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Middle Miocene trace fossils from the Tenes area (NW Algeria) and their palaeoenvironmental implications

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Abstract

The Miocene succession (Allala River Sandstones and Tenes Blue Marls Formation) that crops out in the Tenes area, situated in the northeast of the Lower Chelif Basin in NW-Algeria, contains a low-diversity assemblage of trace fossils. Fifteen (15) ichnogenera were identified: Arenicolites, Beaconites, Cylindrichnus, Diplocraterion, Macaronichnus, Ophiomorpha, Palaeophycus, Parahaentzschelinia, Planolites, Rosselia, Skolithos, Taenidium, Teichichnus, Thalassinoides and Zoophycos. Ethologically, these ichnogenera chiefly display dwelling and feeding activities. The presence of thick, deep-tier, scattered, mainly vertical dwelling burrows attributed to the Skolithos ichnofacies indicates high energy conditions, normal oxygenation and soft substrate. Moreover, elements of the Cruziana ichnofacies show more varied behavioural strategies and higher inchnodiversity with the dominance of horizontal burrows of deposit-feeders. This ichnological study supports the palaeoenvironmental interpretation based on sedimentological analysis of a wave-dominated siliciclastic platform (backshore to offshore), allowing a more precise zonation of the shoreface zone (middle/upper and lower shoreface). In addition, this study allows evaluation of variable degrees of storm influence in response to the contrasting palaeogeomorphology of the coastline.

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Acknowledgements

Our grateful thanks go to the Direction Générale de la Recherche Scientifique et du Développement Technologique (DGRSDT) for funding this work. The authors wish to thank our colleagues for their help during the field work. We are also grateful to Sören Jensen (University of Extremadura, Spain) and an anonymous reviewer for their very constructive comments that helped us to improve the manuscript. We are also grateful to the Editor-in-Chief Dieter Uhl for his constructive remarks. Alan Lord (Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt) is very much acknowledged for improving the English.

Funding

Salim Belkhedim acknowledges financial support from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD, funding n° 57588362).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Geodynamics of Sedimentary Basins and Orogens, University of Science and Technology Houari Boumediene, BP 32 Bab Ezzouar, Algiers, 16111, Algeria

    Abdelkrim Nemra & Jugurtha Tellal

  2. Equinor ASA, Stavanger, 4035, Norway

    Dirk Knaust

  3. Laboratoire de Géodynamique des Bassins et Bilan Sédimentaire, Université d’Oran 2, Bir El Djir, BP. 1524, Oran, 31000, Algeria

    Mohamed Bendella & Salim Belkhedim

  4. Laboratoire de Paléontologie Stratigraphique et Paléoenvironnements, Université Mohamed Ben Ahmed, Oran 2, El-M’naouer, BP 1524, Oran, 31000, Algeria

    Abdelkader Ouali Mehadji

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Nemra, A., Tellal, J., Knaust, D. et al. Middle Miocene trace fossils from the Tenes area (NW Algeria) and their palaeoenvironmental implications. Palaeobio Palaeoenv (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-023-00594-y

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