Geo.Cro.2-3-61-KB.pdf 311 � Bruno Granier1, Dimas Dias-Brito2 and Ioan I. Bucur3 AB STRA CT Calcareous Albian-Cenomanian strata in the Potiguar basin yield a number of microfossils, among which are cal- careous algae (Dasycladales and Corallinales). This data, together with an inventory of previous discoveries, ena- bled the discussion of their biogeography. These benthic organisms probably came from the early Central Atlantic Ocean through its northwestern neck between Africa and South America and thus reached the early South Atlantic platforms. Keywor ds: calcareous algae, Albian, Cenomanian, Potiguar Basin, Brasil, biogeography 1 Département des Sciences de la Terre, UFR des Sciences et Techniques, Université de Bretagne Occidentale (UBO), 6, avenue Le Gorgeu, F-29238 Brest Cedex 3 France; (bgranier@univ-brest.fr) 2 UNESP – Universidade Estadual Paulista – Rio Claro, IGCE, Departamento de Geologia Aplicada, Caixa-Postal 178, av. 24 A 1515, Bela Vista, 13506-900 – Rio Claro, SP Brazil 3 Department of Geology, Babes-Bolyai University, str. M. Kogalniceanu nr.1, 400084 Cluj-Napoca Romania; (ibucur@bioge.ubbcluj.ro) Calcareous algae from Upper Albian – Cenomanian strata of the Potiguar basin (NE Brazil) Geologia Croatica 61/2–3 311–320 2 Figs. 1 Tab. 2 Pls. Zagreb 2008 Geologia CroaticaGeologia Croatica � 1. INTRODUCTION Calcareous algal remains are common components of mid- Cretaceous shallow-water carbonate rocks in Brazilian sedi- mentary basins. However, here, as in the other basins of the southern hemisphere, they are poorly documented. This study focuses on the fossil algae found in an offshore well of the Potiguar Basin, north of Macau (Fig. 1). The cursory inven- tory of the fossil algal assemblage in this area is supplement- ed by a discussion of earlier published records regarding the early South Atlantic Ocean. 2. GEOLOGIC AND STRATIGRAPHIC SETTINGS Cretaceous outcrops of shallow-water marine carbonates are known only from northeastern Brazil, (e.g., the Sergipe, Per- nambuco-Paraiba, Araripe, and Potiguar basins). In the sub- surface, these carbonate successions, attaining hundreds of metres in thickness, were identifi ed from seismic and well- logging data. This is also the case offshore on the continental margin between latitudes 28° and 2° S, where they are of Al- bian age in southern, southeastern and eastern tracts (i.e., the Santos, Campos, Espírito Santo, and Jequitinhonha basins), and of Albian to Campanian age in northeastern and equato- rial areas (e.g., the basins listed above plus the Barreirinhas Basin). The studied material comes from a Petrobrás exploration well (Fig. 1) drilled through the Albian-Cenomanian carbonate sequence of the Ponta do Mel Formation (TIBANA & TERRA, 1981). According to DIAS-BRITO (1985), the upper part of the lower Ponta do Mel Formation, of Early to Middle Albian age, represents low-energy “deep-water” mud-dominated fabrics: mudstone and wackestone facies with planktonic foraminifera (hedbergellids and Favusella washitensis) and pithonellids. The upper Ponta do Mel, Late Albian to Cenomanian in age, dis- plays mainly high-energy “shallow-water” grain-dominated fabrics: ooid-oncoidal grainstone and packstone facies com- monly with red algae (and a few benthic foraminifera: Anderse- nolina sp. and lituolids), and locally with algal (rhodalgal) bio- lithites (TIBANA & TERRA, 1981; TERRA, 1990; TERRA & LEMOS, 1999). The boundary between these sub-units of the Geologia Croatica Geologia Croatica 61/2–3 312 Ponta do Mel Formation appears to record a rapid lowering of sea level, that is a forced regression; it is therefore interpreted as being a major sequence boundary. The studied material consists of 31 thin sections that were cut from cores taken in the uppermost part of the Ponta do Mel Formation (Fig. 1); consequently it is possible that the fossils described are all of Cenomanian age. 3. PRELIMINARY INVENTORY OF THE BRAZILIAN MID-CRETACEOUS ALGAE Division Chlorophyta Class Chlorophyceae KÜTZING, 1843 Order Dasycladales PASCHER, 1931 Family Triploporellaceae (PIA, 1920) Tribe Triploporelleae (PIA, 1920) Sub-Tribe Linoporellinae PIA, 1927 Genus Linoporella STEINMANN, 1899 Linoporella sp. (Pl. 1, Figs. B & E) The type species L. capriotica (OPPENHEIM, 1899) was recently revised by BARATTOLO & ROMANO (2005). Our specimens