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Antalo Formation
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Antalo Fm base reconstruction

Antalo Fm


Period: 
Jurassic, Cretaceous

Age Interval: 
Callovian – Berriasian


Province: 
Sudan E

Type Locality and Naming

Blue Nile Basin, Southeast Sudan and Northwest Ethiopia

Synonym: Antalo Limestone

Reference: Jain and Singh, 2019; Jain et al., 2022

[Fig. 1: General stratigraphy of the Blue Nile basin, with major lithological characteristics and age assignment (from Jain and Singh, 2019).]


Lithology and Thickness

600m thick, Succession of lower Marl (early Callovian); lower Limestone (mid-Callov through ?Oxfordian), upper Marl (early Kimm?) and upper Limestone (?mid-Kimm through Berriasian) (Jain et al., 2022 as shown on preprint by Mulugeta, 2025).


Lithology Pattern: 
Limestone


Relationships and Distribution

Lower contact

Gohatsion Fm, conformably

Upper contact

Mugher Fm, ?conformable?

Regional extent

Blue Nile Basin, Southeast Sudan and Northwest Ethiopia


GeoJSON

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Fossils

Nannofossils (Nannoconus sp., N. compressus, Polycostella beckmannii and Watznaueria communis), Bivalves, Planolites, Thalassinoide, Chondrites, Brachiopods, Cephalopods (Orthosphinctes aff. tiziani, Paracenoceras cf. kumagunense, P. cf. ennianus, Purporoidea gigas, Pachceras cf. lalandenum, Paracenoceras cf. giganteum, Erymnoceras cf. coronatum), Benthic Foraminifers.


Age 

Callovian – Berriasian (see Lithology description for more details)

Age Span: 

    Beginning stage: 
Callovian

    Fraction up in beginning stage: 
0.00

    Beginning date (Ma): 
165.29

    Ending stage: 
Berriasian

    Fraction up in the ending stage: 
1.0

    Ending date (Ma):  
137.70

Depositional setting


Depositional pattern:  


Additional Information


Compiler:  

Enam O. Obiosio, Solomon Joshua Avong and Henry Nasir Suleiman (2024) - Stratigraphic Lexicon compiled from the following publications:

Jain S., Singh A. (2019): First calcareous nannofossil record from the Jurassic strata exposed in the Blue Nile Basin (Ethiopia). Jour. African Earth Sci. 158: 103553.

Jain, S., Mullugetta, M., Benzaggagh, M., Salamon, M. A., & Schmerold, R. (2022). Discovery of chitinoidellids and calpionellids from the Blue Nile Basin and the Jurassic‐Cretaceous boundary in Ethiopia. Cretaceous Research, 132, 105112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2021.105112.