Permo-Carboniferous plant-remains in Northeast Africa

Permo-Carboniferous plant-remains in Northeast Africa
(A tabular summary with images)

Norbert Brügge, Germany
Dipl.-Geol.

In NE-Africa up to now from three regions are known fossil plants of Permo-Carboniferous age.
Past year Geologists from the University Dongola have found some new fossil plants in the Wadi Halfa.
Recently tourists have found further interesting plant fossils in the Gilf Kebir region (SW-Egypt).

1. ) Gilf Kebir- Uweinat Region (Egypt/Libya)

2. ) Suez-Sinai region (Egypt)
The Permo-Carboniferous succession in the Gulf of Suez region is subdivided into: the Abu Thora Fm. (Late Visean-Early Westphalian), the Abu Durba Fm. (Middle Westphalian), and the Aheimer Fm. (Late Westphalian/Stephanian-Early Permian). The Abu Thora and Abu Durba formations of Sinai are coeval with the Abu Darag Fm. in the Northern Galala. The Aheimer Fm. corresponds to the Ataqa Fm. in the subsurface of the Gulf of Suez. These clastic-dominated deposits reflect shallow subtidal, prograding shoreline and fluviatile conditions. They overlie conformably open marine Early Carboniferous carbonates of the Um Bogma Fm. and are overlain unconformably by continental red bed succession of Late Permian-Triassic age known as the Qiseib Fm.. Stratigraphic correlations with equivalent units recorded from the southern Tethyan basins indicate that great areas of North Africa and the Near East were situated near the southern margin of the Tethyan sea during most of the Late Carboniferous-Early Permian time.

3. ) Wadi Halfa area (Sudan)
Most of northern Sudan was part of a regional high. Fluvio-continental and nearshore facies were deposited only in northwestern and northeastern part of the Sudan. Recent work in the northern Sudan, such as Wadi Halfa area, indicated the presence of deposits ranging in age from Carboniferous to Permotriassic. The evidence of continental Carboniferous sediments is based on the presence of Paleoweichselia, Rhodea, Cyclostigma, Calamites, Sigillaria.. Nearshore sediments at the base of section are indicated by the presence of trace fossils (e.g. Arthrophycus).
South of Wadi Halfa are outcrops the Permo-Triassic Lakia Formation in the Jebel Toshka. On top of the section is found Pterophyllum nubiense LEJAL-NICOL. Very rich is Pterophyllum in the top layers of Lakia Fm. south of Selima.

