THE VALANGINIAN OF THE SAFI BASIN (ATLANTIC MOROCCO) AND ITS AMMONITEFAUNA - PALEOBIOGEOGRAPHICAL IMPLICATIONS

The study of ammonite assemblages collected from the Calcaire inferieu r and the Argiles brunes in the region of Safi (Morocco) has allowed u s to pinpoint the age of these formations and to attribute them, respe ctively, to the Boissieri Zone - lower parr of the Campylotoxus Zone a nd to the upper part of the Campylotoxus Zone - Upper Valangirian. The se units are also reinterpreted in terms of sequence stratigraphy. In addition, the analysis of the faunal spectrum shows that, although dif fering in some respects, these ammonite associations are similar to th ose of other peri-Tethyan platforms, while differing considerably from the basin assemblages. ((C) Academie des sciences / Elsevier, Paris.) .