Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Stratigraphie / Stratigraphy
PalContologie / Palaeonfology
(Palbontologie des InvertGbres / invertebrate Palaeontology)
a Universitb Cadi-Ayyad, faculte des sciences Semlalia, UFR dynamique des bassins : stratigraphie intbgree et gkoprospects,
BP S 15, Marrakech, Maroc
b Universidad de Granada, Departamento de Estratigrafia y Paleontologia, 18002 Granada, Espagne
’ Laboratoire de geologic sedimentaire et paleontologie, universite Paul-Sabatier, 31062 Toulouse, France
Abstract-The study of ammonite assemblages collected from the Calcaire inf&ieurand the Argiles
brunes in the region of Safi (Morocco) has allowed us to pinpoint the age of these formations and to
attribute them, respectively, to the Boissieri Zone - lower part of the Campylotoxus Zone and to the
upper part of the Campylotoxus Zone - Upper Valanginian. These units are also reinterpreted in
terms of sequence stratigraphy. In addition, the analysis of the fauna1 spectrum shows that, although
differing in some respects, these ammonite associations are similar to those of other peri-Tethyan
platforms, while differing considerably from the basin assemblages. (0 Academic des sciences /
Elsevier, Paris.)
R&urn6 - L’Btude des associations d’ammonites recoltees dans le calcaire infbrieur et dam
les Argiles brunes de la r&ion de Safi (Maroc) nous a permis de prbciser I’@e de ces
formations et de les attribuer respectivement 2 la zone 2 Boissieri - partie infkrieure de la
zone a Campylotoxus et i la partie superieure de la zone 2 Campylotoxus - Valanginien
superieur. Une r&nterpr&ation de ces unit& en termes de stratigraphie sequentielle est
ebauchee. D’un autre c6t@, I’analyse du spectre faunistique de ces associations montre que,
bien qu’avec des traits singuliers, elles sont similaires ?I celles d’autres plates-formes
p&itethysiennes et different notablement des associations de bassin. (0 Academic des
sciences / Elsevier, Paris.)
Abridged version
Introduction rouges. Only formations 2 and 3, Valanginian in age, are
analysed in this study pgure lb).
The Lower Cretaceous of the Safi basin yigure la> was The Calcaire inf&eur Formation, 5 to 20 m thick, com-
studied in detail by Roth (1930). Gigout (1951) and Rey et al. prises cross-bedded micritic limestones with corals, brachio-
(1$X39), who distinguished five superimposed lithostratigraphic pods, bryozoans, and regular echinoids in the southern out-
units: 1) dolomies jaunes, 2) Calcaire i@rieur, 3) Argiles crops, and marly-sandy and finely bioclastic limestones with
brunes, 4) calcaire de Dridrat and 5) couches argilo-sableuses serpulids, brachiopods, heart urchins and ammonites in the
C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Sciences de la terre et des plan&es / Earth & Planetary Sciences
1998.327.319-325
M. Ettachfini et al.
more northern areas. Its base is limited by a hardground Discontinuity V,, occurring as a highly erosional surface
colonized by brachiopods (Vi discontinuity), while it is capped with ferruginous crusts, is the result of a very rapid increase in
by an erosional surface (V, discontinuity). This formation has the available space. It integrates a sequence boundary and a
been assigned to the Upper Berriasian-Lower Valanginian. transgressive surface, which implies an erosional or nondepo-
The Argilesbrunes Formation consists of a thick interval (up sitional hiatus of the corresponding lowstand system tract. The
to 60 m) of clayey marls with occasional intercalated silty overlying condensed levels represent a transgressive interval at
limestones. At its base, above discontinuity V,, there is a the end of the Early Valanginian.
condensed level with abundant ammonites previously attrib-
uted to the Upper Valanginian (Rey et a1.,1989).
