The College of Science at the University of Basrah organized a workshop on the taxonomic principles and morphological diagnosis of microfossils.

The workshop aimed to:

Distinguish between the diagnosis, classification, and scientific nomenclature of fossils. Identify morphological and anatomical features of diagnostic importance. Differentiate between original features and those affected by deformation, fossilization, and preservation.Understand the taxonomic ranks from kingdom to species.Distinguish between traditional classification based on characteristics.The workshop, presented by Dr. Rasha Abdul Sattar Al-Ali and Dr. Saba Qasim Kalkhan, covered the fundamentals of identifying and classifying microfossils. This is a core subject in micropaleontology, where identification relies on studying morphological and physical characteristics such as shape, size, type of perforations, wall thickness, and surface decoration, using light microscopy and imaging techniques. Classification, on the other hand, is based on diagnostic characteristics and comparison with established taxonomic references to accurately identify genera and species. These studies contribute to reconstructing ancient environments, determining the relative ages of sedimentary layers, and understanding climatic changes and plant evolution over geological time.