Discovery of Devonian scolecodonts from the subsurface Western Desert, Egypt

The scolecodonts (polychaete jaws) are a significant group of dispersed palynomorphs in Palaeozoic rocks. The growing literature considering the taxonomy of fossil jaw-bearing polychaetes presents some debates on their systematics and has generally limited their role in biostratigraphy. This contribution is the first record that focuses on the scolecodonts from the Devonian (Eifelian) subsurface succession in the Western Desert of Egypt and their biostratigraphic significance. The jaw apparatuses of four different polychaete families are examined and documented from the Devonian of Faghour-1X borehole. The identified families are Paulinitidae, Kielanoprionidae, Polychaetaspidae and Mochtyellidae. Four genera are identified: Kettnerites, Oblongiprion, Oenonites and Mochtyella. The scolecodont associations are compared with coeval associations of the same age from other Gondwanan, Baltic and Laurentian areas to assess their palaeogeographic distribution and biostratigraphic importance.