Paleobiogeographic implications of the Middle Eocene ostracods from Cairo–Suez district, Egypt

The main targets of this paper are to examine the Middle Eocene ostracod assemblages collected from a succession exposed in the Cairo–Suez district, Egypt and to detect their paleobiogeographical implications. The studied succession is subdivided into two rock units: the Observatory and Qurn formations, in ascending order. The analysis of the ostracod assemblages led to the identification of 18 species, none of which is new. Three local biozones are established, Digmocythereáismaili - Xestoleberisákenawyi Assemblage Zone, Grinioneisámoosi - Loxoconchaápseudopunctatella Assemblage Zone and Cativellaáqurnenis - Soudanellaátriangulata Assemblage Zone. The multivariate analyses indicate that there are three distinct bioprovinces, one of them represents the North Africa bioprovince, including Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia. The second bioprovince represents the Middle East, including Jordan and Israel …