Discovery of the messaoudensis–trifidum acritarch assemblage (upper Tremadocian–lower Floian, Lower Ordovician) in the subsurface of Morocco

Abstract

The upper Tremadocian to lower Floian messaoudensis–trifidum acritarch assemblage was first described from the Skiddaw Group of England and subsequently from several localities on the Gondwanan margin that were positioned in high southern latitudes during the Early Ordovician. It is here reported for the first time from North Africa, from the Fezouata formations (Tremadocian to Floian) in the AZ-1 borehole, southeastern Morocco. The assemblage is comparable with that from the Skiddaw Group, with Cymatiogalea deunffii, C. messaoudensis, C. velifera, Caldariola glabra glabra, Stelliferidium trifidum and Veryhachium lairdii s.l. The Moroccan assemblage indicates a late Tremadocian age.

Keywords

• acritarchs
• Lower Ordovician
• Morocco
• Anti-Atlas
• biostratigraphy.