present affi nities with the named species: a rather short and thin primary, rather long and thin second- ary’s, and tertiaries that are rather short and thin. This mate- rial is very fragmentary and does not allow more precise identifi cation. Tribe Salpingoporelleae BASSOULLET et al., 1979 Sub-Tribe Salpingoporellinae BASSOULLET et al., 1979 Genus Holosporella PIA, 1930 Holosporella nkossaensis P. MASSE, 1995 (Pl. 2, Fig. F) As in the type-specimens of this poorly known form, calcifi - cation in our material is rather weak and the structures are in part masked by micritization. Family Dasycladaceae KÜTZING, 1843 Tribe Dasycladeae PIA, 1920 Sub-Tribe Cymopoliinae Genus Cymopolia J.V. LAMOUROUX, 1816 Cymopolia perkinsi JOHNSON, 1968 (Pl. 1, Fig. C) First described from Texas, this species was probably illus- trated from the Congo as “Dasycladacea ind.” in P. MASSE (1995; pers. comm., 2008). It has strong calcifi cation along the main axis and on the outer end of the laterals (around the fertile ampulla and the surrounding sterile secondaries). Fi gu re 1: Location of the studied exploration well RNS-11 off shore Macau. The observed ranges of the fossils (cored interval only) are plotted next to the Gamma-Ray well log, since detail data on lithology are not available. Material from İandaira Fm. is not studied here. Scale: each interval = 100 m. Geologia CroaticaBruno Granier et al.: Calcareous algae from Upper Albian – Cenomanian strata of the Potiguar basin (NE Brazil) 313 Remarks: Specimens illustrated by TERRA (1990: Fotos 18–19) and ascribed to Actinoporella should not be referred to that genus but are representatives of Cymopolia. Sub-Tribe Neomeriineae Genus Neomeris J.V. LAMOUROUX, 1816 Neomeris is very common in our material and presents two patterns for the position of the fertile ampulla: it is either set between two sterile secondaries, as in the sub-genus Neom- eris, or both sterile secondaries are below the associated am- pulla, as in the sub-genus Larvaria. Their identifi cation at the species level is barely feasible in thin section, (the most com- plete delineations were obtained from washed samples of un- consolidated Cenozoic sediments). Neomeris (Neomeris) sp. (Pl. 1, Fig. A; Pl. 2, Fig. I) Neomeris cretacea which was revised by BARATTOLO (1990) is in this fi rst group. It was not discovered in the Potiguar basin, but it is known from the neighbouring Sergipe basin (GRANI- ER et al., 1991a, 1991b). Neomeris (Larvaria) sp. (Pl. 2, Fig. H) Some representatives of this sub-genus are found in the Po- tiguar basin. Family Polyphysaceae KÜTZING, 1843 Indeterminate Polyphysaceae (Pl. 1, Figs. D, F) The available material is poorly calcifi ed and suffered micri- tization which partly masks the structures. Division Rhodophyta Class Rhodophyceae RABENHORST, 1863 Order Corallinales SILVA & JOHANSEN, 1986 Family Sporolithaceae VERHEIJ Genus Sporolithon HEYDRICH, 1897 Sporolithon sp. (Pl. 2, Fig. C) Occurrences and records of the genus are rare in the South American scientifi c literature. TERRA (1990) illustrated a form (op. cit.: “Foto 9”) from the Ponta do Mel Formation of the Potiguar basin that he ascribed to the “coralináceas” and which we fi nd to be is a genuine Sporolithon (the photomicrograph clearly documents the existence of sori). SRIVASTAVA (1982a; fi gs. 23–24) illustrated Archaeolithothamnium, a synonym for Sporolithon; but his specimens are younger for they were dis- covered in the Jandaíra Formation. Similarly a specimen il- lustrated by BERTHOU & BENGSTON (1983, pl. 3, fi g. 3–4) from the Cotinguiba Formation in the Sergipe-Alagoas Basin is of Coniacian age. The occurrence of sori in some poorly preserved specimens allows us to ascribe them to this genus. Sporolithon amphiroaeformis (ROTHPLETZ,1891) (Pl. 2, Figs. D, G) The material includes a non-geniculate (= unarticulated) en- crusting coralline. Its thallus has fructicose branches, for most sections cut through fi nger-like protuberances. Some sections display unisporangial conceptacles (sori), a reproductive feature known only from the Family Sporolithaceae. However, regard- ing the internal structure, the monomerous thallus displays core cells with a coaxial arrangement (i.e. core cells arranged in tiers). This growth pattern is rather rare in the genus Sporolithon as most