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- Blazcjowski, Blazcj, et al.
(author)
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Limulitella tejraensis, a new species of limulid (Chelicerata, Xiphosura) from the Middle Triassic of southern Tunisia (Saharan Platform)
- 2017
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In: Journal of Paleontology. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP). - 0022-3360 .- 1937-2337. ; 91:5, s. 960-967
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Numerous well-preserved remains of a new limulid species from the Anisian-lower Ladinian (Middle Triassic) of the Tejra section of southern Tunisia are described. Comparisons are made with limulids from the Triassic deposits of Europe and Australia. The new specimens are congeneric with the type species of Limulitella, but show some morphological differences. Here we describe Limulitella tejraensis new species, a small limulid with semicircular prosoma, small and triangular opisthosoma, well-defined axial ridge, and pleurae along both ridges of the opisthosoma. The Tunisian Limulitella fossils are associated with conchostracans, bivalves, gastropods, and microconchids. Sedimentological and paleontological data from the Tejra section suggest freshwater to brackish-water conditions during the formation of the fossil-bearing interval and the influence of marine transgression into a playa-like environment. Supposed adaptation to the stressful environment sheds new light on the origin and survival of the extant limulines. This is the first report of limulid body fossils from the Triassic of North Africa and the first documentation of Limulitella in the Middle Triassic of northern Gondwanaland.
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| 2. |
- Niedźwiedzki, Grzegorz, 1980-, et al.
(author)
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Middle-Upper Triassic and Middle Jurassic tetrapod track assemblages of southern Tunisia, Sahara Platform
- 2017
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In: Journal of African Earth Sciences. - : PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. - 1464-343X .- 1879-1956. ; 129, s. 31-44
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Three tetrapod track assemblages from the early-middle Mesozoic of southern Tunisia are reported. The strata exposed at the Tejra 2 clay-pit near the Medenine and Rehach site, located in the vicinity of Kirchaou, contain the first tetrapod tracks found in the Triassic of Tunisia. The Middle Jurassic (early Aalenian) dinosaur tracks are reported from the Mestaoua plain near Tataouine. In the Middle Triassic outcrop of the Tejra 2 clay-pit, tridactyl tracks of small and medium-sized dinosauromorphs, were discovered. These tracks represent the oldest evidence of dinosaur-lineage elements in the Triassic deposits of Tunisia. Similar tracks have been described from the Middle Triassic of Argentina, France and Morocco. An isolated set of the manus and pes of a quadrupedal tetrapod discovered in Late Triassic Rehach tracksite is referred to a therapsid tracemaker. The Middle Jurassic deposits of the Mestaoua plain reveal small and large tridactyl theropod dinosaur tracks (Theropoda track indet. A-C). Based on comparison with the abundant record of Triassic tetrapod ichnofossils from Europe and North America, the ichnofauna described here indicates the presence of a therapsid-dinosauromorph ichnoassociation (without typical Chirotheriidae tracks) in the Middle and Late Triassic, which sheds light on the dispersal of the Middle-Upper Triassic tetrapod ichnofaunas in this part of Gondwana. The reported Middle Jurassic ichnofauna show close similarities to dinosaur track assemblages from the Lower and Middle Jurassic of northwestern Africa, North America, Europe and also southeastern Asia. Sedimentological and lithostratigraphic data of each new tracksite have been defined on published data and new observations. Taken together, these discoveries present a tantalizing window into the evolutionary history of tetrapods from the Triassic and Jurassic of southern Tunisia. Given the limited early Mesozoic tetrapod record from the region, these discoveries are of both temporal and geographic significance.
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| 3. |
- Soussi, Mohamed, et al.
(author)
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Middle Triassic (Anisian-Ladinian) Tejra red beds and Late Triassic (Carnian) carbonate sedimentary records of southern Tunisia, Saharan Platform : Biostratigraphy, sedimentology and implication on regional stratigraphic correlations
- 2017
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In: MARINE AND PETROLEUM GEOLOGY. - : Elsevier BV. - 0264-8172. ; 79, s. 222-256
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The "red beds" of the Triassic succession outcropping at Tejra-Medenine (southern Tunisia, Saharan Platform) have yielded rich fossil assemblages of both freshwater and brackish-marine invertebrates and vertebrates. The new discovered fauna indicates an Anisian-Lower Ladinian age for the Tejra section. Its lowermost part is considered as equivalent of Ouled Chebbi Formation, while the medium and upper parts are considered as equivalent of the Kirchaou Formation. Both sedimentological characteristics and fossil assemblages indicate the increasing marine influences within the middle part of the section and the migration of brackish and freshwater fauna into the lacustrine/playa environment at the top. The marine fauna-rich interval of the Tejra section correlates well with the well-known Myophoria-rich carbonate stratigraphic marker confirming the Middle Triassic (Ladinian) major transgression well recorded eastward in the Tunisian Jeffara basin and in Libya. The use of this Ladinian stratigraphic event in addition to the Carnian carbonate transgressive events of the Jeffara escarpment outcrops was of great help for regional lithostratigraphic correlations between the Triassic outcropping series and those currently buried in Ghadames and Berkine basins. The age of the sandstones of "Trias Argilo-Greseux Inferieur" (TAGI) which forms the main oil and gas reservoir in the Saharan domain is attributed to the Anisian-Carnian and considered as coeval of Ouled Chebbi and Kirchaou Formations of the Dahar escarpment. An updated synthetic stratigraphic chart is proposed for the Triassic of Saharan Platform domain on the basis of the compilation of the new obtained results and the subsurface data taken from published literature.
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