Palaeoenvironments and palaeobiogeographical distribution of the Eocene larger benthic foraminifera and macrofaunal associations in the northern plateau of the Bahariya Depression, Western Desert, Egypt
Ayoub, N., Sallam, E., Ahmed, S., Osman, R., Hassan, M. (2025). Palaeoenvironments and palaeobiogeographical distribution of the Eocene larger benthic foraminifera and macrofaunal associations in the northern plateau of the Bahariya Depression, Western Desert, Egypt. EKB Journal Management System, 10(2), 91-109. doi: 10.21608/bjas.2025.371594.1656
Nada Abdelfattah Ayoub; Emad Samir Sallam; Sayed Mahfouz Ahmed; Rifaat Abdelkareem Osman; Mervat Saeed Hassan. "Palaeoenvironments and palaeobiogeographical distribution of the Eocene larger benthic foraminifera and macrofaunal associations in the northern plateau of the Bahariya Depression, Western Desert, Egypt". EKB Journal Management System, 10, 2, 2025, 91-109. doi: 10.21608/bjas.2025.371594.1656
Ayoub, N., Sallam, E., Ahmed, S., Osman, R., Hassan, M. (2025). 'Palaeoenvironments and palaeobiogeographical distribution of the Eocene larger benthic foraminifera and macrofaunal associations in the northern plateau of the Bahariya Depression, Western Desert, Egypt', EKB Journal Management System, 10(2), pp. 91-109. doi: 10.21608/bjas.2025.371594.1656
Ayoub, N., Sallam, E., Ahmed, S., Osman, R., Hassan, M. Palaeoenvironments and palaeobiogeographical distribution of the Eocene larger benthic foraminifera and macrofaunal associations in the northern plateau of the Bahariya Depression, Western Desert, Egypt. EKB Journal Management System, 2025; 10(2): 91-109. doi: 10.21608/bjas.2025.371594.1656

Palaeoenvironments and palaeobiogeographical distribution of the Eocene larger benthic foraminifera and macrofaunal associations in the northern plateau of the Bahariya Depression, Western Desert, Egypt

Benha Journal of Applied Sciences
Volume 10, Issue 2, February 2025, Pages 91-109    PDF (2.85 M)
Document Type: Original Research Papers
DOI: 10.21608/bjas.2025.371594.1656
Authors
Nada Abdelfattah Ayoub* 1; Emad Samir Sallam2; Sayed Mahfouz Ahmed2; Rifaat Abdelkareem Osman2; Mervat Saeed Hassan3
1Geology department, faculty of science, Benha University
2Geology department, faculty of science, Benha university
3central metallurgical research and development institute
Abstract
The Eocene rocks exposed in the northern plateau of the Bahariya Depression constitute from base to top, the Naqb, Qazzun and El-Hamra formations, which made up of highly fossiliferous siliciclastic–carbonate rocks deposited essentially in marginal-marine, neritic, tide-dominated environments. These environments correspond, respectively, to peritidal flat, lagoonal–restricted bays, barrier shoal and platform margin reefal zones situated on a gently sloping homoclinal inner to very proximal mid-ramp settings. Four local larger benthic foraminiferal total range zones were identified. These zones correspond to the regional larger benthic foraminiferal zones (SBZ12 through SBZ19) of the Tethyan shallow carbonate platforms that allowed assigning late Ypresian age to the Naqb Formation, early Lutetian to the Qazzun Formation, and middle Lutetian–Priabonian to the El-Hamra Formation. Furthermore five distinctive macrofaunal assemblages were identified and palaeoecologically interpreted. Paleobiogeographically, the identified benthic foraminifera and macrofaunal assemblages show a dominantly Tethyan character and strong affinity to the African, Arabian, Indian and southern Europe marginal-marine carbonate platforms. This study, therefore, contributes to the understanding of the facies architecture and palaeobiogeography of the Eocene carbonate platforms developed along the margins of the circum-Mediterranean domain.
Keywords
Palaeoenvironments; Palaeobiogeography; Eocene; Bahariya Depression
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