representatives have central cores of non-coaxial fi la- ments (WOELKERLING, 1988). There are few records of co- axial growth: for instance, TOWNSEND et al., (1995; WOELK- ERLING, pers. comm. 2008) reported that both coaxial and non-coaxial growths occur in Sporolithon durum (FOSLIE). To confi rm our identifi cation of the species, the material was compared with topotypic material, from “la Cadière, dans le bassin du Beausset”, Var, France, available from the collec- tions of Mme P. LEMOINE (1917) and J. PFENDER (1926). Family Hapalidiaceae J.E. GRAY, 1864 Subfamily Melobesioideae BIZZOZERO, 1885 Genus Lithothamnion HEYDRICH, 1897 We did not fi nd representatives of this genus in the Potiguar basin, but they are known from the neighbouring Sergipe ba- sin. Most specimens ascribed to Lithothamnium angolense ROMANES, 1916, in the study of the Sergipe basin by GRA- NIER et al. (1991b), represent an undetermined species of Li- tho thamnion but cannot be ascribed expressly to L. angolense (which is a synonym for Marinella lugeoni PFENDER, 1926). Some illustrated sections (op. cit.: pl. 2, fi gs. 1, 3, 5–6; pl. 3, fi g.1) exhibit the multiporate conceptacles that are known to host asexual reproductive organs, a characteristic feature of the Family Hapalidiaceae. Family Solenoporaceae PIA, 1927 The current taxonomic knowledge of the other fossil Rhodo- phytes requires a major revision which is beyond the scope of the present study. The re-study of the type-material of species ascribed to the genera Solenopora, Parasolenopora, Pseudo- solenopora, Parachaetetes, will probably reveal a number of erroneous generic ascriptions as well as a number of syn- onyms. However, there are three discrete species that were easy to identify. Genus Elianella PFENDER & BASSE, 1947 Elianella elegans PFENDER & BASSE, 1947 (Pl. 2, Fig. E) Elianella consists of more or less stacked fi les of cells, trans- verse sections of which are polygonal or circular depending on the degree of amalgamation. Within a fi lament, individual cells are barrel-shaped and the wall between two successive cells looks like a watch glass, i.e. it is curved outward (in the direction of growth). Cells of discrete fi laments may be ar- ranged in regular rows. Genus Pycnoporidium YABE & TOYAMA, 1928 Pycnoporidium sinuosum JOHNSON & KONISHI, 1960 (Pl. 2, Fig. B) Pycnoporidium is characterized by stacked sinuous (vide spe- cifi c name) fi les of cells. It is a major contributor to limestone sedimentation. Geologia Croatica Geologia Croatica 61/2–3 314 PLATE 1 A Neomeris (Neomeris) sp.: oblique section. B, E Linoporella sp.: oblique section. C Cymopolia perkinsi: oblique section. D–F Polyphysaceae ind., D: subaxial section, F: subtransverse section. Figures A & C are at the same scale –500 µm; Figures B & D–F are at another scale –500 µm. Geologia CroaticaBruno Granier et al.: Calcareous algae from Upper Albian – Cenomanian strata of the Potiguar basin (NE Brazil) 315 Geologia Croatica Geologia Croatica 61/2–3 316 PLATE 2 A Marinella lugeoni (“bouff ées de pipe”). B Pycnoporidium sinuosum. C Sporolithon sp. (with typical sori). D Sporolithon amphiroaeformis (left) and Andersenolina sp. (right). E Elianella elegans; F) Holosporella nkossaensis: oblique section. G Sporolithon amphiroaeformis (with typical sori). H Neomeris (Larvaria) sp.: tangential section. I another Neomeris (Neomeris) sp.: oblique section. All fi gures, except G – 100 µm, are at the same scale –500 µm. Geologia CroaticaBruno Granier et al.: Calcareous algae from Upper Albian – Cenomanian strata of the Potiguar basin (NE Brazil) 317 Geologia Croatica Geologia Croatica 61/2–3 318 Genus Marinella PFENDER, 1939 Marinella lugeoni PFENDER, 1939 (Pl. 2, Fig. A) The fi laments are narrower and they display constrictions at regular intervals (without true walls as illustrated by BARA- TOLLO & DEL RE, 1985). The typical shape of the thallus is that of a puff of pipe smoke (“bouffée de pipe”). 