Nypa fruits and seeds from the Maastrichtian–Danian sediments of Bir Abu Minqar, South Western Desert, Egypt

Fossil fruits and seeds of Nypa burtinii (Brongniart) of Arecaceae are described from the Maastrichtian and Danian sediments of the Dakhla Formation of Bir Abu Minqar, South Western Desert, Egypt. These fruits represent one of the oldest fossil records of the genus Nypa, contemporaneous with those known from the Deccan Intertrappean beds of India. As Nypa is now distributed along the sea coast from Sri Lanka to North Australia and New Guinea, the present discovery along with the known associated plant and invertebrate fossils reveals that a tropical littoral, swampy and estuary biota emerged early in the Maastrichtian in the region.