Cenozoic

Cretaceous

Jurassic

Triassic

Permian

Paleozoic

Compiled by: Jacques LeBlanc (2022), Stratigraphic Lexicon: The Sedimentary Formations of The Republic of Niger, Africa. Colnes Publishing (Tallin, Estonia), 365 pp. For more information see "About"

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Dibella Formation

Dibella Fm

Period:

Cretaceous

Age Interval:

Early Cretaceous (Aptian to Albian) (7c)

Province:
East Niger Rift Basin - Termit Sub-basin

Type Locality and Naming

Faure, 1954, 1966; Faure et al., 1956.

References: Boureau, 1955; Furon, 1956, 1964; Faure, 1954, 1966; Faure et al., 1956; Fabre et al., 1983.

Synonym: Série de Dibella; Equivalent(s): Achegour Fm, Tiffa Fm, Tégama Gr, Téfidet Gr

Lithology and Thickness

Predominantly coarse sandstone with cross-bedded stratification underlined by gravel areas (Fig. 1). Towards the base, several conglomerate levels exist, which include quartz pebbles. The color of the sandstones is generally light. White, beige-pink, and especially gray dominate, often masked by a black patina. Silty levels play only a secondary role; they are reduced to inter-beds not exceeding a few decimeters. Its thickness is 150-200 m.

[Figure 1: Section of the Dibella Formation 3 km E-NE of the Dibella wells (Source: Faure, 1966, page 220)]

Lithology Pattern:

Coarse-grained sandstone

Relationships and Distribution

Lower contact

Discordance onto the Precambrian basement (rubified granite)

Upper contact

Overlying unit is the Ezerza Fm

Regional extent

GeoJSON

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Fossils

Traces of plants (Podocarpites saharianum Boureau) and imprints of leaves of Dicotyledonous Angiosperms (Laurophyllum and Cinnamomoides) (Fig. 2). Faure (1966) states: “The shale levels with vertebrates of the Elrhas formation, known to the south and east of the Aïr, seem to be absent in the Dibella formation. Sedimentation may not have started there until after the period characterized by large lakes.”

[Figure 2: Drawings of Dicotyledonous Angiosperms [Podocarpites (?) saharianum (Aa, Ba, Ca); Laurophyllum gadilhei (Ad, Bb, Cb); Cinnamomoides faurei (Ab); Cinnamomoides tchadense (Ac)] leave imprints from the Dibella Fm (Boureau, 1955)]

Age

Early Cretaceous (Aptian to Albian), just before the Cenomanian, Boureau, 1955.

Age Span:

Beginning stage:

Aptian

Fraction up in beginning stage:

0.5

Beginning date (Ma):

117.30

Ending stage:

Albian

Fraction up in the ending stage:

1.0

Ending date (Ma):

100.50

Depositional setting

Continental

Depositional pattern:

Additional Information

Compiler:

Jacques LeBlanc (2022), Stratigraphic Lexicon: The Sedimentary Formations of The Republic of Niger, Africa. Colnes Publishing (Tallin, Estonia), 365 pp. https://doi.org/10.47909/978-9916-9760-6-7 (or via https://sites.google.com/site/leblancjacques)