PALEONTOLOGY AND PALEOGEOGRAPHY OF FORTY DIAGNOSTIC SOUTHERN TETHYAN CRETACEOUS-PALEOGENE GLOBIGERINID PLANKTIC FORAMINIFERA

Forty planktic foraminiferal species were erected from ten localities in the Southern Tethys: Tunisia, Egypt, Angola, Tanzania, Iraq, Kuwait, UAE, Iran, Pakistan, and India. Sixteen of the identified species were erected from Egypt, while 4 from each of Kuwait and India, 3 from UAE, 2 from each of Tunisia, Angola, and Pakistan. Some of the recorded species were recorded also from many countries in the Northern and Southern Tethys: i.e., Austria, Denmark, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, and USA. Three out of the identified species are believed here to be new: *Morozovella arabica*, *Morozovella hafitensis*, and *Clavigerinella pakistanica*. The phylogenetic relationships of some of the recorded species are also presented. The high abundance of pelagic planktic foraminiferal assemblage indicates an open marine environment connection to the Tethys, which is predominantly mainly related to the photic zone.