M itt, Abt. Geol. Pal äon r. Bergb. Lan desmu s. j o anneu m
H eft 35
Gra z 1975
Pfenderina (Foraminifera) from the Jurassie Sediments
ofEthiopia
A ziz T .
Hau ston
\X'itb 4 plates
j\ [ ANS OU R,
Abstract
The genus Pfel1r1erinaH ENso N, 1948 represents an imp orr anr srratigra p h ic mark er in th e Jurassie
scd imen rs of E rh io p ia. A cf. form of a known species (Pfen derina salernitana S ARTO~ I and C RE SC E~Tl, 1962) is recorded and illustrated frorn Barhonian and yo ung e r stra ta. The raxono rnic
background of the genera Pfenderina and Psendopfenderina HOTTI ~GER, 1967 is di scu ssed in t he
l igh t of the Erhiopian material to check the va lid ity of the latter genus.
ETHIOPIA
INTERNATION AL
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11
Introduction
This study is a part of an all-o ut stud y of the Jurassie forarninifera in the surface
an d subsurface sedirnen ts of Et hiopia . I t was carried o ut between the years 1971
an d 1973 wi rhi n t he general ex ploration program of Tenneco O il Co. in Ethiopia .
Later in 1972, Texneo I nc. and Standard O il Co. of California joined Tenneco as
partners in its efforts to exp lore for oil and gas in this country.
The material of this study derives from four deep wells and three su rface sectio ns
(see text-figure I). A ll of the th in sections used here a re stored in the research
lab o raro ry of Tenneco Oi l Co . in Ho uston.
The gen us Pfeuderhta occ urs in E thio pia to gether wit h several other m ern bers
of the so-ca lied " M iddle Eas tern J ur assie fau na" such as PselldoC)'clollllllilloj occorrti ,
EvertiC)'clolJlIlJillo virgllliollo, Kllrll//uio polostillelisis, Tr ocbolina polostilleJlsis, Rhop)'dioliillo deserta-amij), Orbitopsella pra eatrsor . . . etc. Ir was, however, chosen to be
studie d separately because of its stratigraphie importance and the sorncwhat
intermingl ing of its different species as shown in the literat ure. So, to attain a
clear picture of its taxo no m ic background, a chronologie review of the literature
is p resent ed bel o w.
We feel deepl y indebteel to th e managem ents of Ten neco O il Co ., Texneo Inc.
arid Standard Oil Co. of California for permissio n to publish thi s pa per. Particu lar
t hanks are du e T en neco Oi l Co . for allowi ng us to use th ei r research facilities and
wo rk on thi s paper on co mpany's time. \\! e also wo u ld like to express our per sonal t hanks to D r. J an E . VAl': HIKTE (E f' Rvll o usto n) for reviewing the manuscri p t. Than ks are also du e M rs. M , M . RAJN\\' ATER for ed iting and typing the
text and to m y w ife for her hel p in t ran slating ma ny French re fe rences. T hanks
are also due NIr. F. R. A LLco RN (Tenneco's Senior Techn ician) for his va luab le
technical help .
Pfenderina and related forms as seen and dealt w ith by
different authors
Pfeuderina was erected by H EJ':SOJ': in 1948 based on Eornpertia neocon/iensis describeel
by PFENDER in 1938 fro m th e Valang in ian of Pro ven ce (France) an d on his own
m at eri al from th c Middle Eas t, P FENDER (1938) stated in her Fre nch descripti o n
t hat a characte ristic feature of thi s form is th e reticulat e "wall", a nd altho ugh she
used th e word " mu raille" for wa ll, we beli eve that she wa s referri ng to the axis
(o r th e cen tral co lum n) rathe r t ha n to th e wall as bein g rcticulat e or "gui lloche" .
T his is simp ly beca us e she refe rred to fig. 7, p I. XVI in her paper wh ich shows
a dear ret iculate axis arid not wall. Hex sox ( 1948a) made the sarne observa rio n
arid he cond ude el that : p. 610 " PFEJ':DER evidently rnisinterprets the orientation
of her sectio n shown in p I. XVI, fig. 7 .. . " .
His e1iagnosis of th e genus is largel y th e sarne as th at of Pfend er fo r her Eortrpertia
neocomiensis. H e elescribed th e axial co re o r t he ccntral co lu rnn as : p. 609 " . . . d ue
to thickening of she ll mat erial w hich occasionally shows an ir regular, rcticulate
tex ture in sect ions ; . . . " .
S~ [O UT an d S UGDEN (1962 ) erecte d the farnily PjeJlderillidoe to include the genera
Pfeuderina H ens on , 1948, Knrnubia H enso n, 1948 and Meyendorffina AROUZE and
BIZOJ':, 1958. T his farnily was later red uced in rank to a su bfamily by LOEIlLICH
an d T APPAl': (196 4). S~ IOUT an d SUGDEN saw PFEl':DER' S ( 1938) original "aspect
guilloche" of the chamber walls as caused by either a secondary g ro wth of
rhombic crystals or by : P: 582 " ... th e perforations of th e ap errural part of the
septa an d by the labyrint hic passa ges in the endoskeleton of the central part of the
chambcr . . . " They gave this very clear and detailed description of the inner
structural element s of the tests of Pfenderiua : p. 584 "Typically the cha rnbers a re
low and rather oval, each occupying a considerable part of th e basc and overla pp ing the axis of coiling . An outer, crescentic part of the chamber is empty a nd
the part of the septum covering this is imperforatc, The large remaining inner
pa rt of the chamber is occupicd by endoskeleton in which thcre are labyrinthine
passages and the corresponding part of the septum is perforared by the pores of
thc cri brate apertu res ." They then wcnt on to state that : p. 584 " . .. the ag gregation of thc infille d parts of th c chambers form an ax ial co lumclla." On the sarne
page (p. 584 ) they wrote that : " ln the earlier charnbers of the test the labyrinthine
passagcs were infi lled d u ring the life of th e organism and thc co lumella .. . is
so lid in th is part . A seconda ry intercameral fo ramen is present in each septum
in th e form of a circular ape rture. These fo ram ina lie in what amount to a spiral
groove in th e mar gin of t he columella." They also cite, wi th clarity and simp licity,
several gene ric differences bet ween Pfeuderina und K" rJI"bia w he re, as H EN SO N
( 194 8) o rig inally su ggested, th e absence of subepi dermal partitions in P tenderina
is thc maj or di flerence bctwc en both gene ra.