Palaeobiogeography
Biostratigraphy The analysis of the fauna1 composition of the ammonite
associations from the Valanginian of the Safi region provides
The analysis of the ammonites collected from the Lalla Fatna interesting conclusions on certain palaeoecological and
section has allowed us to narrow down the age of the forma- palaeobiogeographical aspects. The typically Mediterranean
tions studied, partially modifying the stratigraphic attributions nature of these associations stands out, dominated by neo-
made by previous authors. comitids accompanied by some olcostephanids. In addition,
The middle part of the Calcaire i@rieur provided an the absence of leiostraca (haploceratids, phylloceratids and
ammonite-rich association from the Pertransiens Zone (basal lytoceratids) coincides with the observations in other platform
Valanginian), comprising i%urmanniceras pertransiens areas of the Mediterranean Tethys (Company, 1987; Bulot,
(figure 2B), Neocomitespremolicus (figure ZA), Sarasinella 1993).
trezanensis,S. eucyrta @gure2.E?,Olcostephanus drumensis Particularly interesting is the association from the middle of
and Spiticeras(Kilianiceras) gratianopolitense.At the top of the Calcaire i@rieur, given the scarcity of data available on
the formation, immediately below discontinuity V,, we found the ammonoid fauna from the Pertransiens Zone in the peri-
Busnardoitescf. desoriyigure 2D) and N cf. subtenuis,indi- Mediterranean platforms in comparison to the well-
cating the lower part of the Campylotoxus Zone. In contrast, documented associations from basins of the same age. The
the base of the formation provided no ammonites in the Lalla latter have a high species diversity (Company, 1987; Bulot and
Fatna section, although it can be dated in other sections (Botj Thieuloy, 1995) although quantitatively they are dominated by
Nador and Sidi Bouzid, figure la) thanks to the presence of N. grasianum,T pertransiensand 0. drumensis. This compo-
calpionellids from Zones D2 and D3 (Upper Berriasian). It sition differs radically from that of the Calcaire infkrieur
therefore seems evident that the Calcaire in.rieur formation association, where N. grasianumis completely absent while 7:
was deposited between the Late Berriasian and the Lower part pertransiensand 0. drumensis account for no more than 6 % of
of the Campylotoxus Zone (Early Valanginian). Nevertheless, the total individuals. In contrast, nearly 90 % of the specimens
the erosional nature of discontinuity V, (Witam, 1988) means are N. premolicus, a species relatively poorly represented in the
that the upper members of this formation are absent in some pelagic fauna of the Pertransiens Zone in the Subbetic and
areas. Vocontian basins.
The condensed levels at the base of the Argiles brunes The Lalla Fatna association has more in common with the
contain abundant ammonite fauna comprising Karak- fauna of the same age from the calcaire de Fontanil, in the
aschicerasgr. biassalenselinostranzewi (figure 2I3, K. cf. outer margin of the Subalpine platform. According to Arnaud et
brandesi,Neohoploceras arnoldi (figure 20, B. campylotoxus, al. (1981), 7:pertransiensis also a rare species in the Fontanil
B. subcampylotoxus yigure 2l3 N. teschenensis yigure 20, 0. association, while ’T:’ allobrogicum,a taxon that we provision-
guebhardi, 0. cf. stepbanophorus and lfalanginitesdoliolfir- ally consider to be a probable synonym of N. premolicus
mis,indicating a latest age of Lower Valanginian (upper part of (Ettachfini et al., in prep.), is one of the major components.
the Campylotoxus Zone). In the rest of the formation. ammo- Also significant is the presence of Sp.(Kilianiceras)gratian-
nites are extremely rare. However, certain forms characteristic opolitenseand the absence of N. grasianum in the subalpine
of the Verrucosum Zone and Trinodosum Subzone collected locality. These circumstances are easily explained by the
from the silty layers intercalated between the marls point to a similar eco-sedimentary characteristics of the environments in
Valanginian age for most of the Argilesbrunes. which the deposition of the bioclastic limestones from Fontanil
and of the Calcaire infheur took place. In spite of these
Sequence interpretation similarities, however, the Lalla Fatna association has distinctive
features that extend to other associations of the same age from
Discontinuity V, (Upper Berriasian) corresponds to a trans- localities further south (Essaouira, Haha and Agadir basins)
gressive surface separating lagoonal deposits (yellow dolo- with a very similar fauna1 composition. The most peculiar
mites and green marls passing laterally to algal limestones) characteristic of all these associations may be the extreme
from lower shoreface and offshore sediments (Calcaire in- scarcity of 0. drumensis, which is a common species not only
f&ieur Formation). In the absence of further stratigraphic and in Fontanil but in all the northern margin of the Mediterranean
sedimentary data, we cannot determine whether the underly- Tethys. We should point out that the main component of the
ing dolomies jaunescorrespond to the lowstand system tract in Fontanil fauna, 7: gratianopolitense, is also relatively frequent
the same sequence or to the highstand system tract of a in the Moroccan associations, although until now it has not
preceding sequence. been found in Lalla Fatna.
