Middle Jurassic charophytes from southern Tunisia: Implications on evolution and paleobiogeography

The Middle Jurassic section from the Kef El Anéba in southern Tunisia, near the Beni Kheddache area, provided exceptionally species-rich charophyte assemblages that are studied here for the first time. The Krachoua Formation yielded a Bajocian assemblage composed of Porochara fusca, P. schudackii nov sp., P. kimmeridgensis, P. westerbeckensis, Auerbachichara saidakovskyi, Stenochara sp., Stellatochara aff. subsphaerica, Aclistochara longiformis and Aclistochara africana. A second assemblage from the Krechem El Miit Member (Foum Tataouine Formation), of Late Callovian age, includes Auerbachichara tataouinensis nov. sp., Porochara kimmeridgensis, P. westerbeckensis, P. douzensis, P. obovata var. gondwanensis nov. var. and Mesochara voluta. Taphonomic and paleoenvironmental data suggest autochthony of these two assemblages in a brackish lagoon and a temporary freshwater pond from a littoral environment, respectively. In addition, these floras suggest that Middle Jurassic charophyte biodiversity formed an evolutionary bridge between Upper Triassic charophyte floras dominated by genera Stellatochara, Stenochara and Auerbachichara and Upper Jurassic floras dominated by Porochara, Aclistochara and Mesochara. Furthermore, the biogeography of Middle Jurassic charophytes from southern Tunisia provides further arguments to support the hypothesis of significant biological exchanges between Laurasian and Gondwanan islands, indicating that Peri-tethyan biogeography remained relatively uniform during the Middle Jurassic.