BR UN in a pap er publish ed in 1962 on a Middie Liassie new specics ( Pfeuderina
IJl/ller/illi) fro m M orocco ap pa ren tly accepted P F E N D E R'S desc riptio n of th e wa ll as
bein g "guilloc he" o r re ticulate and wen t on to estab lish that Pfetuterina does
possess su be pide rmal partitio ns contrary to H EN SO", ' S o rigina l diagnosis of the
ge nus. T hese su bep iderma l partitions are partic ula rly visi ble in the tangential
sectio ns, Th ey are pe rpendic ular to the principal partitions and never reach the
cen ter of the test . This, according to B R UN , makes the difference between PfeJIderina an d "Va/vu/illei/a" or Knmubia difficult to establish because HE N SO N ( 1948 a)
cited the absence of subepidermal pa rtitions in Pfe nnerina as the only diflerence
be tween bot h genera . B R UN maintained the "Va/vlf/ille//a" described by 1-1EN s o ",
(19 48 a) still as an in dependent genus from Knmnbia but he admitted their sirnila rity. For simplicity, we rega rd here his remarks on "Valtlfl/illei/a" as pertaining
to Knrnnbia, because the va lidity of KlfrJIlfbia to ind ude HEN SO ",'S "V. j "rassica"
a nd "V. JIIe//illgsi" is o ut of t he q ues tion. According to BR UI" S examination of
man y seet ions of KIII"IllIbia it appears to hirn that in this form the subepidermal
partiti ons perpendic ular to the epi dermis da no t reach the septa. T hey form
rather "subepiderma l alveolar cana ls" sirnilar to those observed in Pseudocyclammina. Ac co rding to B R UN also, there exists sorne am big uity in HENSO N 'S description of Knrnnbia becau se H E N SON writes th at in Knrnubia " t here is a well-rnarked
sub-ep ide rma l cellular Iayer" . BRUN then sta ted that we cannot ta lk about true
sube pide rmal partition s in Knmuoia, but rat her about su bepidermal alveolar
cana ls. In Pfenderiua, o n th e co nt rary, although th e seco nda ry partitions do not
reac h th e ce nte r, they are p crpendicular to th e epidermis a ri d thc septa. He then
points o ut th at th e m icro paleo ntological vocabulary sho uld d iflerentiare betweeri
"s ubepiderrnal partitions" an d "s ube piderrnal alveolar canals", This difference,
according to him, is esscntially th e following: subepidermal partitions perpe ndic ular to t he ep ide rmis an d to t he septa as in Pfeuderina, versus subepidermal
alveolar canals as in Knrtmbia. Apparently u naware at the time of his paper, of
8
*
S ~[ O UT and SUGDEN'S paper, BRUN th en emen de d th e gen us P/ eJlderilia on t he hasis
ofhis ne w speeies Pfenderina buffer/illi. His emendation largel y st re sses t he presen ee
of seeondary subepidermal partitions w hich are perpendicul a r to th e principal
partitions,
SARTONI and CRESCENTI ( 196 2) identified a ne w species, Pf enderiua salernitana,
from Bathonian and Callovian strata of the Southern Appennines w hich is
dosely related to Pfeuaerina neocooriensis (PFENDER 1938) . This ne w species eo mes
dosest to our Ethiopian material both stratigraphieally and paleontologieally.
However, some differenees in the internal strueture of both materials rest rained
us from identifying our material as Pfeuderina salernitana sensu strictu. These
d iffcrences and our view s of P. saternitaua wi ll be diseussed elsew he re in th is
paper.
RED~[OND ( 1964) in his paper on the Pfeuderinidae of the Jurassie of Saudi A rabia
stated that: p . 25 I " the endoskeletal material mentioned by S~IO U T and S UGDEN
does no t lie within the charnber cavity itse lf but, instead, outside of it, formin g
a lab yrinthine filling betwecn a porous aperrural plate and the anterio r wall of th e
correspond ing charnber". More important, R E D ~ I O N D (1964) subdivides th e
P feuderhtidae on the basis of the presenee or absenee of the seeondary infilling
of th e lab yrinthin e passages in the een tral part of the test, into two subfamilies,
Pfe uderininae with seeondary infi lling d u ring the life of t he individual, and Kuruubimae without. R ED ~ ION D t hen emended the genus Pf ellderil1a on the basis of
his above sta ted o bservation that the en doskeletal material lies outside the charnber eav ity . H e further notes that BRUN'S ( 1962) Pfeuderina IJllffer/illi : P: 255 "is
neither a Pf etlderilla nor a mem ber of the Pfcnderiua nor a member of the Pfeuderininae, an d thu s eannot serve as a va lid basis for emendation of Pfenderiuo", He
eites the fo llowing d ifler ences to support his point of view: Pfenderina lnatertin!
BRUN ( 1962) : p . 255 "lacks the aperrural apparatus of the Pfe nderinida e"; "shows
no evi denee of seeo nda ry infi lli ng du ring the life of the individua l", the "walls of
the eharnbers do not show t he characteristic outward taper of the Pfenderiuinae"
and finally " there is no semblanee of asolid eentra l eore or subcarneral tunnel" .
REDMOND t hcn dese rib es t wo new speeies of P fenderh)» (graci/is and illßafa) of
whie h he publishes ph o to g rap hs of iso lated speeimens but no thin sections . The
ou tside appearanee of this new material, its stratigraphie range and its geo g raphical loeatio n (just across the Red Sea) make it hig hly probable that this Saudi
Arabian material an d our Ethiopian material are identieal. The lae k of thin-seetion
photographs of this material does not permit the justifieation of this probability at
this time. REDMOND also records two other better kn own sp ecies (lieocolJlielisis and
frochoidea) and ereets three new genera: Pfeuderelta, Salldere//a and SfeilielJe//a belo ngi ng to the same new su bfamily Pfenderiuinae.