4. DISCUSSION OF THE BIOGEOGRAPHIC RESULTS Though the assemblage contains representatives of many algal families (Triploporellaceae, Dasycladaceae, Polyphysaceae, Sporolithaceae, Hapalidiaceae, and Solenoporaceae), its diver- sity is very low, each family being represented by one or rarely two genera or species. But we remain very cautious about com- ing to any defi nite conclusion on the diversity issue for some well-known species, such as Polystrata alba (PFENDER, 1926), a Gigartinale which occurs in both Congo and Nigeria, were not identifi ed in the Potiguar basin. Their absence may only be because of the sparseness of adequate sampling. In addition, in South America, with the exception of the Potiguar basin, there are very few data available on palaeo- phycological occurrences. Also, some records are erroneous: for instance, the Dasycladales illustrated by LEGUIZAMON et al. (1993) are bryozoans. However a synthesis of earlier discoveries and the results of this preliminary inventory, pro- vides some keys to an understanding of the observed patterns. For instance, earlier occurrences from other localities in both Central and South America (Guatemala: JOHNSON & KONISHI, 1960; JOHNSON & KASKA, 1965; Venezuela: JOHNSON, 1965; Brazil: SRIVASTAVA, 1982a, 1982b, 1984; BERTHOU & BENGSTON, 1988; GRANIER et al., 1991a, 1991b), as well as from the opposite side of the South Atlan- tic Ocean (Nigeria: POIGNANT & LOBITZER, 1982; Gabon: ROUSSELOT, 1995; Congo: P. MASSE, 1995; Angola: RO- MANES, 1916), suggest that during mid-Cretaceous times the diversity of these algal associations was low on both sides of the South Atlantic Ocean. The new discoveries do not contra- dict this hypothesis, in contrast they appear to add to its strength. Fi gu re 2: Palaeogeographic reconstruction used to locate fossil localities for the Albian-Cenomanian interval (map at – 100 Ma based on Scotese’s Paleomap Project, http://www.scotese.com/). 1: Arizona and Texas, JOHNSON, 1954, 1965, 1968; KONISHI & EPIS, 1962; 2: Mexico, BARATTO- LO, 1983, 1990; 3: Guatemala, JOHNSON & KONISHI, 1960; JOHNSON & KASKA, 1965; 4: Venezuela, JOHNSON, 1965; 5–6: Brazil, 5: Potiguar, SRIVASTAVA, 1982a, 1982b, 1984, 6: Sergipe, BERTHOU & BENGSTON, 1988; GRANIER et al., 1991a, 1991b; 7: Nigeria, POIGNANT & LOBITZER, 1982; 8: Gabon, ROUSSELOT, 1995; 9: Congo, MASSE, 1995; 10: Angola, ROMANES, 1916. Table 1: Albian-Turonian occurrences of calcareous algae recorded in Western Africa and Central and South America, originally determined as: (a) Neomeris budaense n.sp. (JOHNSON, 1968); (b) Heteroporella potiguarensis n.sp. (SRIVASTAVA, 1982a); (c) Dasycladacea ind. (P. MASSE, 1995); (d) Permocalculus budaensis n.sp. (JOHNSON, 1968); (e) Trinocladus norteriograndensis n.sp. (SRIVASTAVA, 1982b); (f) both Marinella lugeoni and Lithothamnium primitiva (JOHNSON & KASKA, 1965, USNM n° P 042547A); (g) Lithophyllum? venezuelaensis (JOHNSON, 1965, USNM n° P 042467); (h) Lithothamnium regonis n.sp. (HAUG in MAURY, 1937); (i) Lithothamnium angolense n.sp. (ROMANES, 1916); (j) Parachaetetes keitheiti (POIGNANT in GRANIER et al., 1991b); (k) Parachaetetes sp. (TERRA & LEMOS, 1999); no fi g. (Poignant’s collection). 1 Arizona and Texas 2 Mexico 3 Guatemala 4 Venezuela 5-6 Brazil 7 Nigeria 8 Gabon 9 Congo 10 Angola 5-Potiguar 6-Sergipe Heteroporella lepina (a) (b) Holosporella nkossaensis Cymopolia perkinsi (c) Neomeris cretacea Genotella pfenderae no Fig. Trinocladus sp. (d) (e) Marinella lugeoni (f ) (g) (h) no Fig. (i) Pycnoporidium sinuosum (j) Sporolithon amphiroaeformis Lithothamnion sp. Elianella elegans (k) Ethelia alba no Fig. Geologia CroaticaBruno Granier et al.: Calcareous algae from Upper Albian – Cenomanian strata of the Potiguar basin (NE Brazil) 319 Furthermore,this preliminary inventory provides supplemen- tary information and data concerning the origin of these algae (and the associated benthic foraminifers): 4.1. Did the algae come from the South? The paleolatitudinal location of the southern ends of the Afri- can and South American continents near the South-Polar re- alm (see the extension of the mid-Cretaceous Tethyan Realm, i.e. the Megatethys, on Fig. 22 in DIAS-BRITO, 2000 or on Fig. 2 in BELLIER & VRIELYNCK, 2007) precludes a south- ern origin for these temperature-sensitive organisms. 4.2. Did they come from the Tethyan realm through the trans-Saharan Seaway? According to MOULLADE & GUÉRIN (1982) who discuss the patterns of foraminiferal distribution, this hypothesis has not been thoroughly documented for the oldest part of the in- terval: “le passage ‘transsaharien’ n’a jamais été documenté sérieusement pour cette période”. For the youngest part of the interval we consider that the environments (siliciclastic-rich facies and associated water-turbidity) along this pathway were probably unfavourable to algal growth and their subsequent dissemination. 