Open AccessThe trace fossil Cardioichnus planus from the lower Miocene of Algeria: the first record from Africa and a probable endemic tracemaker
Author(s) -
Mohammed Nadir Naimi,
Amine Cherif,
Mourad Belaid
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
geologia croatica online/geologia croatica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.226
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 1333-4875
pISSN - 1330-030X
DOI - 10.4154/gc.2021.09
Subject(s) - trace fossil , pleistocene , paleontology , geology , geography , trace (psycholinguistics) , philosophy , linguistics
Abundant Cardioichnus planus SMITH & CRIMES, 1983 have been reported for the first time from Africa. They occur in lower Miocene deep-marine deposits near Tiaret in northwestern Algeria. Morphological features of the trace, coupled with the spatial interrelationships between Cardioichnus and the echinoids documented in this area, provide evidence that the endemic spatangoid Echinocardium nummuliticum PÉRON & GAUTHIER, 1885 represents the tracemaker of the studied C. planus. Cardioichnus is known from the upper Jurassic to the Pleistocene and it has a wide geographic and environmental distribution.