Journal
CRETACEOUS RESEARCH
Volume 150, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS LTD- ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105581
Keywords
Benthic associations; Bivalves; Paleoenvironmental reconstruction; Upper Cretaceous; North Africa
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
In the Batna area of Algeria, the Cenomanian is represented by the Smail Marls Formation, which contains a diverse benthic macrofauna. The mac-rofaunal communities were analyzed using several statistical methods and five distinct associations were recognized. The dominance of high-energy opportunistic oyster species within the soft marly sediments is related to their adaptive strategies, and changes in community structure are influenced by sea-level fluctuations and sedimentation rates.
In the Batna area of Algeria, the Cenomanian is represented by the Smail Marls Formation, a highly fossiliferous unit with a diverse benthic macrofauna (mainly of ostreid bivalves). A total of 1090 speci-mens belonging to 65 macrobenthic species were identified from 19 stratigraphic samples. The mac-rofaunal communities were quantitively analyzed using the hierarchical clustering (HC), nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), and permutational analysis of variance (PERMANOVA). Five distinct associations are recognized: 1) Costagyra olisiponensis, 2) Rhynchostreon suborbiculatum, 3) Aspidiscus cristatus, 4) Rhynchostreon suborbiculatum-Mecaster ameliae, and 5) Pycnodonte vesicularis. Data suggests that during the Cenomanian, the dominance of high-energy opportunistic oyster species within the soft marly sediments are related to their adaptive strategies. The changes noted in the community structure are attributed to sea-level fluctuations, rate of sedimentation and the prevailing hydrodynamics. Towards the uppermost Cenomanian and the CenomanianeTuronian boundary, the oysters become rare due to eustatic sea-level rise and this decline coincides with increasing predation intensity on oysters and the destruction of their shallower habitats.& COPY; 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available