The Gebel Owaina and Kilabiya sections in the Idfu-Esna area, Upper Nile Valley (Egypt)

We describe the planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy of the ~61m thick stratigraphic section spanning the Tarawan Chalk (~17 m) and Esna Shale (~44 m) at Gebel Owaina and the ~35m thick section spanning the total thickness of the Esna Shale at Gebel Kilabiya, ~10km west of Owaina. The Owaina section spans Zones P4a (partim) to P6a (partim), whereas Kilabiya spans Zones P4c (partim) to P6a (partim). The Esna/Thebes contact at both localities is marked by a distinct angular unconformity within Zone P6a and a hiatus estimated>3 my; the sections are thus considerably less complete than at Dababiya, ~25km to the north. The recently revised Paleocene/Eocene boundary is located in both sections within the lower part of the Esna Shale at ~12m and 16.3m, respectively, above the base of the Esna Shale. The CIE-interval is reduced in both sections (~1m thick at G. Owaina and ~1.5m at G. Kilabiya) and exhibits evidence of a stratigraphic gap/hiatus within its upper part at both localities. The base of the CIE-interval is characterized by the lowest occurrences (LO) of Acarinina sibaiyaensis and marked at its top by the LO of Pseudohastigerina wilcoxensis. At Gebel Owaina the CIE-interval is directly preceded by the LO of Ac. wilcoxensis, Ac. angulosa, Acarinina esnaensis and Igorina broedermanni in descend-ing order, whereas at Kilabiya this sequential order of bioevents is less well developed. Although the characteristic paleontologic trends observed elsewhere are subdued in the Kilabiya section, the latter shows a phased pattern within the CIE-interval comparable to that of the Dababiya Quarry Beds at Dababiya.