New taxa of angiosperm pollen, miospores and associated palynomorphs from the early Late Cretaceous of Egypt (Maghrabi Formation, Kharga Oasis).

A palynological investigation of samples from various boreholes in the Maghrabi Formation (Kharga Oasis, southern Egypt) resulted in the recovery of pollen and spore assemblages associated with rare marine palynofossils (dinoflagellates, foraminiferal linings) and freshwater algae (e.g. Botryococcus, Ovoidites parvus, Pediastrum, Scenedesmus). The general composition of the assemblages is largely consistent with the estuarine and tidal flat conditions characteristic of the Maghrabi Formation.The formal descriptions of the following new taxa are given: Cicatricosisporites kedvesii Schrank, sp. nov., Equisetosporites lawalii Schrank, sp. nov., Dettmannaepollenites clavatus Schrank, sp. nov., and Integritetradites porosus Schrank and Mahmoud, gen. nov. and sp. nov. Combined scanning electron microscopic and light microscopic techniques have been applied to hand-picked grains to illustrate the new taxa. The palynological ages assigned to the Maghrabi samples are mainly based on angiosperm pollen and range from undifferentiated Cenomanian for an Integritetradites porosus assemblage without triporates to Late Cenomanian-Early Turonian for another assemblage which has I. porosus associated with rare triporate pollen grains (Proteacidites/'Triorites' spp.).