320 C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Sciences de la terre et des plan&es / Earth & Planetary Sciences
1998.327,319-325
Le Valanginien du bassin de Safi
The fauna from the base of the Argiles brunesis widely Provencal platform and differs notably from the pelagic associa-
dominated by K gr. biassalense/inostranzewi, which represents tions of the same age dominated by Neolissoceras and Bochian-
nearly 70 % of the total fauna. 0. guebhardiand N. arnoldi are ites (Bulot, 1993). These same associations, with abundant
common elements in the association as well, while the other Karakaschiceras and Neohoploceras, have been recognized in
species are only represented by scarce individuals. This asso- many other platform areas of the Tethys domain, always in
ciation is comparable to that of the banesd Karakaschiceras of relation to the transgressive deposits linked with the Middle
the Arc de Castellane, in the outer margin of the northern Valanginian drowning episode detected almost worldwide.
Cette unite, epaisse d’une soixantaine de metres, est N. cf. subtenuis. Bulot et Thieuloy (I 995) placent 6. desori
a un niveau equivalent a la partie inferieure de la zone a
composee de marnes argileuses, intercalees de quelques
Campylotoxus.
banes de calcaires silteux roux. Elle debute, au-dessus de
la discontinuite V,, par un niveau de condensation riche Ces donnees paleontologiques nous ont permis d’attri-
en ammonites, dont la base avait et6 attribuee au Valan- buer a la partie superieure du Calcaire inferieur un age
ginien superieur basal (Rey et al., 1989) Valanginien inferieur, compris entre la base de la zone 5
Pertransiens et la partie basale de la zone a Campylotoxus.
Le probleme reside dans I’estimation de I’age de la base de
2. Prkisions biostratigraphiques cette formation. En effet, la recherche des ammonites dans
les premiers metres de cette formation, dans la coupe de
Le Calcaire inferieur et la base des Argiles brunes dans Lalla Fatna, a et6 infructueuse. D’autre part, I’etude mi-
la coupe de la plage de Lalla Fatna nous ont livre une croscopique des calpionelles sur des echantillons prove-
abondante faune d’ammonites, dont I’etude nous a permis nant de ces niveaux a revel6 uniquement la presence de
de preciser I’age de ces formations, modifiant ainsi en formes indeterminables ou sans valeur biochronologique.
partie les attributions stratigraphiques don&es par les Au contraire, dans d’autres localites de la region de Safi,
auteurs anterieurs. comme Borj Nador et Sidi Bouzid (figure la), la formation
C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Sciences de la terre et des plan6tes / Earth & flanefary Sciences 321
1998.327.319-325
M. Ettachfini et al.
%Y%Calcaire ’
,$i InfXrieur Argiles Brunes Calcaire de
DRIDRAT
._ ..- --___
. . Neocomitcs premolicus
. Kilianella sp.
. Sarasinella euqrta
.Sarasinella t?ezanensis
. Spiticeras (xilianiceras) cf grattanopolitense
. Olcostephanus drumensis
. Thtmnannicerav pertranriens
. Busnardoites cf. desori
. Neocomites cf subtenuis
. Busnardoites campylotoxus
. Yalanginites dolioliformis
. Neohoploceras sp.
. Neocomites teschenensti
. Busnardoites subcampylotoxus
..-OIcostephanw guebhardi ~.
. . Karakaschiceras gr. biassalense/inostr~ewi
. . Neohoploceras arnoldi
. Olcostephanus cf: stephanophonu
. Karakaschiceras cj brandesi
Neocomites cj teschenensis .
Dicostella sp. .
Neohoploceras cf: schardti .
