THE TRIASSIC SAHARONIM FORMATION OF THE SEPHARDIC PROVINCE ON THE SOUTHERN TETHYAN MARGIN IS AN ANALOG FOR THE TRIASSIC GERMANIC MUSCHELKALK OF WESTERN EUROPE

The Germanic Muschelkalk consists of a sedimentary sequence of limestone and dolostone units that overlies the Permian Buntsandstein Formation and underlies the Middle and Late Triassic Keuper Formation. The three formations form the Germanic Triassic Supergroup. The Muschelkalk was deposited in a shallow marine environment that was only partially connected to the Tethys Ocean to the south with the middle section evaporitic indicating a restricted basin. Fossiliferous beds are often biostromal such as the well-known Coenothyris brachiopod beds (e.g. Terebratula Bed, terebratulid facies) common in the Muschelkalk. The Saharonim Formation of the Sephardic Province, found along the southern shore of the Tethys Ocean, consists of limestone and shale beds with occasional marls and bioturbated micrites. The formation is rich in marine fossils, especially the Fossiliferous Limestone Member from Makhtesh Ramon, southern Israel where the brachiopod genera Coenothyris and Tunethyris are common. The formation was also deposited in an open shelf environment that is indicative of the main transgressive phase of the Middle Triassic in the area. A shallow marine depositional environment is suggested by the numerous and diverse nautiloid population. The Saharonim Formation is similar to the Germanic Muschelkalk in that the lithology is comparable and the fossil constituents, although more diverse, are similar, especially among the brachiopods. Characteristic fossils common to both include: Encrinus, Ceratites, Germanonautilus, Lima, Myophoria, Plagiostoma, Hybodus and Nothosaurus.