Fina lly, base d on the remarks ma de by REmlo ND (1964) about Pfeuderina buffer/illi
BRUN, 1962, HOTTINGER ( 1967) ereeted the new genus Pseudopfenderina and chose
BRUN'S P. lmfferlilli as his genotype. HOTTINGER had man y random seetions of
identieal material from the Middle Liassie of Moroeeo. He suggested that hi s and
BRUN'S Liassie forms represent the o lder member of th e family of Pfenderiuas
which diflers from t he genera Pfenderhta and Pfenderella in the absence of a "s ubeameral tunnel" as defined by RED~IO ND. HOTTINGER furthe r gi ves an asto nishin gly detailed description of the internal strueture of Ps eudctf enderina based on his
116 ( 180)
ra ndo rn secti ons. H e di sagrees w ith BRUK o n the subject of th e subep ide rmal
partitions for he stated in his valua ble work on the Moroccan M esozic foraminifera
that: p. 87 (t ranslated from the French) "The chamber has simple external pa rtitions. Ir does not possess supplementary exoskeletal structural elements like
those Knrnub!« arid Praeeprnubia hav e". His description of th e en dos keleta l
columellar apparatus resembles in general, the description o f S~IO UT and S UGDEK'S ( 1962) new family Pfenderinidae. HOTTIKGER'S description seemingl y differs
from S~IOUT and SUGDEK'S in the absence of a "secondary intcrcameral foramen"
sensu S~IO UT and S UGDEK ( 1962) or "subcarneral tunnel" sensu R ED~IOKD ( 1964) .
HOTTIKGER ( 1967) also mentioned the presence of a new species Psendopfenderina
(n. sp. ) in his Moroccan material. i\ccordin g to hirn , it is always accornpanied b y
P. blltler/illi bu t a sma ller form than the t ru e P. bntterrin}, For lack of enough
ma teria l, he di d no t give a detai led description of this new species. Ir is worth
mentio ni ng here that a very sirnilar sma ll-size form was recognized in our Ethiopian material. I n the beginning stages of o ur research, it was mainly differentiated
from the more ab undant, larger and bett er develo ped Pfenderina by its smaller
size, and was designat ed by t he u nofficial na me " dwarf Pfenderina" (group no . 3
in t he foll o wing pages). Ir w ill be di scu ssed in mo re detail elsewhere in this paper.
T he E t hiopian material lack s a ny isolated spec ime ns, and alt ho ugh t his material
is very ab u ndant, th e fact th at th ere are no isolat ed specimens for oriented t hin
sec tio ns, limited very mu ch o ur ab ility to study a nd reco rd t heir internal structure, an d accordingly to examine t he many sma ll det ails described by the many
authors an d to check th eir va lidity, Therefore, it is worth mentioning here that
o u r ide ntifica tion of th e Ethiopian material is based so lely, like most paleontologi cal works, on cornparison of pub lishcd descri ptio ns and photographs . Wie
have not seen or cornpared our material with act ual specimens described in the
lit erat urc.
T he basic differences between Pfenderiua arid Pseudopfenderisa (= Pfenderina
{J/(tter/i/li) originated by REDMOND (1964 ) and later adopted by HOTTIKGER ( 1967)
a re no t clear at all. From the literature, it is evident that the description of the
en doskeleta l co lumellar elements by S~IO UT and S UGDEN ( 1962) of the fami ly
Pfenderinidae which indudes Pfenderina but not Psendopfeuderina, as R ED~IOND
( 1964) in directly indicated , and the description of the sarne elements by HOTTINGER (1967 ) of t he genus Pseudopfenderma a re largely the sarne, exduding the
diflere nce of a "solid" col ume lla for Pfeuderina vers us a "spongy" co lumella for
Pseudopf enderina w hich seems to be one of the main difierences between both
genera. In this connection it is important to state that although our Ethiopian
mat erial d oes not allow us to confirm or deny de fin itel y t hat the colurnella was
already "solid" durin g the life of th e ind ividual as in Pfeuderina or "spongy" as
in Psendopfenderiua (that ni ean s if the labyrinthine passages within the co lumellar
regi on wer e or we re no t infill ed w ith seco ndary deposi tion during the life of the
individ ual), we st ro ng ly te nd to believe th at it was so lid. Ilowever, we regard
t his who le a rg ume nt of a "solid" ve rsus a "s pongy" co lurne lla to characterise both
genera as an invalid argument because, for example, the original Pfenderina neocomiensis (PFENDER), 1938 shows a d ear reticulate, in other words "spongy"
co lumella, and P(ellderillCl salernitana SARTONI and CRESCENTI, 1962 has also the
same feature (alt ho ugh to a lesse r extent), It is also evident from the published
photographs of bo th genera by the different authors thar both share the presence
of a "spiral groove" or "subcameral tunnel" which puts the validity of the genus
Psendopfeuderina in doubt for the absence of th is feature is the ma in factor behind
the erection of th is new ge nus. These facts and the fact that HOTTIl'GER'S description (1967) of Psendopfe nderina resembles very much that of S~IOUT and SUGDEN'S
( 196 2) of Pfenderiua lea d us to be lieve that we da not actually have Pseudopfenderina
and Pfenderiua as sepa rate genera, but in fact we are dealing wi th one and the
same genus, in which case of course, it will be Pfenderiua , Also the fact tha t our
material ide ntifies, in lesser or larger degree, with so m e individual specimens
w hich are published as different spec ies (e.g. Pfeuderina lmtterlm} in BRUl', 1962,
pl, 2, fig . 3 - Pfe nderiua neocomiensrs in S ~IO UT and S UGDE:-J, 196 2, pl. 75, no . 1
middle sp ecim en - Pfe nderiua salernitana in SARTOl'l and CRESCE:-JTI, 1962, part
of pl, 16 - Pfeuderina sp . in D ERI N and REIss, 1966, no. 70 - Psendopfenderina
buttertin! in H OTTINGER, 1967, pl, 19) lends much support to our suggestion that
we are dealing with one and th e sarne ge nus with differ ent stra tigraphie range
according to the geog rap hie locality. We have in Ethiopia some qu esti on able
Bajocian occur rences, which if enoug h mate rial is found, could throw so me light
on this problern and answer the question if Pfeuderina has ori ginat ed in Middle
Liassie times and has managed to survive and evolve up till the Bath onian and
probably higher to the Neoeomian (see stratigraphie ran ge o f th e E thio pian
material).
