Abstract:  The transgressive Tayan Member of the upper Lower to Middle Cambrian Burj Formation (Jordan) has been investigated in several localities of the Dead Sea Rift valley, Jordan. The lower portion of this member consists of low-energy siliciclastics with indications of temporary, early pedogenetic processes, pointing to some stagnation during transgression. The upper portion of the member was deposited under higher energy conditions. Stromatolites, desiccation cracks, halite-pseudomorphs, laminated dolostones, and tepees, together with ripples, mud-clasts and scours point to a shallow intertidal to supratidal sabkha-related environment in a climate of tropical to subtropical aridity.
The fossil content of the Tayan Member consists exclusively of trace fossils. Simple endobentic, worm-like r-strategists are common in some horizons. For the first time, Treptichnus pedum has been reported from Jordan where it was found near the base of this member. The markedly reduced biodiversity together with sedimentological data led to the interpretation of a strongly stressed, paleoecologically unstable habitat.
Regional comparisons with high-energy transgressive environments laid down at the same time show that the main factors controlling facies development and the migration of facies belts are (1) the topography of the flooded surface and of the hinterland (mainly with only a local effect), (2) the configuration of the coast (local effect), (3) the rate of subsidence and transgression (local to regional effects), and (4) climate (large regional effects). The combination and overlap of these factors controlled facies gradients and may explain special differences between the facies of the Jordanian and those of the near-by Israeli transgressive deposits on the one hand, but, also the obvious general similarity of Lower to Middle Cambrian transgressive successions in the Middle East and the Mediterranean part of Gondwana on the other hand.

 Abstract:  The definition of the type species of the genus Globoreticulina Rahaghi, 1978, G. iranica Rahaghi, 1978, is emended and its age discussed in relation to those of 17 associated taxa of larger foraminifera, all from restricted shallow environments. These taxa represent porcelaneous groups of spiroline habit including Rhabdorites malatyaensis, archaiasines (Archaias operculiniformis and A. diyarbakirensis), agglutinated conicals (Coskinolina and Dictyoconus) and some rotaliids (Medocia and others). These taxa were revised where necessary and their biostratigraphic ranges discussed. In addition to the establishment of a new subfamily of the Alveolinidae, the Malatyninae, the following new Linnaean names are introduced in order to conform with the revisions: Austrotrillina eocaenica n. sp., Neotaberina neaniconica n. gen. n. sp., Neorhipidionina spiralis n. gen. n. sp., Penarchaias n. gen. and Rotaliconus persicus n. gen. n. sp. The species Praerhapydionina huberi Henson is transferred to the genus Haymanella Sirel and the genus Praearchaias Sirel is suppressed. The age of the type level of Globoreticulina iranica is interpreted to be SBZ 18 (Late Bartonian) according to the available local data but the possibility that its stratigraphic position is actually level SBZ 17 or SBZ16 can not be excluded with certainty.

 Abstract:  In the vicinity of Saint-Saturnin-lès-Apt (Vaucluse, SE France), which is included in the area of the historic Aptian stratotype of Apt-Gargas, are four sections in a succession that permits the study in a very detailed and continuous way of the last beds of the upper Bedoulian and those of the lower Gargasian. The Ostracod content of the microfauna is relatively important and in a satisfactory state of preservation. 46 species have been indexed of which three are new: Cytherella circumrugosa nov. sp., Cytherelloidea bedouliana nov. sp. and Parexophthalmocythere (Parexophthalmocythere) sp.
Until the present day, our comprehension of this group of microfossils in this stratigraphic interval was very fragmentary, not just in the Apt region but also in the Bedoulian historic stratotype area (Cassis-la Bédoule). This new study made it possible to determine a good number of species not previously reported in the stratotypes, to refine the generic status of many forms and to place some of them in open nomenclature.
The completion of a chronologic distribution chart collated with a recently published foraminiferal zonation (Cabri, Luterbacheri and Ferreolensis zones) shows very clearly the bipartite distribution of a good part of the Ostracod fauna. Accordingly, two ensembles are recognized, one at the end of the upper Bedoulian (index species Protocythere bedoulensis), the other characterizing the lower Gargasian, identified by the appearance and development of Parataxodonta inornata. The two groups are sharply separated by an episode of impoverished microfaunas at the base of the Gargasian.

