Miocene bioerosion in a Cretaceous metamorphic basement from the Arzew Mountains (Oran, northwestern Algeria): First evidence of a Tortonian rocky shore in the southwestern Mediterranean area

Abstract

Bioerosive trace fossils at the Guessiba Valley (Arzew Mountains) document an ancient Tortonian shoreline cut into Barremian calcschists at the lowermost part of the Tortonian Balanid Marl Formation. Four ichnogenera produced by endolithic bivalves (Gastrochaenolites) and polychaete annelids (Caulostrepsis, Maeandropolydora, Trypanites) have been identified. The four traces consist of dwelling structures (domichnia). The encrusting epifauna on the rockground include acorn barnacles of the genus Balanus and scarce, poorly preserved bivalves. These epibionts exhibit Trypanites and Entobia, respectively. This ichnoassociation identifies the Entobia ichnosubfacies as part of the Trypanites ichnofacies. The fossil rocky shore described in this paper is related to a transgression that occurred during the Tortonian, characterising a stratigraphic surface corresponding to a sequence boundary. The Guessiba Valley succession marks the first Mediterranean marine transgression affecting the southern flank of the Arzew Mountains, characterised by three distinct phases. The calcschists reported here are among the rare examples of non-carbonate rocky substrates colonised by endolithic boring organisms.