Introduction to the systematics
In th e beginning stages of our explo ratio n, and for the benefit of our day to day
work requirements, we subdiv ided th e E thio pian fauna into fou r d iffer ent
g ro ups.
These four g ro ups were :
1. The lar ge ab undant forms with 4-6 chamb ers in th e eq uato rial sectio n sim ilar
to those illustrated by BRUN, 196 2, pl, 2, no. 3 (as Pfeuderina blllterlilli); SARTONI
and CRESCENTI, 1962, part of pl . 16 (as Pfenderina sfl/emifflllo); D ERIN and REIss,
1966 , no. 70 (as Pfenderina sp .) ; HOTTINGER, 1967, pl . 19, mos t of th e axial and
tan gential sections! (as Pseudopfenderina IJIIlter/illi); and BRUl', 1969, pl, 2, no . 14
and 15 (as "Pfenderiua" blllter/illi) .
2. The lar ge much fewer forms (than g r. no . I) with 7-8 eh amb ers in the
equatorial section similar to those illustrated b y PFENDER, 1938, pl, 16, n o , 3,
4 and 5 (as Eo rupertia lIeocollliensis) ; D UFAcRE, 1958, pl . 2, no . 5 (as Pfeuderina
neocomiensisv; HOTTI NGER. 1967, pl, 19, mo st of the equat o rial sec tions (as Pseudopfenderin a IJllflerlilli) .
Although the number of chambers pe r whorl is considered to have th e least
ta xonomie value, we made this subdivision because more than 80 % of our fau na
lies within the first group whieh has an average of five chamber s per w hor! and
the appearance of a very few forms with an averag e of more th an seven ch ambers
per whor! indicat ed at that time, an indepe ndent g ro up.
1 The citation of sim ilari ty of cerrain seetio ns of H OTTI :-:G ER ' S phorographs w ich both o ur groups 1
and 2 is an "c\'idence" th ar we are dealin g, basically, wi ch o ne arid the sarnc spccics in hoch
groups .
Howev er , a major difFerenee bet ween gro up no . 2 an d Pfe nderina neocomieusis sensu
strietu is the eentral eo lumn whieh in our material is mueh smaller in di arneter and
less elearly reticularc than the true P. neocomiensis, as is also th e ease in gro up no. 1
and its simi lar above-rnentio ned published forms.
3. The " dwa rf fauna" which oeeu rs abu nda ntly fo r exa rn ple, in Marda Pass surface seet ion (Lat . 9 ° 25' N., Long. 42 ° 45' E. ). These are tiny spccime ns w hich
usually have th ree to fo ur and rarely five charnbers in the eq uatorial seetion and
in many eases are eoa ted with oo lites (see pI. 2, fig. 9, 10 and pI. 3, fig. 4, 5, 7, 8,
11, 12, 13 and 14). The fact that these "dwarf forms " oeeur alwa ys in assoeiation
with, 01' im mediately overlying 01' unclerlying the lar ge typieal forms of g ro u p
no. 1 led us to the assumption that they are either phyllogenetieally elosely
rela ted to 0 1' aet ua lly are a true but yo unger generation of Pfeuderina. In a particular
case, in Buri sur faee seetio n (lat. 8 ° 45' N ., long. 42 ° 50' E.) they were found
homogeno usly spar eemented with pe llets of the same tiny size (see pl , 3, fig . 13,
I4 and pl, 4, fig. I). This might in dieate that, in some eases , the undcrwarer cu rren ts separated the two generations (the adults and the youngsters) aee ording to
t heir size an d lat er deposited them in different places,
l\[ ACOIN, SCHIWEDER and V ILA (1970) deserib ed and illu strated several forms of
Call1palle//II/a capnensis fro m th e Barr em ian of Aigeria. T his form, in so me photog rap hs of th e eq uatorial seetion (espeeially pl, 2, no. 12) resernbles, to some
extent, our " dwa rf fauna" b ut diflers from it in the fo llowing eharaeteristies:
a) the in itia l spire of C. capueusis is typieally troehospiral, whereas in our ease ,
thi s eh araeterist ie feat ure is no t reeognized (see pI. 2, fig. 9).
b) th e adult test of C. capnensis is multi or triserial, wh ereas ours is exclusively
biserial.
e) th e eentral eo lu mn in C. capuensis (if there is any true one) is less developed and
defined than in our case,
4. T he tiny misleading forms, whieh were first thought to belong to gro up
no. 3 beeau se of th eir tin y size and th eir oee ure nee with them. But a eloser lo o k
(with a lar ge r ma gnifieation) showe d that th ey were u nrelat ed to Pfeuderlna, and
we re aetually dwarf specimens of V emmi/illoides (see pI. 4, no . 5,6, 7,8,9 and 12),
an d aeeordi ng ly they were exclu ded fro m o ur st udy ,
The reason w hy we identified our fauna in this paper as a cf. form of Pfenderiua
salernitaua SARTONI and CRESCENTI, 1962 is beeau se we eonsider it to be identieal
with only apart of SART ONI and CRESCENTI'S origi nal population of that spezies
(see pl , I, fig. 3). T he rest o f SAItTONI and CItESCENTI'S material ineluding
ho lotype is different from ours and is more elosely related to Pfeuderina neocomiensis (PFENDER, 1938). It d iffers basiea lly from our material in the larger size
of th e test , in the larger eentral eol u m n and in having more charnbers per whorl.
D ERI N and REISS (1966) publi shed so me material from Israel wh ich shows these
diflerenc es. In their photograph no . 70, th ey have a spee imen exacrly identieal
with our material w hich they identified as Pfenderiua sp., and in photograph no. 7 1,
they hav e a specimen very elose to the ho lotype of Pjel/derillo salernitaua wh ich they
properly identified as P . salemitana.
