ABSTRACT
Micro- and macrofloral data as well as lithological evidence are used to assess the Late Jurassic to mid-Cretaceous palaeoecology of the western and central Sudan. Dry conditions during the Late Jurassic or Early Cretaceous are indicated by occurrences of the xeromorphic fern Weichselia reticulata and the cheirolepidiacean Frenelopsis in the western Sudan and by thick evaporite sequences (massive halites) in the subsurface of central Sudan. The overall composition of the Neocomian palynoflora was probably influenced by local elevations with a conifer vegetation which contributed an unusual bisaccate pollen component to the palynoflora. The exceptionally high content of pteridophyte spores (59%) and the occurrence of Nelumbites and Menispermites leaves in the Albian – Cenomanian together with laterites suggest an onset of humid tropical conditions. In the latest Cenomanian the increasing number of ephedroid pollen and the physiognomic characters of angiosperm leaves suggest at least seasonally dry conditions.
