Cenozoic

Cretaceous

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Taloka Formation

Taloka Fm

Period:

Cretaceous

Age Interval:

Early Maastrichtian

Province:
Sokoto Basin (S. Iullemmeden Basin)

Type Locality and Naming

The Rima Gr is divided into three packages–Taloka, Dukamaje, and Wurno formations (Nwajide, 2013). The base of the sequence is Taloka Fm. The type section of the Taloka Fm is at Taloka, near Goronyo, Sokoto Province (Whiteman, 1982).

Synonym: Taloka Fm Lower Sandstones and Mudstones (Jones, 1948)

Reference section: Reyment,1965; Adeleye,1975; Kogbe,1976; Dessauvagie, 1975; Petters, 1978; Offodile, 1980; Whiteman, 1982; Benkhelil,1989; Okosun, 1992; Guiraud, 1993; Akandeet al., 1998; Zaborskiet al., 1998; Jauroet al., 2007; Obaje,2009; Nwajide, 2013

[Fig. 1. Stratigraphic successions in the Nigerian sector of the lullummeden Basin (Sokoto Basin)]

Lithology and Thickness

Taloka Fm consists of white, fine-grained, friable sandstones with intercalated mudstones and carbonaceous mudstones. It was given an estimated thickness of 393ft by Kogbe (1972).

Lithology Pattern:

Clayey sandstone

Relationships and Distribution

Lower contact

Unconformably overlies the Continental Intercalaire Gr

Upper contact

Overlain by the Dukamaje Fm

Regional extent

Iullemmeden Basin

GeoJSON

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Fossils

Rima Gr contains Mussels, Mososaurian bones, fish teeth (Raeburn and Tattam, 1930), Foraminifera (Miliamina, Trochammina), Ophiomorpha, Skolithos, thalassinoides, worm fecal castings, Ammonites (Lybicoceras), Arenaceous foraminifera (Miliammina, Trochammina, Haplophragmoides, Textularia, Ammobaculites, Ammodiscus), Mososaurus fossil (Mososaurusnigeriensis), fossil fish (Lamnaappendiculata, Lamnalibyca, Schizorhizastroemeri, Sphanoduslybicus), Ammonite (Lybicocerasafikpoensis), bivalves, echinoids, corals, Pelecypods, gastropods, Ammonites (Lybicoceras), Foraminifera (Ammodiscus, Nonion, Nonionella, Gavelinella, Orbignyainflata)

Age

Maastrichtian (assumed here to be the lower third)

Age Span:

Beginning stage:

Maastrichtian

Fraction up in beginning stage:

0.0

Beginning date (Ma):

72.17

Ending stage:

Maastrichtian

Fraction up in the ending stage:

033

Ending date (Ma):

70.15

Depositional setting

Taloka Fm showed the initial stages of deposition in fluvial and deltaic environments, followed by transition into shallow marine settings of the Dukamaje Fm and followed by the Wurno Fm which indicates a further deepening and stabilization of marine conditions, with the development of a carbonate platform.

Depositional pattern:

Additional Information

Compiler:

Enam O. Obiosio, Solomon Joshua Avong and Henry Nasir Suleiman (2024)- Stratigraphic Lexicon compiled from the following books:

Nigeria: Its Petroleum Geology, Resources and Potential, by Arthur Whiteman, 1982; (Volume 1) Published by Graham and Trotman Ltd.

A review of the Cretaceous System in Nigeria by P. M. Zaborski (1998) In Africa Geoscience Review, Vol.5, No.4, pp385-483

Geology and Mineral Resources of Nigeria by Nuhu George Obaje, Published by Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2009; http://www.springer.com/series/772

Geology of Nigeria Sedimentary Basins, Nwajide C. S., 2013; Published by CSS Bookshops Limited, Lagos Nigeria.