A great possibilit y also exists that our material could be identieal with REOMOND's (1964) new spec ies from Sau di Arabia (Pfenderiua graci/is) but becausc
he publi sh ed o nly photog raph s of iso lated spec irnens and no thin seetions we
eould not eompare both material as we stated befo re, a nd aeeordi ng ly we did
not deseribe our fauna as a ne w spe cies ,
Systematics
Family Pavonitidae LOEBLICH and T APPAN, 1961
Genus Pf enderillo HENSO:-l, 1948
PJeliderilio cf. salernltana SARTONI and CRESCEl':TI, 1962
Plat e I , fig . 1,4,6, 7,9 and ro ; Plate 2, fig . 2-10;
P late 3, fig. 1, 3- 5, 7- 14 ; Plate 4, fig. 1-4
For eomparison:
1962 Pfenderina salernltana - S. SARTONI and U . CRESCENTI, part of pI. 16.
1966 Pfenderina sp. - B. DERIN and Z. REIss, no. 70.
Correlation wi th o t her species : O ur forms d iffer from Pfenderiua neocomieusis
( PFENDER), 1938 mainly th roug h their smaller and less retieulate eentral eo lumn
(eo lumella). A lso more t han 80 % of o ur ma terial has fewer ehambers per whorl
(average 5) than P . neocomiensis (average 7). In some in dividua l eases we eneo untered other forms with seven eh ambers 01' more wi th a relatively larger
een tral eo lumn (see pI. 3, fig . land 3 and pI. 4, fig . 3). A lso the younger age of the
forms (L. Cretaeeous a nd Kimm erid gian ) suggests t bat they are more dosely
related to t he predominately L. Cre taeeo us P. neocomiensis than they are to the
o lder Pfe uderina salernitana, Bu t beeause we laek any free speeimens for oriented
t hin seetions, we are u na ble at th is time to de termine their proper identity.
O ur for ms further are easily d ifle re nti able from Pfenderina trocbcidea SMOUT and
SUGDEN, 1962 which is so lo w trochos piral t hat, in thin seetions, it appears
almost p lanispira l.
As we sta ted above, we beli eve t hat Pfe nderina salernitasa SARTONI an d CRESCENTI,
196 2 sbo uld be divided into two forms : one dosely related to our fauna (see
pl. I, fig . 3), and tbe seeo nd is very mue h related to P. neocomieusis (PFENDER), 1938,
a faet wh ieh SARTONI and CRESCENTI also admitted in their paper where thc different st ratigrap hie ra nge of t beir fauna (Bathonian -- Callovian) helped justify
t be ereetio n of t heir new spec ies,
Ano tber species to eo ns ider in o ur eorrelation is Pfenderiua IJlltterlilli BRUN, 1962
w hich in spite of BRUN'S erroneous o bse rvation t bat it shows subepidermal partitions , its eboiee by HOTTINGER (196 7) as the genotype of Psetidopf ellderiJlo and
its o lder stratigraphie range (P liensbaebian), sbows a striking similarity to our
fauna (see p I. I, fig. 2) and tb e fauna reeorded by DERIN and REISS (1966) from
t he Bat ho nia n of Israel and id entified as Pfe nderina sp. As we showed in the
generie review of Pfenderina, t be ereetion of tbe genus Pseudopfeuderiua HOTTINGER, 1967 is no t just ified and aeeord ingly the name PfeuderinaIJlltterlilii BRUN, 1962
sbo uld regain its va lidity.
Stratigraphie range of the Ethiopian material
The Etbiopian Pfe nderiuas de rive from Bat honian and younger strata. This age
dati ng is based on t he faet that the Pfenderiuas are always direetly overlain by
Karnubia polastil1ensis HENSOl':, 1948 which , in its turn is oeeasionally overlain by
Pseudocyctnmmina jarrardi (SCHIW DT, 1894). Below ou r Pfeuderinas comes a relativel y thick, scarcel y fossiliferou s int erval of p robabl e Bajocian to Up per Liass ie
age. Then th e M iddle Liassie fo llows wi th it s unmist akabl e Orbi/opsella praecursor
( GÜ ~ IBE L , 187 2).
Pseudo
Everucvc
cvclarnmina
lammina
'a:"
::i'
AG E
::i
:::J
"a:
t;;
1
,,
J
~
~
"
:;
],
s
'"
'~
~
=
"=
~
,
"§
u
c
~g
0
~
"
"
~
T ro cho lina
0
0
!
-e
~
8
.s
0
~
c
ö
0
~
a:
!
~
~
0
-,;
Cenomanian
A lbian
U>
eo
,
~
x
~
~
i
U>
"'
0
Pfenderina
Apual
I
I
Bar remia u
~
.3
I
I
Hau teriv ian
u
Va langinian
Berriasian
Purbeckian
a;"'E
g~
o
~
"
;;
a:
0
'ö
-e
Por t la ndia n
Kimm eridgian
I
Ox tc rdien
I
I
I
Caltovi an
I
I
Batnonien
I
Bajocien
I
0
g:
0
~ e
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
Aaleni an
Toarchian
I
I
I
o •
Plien sbachia n
.3=
I
I
Sinemurian
I
~
.s
I
Hett angian
Fig. 2. Biostrat igraphie range cba rt ot sorn e importent Inde x Foraminifera o t the Jurassie en d Lower Cretaceou s
in Et hic pia end worldwide.
J n some particular sections we even have some Pfenderiuas of probable young e r
age (than Bathonian). These sections are:
I. Abrcd we il no. 1 (at 1 j6 0 m) with PSelldoq rlallllllilia jarrardi. Age : Up per
Oxfordian - Kimmeridgian .
2 . Callafo we il no. 1 (at 3830-3840 feet ). Age: Kimmeridgian (see pI. 3, fig . 3).
3. Cal ub we il no. I (at 3660-3 780 feet ). Age: Lower Cretaceous (see pI. 3, fig. I).
4. Ganale D o ria surface section (sam ples J-2 7-3 and 4) with Psetldo()'rlallllllilla
jarrardi. Age : Upper O xfordian - Kimmeridgian (see pI. 2, fig. 7 and 8).