Permo-Carboniferous paleogeographic situation

	Age	Libya	Gilf Kebir region (Egypt/Sudan)			NW-Sudan	North-Sudan	Suez region	Sinai
	Age	Jabal Asba Jabal Dalma Crater Oasis	Clayton Craters	Gilf Kebir	Djebel Uweinat	Selima Karb elToum	Wadi Halfa/Argein Jebel Toshka	Wadi Araba Wadi Dakhel	Um Bogma Wadi Mukattab Abu-Thora
Lycophyta
cf. Amadokia boureaui	Tournaisian - Visean
Archaeosigillaria minuta	Tournaisian
Archaeosigillaria vanuxemi	Tournaisian
Archaeosigillaria sp.	Tournaisian
cf. Bothrodendron depereti	Visean - Namurian
Coenodendron primaevum	U. Tournaisian - Visean
Precyclostigma blakaense	U. Tournaisian - Visean
Precyclostigma tadrartense	Tournaisian
Precyclostigma sp.	Tournaisian - L. Namurian
Cyclostigma aff. ungeri	Namurian - Visean
cf. Cyclostigma sp.	Namurian - Visean
Heleniella costulata	Tournaisian - L. Visean
Eskdalia africana	Tournaisian - Visean
Eskdalia malikense	Visean
Eskdalia minuta	Tounaisian - Visean
Eskdalia ovale	U. Visean - L. Namurian
Lepidophloios laricinum	Namurian - L. Permian
Lepidophloios sp.	Namurian - L. Permian
Protosalanus sp.
Protasalanus elongatus	Visean
cf. Tomiodendron ostrogianum	U. Visean - L. Namurian
Ursodendron aegyptiacum	U. Tournaisian - L. Namurian
Pinakodendron sp.	Namurian- Westphalien
Lepidodendropsis africanum	Tournaisian - Namurian
Lepidodendropsis fenestrata	Visean
Lepidodendropsis devoogdi
Lepidodendropsis hirmeri	Tournaisian - Visean
Lepidodendrosis lissoni	U. Tournaisian - Visean
Lepidodendropsis (aff.) rhombiformis	Visean - L. Namurian
Lepidodendropsis schuermanni	U. Tournaisian - Visean
Lepidodendropsis sinaica	Tournaisian - Visean
Lepidodendropsis (aff.) vandergrachti	Visean - L. Namurian
Lepidodendropsis sp.	Tournaisian - L. Namurian
Preudolepidodendropsis klitzschii	Upper Visean
Pseudolepidodendropsis scobiniformis	U. Tournaisian - Visean
Sublepidodendropsis arthrophytoides	Visean
Sublepidodendropsis fasciatum	U. Tournaisian - Visean
Sublepidodendropsis striatus	Visean
Prelepidodendron (aff.) lepidodendroides	Visean
Prelepidodendron rhomboidale	Visean
Prelepidodendron sp.	Visean
Lepidodendron maktabense	U. Visean - L. Namurian
Lepidodendron mosaicum	Visean - L. Namurian
Lepidodendron (aff.) quadrangulare	Lower Namurian
Lepidodendron (aff.) rhodeanum	Visean - L. Namurian
cf. Lepidodendron spetzbergense	U. Tournaisian - Visean
Lepidodendron veltheimi	Visean - L. Namurian
Lepidodendron aff. volkmannianum	U. Tournaisian - Namurian
Lepidodendron posthumi	Stephanian
Lepidosigillaria intermedia	Visean
Lepidosigillaria aff. whitei	Tournaisian - Visean
Lepidosigillaria sp.	Tournaisian - Visean
Sigillaria aff. boblayi	Westphalian
Sigillaria ichthyolepis	Stephanian
Sigillaria aff. cancriformis	Westphalian
Stigmaria sp.
Pteridophyta
Eremopteris (aff.) elegans	Visean
Eremopteris whitei	Visean - L. Namurian
Eremopteris sp.	Visean
Rhacopteris ovata	L. Visean - L. Namurian
Rhacopteris semicircularis	L. Visean - L. Namurian
Nothorhacopteris argentinica	U. Visean - L. Namurian
Nothorhacopteris crenulata	L. Visean - Namurian
Nothorhacopteris sp.	U. Tournaisian - Namurian
Triphyllopteris gothani	Visean
Triphyllopteris aff. rhombifolia	L. Tournaisian - Visean
Triphyllopteris sp.	L. Tournaisian - Visean
Rhodea aff. lotzenensis	L.Namurian - Westphalian
cf. Anisopteris sp.	Tournaisian - Visean
Sphenopteris aff. souichii	Stephanian
Astherotheca aff. leeukuilensis	Permian
aff. Paleoweichselia	Visean ?	?
Paleoweichselia halfa n.sp.	Visean ?
Paleoweichselia halfa n.sp.	Visean ?
Sphenophyta
Sphenophyllum thonii	Stephanian - Permian
Sphenophyllum sp.	Permian
Archaeocalamites sp.	Tournaisian - Visean
cf.. Asterocalamites sp.	Visean
Calamites sp.	Visean
Equisetites sp.	Permian
Lobatannularia (aff.) lingulata	Stephanian - Permian
Lobatannularia sp.	Permian
Pteridospermatophyta
Callipteris conferta	Permian
cf. Gangamopteris sp.	Permian
Thinnfeldia aff. decurrens	Permian
Thinnfeldia sp.	Permian
Cordaitophyta
Cordaites aff. angulostriatus	Stephanian
Cordaites aff. regularis	Stephanian
cf. Cordaites sp.	Visean
Cordaitanthus aff. duquesnensis	Permian
Dorycordaites sp.	Permian
Coniferophyta
cf. Walchia sp. (2)	Permian
Lebachia aff. hypnoides	Permian
Cycadophyta
Pterophyllum nubiense	Permian ( -L. Jurassic)
	Age	Libya	Gilf Kebir region (Egypt)			NW-Sudan	North-Sudan	Suez region	Sinai
	Age	Jabal Asba Jabal Dalma	Clayton Craters	Gilf Kebir	Djebel Uweinat	Selima Karb elToum	Wadi Halfa/Argein Jebel Toshka	Wadi Araba Wadi Dakhel	Um Bogma Wadi Mukattab Abu-Thora