88 CALCAREOUS ALGAE OF THE MIDDLE EAST 



of the Lower Cretaceous. The most important florules are the Trinocladus tripoli- 

 tanas assemblage of about Turonian age, common to North Africa, Iraq, Trucial 

 Oman and perhaps elsewhere, and the Maestrichtian assemblage of which Cymopolia 

 tibetica also occurs in the Himalayas. 



Palaeocene-Lower Eocene 



The rich dasyclad flora of Kurdistan and elsewhere occurs throughout the Pala- 

 eocene and Lower Eocene. In Kurdistan it has been possible to date the two stages 

 foraminiferally in certain sections e.g. at Kashti, also at Sinjar and Koi Sanjak (Van 

 Bellen 1959) and unpublished reports. The algae show no consistent stratigraphical 

 differentiation throughout, though there is a sharp change from the Cretaceous below 

 and to the Middle Eocene above. This flora contains elements known from the 

 Indian " Danian " of the Trichinopoly coast (recently correlated on foraminiferal and 

 other evidence with the Lower Palaeocene elsewhere : Sastry & Rao 1964, Rajago- 

 palan 1965) and from the European Montian, and it appears that algally at any rate 

 the Palaeocene commences with the immediate post-Maestrichtian, which is also the 

 opinion of some workers on foraminifera (e.g. Berggren 1964). In this connection it 

 should however be noted that the Tethyan Danian-equivalent (if and when present) 

 may not easily be recognizable by comparison with the northern European type- 

 development. 



v. the geographical distribution of tethyan algae 



The most casual student of Tethyan fossils is struck by the very wide east-west 

 distribution of Tethyan fades and fossils, which occur in disconnected outcrops over 

 enormous distances : there is often more difference between the south of England 

 and the south of France at the same level than correspondingly between Spain and 

 the Middle East, India or even Borneo. The algae are no exception to this : in the 

 Permian Mizzia velebitana and the non-dasyclad Gymnocodium bellerophontis have a 

 world-wide latitudinal distribution, and in the Cretaceous Neomeris cretacea occurs 

 in both Mexico and the Middle East. The Liassic Palaeodasycladus ranges from 

 Algeria to Iran, and the Upper Jurassic algal suite from France and Switzerland to 

 the Persian Gulf, while Terquemella is found in the Palaeocene-Eocene of Central 

 America, Europe, the Middle East and India. It is true that there are curious 

 absences and near-absences from the collections studied, e.g. the Jugoslav Permian 

 Velebitella (also known from Turkey, Giivenc 1965) and the Italian Cretaceous 

 Triploporella spp., both of which one would expect to find conspicuously at the 

 appropriate levels, but future collecting may well remedy this. 



With this wide marginal-Tethyan distribution of the same or closely-related 

 species it is difficult at most levels to detect evidence of directional migration. The 

 Palaeocene-Lower Eocene of the Middle East, however, shows an apparent mingling 

 of eastern and western elements. Indopolia and Dissocladella from the east are 

 there, associated with Cymopolia from the west. These eastern and western forms 

 quoted are otherwise mutually exclusive at this level to India-Pakistan and Europe, 