A lt ho ugh t he record of st ratigrap hie range of such a fauna in different parts of
the world len ds much support to the idea t hat t hese younger occurrences are in
situ, we also leav e the possibility of the reworking of the material open until so lid
proof to the contrary is fo und .
We also have few questionable occurrences of the Ethiopian Pfe uderinas in stra ta
believcd to be of Bajocian ag e (see pl, 3, fig. 4 and j ).
Bibliography
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p p. 80j-826, pls . 57- 61, rext - figs. 1- 3, Milan 1968.
M . BEYTIl : Palco zoic-Mcso zoi c Sedimentar y Basin of Mck ele Outlier, Northern E thiopia. Am . A ssoe. Petroleum Geol ogists Bull ., vo l. j6, no . 12, pp . 2426- 2439, tcxt - fig. 1-7,
ta ble I, Tulsa 1972.
F. B OZORG:-I[ A an d S. BA:-IA FTI: Mi cr ofacies and microorganisms o f Paleo zo ic through Tertiary
scd imc nrs of so me part s of Ir an . - 22 pp ., Ij 8 pls., Na tiona l Ir ani art Oil Co., Te h ran 1964.
L. BRUN: Note sur le genre Pfenderina HE Nso N, 1948, De scription d'une no uv clle espe cc (Pfellderina hntt erlini ) dans le Domerien du M aroc. - Revue de Mi c rop aleonrol ogi e, vo l, j, no . ~,
pp . 18j -190, pls , 1-2, Pari s 1962.
L. BRU:-I : E rude biostr arigraphique du Ju rassiqu e de Ja bord ure arlasiq ue Nord-O rie ntale er
de s Plis Marg inau x (Ma roe Oriental). - P ro ceedings 3rd African Mi cr op al . Coll., p p . 18j -2 I 3,
pl s. 1-7, text - figs. 1-2, table [-3, Nmoc, Cairo 1969.
1'. CANUTI and C. PIRINI-RADRIZZA NI: Micro-facies from th e upper port ion of the Antalo
Limestone (Blue Ni le Sequence-Erhiopia), - Proceedings yth African Mi cr o pal, Co ll., Add is
Ababa 1972 (in press).
W . O . CLIFT: Sedimenrar y hi story of the Ogaden Di srric t, E thiopia. - zoth In te rn ation al
Geological Congress, Symposium on Oil and Gas Reservoir, vol. I Africa, pp . 89-1I 2,
tcxt - figs. 1-4, tab le I, Mexico City 19j6.
B. D ERIN and Z. REISS: Jurassie microfacies of Isr ael. - Israel Insr, Petro leu m, Spe cial pu blication, 43 pp., 320 phorographs, 2 rables, Tel-A viv 1966.
B. DERIN and E. GERRY: Jurassie biostratigraphy and en vir onrnenrs of deposit ion in Israel. Proceeding jth African Micropal. Co ll., Addis Ab aba 1972 (in press).
PlI. D UFAURE: Co ntri burion a l'etud e strarigraphique et micropaleontologiquc du Jurassique
et du Necomicn, de l'A q u itaine a la Provence. - Rcv, Micropa leonrolog ic, vo l. I , no . 2,
pp. 87-llj, p ls. 1-6, rexr - fig . I, Paris 19j8.
F. R. S. H E:-IsoN: New Tra cbamminida e and Ve menlinidae from the Middle Ea sr, - Ann . Mag.
Nar, Hist., ser , I I, vo l, 14, pp . 60j -630, pls, 14-18, tcxt - fig . I , London 1948 (a),
F. R. S. 1-IENsoN : Largcr I rnperfo rare Foram inifora from South \'Vestern Asi a, - Monogr.
Brir ish M us. (N at. Hi st.), 127 1'1'. ,16 pls., 16 tcxt - figs ., London 1948 (b) ,
H . H ÖL DER : Jura, Hand buch der stratig raphischen Geologie Bd. 4. - 603 pp., I j 8 rext figs. , 43 table s, Ferdinand En ke Verl ag, Stuttgart 1964.
L. HOTTI:-IGER : Forarninifercs imperfores du Mes o zoiquc rnarocain . ' o tes ct me moires du
Service Geo logique d u Maroc, no . 209, 169 pp ., 20 pls. , 61 text - figs., Rab ar 1967.
P. MACOIN, R . SCHROEDE R and J .- l\1. VILLA : CalJlpanellllla capuensis DE CASTRO (F o rarn.),
position sysrematiquc et rcpartiriou stratigraphique en Algerie. - Proceedings 4th A frican
Micropal. Coll., pp. 248-267, pls . [-2, te xt - figs . 1-4, Abidjan (1970) .
W. l\lAY:-Ic : Microbiosrrarigraphy of the Jurassie of Isr ael. - Ge ol. Surv. Isr ael, Bull. no. 40,
j6 pp ., I j pIs., 3 tab les, Jerusalem 1966.
MI CROFA CIES ITALIANE. - 3j pp., 14j pls., 2 maps, Agil' Mineraria, (San Donato) Milan 19j 9.
E. I'ERCONIG: Microfacics of the Triassie and Jurassie scd irnents of Spain , - 63 pp., 123 pls.,
I I texr - figs ., E . .J. Br ill, Leiden 1968.
.J. PFE:-IDER: Lcs Fornminiferes du Valanginien pr ovencal, - Bull. Soc. Ge ol. F ranc c, vo l, 8,
yth series, no . 3-4, 1'1'.231 -242, p ls. 13-16, Paris 1938.
R . \'V. PO\\'ERS: Arabia n Upper J urassie carbonate reservoir rocks. - in Class. of carbonate
rocks, a syrnposium, Am. Assoe. Petroleum Ge ologists, Memoi r I, pp . 122-192, pls, 1-8,
tcxt - ligs. 1-23, table I, Tulsa 1962.
C. D. REIHIOND: The foraminiferal famil y Pfenderinidae in the Jurassie o f Sau di A rab in.
Micropa leontology, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 2j 1-263, pis . 1-2, N ew York 1964.
