Here we present the first comprehensive ichnotaxonomic analysis of a Late Triassic playa system f... more Here we present the first comprehensive ichnotaxonomic analysis of a Late Triassic playa system from the Sidi Saïd Maachou Basin, Coastal Meseta (Western Meseta, Morocco). The Late Triassic deposits consist of sediments deposited in various nonmarine environments dominated by dry red-bed facies. These deposits yielded, so far, an ichnoassemblage consisting of the invertebrate ichnogenera Cochlichnus, Cruziana, Diplichnites, Rusophycus, Palaeophycus, and Taenidium associated with the tetrapod tracks Brachychirotherium and Rhynchosauroides. These invertebrate and vertebrate trace fossils are preserved in concave epirelief and convex hyporelief on upper and lower surfaces of laminated mudstones and fine-grained sandstones. The invertebrate ichnofossils were probably made subaqueously and indicate different behaviours of the tracemakers: walking (cursichnium, Acripes), resting (cubichnium, Rusophycus) and combined locomotion-feeding or plowing (pascichnium, Cruziana). Additionally, many other fossils are collected from the same formation, including plant impressions, rhizoliths and fish scales. The invertebrate ichnoassemblage described herein is referred to the Scoyenia ichnofacies, which indicates opportunistic behaviours in temporarily or periodically inundated nonmarine environments, such as playa systems , floodplains and lake margins. The invertebrate ichnoassemblage reported here is the first well documented from the Sidi Saïd Maachou Basin and the Late Triassic of Morocco in general. The strata have a high potential to yield other ichnoassemblages, therefore further exploration is needed.
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 2016
Conchostracans are one of the most common fossil animal groups of continental deposits from late ... more Conchostracans are one of the most common fossil animal groups of continental deposits from late Palaeozoic to modern times. Their habitats have ranged from perennial lakes of the Carboniferous and Early Permian to seasonal playa lakes and temporary ponds from the late Early Permian into the Triassic, where they could form mass occurrences. This, together with relatively high speciation rates, makes them ideal guide fossils, especially in otherwise fossil-poor wet and dry red beds. Based on material and data collected since the 1980s from both surface outcrops and well cores in central Europe, a preliminary conchostracan zonation is proposed. We used a conservative approach, erecting assemblage zones comprising two or three species instead of species-range zones with only one or, sometimes, two forms. Assemblage zones are more robust and provide more reliability for each delineated time interval. Isotopically dated occurrences of conchostracan zone species, or co-occurrences of conc...
Paleozoic scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones) have been widely documented from the Carboniferous Pe... more Paleozoic scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones) have been widely documented from the Carboniferous Period; which hosts a remarkable assemblage of more than sixty species including both putative stem- and crown-group fossils. By contrast the succeeding Permian Period is almost completely devoid of records, which are currently restricted to a trace fossil from the early Permian of New Mexico, USA and some limb fragments from the late Permian of the Vologda Region, Russia. ?Opsieobuthus tungeri sp. nov. from the Petrified Forest of Chemnitz, Germany represents the first complete body fossils of scorpions from the Permian. Explosive volcanism preserved these remarkable specimens in situ as part of the palaeosol horizon and bedrock of the Petrified Forest, immediately beneath the Zeisigwald tuff horizon. This dates to the early Permian (Sakmarian) or ca. 291 Ma. Intriguingly, the specimens were obtained from a palaeosol horizon with a compacted network of different-sized woody roots and thus...
Here we present the first comprehensive ichnotaxonomic analysis of a Late Triassic playa system f... more Here we present the first comprehensive ichnotaxonomic analysis of a Late Triassic playa system from the Sidi Saïd Maachou Basin, Coastal Meseta (Western Meseta, Morocco). The Late Triassic deposits consist of sediments deposited in various nonmarine environments dominated by dry red-bed facies. These deposits yielded, so far, an ichnoassemblage consisting of the invertebrate ichnogenera Cochlichnus, Cruziana, Diplichnites, Rusophycus, Palaeophycus, and Taenidium associated with the tetrapod tracks Brachychirotherium and Rhynchosauroides. These invertebrate and vertebrate trace fossils are preserved in concave epirelief and convex hyporelief on upper and lower surfaces of laminated mudstones and fine-grained sandstones. The invertebrate ichnofossils were probably made subaqueously and indicate different behaviours of the tracemakers: walking (cursichnium, Acripes), resting (cubichnium, Rusophycus) and combined locomotion-feeding or plowing (pascichnium, Cruziana). Additionally, many other fossils are collected from the same formation, including plant impressions, rhizoliths and fish scales. The invertebrate ichnoassemblage described herein is referred to the Scoyenia ichnofacies, which indicates opportunistic behaviours in temporarily or periodically inundated nonmarine environments, such as playa systems , floodplains and lake margins. The invertebrate ichnoassemblage reported here is the first well documented from the Sidi Saïd Maachou Basin and the Late Triassic of Morocco in general. The strata have a high potential to yield other ichnoassemblages, therefore further exploration is needed.
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 2016
Conchostracans are one of the most common fossil animal groups of continental deposits from late ... more Conchostracans are one of the most common fossil animal groups of continental deposits from late Palaeozoic to modern times. Their habitats have ranged from perennial lakes of the Carboniferous and Early Permian to seasonal playa lakes and temporary ponds from the late Early Permian into the Triassic, where they could form mass occurrences. This, together with relatively high speciation rates, makes them ideal guide fossils, especially in otherwise fossil-poor wet and dry red beds. Based on material and data collected since the 1980s from both surface outcrops and well cores in central Europe, a preliminary conchostracan zonation is proposed. We used a conservative approach, erecting assemblage zones comprising two or three species instead of species-range zones with only one or, sometimes, two forms. Assemblage zones are more robust and provide more reliability for each delineated time interval. Isotopically dated occurrences of conchostracan zone species, or co-occurrences of conc...
Paleozoic scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones) have been widely documented from the Carboniferous Pe... more Paleozoic scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones) have been widely documented from the Carboniferous Period; which hosts a remarkable assemblage of more than sixty species including both putative stem- and crown-group fossils. By contrast the succeeding Permian Period is almost completely devoid of records, which are currently restricted to a trace fossil from the early Permian of New Mexico, USA and some limb fragments from the late Permian of the Vologda Region, Russia. ?Opsieobuthus tungeri sp. nov. from the Petrified Forest of Chemnitz, Germany represents the first complete body fossils of scorpions from the Permian. Explosive volcanism preserved these remarkable specimens in situ as part of the palaeosol horizon and bedrock of the Petrified Forest, immediately beneath the Zeisigwald tuff horizon. This dates to the early Permian (Sakmarian) or ca. 291 Ma. Intriguingly, the specimens were obtained from a palaeosol horizon with a compacted network of different-sized woody roots and thus...
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