FOSSIL ALGAE FROM SAUDI ARABIA REVISITED

Abstract

New sampling of surface sections, east of Unayzah, Qassim District and in the vicinity of Riyadh has revealed new information on the occurrence of fossil algae in the Late Permian, Middle to Late Jurassic and Late Cretaceous of central Saudi Arabia. This includes the finding of the blue-green alga, Girvanella sp., the red algae Solenopora sp. and Archaeolithothamnium sp. and the dasycladacean algae Griphoporella sp., Heteroporella cf. H. lusitanica (Ramalho), Heteroporella morillonensis (Bernier), Mizza cf. M. velebitana (Schubert) and Trinocladus cf. T. perplexus (Elliott). The biostratigraphy and the environment of deposition of the algae and the algal bearing rocks are discussed.

Keywords

• Cyanophycea
• Dasycladacea
• Permian
• Jurassic
• Cretaceous
• Taxonomy
• Saudi Arabia