R. SAID and M. G . BARAKAT : Jurassie microfossils trom Gebel Maghara , Sinai, E g ypt.
M icropa leontology, val. 4, no. 3, pp. 23[ -272, pIs. 1- 6, text - figs . I- j , tahl e I, Ne\\'
York 19j 8.
122 (186)
R. SAlD and M . G . BARAKAT: Foraminifera fro m subs ur face jurassie rocks o f \Xladi E l-Na rru n ,
Egypt. - E gy pr. Ac ad. Science Proceedings, vol. 13, pp. 1- 8, tcxr - figs. 1- 9, Cairo '95 9.
S. SARTO:-li and U . CRESCE:-ITI : Ricerche biostratigrafiche ncl Me so zoic o dell'A ppennino
Meridi o nale. - Giorn . Geol. , vo l, 29, pp. '59-3 02, pIs . 1-42, tnble 1, Bologna 1962.
A . H . S~ IOUT and \ XI. SUGDE:-I : New informat ion on the for aminiferal genus Pfenderina. Palaeo ntol og y, vo l, 4, part 4, 1'1'.581 -591 , pis . 73-76, tcxt - fig . 1, London '962.
T REATISE 0:-1 INVERTERRATE p ALEO:-lTOLOGY. - Part C, Pro rista 2, vol , I, R . C. .M OORE ed ito r,
T he Geo log ical Soc, o f Arncr ica and the Univcrs ity o f Ka nsas Press, New York, 1964.
C. V ,OTTI: Resul tat s str at igraph iques du sondage Puerro Cansado 1 du Bassin Cotier de Tarfaya. in Lc Bassin C ötier de Tarfaya ( Maroc mer idiona l), vo l. 1 Str at igraphie, Service Ge ol.Maroc
Mem . No. 175, pp. 225-249, pis. 1-6, Rabar 1966.
Add ress of th e author: D r. A. T.
Housto n, Texas 77001, USA.
l\! A)./SO U R,
T enn eco Oi l Co ., P. O . Box
2511 ,
Plal e 1
Fig.
I: Pfe nderina cf. salernltana SARTON[ and CRESCENTl, 196" E I Kurart weil no. I, 5 I '0-3 0
Feet, U p pe r Bathonian , cq ua torial scc tio n , approx , x '0.
Fi g.
Fig.
z : "Pfenderina" bntterlini BRUN, 196" original ph orog raph afrer B[W N ( 196 ,).
3: Pfenderina salernltana SARTONI & CRESCENTI, 196" original photograph afte r SARTONI
a nd CRESCENTl ( 196, ) from the L. Ca llo vian - U . Barhonian of l ta ly fo r co rn pa ri so n
w irh fig . I , cquarorial secrion, x 34.
Fi g . 4 : Pfenderina cf. salernitana SARTON[ an d C RESCENTl, 196 " E I Kurart w eil n o . I, eore
no , z ( 5' [5 feet), Bathonian, ax ial seeti on (parrly tangential in the u p per portion),
ap prox . x 80.
F ig . 5: "P fenderina" bntterlini B RUN, 196" o rig inal p horograp h after BRUN ( [96,) from the
Middl e Li assie of M ar o cc o fo r cornpari son with fig . 4, axia l scc rio n (part ly ta ngent ial
in the uppe r po rrion ), x 60 .
Fig. 6: Pfenderina cf. salernitana SARTON I an d CRESCENT[, 196" E I Ku rart w e il no. I, eore no. z
( 5' 15 fc e r), Bathonian, equat o rial and ax ial sec tions, app rox. x ' 0 .
Fig. 7 : Pfenderina cf, salernitana SARTONI and CRESCENT[, 196" E I Kuran weil n o , I , eore no . z
(5[89-5228 feet), Barhonian , equatorial an d tangential secrions, ap prox. x '0.
F ig . 8 : Pfenderina salernitana SARTONt and CRESCENTI, [96" original phorograph after SARTONI
and CRESCENTl , 196, ) from rhc 1.. Ca llo vian U. Bathonian of Italy, cquatorial
seetions (s lig h tly oblique ), x 34.
Fig. 9 : Pfenderina cf. salernitana SARTON[ an d CRESCENTI, 196" E I Kurart w eil n o , I, eo re no . z
(a ro u nd 5 ' 00 feet), Bathonian, equ atorial seeti on, ap pro x. x '0.
F ig. 10 : Pfenderina cf. salernitana SARTONI an d CRESCENT[, 196" E I Ku rart we il n o , I, core no . z
( p 15 feer ), Barhonian , b oth ax ia l sec tion (lower spee imen is magn ified in f1g. 4),
ap p rox, x ' 0.
124 ( 188)
Plate 1
Plate 2
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
1: P seudopfenderina bntterlini (BRU:-;:), 196z, orig ina l ph otograph of a model rcconstrucred
b y Hotringer (1967) , tangential and obliqu e sccrions.
J-[OTTI NGER mea nt 10 exaggerate rhc free height of the ch am bers in the umbilieal arca
10 show the pillars an d the cornp lcxiry of this zo ne. Original magni tication w as x
5000 (sec attached em. sca lc),
2 : Pfenderina cf. salernitana SARTO:--l l arid CRESCENTI, 1962, EI Kurart we ll no . I, core no . z
(5189-5228 fect ), Bathonian, ax ial seetio n (pa r rly tangential in the upper portion ),
ap p rox . x 80 .
3: Pfenderina cf. salernitan a SARTO:--lI a n d CRESCENTI, 196 z , EI Kuran well n o. I, COre no . z
( 5215 feer ), Barhonian, ax ia l arid cquarorial scc tio ns , ap p rox , x zo.
F ig . 4 and 5: Pfe nderiua cf. salernitana SARTONt and CRESCENTI, 1962 , EI Kuran well no . I, core
no . 2 (5189 -5228 fect), Bat honian, both axia l seetions (fig . 4 slightl y tangential in the
upper p o rt io n ), a p prox. x ao.
.
