Larger benthic foraminiferal assemblages from the mid-Eocene (Bartonian) sedimentary successions of
the Tethyan carbonate platforms have been studied in southeastern Turkey and northeastern Egypt. In
the HazroeDiyarbakir section (SE Turkey), small-medium miliolids and textularinids are identified from
the lower intervals of the Hoya Formation, whereas alveolinids and soritids (porcellaneous) and orbitolinids
(agglutinated) increase in diversity and abundance in the upper intervals. The Dictyoconus
aegyptiensis (Chapman) and Somalina stefaninii Silvestri are recorded for the first time from the Hoya
Formation. The larger benthic foraminiferal assemblage from the Hoya Formation shows a significant
similarity to those reported from the Observatory Formation (coeval with the Sannor Formation) in the
CairoeSuez district (NE Egypt). The studied foraminiferal assemblages imply restricted lagoonaletidal
flat palaeoenvironments. Palaeobiogeographically, the larger benthic foraminiferal assemblages recorded
in southeastern Turkey and northeastern Egypt carbonate platforms display a strong affinity to the
Arabian, Middle East and African platforms. The position of the global sea-level and the plate tectonic
organization of the studied region during the Bartonian were the main factors that facilitated faunal
exchange within the carbonate platforms. |