Olcostephanus balestrai .
Figure 1. a. Carte de localisation du secteur t!tudik. b. Repartition des ammonites dans la coupe de Lalla Fatna.
(’ .‘:‘>::
a. Sketch map showing the area studied. b. Ammonite distribution in the Lalla Fatna Section.
du Calcaire infbrieur a fourni (Rey et al., 1989, et nos 2.2. Argiies brunes
propres observations) une interessante microfaune de cal-
Dans les niveaux de condensation localis& a la base de
pionelles, qui permet de reconnaitre les sous-zones D2 et
cette formation (banes 1.3, 1.4), nous avons recolte aussi
D3 correspondant au Berriasien terminal (zone a Bois-
une abondante faune d’ammonites compos6e par Kara-
sieri). La presence de Erdenella paquieri (= Neocomites kaschiceras gr. biassalenselinostranzewi (figure 2H) (les
aff. longi in Gigout, 1951, ~1.11, figures l-2) dans la loca- deux taxons pourraient correspondre a des morphotypes
lit6 de Sidi Bouzid s’accorde avec cet &e. distincts de la m@me esp&e), K. cf. brandesi, Neohoplo-
En conclusion, le Calcaire inf&ieur s’est dilpos6 dans ceras arnoldi (figure 20, Busnardoites campylotoxus, B.
I’intervalle de temps compris entre la sous-zone D2 2 subcampylotoxus (figure 2F), N. teschenensis (figure 2G),
calpionelles (Berriasien supbrieur) et la partie infbrieure de 0. guebhardi, 0. cf. stephanophorus et Valanginites do-
la zone ?I Campylotoxus (Valanginien inferieur). Cepen- lioliformis. La coexistence dans ces niveaux de B. campy-
dant, il faut noter le caractPre &osif de la discontinuite V, lotoxus et V dolioliformis avec les premiers repr&entants
(Witam, 1988), qui est responsable de I’absence des mem- de Karakaschiceras et Neohoploceras atteste un dge Va-
bres sup&ieurs de cette formation dans certaines localit& langinien inf&ieur (partie superieure de la zone a Campy-
(exemple & Sidi Bouzid). lotoxus) pour la base de cette unite.
322 C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Sciences de la terre et des plan&es / Earth & Planetary Sciences
1998.327,319-325
Le Valanginien du bassin de Safi
C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Sciences de la terre et des plan&es / farfh & Plonetory Sciences 323
1998.327.319-325
M. Ettachfini et al.
324 C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Sciences de la terre et des plan&es / Eorfh & Planetary Sciences
1998.327,319-325
Le Valanginien du bassin de Safi
posante principale de la faune du Fontanil, 7. gratianopo- ble a celle des (( banes 2 Karakaschiceras )) de l’arc de
/itense, est relativement frkquente dans les associations Castellane, dans la bordure externe de la plate-forme
marocaines, bien qu’on ne I’ait pas trouvee a ce jour dans nord-provenGale, qui diff&re notablement des associations
la region de Safi. pelagiques de m&me dge, domin6es par les genres Neolis-
soceras et Bochianites (Bulot, 1993). Ces memes associa-
D’un autre c&S, la faune de la base des Argiles brunes tions, avec d’abondants Karakaschiceras et Neohoploce-
est largement dominee par K. gr. biassalenselinostranzewi, ras, ont t5t& reconnues dans de nombreuses aires du
qui reprksente pres de 70 % du total des individus. 0. domaine tethysien, toujours en relation avec les d6p6ts
guebhardiet N. arnoldisont aussi des Gments communs, transgressifs Ii& h I’Gpisode mkdio-valanginien d’affaisse-
tandis que le reste des esp&ces est rep&en@ par tr$s peu ment des plates-formes, detect6 2 I’&helle pratiquement
d’individus. Cette association est en tout point compara- globale.
Remerciements. Ce travail est une contribution au projet Les Neocomitidoe duns /‘At/as Aflanfique (Maroc). implications
pal~obiogeographiques et strotigruphiques (royaume du Maroc - Junta de Andalucia).
C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Sciences de la terre et des plan&es / Earth & Planetafysciences 325
1998.327.319-325