Amananulam Temporal range: | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | † Nigerophiidae |
Genus: | † Amananulam McCartney et al., 2018 |
Species: | †A. sanogoi |
Binomial name | |
†Amananulam sanogoi McCartney et al., 2018 | |
Amananulam is an extinct genus of nigerophiid snake that lived during the Palaeogene period. It is monotypic, containing the single species Amananulam sanogoi.
Amananulam sanogoi fossils are known from Mali, much of which was at the time submerged as part of the shallow Trans-Saharan Seaway. [1]
Tombouctou Region or Timbuktu Region is one of the administrative regions of Mali. For administrative purposes, the region is subdivided into five cercles.
Oualata or Walata is a small oasis town in southeast Mauritania, located at the eastern end of the Aoukar basin. Oualata was important as a caravan city in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as the southern terminus of a trans-Saharan trade route and now it is a World Heritage Site.
Trans-Saharan trade is trade between sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa that requires travel across the Sahara. Though this trade began in prehistoric times, the peak of trade extended from the 8th century until the early 17th century CE. The Sahara once had a different climate and environment. In Libya and Algeria, from at least 7000 BCE, pastoralism, large settlements and pottery were present. Cattle were introduced to the Central Sahara (Ahaggar) between 4000 to 3500 BCE. Remarkable rock paintings in arid regions portray flora and fauna that are not present in the modern desert.
Palaeophis is an extinct genus of marine snake that is the type genus of the extinct snake family Palaeophiidae.
The Trans-Saharan Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP) is an interagency plan by the United States government, combining efforts by both civil and military agencies, "to combat terrorism in Trans-Saharan Africa. The military component of TSCTI comprises the U.S. efforts of Operation Enduring Freedom - Trans Sahara. The goal of TSCTI is to counter terrorist influences in the region and assist governments to better control their territory and to prevent huge tracts of largely deserted African territory from becoming a safe haven for terrorist groups." The first partner nations in the program included Algeria, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Nigeria and Tunisia. Current membership includes eleven African countries: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, and Senegal. The goal of the alliance is not to fight in hot spots, but to provide preventive training and engagement with governments to help prevent the growth of terrorist organizations in the partner countries. Exercise Flintlock 2005, a joint military exercise first held in June 2005, was the first result of the new program.
Tinzaouaten is a Saharan rural commune in the far northeast of Mali on the Algerian border. The commune is in the Abeïbara Cercle of the Kidal Region. It included a stop on a trans-Saharan trade route and a military post on the frontier under the French colonial regime. In 2009 the 8,000 square kilometer commune had a population of 2,300, most of whom are nomadic Tuareg. The Algerian settlement of Tinzaouten is on the Algerian side of the border.
Stratodus is a genus of giant prehistoric aulopiform fish found in Cretaceous-aged marine strata of Kansas, Alabama, Morocco, Israel, and Niger, South Dakota, Jordan. It has also been found in the Tamaguélelt Formation of Mali, dating to the Lower Eocene, indicating that Stratodus survived the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. This sleek fish has an upper jaw filled with multiple rows of tiny teeth and was the largest aulopiform, reaching 5 meters in length.
Nioro Cercle is an administrative subdivision of the Kayes Region of Mali. Its administrative center (chef-lieu) is the town of Nioro du Sahel. The commune is on the Mauritanian border and has long been a major stop on the trans-Saharan trade.
Tishoumaren or assouf, internationally known as desert blues, is a style of music from the Sahara region of northern and west Africa. Critics describe the music as a fusion of blues and rock music with Tuareg, Malian or North African music. Various other terms are used to describe it including desert rock, Saharan rock, Takamba, Mali blues, Tuareg rock or simply "guitar music". The style has been pioneered by Tuareg musicians in the Sahara region, particularly in Mali, Niger, Libya, Algeria, Burkina Faso and others; with it also being developed by Sahrawi artists in Western Sahara.
Brychaetus is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine bonytongue fish known from the Late Cretaceous to the late Eocene of Europe, North America, and northern Africa.
Aïn Oussera or Aïn Oussara is a city in Djelfa Province, Algeria, with an estimated (2005) population of 134,174. It is the district seat of the Aïn Oussera District. This city, located 200 km south of the capital Algiers, is crossed by the Trans-Saharan Highway main road number 1. The road that runs through the whole of Algeria from north to south over 2000 km, connects Algiers on its southern border with Mali near Tamanrasset. Ain Oussera, has experienced, since 1990, rapid population growth due to its proximity to the 15 MW Es Salam nuclear reactor. Aïn Oussera is on the crossroads of the N1 (Trans-Saharan) and N40B highways. The nearest airport is the Algerian Air Force's Aïn Oussera airfield (DAAQ).
The Tuareg Shield is a geological formation lying between the West African craton and the Saharan Metacraton in West Africa. Named after the Tuareg people, it has complex a geology, reflecting the collision between these cratons and later events. The landmass covers parts of Algeria, Niger and Mali.
Stratigraphic paleobiology is a branch of geology that is closely related to paleobiology, sequence stratigraphy and sedimentology. Stratigraphic paleobiology studies how the fossil record is altered by sedimentological processes and how this affects biostratigraphy and paleobiological interpretations of the fossil record.
Acrochordoidea is a superfamily of snakes that contains only one extant family, the file snakes (Acrochordidae), as well as two extinct families, Nigerophiidae and Palaeophiidae. Members of this superfamily are largely aquatic in nature, with some species found in marine habitats, much as with the only distantly related sea snakes. Members of Palaeophiidae and Nigerophiidae could grow incredibly large and some species, such as members of the genus Palaeophis, were among the largest snakes to ever exist.
The trans-Saharan slave trade, part of the Arab slave trade, was a slave trade in which slaves were mainly transported across the Sahara. Most were moved from sub-Saharan Africa to North Africa to be sold to Mediterranean and Middle Eastern civilizations; a small percentage went the other direction.
Azabbaremys is an extinct genus of bothremydid pleurodiran turtle that was discovered in the Teberemt Formation of Mali. It was described in 2001, based on a skull that had been recovered in an expedition in 1981. The genus consists solely of the type species Azabbaremys moragjonesi. The genus name is derived from Azabbar, a monster in Tamasheq folk stories. The species is named for Morag Jones, a research student who participated in the discovery of the specimen and died in the expedition. Azabbaremys is most closely related to another Paleocene side-necked turtle, Acleistochelys.
Maliamia is an extinct genus of amiid ray-finned fish from the Early Eocene, known from fragmentary remains found in the Tamaguélelt Formation of Mali. It was described in 1989, based on fossils recovered by three separate expeditions in 1975, 1979–80, and 1981. The type species is Maliamia gigas, named in reference to its large size.
Acleistochelys is an extinct genus of large, bothremydid pleurodiran turtle known from Paleocene deposits in the Teberemt Formation of Mali. The type species, A. maliensis, was named for the country in which it was found. The holotype specimen consists of a nearly complete skull, shell fragments, pelvic fragments, and a cervical vertebra. It is most closely related to another Paleocene Malian side-necked turtle, Azabbaremys.
The Trans-Saharan seaway was a sea in the present-day Sahara in the Late Cretaceous period in present-day Libya, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria. It varied in size, but its largest was about 3000 km2 and approximately 50 m deep.
Vasuki is an extinct genus of madtsoiid snake from the Middle Eocene Naredi Formation of India. The genus contains a single species, V. indicus, known from several vertebrae. Vasuki has an estimated body length between 10.9–15.2 m (36–50 ft), making it the largest known madtsoiid. The upper bounds of the length estimates would make Vasuki the longest snake ever discovered.