Data on 103 species and subspecies of ostracoda from Maastrichtian to lower Eocene localities in North Africa, West Africa, and the Middle East were analyzed using correspondence analysis to interpret marine paleobiogeography in this wide area of the world during the time in question. Two main biogeographical provinces, the South Tethyan Province (STP) and the West African Province (WAP), were connected during this entire period through the Trans-Saharan Seaway. In addition, a third grouping was distinguished that combines species from both provinces, but with more similarity to the STP. R-mode cluster analysis based on the Jaccard coefficient of similarity demonstrated the distinctness of the first two provinces, and indicated that the third grouping represents an overlap of the Garra Type (GAT) and the Afro-Tethyan Type (ATT) of Bassiouni and Luger (1990). The study confirms the stability of ostracod habitats in this region. There was essentially no turnover across the K/T and Paleocene/Eocene boundaries, and faunal changes came about almost entirely due to lateral migration of certain genera. Statistical analysis of the available data shows that the most common genera are: Buntonia, Cytherella, Leguminocythereis, Bythocypris, Mauritsina, Ordoniya and Paracypris.
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1 December 2002
Paleobiogeography of Maastrichtian to early Eocene Ostracoda of North and West Africa and the Middle East
Ashraf M. T. Elewa
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