Occurrence of an in situ fern grove in the Aptian Douiret Formation, Tataouine area, South-Tunisia

• Published in: Geobios Vol. 44; no. 5; pp. 473 - 479
• Main Authors: Ouaja, Mohamed, Barale, Georges, Philippe, Marc, Ferry, Serge
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Paris Elsevier SAS 01.10.2011; Elsevier
• Subjects: Aptian; Aptien; Douiret Formation; Earth Sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; Ferns; Formation Douiret; Fougères; In situ stumps; Paleobotany; Paleontology; Sciences of the Universe; Souches in situ; Stratigraphy; Tunisia; Tunisie; Tunisia; North Africa; Africa; Fougères; Tunisie; Ferns; Formation Douiret; Aptien; Aptian; Souches in situ; Douiret Formation; Tunisia; In situ stumps; Mesozoic; gymnosperms; Plantae; pteridophytes; Cretaceous; forests; in situ; preservation; conifers; ferns; Lower Cretaceous; Coniferales; Spermatophyta; Phanerozoic; biostratigraphy
• ISSN: 0016-6995
• DOI: 10.1016/j.geobios.2011.01.005

A level with fern stumps was discovered in the Aptian Douiret Formation, South-Tunisia. These stumps are preserved as external moulds or casts, without any preservation of anatomical structures. These stumps are considered to be affiliated with the numerous fossil plants assigned to the fern genera Alstaettia and Piazopteris that are widely distributed in coeval strata from the same region, either as leaf imprints or as permineralized remains. The record of in situ fossil forests for the Southern Hemisphere reveals that their systematic components are different, i.e. mainly corystosperms and/or conifers, and rarely under tidal influence. The way this fern grove settled in a margino-littoral environment is discussed. Première découverte d’un niveau à souches de fougères dans l’Aptien de la formation Douiret, sud de la Tunisie. Il s’agit de nombreuses souches en moulage externe ou interne sans structure conservée. Le matériel est comparé aux végétaux fossiles conservés en structure et empreintes connues dans la région et attribué aux fougères des genres Alstaettia et Piazopteris. Un aperçu des forêts fossiles in situ connues de l’hémisphère sud révèle que leurs compositions systématiques sont différentes, c’est-à-dire corystospermes et/ou conifères, et rarement sous influence tidale. Des explications sont données sur l’installation de cette forêt dans un environnement margino-littoral.