Dr. Nagy I. Zoltán szerk.: Fragmenta Mineralogica Et Palaentologica 7. 1976. (Budapest, 1976)
posed of white limestone which is similar to the underlying chalk unit, this latter limestone is sometimes colled Serai limestone. Hume suggested the following paléontologie zonation for the Early Eocene rocks in Egypt: 3. Callianassa nilotlca/Sismondia logotheti Zone (=Upper Libyan). 2. Ostrea multicostata Zone ) ) (=Lower Libyan). 1. Operculina libyca Zone ) FOURTAU (1912) subdivided the Egyptian Lower Eocene rocks into two zones as follows: 1. Limestone with Alveolines (which he equated with the Ypresian and Cuisian. 2. Limestone with Operculina Libyca and abundant flint nodules (which he correlated with both the Thanetian and Sparnacian). BOUSSAC (1913) studied the Eocene limestone capping Gabal El Shaghab and recorded Nummulites atacicus , Operculina sp. and Conoclypeus conoides. He considered it to the Lutetian age. BLANCKENHORN (1921) mentioned that the "Lower Libyan" alone was described to have a thickness ranging between 90 m at Gabal Al-Gharrah and 200-300 m in the Libyan (Western) Desert Oasis, being represented by white granular or shaley, rarely, oolitic limestone (sometimes developed as Operculina , Alveolina , or Lithothamnia limestone). In addition marls and clays. He mentoined that both the "Lower and Upper Libyan" were equated with the Nummulites planulatus beds in western Europe, and hence considered to be coeval with the Londinian, Ypresian or Cuisian stages. CUVTLLIER (1930) used the term Eonummulitic to replace ZITTEL' s "Libysche Stufe" and which was roughly correlated with the type Ypresian. He concluded that the Early Eocen rocks are represented only by the upper beds of the Eonummulitic, whereas the basal Eonummulitic is missing in Egypt. HASSAN (1953) recorded Nummulites deserti and N. globulus from a thin bed at the base of the Lower Libyan in Gabal El-Ter and Gabal Urn El-Ghanayem, Kharga Oasis. This bed is underlain by the Esna Shal formation, and is overlain by the Lower Libyan, which contains Operculina libyca SCHWAGER, Operculina cf. jiwani DAVIES, Operculina sp .; Nummulites globulus LEYMERIE, N . subramondi DE LA HARPE, N. ramondi DEFRANCE; Orbitoides nudimargo SCHWAGER; Assilina nui DE LA HARPE, Assilina dandotica DAVIES. He assigned an Early Paleocene age (Montian or Thanetian) to this bed with Nummulites deserti , and an Upper Paleocene age to the Upper beds. SAID (1960) introduced the formational name "Thebes Formation" typified by the more or less 290 m. thick limestone sequence with abundant flint bands of Gabal Gurnah, on the western bank of the Nile facing Luxor. BISHAY (1961) subdivided the Early Eocene rocks east of the Nile between Assiut and Minla into a lower unit of nonfossiliferous limestone with flint (the Assiuti Formation). He distinguished two biozones in the Lower Eocene of Wadi Assiuti (Manfalut Formation): a lower biozone characterized by the presence of Discocyclina nudimargo , D. archiaci , D. variáns , Nummulites pomeli and N . staticus and an
