PALEOECOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF PALYNOMORPHS FROM PALEONTOLOGICALY-DATED MAASTRICHTIAN–DANIAN DEPOSITS, BIR ABU MINQAR AREA, SOUTH WESTERN DESERT, EGYPT

This study is carried out on the Dakhla Formation deposits at the Bir Abu Minqar section, South Western Desert, Egypt. Maastrichtian/Danian palynofloras have been recovered from the micropaleontology (foraminifera–nannoplankton)and macropaleontology (bivalvia-ammonites)dated deposits of the upper Dakhla Formation. Pteridophytic and liverworts spores, pollen of gymanosperms and angiosperms as well as dinoflagellate cysts have been identified. Angiosperm pollen includes typical members of the Late Cretaceous Palmae Province such as Spinizonocolpites echinatus. Presence of palm pollen and hygrophylic pteridophytic spores suggest a prevalence of humid tropical conditions during the deposition of the studied section, with Nypa palm mangroves thriving in the intertidal swamps that bordered the Late Cretaceous shallow sea at the area of the Abu Minqar.