Discovery of a new Lower Cretaceous Wealden-type ostracod fauna from the Bouhedma Formation, Central Tunisian Atlas, North Africa

The family Corethrellidae, called frog-biting midges, with the single genus Corethrella Coquillett, 1902, is a small group of dipterans including 107 extant species (Borkent, 2017). Females of most species are haematophagous and feed on males of frogs and toads locating them by their calls (Borkent, 2008). Extant frog-biting midges have a pantropical distribution, absent in Europe, north Africa, middle and northern Asia (Giłka & Szadziewski, 2009). The genus during its phylogenetic history dated back to Lower Cretaceous (125–129 Ma) had a broader geographical distribution, and during Eocene was present in Europe. Till now nine fossil species have been described from Lower Cretaceous Lebanese amber (1), mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (1), Eocene Baltic amber (5) and Miocene Dominican amber (2) (a complete annotated list is provided below).

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The Albian-Cenomanian (Lower Cretaceous-Upper Cretaceous) boundary in Texas and northern Mexico

Journal of Paleontology ◽

10.1017/s0022336000002973 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 60 (6) ◽

pp. 1212-1219 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Keith Young

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

North Africa ◽

Lower Cretaceous ◽

Upper Cretaceous ◽

Northern Mexico

As first designated by Böse, the Albian-Cenomanian (Lower Cretaceous-Upper Cretaceous) boundary in northern Mexico and Texas is selected at the base of the ammonite zone ofPlesioturrilites brazoensis(Römer). This boundary seems to best agree with boundaries selected for North Africa and Europe, but in North America it may not be the optimum boundary for paleontologists working with foraminiferans.

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Ostracods as proxies for marginal marine to non-marine intervals in the mid-Cretaceous carbonate platform of the Central Tunisian Atlas (North Africa): Response to major short-term sea-level falls

Cretaceous Research ◽

10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104581 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 117 ◽

pp. 104581

Author(s):

Khaled Trabelsi ◽

Benjamin Sames ◽

Ahmed Nasri ◽

Enelise Katia Piovesan ◽

Faycel Elferhi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sea Level ◽

North Africa ◽

Carbonate Platform ◽

Short Term ◽

Tunisian Atlas

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Geodynamic evolution of the Tunisian margin during the Albian–Cenomanian: structural evidence of the Austrian orogenic phase and the early tectonic inversion of the Tunisian Atlas

Journal of the Geological Society ◽

10.1144/jgs2019-195 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. jgs2019-195

Author(s):

Mohamed Ben Chelbi

Keyword(s):

Atlantic Ocean ◽

Compressive Stress ◽

Lower Cretaceous ◽

Geodynamic Evolution ◽

Stress Regime ◽

Alpine Orogeny ◽

Excellent Opportunity ◽

Test Models ◽

Tunisian Atlas ◽

Compressional Deformation

The Zebbag and Fahdene formations outcrop onshore Tunisia and provide an excellent opportunity to test models of the tectonosedimentary evolution of this region during the Albian–Cenomanian. A NW–SE compressive stress regime resulted in shortening of the Tunisian margin and this compressional tectonism defines the Austrian phase described in the surrounding margins. This event is not widely documented, but regionally extensive tectonism is suggested by NE–SW thrusting and folding, which produced an angular unconformity, active halokinetic diapirs and transpressional NW–SE pull-apart basins. The observed compressional deformation can be considered as a precursor to the Alpine Orogeny and led to the inversion of palaeoblocks inherited from Tethyan Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous rifting. A late Albian–Cenomanian onset of compressional deformation along the Tunisian margin may be intimately related to the drift of Africa with respect to Europe and to opening of the Atlantic Ocean.

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