandrova GN, Yang J, Kodrul TM, Maslova NP, Spicer TEV, Chen G, Jin J-H. 2017. Eocene–early Oligocene climate and vegetation change in southern China: Evidence from the Maoming Basin. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 479:126–137.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hoorn C. 1994. Fluvial palaeoenvironments in the Intracratonic Amazonas Basin (Early Miocene- early Middle Miocene, Colombia). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 109(1):1–54.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ikegwuonu ON, Umeji OP, Chiaghanam OI, Nwozor KK, Ndukwe OS, Chiadikobi KC. 2020. Palynomorph assemblage biozonation of Paleogene strata in Bende–Umuahia Area, Niger Delta Basin, southeastern Nigeria. Journal of Palaeogeography. 9(1):13.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Issawi B, Francis MH, Youssef EAA, Osman RA. 2009. The phanerozoic geology of Egypt: a geodynamic approach. 2nd ed. Cairo: Ministry of Petroleum, The Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority, Special Publication no. 81; 589 pp.
   Google Scholar
• Jacobs BF, Pan AD, Scotese CR. 2010. A review of the Cenozoic vegetation history of Africa. In: Werdelin L, Sanders WJ, editors. Cenozoic mammals of Africa. Berkeley: University of California Press; p. 57–72.
   Google Scholar
• Jan du Chêne RE, Onyike MS, Sowunmi MA. 1978. Some new Eocene pollen of the Ogwashi-Asaba Formation, southeastern Nigeria. Revista Española de Micropaleontologia. 10: 285–322.
   Google Scholar
• Jaramillo CA, Dilcher DL. 2001. Middle Paleogene palynology of Central Colombia, South America: a study of pollen and spores from tropical latitudes. Palaeontographica Abteilung B. 258(4–6):87–213.
   Google Scholar
• Jiménez JA. 1984. A hypothesis to explain the reduced distribution of the Mangrove Pelliciera rhizophorae Tr. & Pl. Biotropica. 16:304–308.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kaska HV. 1989. A spore and pollen zonation of Early Cretaceous to Cenozoic nonmarine sediments in central Sudan. Palynology. 13(1):79–90.
   Google Scholar
• Kedves M. 1985. Études palynologiques sur les sediments préquaternaires de l'Egypte. Oligocene. Revista Española de Micropaleontología. 17:333–346.
   Google Scholar
• Khanolkar S, Sharma J. 2019. Record of Early to Middle Eocene paleoenvironmental changes from lignite mines, western India. Journal of Micropalaeontology. 38(1):1–24.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kuss J, Boukhary MA. 2008. A new upper Oligocene marine record from northern Sinai (Egypt) and its paleogeographic context. GeoArabia. 13(1):59–84.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Legoux O. 1978. Quelques espèces de pollen caractéristiques du Néogène du Nigéria. Bulletin Des Centres de Recherche Exploration-Production Elf-Aquitaine. 2:265–317.
   Google Scholar
• Louvet P. 1971. Sur l'évolution des flores tertiares de l'Afrique nord-équatoriale [Thèse de Doctorat]. Universite de Paris. Arch. Orig., Cent. Nat. Rech. Sci. 5613:497 pp.
   Google Scholar
• Lü X, Paudayal KN, Uhl D, Zhu L, Yao T, Mosbrugger V. 2020. Phenology and climatic regime inferred from airborne pollen on the northern slope of the Qomolangma (Everest) region. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 125: e2020JD033405.
   Google Scholar
• Mai DH. 1995. Tertiäre Vegetationsgeschichte Europas. Jena, Stuttgart. New York: Gustav Fischer Verlag, 691 pp.
   Google Scholar
• Mandal J. Vijaya 2004. Oligocene-Miocene palynomorphs from subsurface sediments, West Bengal, India. Alcheringa. 28:493–503.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Muller J, Di Giacomo E, van Erve AW. 1987. A palynological zonation for the Cretaceous, Tertiary and Quaternary of northern South America. AASP Contribution Series. 19:7–76.
   Google Scholar
• Murillo MT, Bless MJM. 1974. Spores of recent Colombian Pteridophyta I. Trilete spores. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 18(3–4):223–269.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Norton P. 1967. Rock stratigraphic nomenclature of the Western Desert, Egypt. Internal Report. Cairo: Pan-American Oil Company, 557 pp.