 Abstract:  Variability in the test of Globorotalia menardii during the past 8 million years has been investigated at DSDP Site 502A (Caribbean Sea) and DSDP Site 503A (Eastern Equatorial Pacific). Measurements were made of spire height (∂x), maximum diameter (∂y), the tangent angles of the upper and lower peripheral keels (Φ1, Φ2, respectively), the number of chambers in the final whorl, and the area of the silhouette in keel view. Four morphotypes alpha, beta, gamma, and delta were distinguished. Morphotype alpha was found in strata ranging in age from the Late Miocene through the Holocene. It shows a continuous increase in ∂x and ∂y until the Late Pleistocene. During and after the final closure of the ancient Central American Seaway (between 2.4 Ma and 1.8 Ma) there was a rapid increase in the area of the test in keel view. At the Caribbean Sea site, morphotype beta evolved during the past 0.22 Ma. It is less inflated than alpha and has a more delicate test. In the morphospace of ∂x vs. ∂y, morphotypes alpha and beta can be distinguished by a separation line ∂y = 3.2 * ∂x - 160 (∂x and ∂y in µm). Plots of morphotype alpha are below that line, those of beta are above it. Morphotype alpha is taken to be Globorotalia menardii menardii Parker, Jones & Brady (1865) and includes G. menardii 'A' Bolli (1970). Morphotype beta is identified as G. menardii cultrata (d'Orbigny). Morphotypes gamma and delta are extinct Upper Miocene to Pliocene forms which evolved from morphotype alpha. They have a narrower Φ1 angle and more chambers (≥7) than morphotype alpha commonly with 5 to 6 chambers (7 in transitional forms). In contemporaneous samples morphotype delta can be distinguished from gamma by a smaller value of Φ1 and 8 or more chambers in the final whorl. Morphotype gamma is taken to be G. limbata (Fornasini, 1902) and includes the junior synonym G. menardii 'B' Bolli (1970). Morphotype delta is G. multicamerata Cushman & Jarvis (1930). With the exception of the Late Pleistocene development of G. menardii cultrataonly in the Caribbean the morphological changes of G. menardii at DSDP Sites 502A and 503A are similar. The development from the ancestral G. menardii menardii of the G. limbata - G. multicamerata lineage during the Pliocene and of G. menardii cultrata during the Late Pleistocene suggests responses at the two sites to a changing palaeoceanography during and after the formation of the Isthmus of Panama.

 Abstract:  In the Lower Aptian historical stratotype area (Cassis-La Bédoule, SE France), a geochemical study of the Gargasian (Middle Aptian) marl-limestone alternations of the La Marcouline quarry complements data already obtained from Bedoulian (Early Aptian) sediments there. Nannoconids are the main carbonate producers in both limestones and marls. Although diagenetic minerals, such as ankerite (2.5%) are present in small amounts, the trace-element content of bulk carbonate is very close to that of Nannoconus spp. so geochemical sequences can be defined. The long-term evolution of trace-element content was not affected by diagenetic processes, variations in carbonate mineralogy, or a change of carbonate producers. An increase of around 500 ppm in the strontium content of bulk carbonate occurs between the base of the Cabri zone (late Bedoulian) and the Algerianus zone (late Gargasian). This evolution is linked to fluctuations in seawater Sr/Ca ratios caused by variability in the influx of hydrothermal and river waters, by changes in the ratio of aragonite/calcite production and by shifts in sea level. The eustatic sequence Aptian 4, its parasequences and its key surfaces (sequence boundaries, maximum flooding surface) are clearly reflected in the evolution of the bulk-carbonate contents of manganese.

 Abstract:  Bulk rock stable isotope analysis of La Marcouline section (Cassis-La Bédoule area, SE France) revealed a general trend of decreasing δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values from the bottom to the top of the section. The decrease in δ¹³C values reflects a global trend in Middle Aptian times, namely a return to pre-excursion values of δ¹³C values following a major, positive excursion in the Early Aptian, which is a reflection of the Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE) 1a.
Power spectra of the bedding rhythms suggest that precessional and long eccentricity cycles of the Milankovitch band controlled the deposition of marl-limestone bundles. This can be interpreted as the result of a forcing by insolation at low latitudes which resulted in a monsoon-controlled precipitation pattern, that in turn induced the deposition of clay-rich beds. Conversely, limestone beds were formed in periods of dryer climate. Higher sea-surface productivity during wet periods may have been caused by an increase in continental runoff and a consequent enhancement in the delivery of nutrients to epicontinental basins.
An orbital cyclicity in the sedimentary patterns in La Marcouline section provides the opportunity to calibrate the duration of the well-established G. ferreolensis foraminiferal Zone with that of orbital chronology. The G. ferreolensis Zone at Cassis-La Bédoule spans 33 precessional cycles and its duration is thus estimated to be approximately 760  ka. This length of time is significantly shorter than the estimates of published timescales for this zone and thus may be an argument for proposing that the Gargasian substage is significantly shorter than its currently accepted range.