4.3. Did they come from the Tethyan realm through the north-western neck of the South Atlantic Ocean? It is possible that these benthic organisms reached the early South Atlantic Ocean through a channel formed by the set of rifts and transform faults that existed between the shoulders of both continents and connected it to the early Central Atlantic Ocean. There are some similarities between the South Atlan- tic algal assemblages and those in Texas, Mexico, Guatemala and Venezuela (though here again the Albian-Cenomanian se- ries are poorly documented). These similarities support this interpretation. However, we should consider that colonization of the South Atlantic shorelines by Dasycladales and Corallinales did not occur in the same way. Rhodophytes are common in most shallow-water marine palaeoenvironments where they occasionally build up small knolls (“reefs”), but they are not confi ned to the sublittoral zone for they are also found in slight ly cooler or deeper marine palaeoenvironments. Conse- quently the relative abundance of these wide-spread opportun- ist forms on the early South Atlantic ramps is not surprising. It is a different story for the Chlorophytes. Modern Dasy- cladales are either choristosporate or umbrellosporate and their Albian-Cenomanian relatives appear to have pioneered in the early South Atlantic ocean: Dasycladaceae (choristosporate forms), such as Neomeris (N.), Neomeris (L.), Genotella and Cymopolia, are common in the study area; Polyphysaceae (um- brellosporate forms) are also abundant. As this was a time of change in the evolution of the Dasycladales, (near the end of the range of the Family Triploporellaceae), it is probable that this distribution is related to the peculiar pattern of their re- productive organs that gave them an “evolutionary advantage” rather than to a control only by the then-existing latitudes. Though calcareous algae provide a unique tool to inves- tigate the palaeobiogeography of the early South Atlantic Oce- an, one should not overlook other (non-algal) groups or the overall fossil assemblage. There is no doubt that planktonic organisms used a route from the Central to the South Atlantic, possibly as early as Late Aptian times (see DIAS-BRITO & FERRÉ, 2001; BELLIER & VRIELYNCK, 2007). Some ben- thic foraminifera followed the same route, but at a later date (see MOULLADE & GUÉRIN, 1982). We think that organ- isms that lived with photosynthetic symbionts: foraminifera like the orbitolinids (apparently absent on the South Atlantic ramps) but also macrofossils like the rudists and corals, (for which the fossil record is scanty) are potentially excellent case studies. In any case, we are required to supplement our cur- rent database on both the South American and African conti- nents, to add validity to our hypothesis. 5. CONCLUSION This preliminary study adds to the palaeophycological inven- tory of the South Atlantic basins. The list of taxa encountered is still short, thus suggesting that diversity was low. The ben- thic green and red calcareous algae probably originated in from the Central Atlantic Ocean and reached the early South Atlantic Ocean through a north-western passageway between Western African and South America. Their paucity is possibly related to the degree of capability of each algal group (at the family or even the genus levels) to colonize new coasts, an hypothesis that will require further investigation. AKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors thank Petrobrás for ceding the investigated material, previously to the creation of the Brazilian Petroleum National Agen- cy – ANP. We thank Bill Woelkerling, Filippo Baratollo, and Werner Piller, who provided helpful comments that improved the manu- script, as well as Nestor Sander for corrections of the English text. REFERENCES BARATTOLO, F. (1983): Observazioni su Triploporella steinmannii n. sp. (alghe Verdi, Dasicladali) del Cretacico del Messico. – Bollet- tino della Società dei Naturalisti in Napoli, 91 (1982), 35 p. BARATTOLO, F. 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Manuscript received December 20, 2008 Revised manuscript accepted June 16, 2008