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Resume Une nouvelle espece d’Archiaciidae, A. ramitaensis nov. sp., a ete decouverte dans le Cenomanien superieur de Syrie. Elle est decrite et comparee aux autres especes d’Archiacia deja connues. La distribution paleobiogeographique des Archiaciidae et leurs affinites paleoecologiques sont discutees.

Biostratigraphic and carbon-isotope data were used to introduce a high-resolution stratigraphic reference section of the Upper Aptian to Upper Cenomanian platform carbonates of the South Palmyrides in Syria. We studied the biostratigraphic evolution of the Zbeideh to Abou-Zounnar formations in two sections, based on 42 species of benthonic foraminifera and 38 species of planktonic foraminifera. Comparisons with other Tethyan assemblages allowed determining 11 biozones; six are based on planktonic foraminifera, and five on benthonic foraminifera. Four hiatuses (earliest Albian, Middle–Late Albian, Late Albian–Early Cenomanian, and Mid Cenomanian) are marked by hardgrounds or dolomitic intervals. The planktonic biozones Ticinella bejaouaensis, T. primula, T. praeticinensis, Rotalipora subticinensis, R. globotruncanoides and R. cushmani co-occur with the following benthonic biozones: Mesorbitolina texana partial range zone, M. subconcava range zone, Neoiraqia convexa taxon-range zone, Praealveolina iberica interval zone and Pseudedomia drorimensis range zone. Within this biostratigraphic framework, a new carbon-isotope curve from the South Palmyrides was compared with δ13C records of the Tethyan Realm and England that allows identifying several biotic events and Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAE), recorded in the Upper Albian to Upper Cenomanian succession. The combination of sequence-stratigraphic interpretations and comparisons, with our results have led to an improved understanding of the Cretaceous platform architecture of the South Palmyrides that links the Arabian Platform to the east with the Levant Platform to the southwest.

Biostratigraphic data provide evidence of the presence of Triassic sedimentary successions in the main mountain belts in Syria. The study of the sedimentary successions in these chains and in the main deep wells lead to a new subdivision of the Triassic in Syria into four lithological units/formations: (1) The lower Habari Formation is clastic and Scythian to Early Anisian in age. (2) The overlying Abu Fayad Formation is generally carbonaceous, Late Anisian to Ladinian in age, and subdivided into three members. (3) The Hayan Formation is mainly evaporitic and Carnian – Norian in age. (4) The upper Safa Formation is generally carbonaceous, with some marl intercalations and thin evaporite beds. and Norian to ?Rhaetian in age. These lithological formations extend over the entire northern Arabian platform with very characteristic and distinguishable facies, rendering their correlation within Syria and to their equivalents in neighboring countries straightforward. Moreover, lateral facies changes in these formations enabled establishing a geological and paleogeographical evolution of Syria and the surrounding areas during the Triassic Period. This evolution revealed the presence of two NE-elongated Triassic paleostructures: Hamad Uplift in the south and Aleppo-Mardine High in the north, which separate the Palmyride Basin from the Rutbah Basin in the south, and the Palmyride Basin from the Ifrine Basin in the north, respectively.

Log correlations, biostratigraphical results and seismic data were combined to show that from Late Triassic Norian to Early Cretaceous Aptian times, the Euphrates area (Eastern Syria) was part of a huge saddle-like northeast-trending ridge (the Hamad Uplift) characterized by a prolonged stratigraphic hiatus. This uplift, developed in the Late Triassic, was multiply reactivated during the Mesozoic, particularly in the Early Cretaceous Aptian-Albian times, during a major reorganization phase of the Neo-Tethyan rift system. This uplift marked the separation between two regions with distinctive tectono-sedimentary evolutions: an eastern isolated and starved region (Euphrates Graben) and a western region that was mainly influenced by the sedimentary dynamics of the westerly Bishri Trough, linked to the Palmyrides Basin. The Hamad Uplift broke-up into a N140°E-oriented graben system in late Albian times. This early NE-trending extensional stage was accompanied by volcanic activity and introduced the main phase of horst-and-graben development within the Euphrates Graben in the Late Cretaceous Senonian times.

Sornay J., Mouty Mikhail, Gauthier Henri. Les ammonites du Cénomano-Turonien de la Chaîne côtière (Jibal As-Sahilyeh) de Syrie. In: Géologie Méditerranéenne. Tome 28, numéro 3-4, 2001. pp. 243-257.

The lithological and micropaleontological study of the Jurassic strata of the Coastal Chain (Jibal As-Sahilyeh) of Syria furnishes new stratigraphical information on this region. The sedimentary sequence could be subdivided into stages and formations. It becomes possible to correlate sequences occurring in the Coastal Chain with those in neighbouring regions. The stratigraphic ranges of the Foraminifera from the Coastal Chain are in agreement with those of the same horizons in the Mediterranean area.

The presence of a young planispiral stage in the genus Mangashtia Henson, foraminifer from UpperCretaceous limestones of Iran is not demonstrated as it seems in the original description of the genus. The analysis of many topo types of Mangashtia viennoti Henson, from Upper Cretaceous of Kuh-e-Mangasht (Zagros Mountains) in Iran and the revision of the type-material enable to precise the characteristics of this genus and to consider it as unknown in the Jurassic. Its stratigraphic distribution must be, in this case, limited to the Upper Cretaceous in the best day's knowledge. In fact, the revision of Mangashtia viennoti Henson from the type-locality and its comparison with the larger foraminifer wrongly attributed to Mangashtia Henson and coming from the Upper Jurassic limestones of Iran, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt allow us to include the Jurassic form into a new genus Levantina with as type-species Mangashtia egyptiensis Fourcade, Arafa & Sigal.