Some Charophytes from the Middle Dinosaur Member of the Tendaguru Formation (Upper Jurassic of Tanzania)

Biostratigraphy and paleoecology of the famous dinosaur beds of Tendaguru Formation, Tanzania, East Africa are still under discussion. Calcareous microfossils have not yet contributed to this question . Four samples from the Middle Dinosaur Member have now yielded charophyte gyrogonites of the species Aclistochara c£ bransonii, Aclistochara cf. minor, Mesochara canellata, and Mesochara harrisi. Considering ammonite datations in underand overlying members, even their long stratigrapical ranges point to a Kimmeridgian age for the Middle Dinosaur Member of Tendaguru Formation . Salinity tolerances of the species (if autochthonous) suggest a variable environment with partly brackish, partly freshwater influences.