A shell concentration of the Middle Miocene Crassostrea gryphoides (Schlotheim, 1813) from Siwa Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt

Abstract

A concentration of heavy, thick-shelled, large-sized, and elongated population of the oyster Crassostrea gryphoides (Schlotheim, 1813) was recorded in shallow-marine deposits of the basal Oasis Member of the Middle Miocene Marmarica Formation exposed at Siwa Oasis, Egypt. The oyster assemblage is resedimented as a lens-shaped bank up to 80–100 cm thick and about 220 m long. Crassostrea gryphoides specimens are embedded in a yellowish green, soft marl matrix. This is the first documented occurrence of this lens at Siwa Oasis. The lensoid structure is bounded by a lower marl and an upper shale beds of about 2 m and 1.5 m thick, respectively. Assemblage within this lens is characterized by extreme variations of Crassostrea gryphoides, forming an almost monotypic assemblage. The shell packing was dense (shell percentages higher than 75%) at the base and the center of the lens, whereas it exhibits loose packing at the top and right and left sides of the lens (shell percentage less than 15%). Valves are poorly sorted and randomly orientated (both in surface and cross section views). Encrustation and bioerosion have observed on both sides of the left and right valves. The relatively limited varieties of encrusters together with moderate frequency of borings indicate moderate to high sedimentation rate. On the other hand, the low abundance of fragmented and abraded shells indicates good preservation and minimal transport. The studied lens concentration is interpreted as proximal tempestites assemblage.