 Abstract:   The theme of the 2006 meeting of the Groupe Français du Crétacé (GFC) was on a comparison of the northern and southern margins of the Tethyan ocean during the nearly 80 million year span of the Cretaceous period, a time when this large, meander-edged seaway was closed progressively by the movement of two major tectonic plates. Consequently, during this slow closure sedimentary successions near the northern and southern shores of the Tethys provide ideal sites for testing a number of hypotheses. One of these is the degree of correlativity between "events" in tracts far distant from one another. The "events" could be paleontologic (faunal renewal vs. migration), sedimentologic (are depositional sequences and specific lithologies such as black shale or phosphates on either shore coeval?), eustatic vs. tectonic. On November 27-28, 2006, thirty earth scientists met in the École des Mines in Paris to discuss these matters. Thirteen communications were presented, eleven of which as abstracts or extended abstracts comprise this special publication by "Carnets".

1- Robaszynski F., Amédro F., González-Donoso J.M. & Linares D. (2007).- Les bioévénements de la limite Albien (Vraconnien) - Cénomanien aux marges nord et sud de la Téthys (S.E. de la France et Tunisie centrale) [Bioevents at the Albian (Vraconnian) - Cenomanian boundary at the North and South margins of the Tethyan Ocean (SE France and Central Tunisia)].
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2- Courville P. (2007).- Échanges et colonisations fauniques (Ammonitina) entre Téthys et Atlantique sud au Crétacé supérieur : voies atlantiques ou sahariennes ? [Late Cretaceous faunal exchange and colonization (Ammonitina) between the Tethys and the South Atlantic: Atlantic or Saharan routes?].
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3- Westermann S., Föllmi K.B., Matera V. & Adatte T. (2007).- Phosphorus and trace-metal records during Cretaceous oceanic anoxic events: Example of the Early Aptian OAE in the western Tethys [Évolution de la concentration du phosphore et des métaux-traces durant les événements anoxiques du Crétacé inférieur : exemple de l'événement de l'Aptien inférieur (OAE 1a) dans la Téthys occidentale].
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4- Jammes S., Manatschal G. & Ghienne J.-F. (2007).- L'évolution tectono-sédimentaire du système "Golfe de Gascogne/Pyrénées Occidentales" au Crétacé inférieur : un nouveau regard [The tectonic and sedimentary evolution of the Bay of Biscay/Western Pyrenees during the Early Cretaceous : a new point of view].
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5- Bardet N., Houssaye A., Pereda Suberbiola X. & Rage J.-C. (2007).- The marine squamates (reptiles) from the Cenomanian-Turonian of the Tethys: a noteworthy radiation [Les squamates (reptiles) marins du Cénomanien-Turonien de la Téthys : une radiation remarquable].
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6- Yans J., Masure E., Dejax J., Pons D. & Amédro F. (2007).- Influences boréales dans le bassin de Mons (Belgique) à l'Albien [Boreal influences in the Mons basin (Belgium) during the Albian].
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7- Granier B. (2007).- On the track of a major trans-Tethyan discontinuity [Sur la piste d'une discontinuité majeure trans-Téthys].
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8- Ferry S., Merran Y., Grosheny D. & Mroueh M. (2007).- The Cretaceous of Lebanon in the Middle East (Levant) context [Le Crétacé du Liban dans le cadre du Moyen-Orient (Levant)].
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9- Grosheny D., Chikhi-Aouimeur F., Ferry S., Jati M. , Herkat M., Atrops F., Redjimi W. & Benkerouf F. (2007).- The Cenomanian-Turonian of the Saharan Atlas (Algeria) [Le Cénomanien-Turonien de l'Atlas saharien (Algérie)].
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10- Bulot L.G. (2007).- Endémisme et cosmopolitisme des faunes d'ammonites de la plaque arabique au Crétacé moyen (Aptien - Turonien) [Endemism vs. cosmopolitanism of the ammonite faunas from the Arabian plate during mid-Cretaceous times (Aptian – Turonian)].
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11- Bulot L.G. & Ferry S. (2007).- La discontinuité albienne à l'échelle globale et ses implications paléobiogéographiques et biostratigraphiques [The Albian unconformity at a global scale and its palaeobiogeographic and biostratigraphic implications].
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 Abstract:  Parsimony analysis of endemicity was applied to analyze the distribution of enchodontoid fishes occurring strictly in the Cenomanian. The analysis was carried out using the computer program PAUP* 4.0b10, based on a data matrix built with 17 taxa and 12 areas. The rooting was made on an hypothetical all-zero outgroup. Applying the exact algorithm branch and bound, 47 trees were obtained with 26 steps, a consistency index of 0.73, and a retention index of 0.50. The topology found with a majority rule consensus was: [(Mexico) + (United States) + (Morocco + Italy) + (Lebanon + Israel) + (Italy-Slovenia) + (Brazil)] + (D.R. Congo) + (Sweden) + (Germany) + (England). The procedure delimited two areas of endemism in the Tethys Ocean. They are Morocco and southern Italy and Lebanon and Israel. The area of endemism formed by Morocco + Italy represents the North African region of the Tethys Ocean, and that formed by Lebanon + Israel is in the mid-Tethyan Ocean. Our results are in partial agreement with the patterns of geographical distribution of certain invertebrate biota.