   Google Scholar
• Pickford M. 2017. Arsinoitherium (Embrithopoda) and other large mammals and plants from the Oligocene of Tunisia. Fossil Imprint. 73(1–2):172–181.
   Google Scholar
• Pocknall DT. 1982. Palynology of late Oligocene Pomahaka Estuarine Bed sediments, Waikoikoi, Southland, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany. 20(3):263–287.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Prothero DR. 1994. The Eocene-Oligocene transition: Paradise lost. New York: Columbia University Press; 291 pp.
   Google Scholar
• Raine JI, Mildenhall DC, Kennedy EM. 2011. New Zealand fossil spores and pollen: an illustrated catalogue. 4th ed. GNS Science miscellaneous series 4. Available from: http://data.gns.cri.nz/sporepollen/index.htm (Available also in CD version from: Publications Officer, GNS Science, P.O. Box 30368 Lower Hutt, New Zealand).
   Google Scholar
• Ramírez-Arriaga E, Prámparo MB, Martínez-Hernández E. 2014. Angiosperm pollen grains from the Cuayuca Formation (Late Eocene to Early Oligocene), Puebla, Mexico. Palaeontologia Electronica. 18.1.2A:1–38.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Rao MR, Sahni A, Rana RS, Verma P. 2013. Palynostratigraphy and depositional environment of Vastan Lignite Mine (Early Eocene), Gujarat, western India. Journal of Earth System Science. 122(2):289–307.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Retallack GJ. 2001. Soils of the past: an introduction to paleopedology. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell Science; 404 pp.
   Google Scholar
• Roberts DL, Neumann FH, Cawthra HC, Carr AS, Scott L, Durugbo EU, Humphries MS, Cowling RM, Bamford MK, Musekiwa C, et al. 2017. Palaeoenvironments during a terminal Oligocene or early Miocene transgression in a fluvial system at the southwestern tip of Africa. Global and Planetary Change. 150:1–23.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Rull V. 1997. Oligo-Miocene palynology of the Rio Chama sequence (Western Venezuela), with comments on fossil algae as paleoenvironmental indicators. Palynology. 21(1):213–229.
   Google Scholar
• Rull V. 1998. Middle Eocene mangroves and vegetation changes in the Maracaibo Basin. PALAIOS. 13(3):287–296.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Rull V. 2001. A quantitative palynological record from the Early Miocene of Western Venezuela, with emphasis on mangroves. Palynology. 25(1):109–126.
   Google Scholar
• Sá NP, Carvalho MA. 2017. Miocene fern spores and pollen grains from the Solimões Basin, Amazon Region, Brazil. Acta Botanica Brasilica. 31(4):720–735.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Sah SCD. 1967. Palynology of an Upper Neogene profile from Rusizi Valley (Burundi). Musee Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Belgique Annales, Serie in 8, Sciences Geologiques. 57:1–173.
   Google Scholar
• Salard-Cheboldaeff M. 1978. Sur la palynoflore Maestrichtienne et Tertiaire du Bassin Sèdimentaire littoral du Cameroun. Pollen et Spores. 20:215–260.
   Google Scholar
• Salard-Cheboldaeff M. 1979. Palynologie Maestrichtienne et Tertiaire du Cameroun. Etude qualitative et répartition verticaledes principales espèces. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 28(3–4):365–388.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Salard-Cheboldaeff M. 1981. Palynologie Maestrichtienne et Tertiaire du Cameroun. Résultats botaniques. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 32(4):401–439.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Salard-Cheboldaeff M. 1990. Intertropical African palynostratigraphy from Cretaceous to Late Quaternary times. Journal of African Earth Sciences (and the Middle East). 11(1–2):1–24.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Santos DBD, Garcia MJ, Saad AR, Bistrichi CA. 2010. Palinoestratigrafia da Formação Itaquaquecetuba, Bacia de São Paulo, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia. 13:1–16.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Schlumberger. 1984. Well evaluation conference, Egypt. Schlumberger Middle East SA; 201 pp.
   Google Scholar
• Schlumberger. 1995. Well evaluation conference, Egypt. Chester: Schlumberger Technical Editing Services; 87 pp.
   Google Scholar
• Schrank E. 1994. Palynology of the Yesomma Formation in northern Somalia: a study of pollen, spores and associated phytoplankton from the Late Cretaceous Palmae Province. Palaeontographica B. 231:63–112.