Fig. 6: Pfenderina cf. salernitana SARTONI and CRESCENTI, 1962, EI K urart wcll no . I, corc no . z
( 5z t 5 fe ct ), Ba rhoni an , all rhrce sp ecimcns axial seetions (the lowcr speeimen with morc
than 6 chambers), approx. x 2 0 .
Fig. 7 and 8: Pfenderina cf. salernitana SARTONI an d C RESCENTI, 1962 arid Pseudocyclamorinajaccardi
(SCHRODT), 1894, Gun ale Doria surface section, sample 1-27-3, U. O xfordian - Kimmeridgian, the Pfen d e rinas are probably reworked P, fig . 7 ax ial seet io n and fig . 8
cquatoria l scction, both Pse ud o eycla m mi nas are a xial sect ious, approx, x 2 0.
Fig. 9 a n d 10: Pfenderina cf. saleruitana SARTONI an d CRESCENTI, 196z , surface secrio n, sarn plc
0 -2-7, L o w esr Bathon ian, sma ll spcc im ens o f group no. 3 (see p. 7), axial seetions
(bo th photographs arc of th e sa rne speci rnc n), fig . 9 x 80, fig . 10 X 20.
Plate 2
Plate 3
I: Pfenderina cf. salernitana SARTO:--i l and CRESCE:--iTI, 196 2, Ca lu b wel l no . I, 367o~80 feet,
Lower Cretacc ous, equat orial secrion, app rox . x 20 .
Fig , 2 and 6: Pfenderina neoromlensis (P FENDER), 1938, original ph or ograph afrer PFE:-<DER ( 1938)
from the Valangin ian of France for cornparison w ith fig . 1 und 3, equatorial sect ion s,
x 40.
Fig . 3: Pfe nderina cf. salernitana SARTONI and CRESCENTI, 1962 , Callafo weil no . I, 3830 -40
fcer, K immeridgian , cq uarorial sect io n , ap prox. x 20.
Fig. 4 and 5 : Pfenderina cf. salernit aua SARTO:--il and CRESCE:--iTI, 196 2, Callafo w eil no . 1, 6200-1 0
feer, highest Bajoeian ?, cquaror ial seetions (bo th phorographs are o f the sarn e spec imen),
fig. 4 x 20, fig . 5 x 80.
Fig. 7 and 8: Pfenderiua cf. salemitana SARTONI and CRESCENTI, 1962, Buri surface scctio n, sa rn ple
D -2-7, h ighest Bathon ian, equatorial seetio ns (bo rh photographs ar e o f th e sa me
spccirne n), fig . 7 x 20, fig . 8 x 80.
Fig. 9: Pfenderina cf. salernitana SARTONI and CRESCENTl, 1962 , E I K uran we il no. I, co re no . 2
(5189 -5228 feet ), Barhoni an, ob lique cq uatorial section , ap p rox. x 20 .
Fig. 10 : Pfenderina cf. salernitaua SARTONI and CRESCENTI, 1962, EI Kuran w eil no . I , 53 10- 20
feet, Barhon ian, oblique equatorial sccrion, ap p rox , x 20.
Fig. I1 and 12: Pfenderina cf. salernitana SARTONI and CRESCENTI, 1962, Buri surface sec t ion,
sarnple D -2-7, highest Barho nian, equarorial sccrions (bo rh photographs a re o f the
sarne specimcn), fig . 1I X 20, fig. 12 X 80 .
Fig. 13 and 14: Pfenderina cf. salernitana SARTONI and CRESCENTl, 1962, Buri surface sec t io n,
fig . 13 is fro m sa rnplc D -2-8 and fig . 14 is fro m sarn ple D - 2-1 6, borh Batho n ian , rnixcd
ax ial arid eq uarorial sections homoge neous ly spar cemented wirh pe llcts of the sarn c
small size , approx . x 20.
Fig .
Plate 3
9
Plate 4
Fig.
Fig.
F ig .
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
F ig .
Fig.
Fig.
I : Pfenderiua cf. salernitana SARTONI and CRESCENTI, 196z , Buri sur face sectio n, sarnp le
D-z -8, Barhonian, mi xed axi al and equ arori al sect io ns homog ene ou sl y spar cem ente d
wirh pel let s of t he same size, approx. x z o.
z : Pfenderina cf. salernltana SARTONI an d CRESCENTI, 196z , Callafo we il no . J, 5780- 90
feet, Barhonian, oblique equatorial sect ion, ap p ro x. x 80 .
3: Pfenderina cf. salernitaua SARTONI and CRESCENTI, 196z, Ca llafo we il no . I, 3880-90
feet , K immericlg ian , cquatorial secrion, ap p ro x. x z o.
4: Pfenderina cf. salernltana SARTONI and CRESCENTI, 196z, Buri surface scction, sam ple
D -Z- IO, Bathonian, cquatorial sect ion, approx, x Z O.
and 6: Ve menitinoides »rinttta SAID and BARAKAT, 1958, Callafo wel! no . 1,5 37° - 80 feet ,
Ca llo vian , cross seetion (bo rh phorographs arc o f the sa m e species) , fig. 5 x Z O , fig. 6
x 80 .
and
8 : V ernenilinoides l//illl/la SAID and BARAKAT, 1958 , Buri su rface sect io n, sarnpl e
7
D- Z-16, Barho n ian , cross sccrio n (bo th phorograph s a re of the same species) , fig. 7
x 20, fig . 8 x 80 .
and
IZ: V ernemlinoides I//i lll/i a SAID and BARAKAT, 1958, Buri surfa ce sectio n, sa rn ple
9
D-Z - 16, Bathonian, cross secrion (bo rh photographs a re of the sa rne species), fig . 9
x 80, fig . IZ X ZO .
1 0 : Nantilornlina circularis (SAID and BARAKAT), 1959, Callafo weil no . 1, 3670 -80 feet
Kimmeridgian, equatori al secrion, approx. x 80.
11: V ernenilinoides »rinttta SAID and BARAKAT, 1958, Buri surface sectio n , sa mp le D -Z-I 6,
Bathonian, axi al section, app rox , x 80.
Plate 4
9*
'3' ('9 5)
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