Late Ordovician and Early Silurian chitinozoans from central and southern Cyrenaica

Amongst the rich and diversified chitinozoan assemblages recorded, species from wells Al-31, El-8I and Jl-8IA are indicative of the Late Ordovician. The identified taxa show well documented affinities with Late Caradocian and Ashgillian assemblages recently described in the Anti-Atlas (Morocco) and in Ashgillian glaciomarine deposits from North Africa and southern Europe. Other chitinozoan assemblages recorded from wells Al-8I, Al-46, Dl-3l, El-8I and Ilc-8I indicate the presence of Landovlerian strata ranging in age from Early Rhuddanian to Late Telychian. These chitinozoan assemblages, here assigned to seven informal biozones, are closely related to Saharan material, but show less important affinities with Early Silurian forms from Balto-Scandinavia.

Four new chitinozoan species are described in a palaeontological appendix.