   Google Scholar
• Sheikh HA, Faris M. 1985. The Eocene-Oligocene boundary in some wells of the Western Desert, Egypt. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie Monatshefte. 1:23–28.
   Google Scholar
• Simpson MG. 2010. Diversity and classification of flowering plants: eudicots. In: Simpson MG, editor. Plant systematics. 2nd ed. Elsevier, Academic Press; p. 275–448.
   Google Scholar
• Stancliffe RPW. 1989. Microforaminiferal linings: their classification, biostratigraphy and paleoecology, with special reference to specimens from British Oxfordian sediments. Micropaleontology. 35(4):337–352.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Stuchlik L, Ziembińska-Tworzydło M, Kohlman-Adamska A, Grabowska I, Słodkowska B, Ważyńska H, Sadowska A. 2009. Atlas of pollen and spores of the Polish Neogene, Volume 3 – Angiosperms (1). Kraków: W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences; 232 pp.
   Google Scholar
• Stuchlik L, Ziembińska-Tworzydło M, Kohlman-Adamska A, Grabowska I, Ważyńska H, Sadowska A. 2002. Atlas of pollen and spores of the Polish Neogene, Volume 2 - Gymnosperms. Kraków: W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences; 237 pp.
   Google Scholar
• Stuchlik L, Ziembińska-Tworzydło M, Kohlman-Adamska A, Grabowska I, Ważyńska H, Słodkowska B, Sadowska A. 2001. Atlas of pollen and spores of the Polish Neogene, Volume 1 - Spores. Kraków: W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, 158 pp.
   Google Scholar
• Takahashi J, Jux U. 1989a. Palynologic investigation of Late Eocene to Early Oligocene lignites from Fayum Oasis, Egypt. Bulletin of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Nagasaki University, Natural Science. 29:369–463.
   Google Scholar
• Takahashi J, Jux U. 1989b. Palynology of Middle Cenozoic lacustrine deposits from the Jos Plateau, Nigeria. Bulletin of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Nagasaki University. Natural Science. 29:181–367.
   Google Scholar
• Tomlinson PB. 1986. Mangrove botany. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 413 pp.
   Google Scholar
• Torfstein A, Steinberg J. 2020. The Oligo-Miocene closure of the Tethys Ocean and evolution of the proto-Mediterranean Sea. Scientific Reports. 10(1):13817.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Utescher T, Erdei B, Francois L, Henrot A-J, Mosbrugger V, Popova S. 2021. Oligocene vegetation of Europe and western Asia - diversity change and continental patterns reflected by plant functional types. Geological Journal. 56(2):628–649.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Utescher T, Mosbrugger V. 2007. Eocene vegetation patterns reconstructed from plant diversity - a global perspective. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 247(3–4):243–271.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• van der Hammen T. 1963. A palynological study on the Quaternary of British Guiana. Leidse Geologische Mededelingen. 29:125–180.
   Google Scholar
• Wanntorp L, Dettmann ME, Jarzen DM. 2004. Tracking the Mesozoic distribution of Gunnera: comparison with the fossil species Tricolpites reticulatus Cookson. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 132(3–4):163–174.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Westgate JW, Gee CT. 1990. Palaeoecology of a middle Eocene mangrove biota (vertebrates, plants and invertebrates) from southwest Texas. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 78(1–2):163–177.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Wing SL, Tiffney BH. 1982. A paleotropical flora from the Oligocene of Jebel Qatrani Formation of northern Egypt. A preliminary report. Miscellaneous Series of the Botanical Society of America. 162:1–67.
   Google Scholar
• Zalmout IS, Antar M, A-E, Shafy E, Metwally MH, Hatab EE, Gingerich PD. 2012. Priabonian sharks and rays (Late Eocene: Neoselachii) from Minqar Tabaghbagh in the Western Qattara Depression, Egypt. Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology. University of Michigan. 32:71–90.
   Google Scholar
• Zetter R, Hesse M, Frosch-Radivo A. 2001. Early Eocene zona-aperturate pollen grains of the Proxapertites type with affinity to Araceae. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 117(4):267–279.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Zippi PA. 1998. Freshwater algae from the Mattagami Formation (Albian), Ontario: Paleoecology, botanical affinities, and systematic taxonomy. Micropaleontology. 44(Supplement):1–78.
   Google Scholar