 Corrigendum:  The fossil locality Lesina referred to in this paper as being in Italy is in fact in Croatia: Lesina is the former  name of  an island (Hvar). This correction does not affect the conclusions of the paper.

 Abstract:   A set of 11 abstracts and short papers (extended abstracts) of presentations given at a meeting organized by the NFSR Working Group, "Micropaléontologie végétale et Palynologie (MVP)", held on May 24, 2006 at the University of Liège, Belgium. Most contributions are available only in English.

1- Breuer P., Filatoff J. & Steemans P. (2007).- Some considerations on Devonian miospore taxonomy.
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2- Breuer P., Dislaire G., Filatoff J., Pirard E. & Steemans P. (2007).- A classification of spores by support vectors based on an analysis of their ornament spatial distribution – An application to Emsian miospores from Saudi Arabia.
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3- Dejax J., Dumax É., Damblon F. & Yans J. (2007).- Palynology of Baudour Clays Formation (Mons Basin, Belgium): correlation within the "stratotypic" Wealden.
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4- Gerards T., Yans J. & Gerrienne P. (2007).- Quelques implications paléoclimatiques de l'observation de bois fossiles du Wealdien du bassin de Mons (Belgique)
Résultats préliminaires.
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5- Grey K. (2007).- Advances in Ediacaran biostratigraphy in Australia.
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6- Javaux E.J. (2007).- Patterns of diversification in early eukaryotes.
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7- Prestianni C., Streel M., Thorez J. & Gerrienne P. (2007).- Strud: old quarry, new discoveries. Preliminary report.
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8- Steemans P. & Breuer P. (2007).- PalyWeb: A palynomorph database project on the web.
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9- Streel M., Renson V. & Vleeschouwer F. de (2007).- Palynological and geochemical data in peat sediments alongside an old (Roman or Merovingian) paved road in the Hautes-Fagnes.
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10- Vanmeirhaeghe J. (2007).- Chitinozoans of the lower Llanvirn Huy and the middle Caradoc Sart-Bernard formations (Middle to Upper Ordovician): implications for the stratigraphy of the Condroz Inlier (Belgium).
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11- Ville de Goyet F. de, Breuer P., Gerrienne P., Prestianni C., Streel M. &  Steemans P. (2007).- Middle Devonian (Givetian) megaspores from Belgium (Ronquières) and Libya (A1-69 borehole).
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 Abstract:  Limestone-marl alternations are usually interpreted to reflect cyclic paleoenvironmental fluctuations linked to Milankovitch-scale climate variations. However, the impact of diagenesis on lithological differentiation can be overprinted on the primary signal.
In order to evaluate environmental variations during the deposition of the Gargasian hemipelagic limestone-marl alternations from the "La Marcouline" quarry (SE France), we have applied a multi-discipline approach (carbonate geochemistry, micropaleontology and mineralogy). The work uses of a method of granulometric separation of the main carbonate particles which (1) allows the characterization and quantification of the compositions of the carbonate phases of both lithologies and (2) gives access to the geochemical signatures of similar carbonate (bio-) particles in each lithology.
The quantifications show that micarb constitutes a significant portion (around 40 per cent) of the sediments. Their geochemical signatures indicate that most of them were formed by fine fragmentation of nannoconid tests. Based on these interpretations, our results indicate that nannoconids are the major constituents of both the marly limestone and the marl layers and that both lithologies are similar in composition.
The coccolith assemblages (mainly Watznaueria spp.) of the limestone and marl layers are similar and equally well-preserved. Changes in oxygen and carbon isotopic ratios express cyclic fertility and salinity/temperature variations in surface waters. The marls indicate higher fertility and lower salinity (or higher temperature) conditions than those denoted by the marly limestones.
Although diagenesis has not altered these rhythmites no strong evidence has been found for linking classical processes such as dilution or productivity cycles to the composition of the sediments (carbonate constituents and clay mineralogy).
This study demonstrates that La Marcouline succession has retained, as recorded by geochemical proxy, its primary environmental variations. Nevertheless, the homogeneity in both lithotypes of sedimentological parameters (clay mineralogy, sediment composition, ...) seems to indicate that these fluctuations did not affect the ecosystem strongly enough to cause marked differences in the composition of marls and marly-limestones.