Amminadav Formation

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Amminadav Formation
Stratigraphic range: Late Cretaceous (Early Cenomanian)
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Type Geological formation
Overlies Bet-Meir Formation
Location
CountryFlag of Palestine.svg  Palestine [1]

The Amminadav Formation is a Mesozoic geologic formation in the West Bank (Palestine). Pterosaur fossils have been recovered from the formation, in addition to several ray-finned fish and early snakes, most of which are known from the Ein Yabrud quarries. [1] [2] The formation overlies the just slightly older Bet-Meir Formation, and it is uncertain whether most of the paleobiota belong to one formation or the other.

Contents

Paleobiota

The majority of species here cannot be confidently assigned the Amminadav Formation, and some may instead belong to the older Bet-Meir formation. [2] [3]

Fish

GenusSpeciesPresenceNotesImages
Aipichthyoides A. galeatus

A. formosus

An aipichthyoidid lamprimorph
Dercetoides D. venatorA dercetid aulopiform
Hastichthys H. gracilisA dercetid aulopiform
Enchodus E. brevisAn enchodontid aulopiform
Judeichthys J. haasiA gonorynchid
Judeoberyx J. princepsA trachichthyoid trachichthyform
Pachyamia P. latimaxillarisAn amiid
Parenchodus P. longipterygiusAn enchodontid aulopiform
Pharmacichthys P. judensisA pharmacichthyid lamprimorph
Ramallichthys R. orientalisA gonorynchid
Rhombichthys R. intoccabilisA paraclupeid clupeomorph Rhombichthys intocabilis.jpg
Saurorhamphus S. judeaensisA eurylophid aulopiform
Scalacurvichthys S. naishiA pycnodontid Image of SMNK-PAL. 8613.jpg
Serrilepis S. longidensA halecid aulopiform
Yabrudichthys Y. striatusAn enchodontoid aulopiform

Reptiles

Turtles

GenusSpeciesPresenceNotesImages
Algorachelus A. parvusA bothremyid side-necked turtle
Pelomedusidae indet.An indeterminate pelomedusid side-necked turtle

Squamates

GenusSpeciesPresenceNotesImages
Haasiasaurus H. gittelmaniAn early mosasaur
Haasiophis H. terrasanctusA simoliophiid snake, notable for its hindlimbs
Mesoleptos M. zendrinii [4] A basal mosasauroid
Pachyrhachis P. problematicusA simoliophiid snake, notable for its hindlimbs

Pterosaurs

GenusSpeciesPresenceNotesImages
Pterosauria indet.An indeterminate pterosaur

See also

Related Research Articles

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<i>Pachyrhachis</i> Extinct genus of snakes

Pachyrhachis is an extinct genus of snake with well developed hind legs known from fossils discovered in Ein Yabrud, near Ramallah, in the central West Bank. It is a relatively small snake, measuring more than 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) long at maximum. Pachyrhachis appears to have been an ancient marine snake; the fossils occur in a marine limestone deposit, and the thickened bone of the ribs and vertebrae would have functioned as ballast to decrease the buoyancy of the animal, allowing it to dive beneath the ancient Cretaceous seas that it once inhabited.

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The Bet-Meir Formation is a Mesozoic geologic formation in the West Bank (Palestine). Pterosaur fossils have been recovered from the formation, in addition to several ray-finned fish and early snakes, most of which are known from the Ein Yabrud quarries. It underlies the just slightly younger Amminadav Formation, and it is uncertain whether most of the paleobiota belong to one formation or the other.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Amminadav, West Bank, Palestine". mindat.org.
  2. 1 2 "Bet Meir or Amminadav, West Bank, Palestine". mindat.org.
  3. Bouziane Khalloufi, René Zaragüeta-Bagils & Hervé Lelièvre (2010). "Rhombichthys intoccabilis, gen. et sp. nov. (Ellimmichthyiformes, Clupeomorpha, Teleostei), from the Cenomanian (Upper Cretaceous) of Ein Yabrud, Middle East: anatomial descriptions and phylogenetic implications". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 30 (1): 57–67. Bibcode:2010JVPal..30...57K. doi: 10.1080/02724630903409089 . S2CID   86625975.
  4. Cabezuelo-Hernández, Alberto; Pérez-García, Adán (2023). "A New Species of the Pythonomorph Carentonosaurus from the Cenomanian of Algora (Guadalajara, Central Spain)". Animals. 13 (7): 1197. doi: 10.3390/ani13071197 . ISSN   2076-2615. PMC   10093179 . PMID   37048453.