CALCAREOUS ALGAE OF THE MIDDLE EAST 45 



diameter, with whorls showing about 20 radially elongate, subpyriform sporangia of 

 0-156 mm. by 0-090 mm. each communicating with the interior by a very short 

 primary branch, which also divides into four secondaries. 



Horizon. Palaeocene-Lower Eocene of Iraqi Kurdistan. 



Material. Fragmentary thin-section material from the Kolosh Formation 

 (Lower Eocene) of Surdash, and from the Sinjar Formation (Palaeocene-Lower 

 Eocene) of Pila Spi, both Sulemania Liwa ; from probable Sinjar Formation, 

 Sedelan, near Sulemania ; all localities in Iraqi Kurdistan. 



Remarks. This species is smaller than Cymopolia (Karreria) zitteli L. & J. 

 Morellet from the Paris Basin Middle Eocene, shows fewer sporangia (20 against 24), 

 and is proportionally thicker walled. By reason of the fragmentary nature of the 

 material, the innermost layer of the wall, dividing the central stemcell from the 

 cavities of the expanded primary branches, is usually missing. Although from the 

 available evidence this is very probably a new species, it cannot be described as such 

 from this material. 



Genus DACTYLOPORA Lamarck 1816 



1940 Dactylopora analolica Pfender : 237. 



1966b Dactylopora anatolica Pfender ; Massieux : 118, pi. 3, figs. 1-3. 



This large and handsome dasyclad, well-known from the Paris Basin Eocene, has 

 not been met with in the collections studied by me, and the only Middle East record 

 appears to be that of Pfender, quoted above, for the top Cretaceous (or possibly 

 Palaeocene) of Turkey (Lutetian according to Massieux, but see p. 42 above). 



Genus DIPLOPORA Schafhautl 1863 



i960 Diplopora spp. Elliott : 219, 221. 



The richTriassic diplopore-limestones of central Europe and the Balkans are largely 

 missing from the Middle East, at any rate from the areas studied by me. Although 

 a thick development of marine Trias occurs in both Iraqi Kurdistan and Oman, 

 original facies and subsequent dolomitization have combined to make these rocks 

 almost completely barren of dasyclads. 



The Upper Triassic Elphinstone group in Peninsular Oman yielded two alleged 

 dasyclads during thin-section studies by M. Chatton, one of which was recorded 

 (Elliott i960) as Diplopora cf. phanerospora Pia. A re-examination of these speci- 

 mens shows that they may not be dasyclads, and appear indeterminable. The 

 evidence for R. G. S. Hudson's records of Diplopora as " not uncommon " and 

 " occurs throughout " in different beds of the Asfal Formation of the Elphinstone 

 Group (Hudson i960 : 304) is not known to me, as Hudson did not make these 

 extensive collections available for the study of the algae. 



Diplopora sp. was also recorded (Elliott i960) from the north Iraqi Permian. 

 Although species of the genus have been described from the Permian of Japan, 

 Turkey (Giivenc 1965) and elsewhere, the Iraqi specimens appear on re-examination 

 not to be diplopores. 



