Baynunah Formation

Baynunah Formation
Baynunah Formation
Stratigraphic range: Late Miocene ; ~8.0–6.0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Type	Geological formation
Underlies	Shuwaihat Formation
Lithology
Primary	Sandstone, conglomerate
Location
Coordinates	24°1′48″N53°2′18″E / 24.03000°N 53.03833°E
Region	Al Gharbia
Country	United Arab Emirates
	Baynunah Formation (United Arab Emirates)

Last updated January 21, 2025

The Baynunah Formation is a palaeontological formation located in the western region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. It dates to the Upper Miocene epoch of the Neogene period ^[1] in the Cenozoic Era.

Geology

Fauna

Fossils of the hippopotamus genus Archaeopotamus have been found in the formation^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

Birds

Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes
Diamantornis	D. laini	Jaw al Dibsa (DBS 2), Hamra (HMR 1, 3, 5), Hadwaniyya (HAD 4, 5, 6), Harmiyyah (HAR 3, 4), Jebel Barakah (JBR 2), Kihal (KIH 3), Ras al Qal’a (RAQ 1, 2), Gerain al Aysh (GAA 3, 4, 8), Ras Dubay’ah (RDB 4), Ruwais (RUW), Shuwaihat (SHU 2, 3, 4, 8), and Umm Al Khabir (UAK 1)	Multiple collected specimens.	An extinct Ratite bird
Struthio	S. cf. karatheodoris	Kihal 2	A pelvis, almost complete except for the pubic symphysis region.
Phalacrocorax	P. sp.		A proximal left carpometacarpus, distal right tarsometatarsus, and a tentatively referred proximal right humerus fragment.

Mammals

Artiodactyls

Bovids

Taxa	Species	Locality	Material	Notes
Afrotragus	A. libycus	GAA2 and HAD3.	Right frontlet withhorn core and left frontlet with horn core.
Miotragocerus	M. cyrenaicus	GAA2, JBR2, GAA7, HMR1, HMR5, and SHU4.	A partial cranium, horn cores, partial vertebra, partial left lower m1 or m2, and upper molar or premolar fragment.	An early bovinae.
Pachyportax	P. latidens	GAA2, GAA7, HMR5, and SHU4.
Prostrepsiceros	P. vinayaki	SHU2	A basal left horn core.

Giraffids

Taxa	Species	Locality	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Paleotragus	P. aff. germaini	locality SHU4		A partial skeleton with partial left maxilla.	An early Opaki-like giraffid.
Samotherium	S. cf. sp.			An upper molar fragment.	An early giraffid.

Hippotamids

Taxa	Species	Locality	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Archaeopotamus	A. lothagamensis
Archaeopotamus	A. qeshta

Suidae

Taxa	Species	Locality	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Nyanzachoerus	N. syrticus
Propotamochoerus	P. hysudricus

Carnivorans

Taxa	Species	Locality	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Plesiogulo	P. praecocidens

Perissodactyls

Taxa	Species	Locality	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Hipparion	H. abudhabiense

Primates

Taxa	Species	Locality	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images

Proboscideans

Taxa	Species	Notes
Stegotetrabelodon ^[6]	S. emiratus	A primitive elephantid.
Tetralophodon ^[6]	Indeterminate	A gomphothere.
Gomphotheriidae ^[6]	Indeterminate.	A gomphothere.
Deinotherium ^[6]	D. aff. bozasi	A deinotheriid

Rodents

Taxa	Species	Locality	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Abudhabia	A. baynunensis
Dendromus	D. sp
Jebelus	J. rex
Myocricetodon	M. sp
Parapelomys	P. cf. charkhensis
Protohummus	P. dango

Fish

Taxon	Notes	Image
Bagrus ^[7]
Clarias ^[7]	At least two species (possibly 3)
Labeobarbus ^[7]	Cyprinid
?Capoeta ^[7]	Probably Capoeta
African cichlid ^[7]	At least one species
Percomorpha ^[7]	Intermediate
Pristid sawfish ^[7]
Daysatid stingray ^[7]

Stegotetrabelodon footprints

Footprints attributed to Stegotetrabelodon have been found in the formation.^[8]

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References

↑ "Annual Report 2017" (pdf), Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi , vol. 1: Culture, pp. 28–29, 2017, retrieved 2019-03-09
↑ Boisserie, Jean-Renaud; Schuster, Mathieu; Beech, Mark; Hill, Andrew; Bibi, Faysal. "A New Species of Hippopotamine (Cetartiodactyla, Hippopotamidae) from the Late Miocene Baynunah Formation, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates".
↑ Bibi, F., Hill, A., Beech, M., & Yasin, W. (2013). Late Miocene Fossils from the Baynunah Formation, United Arab Emirates. Fossil Mammals of Asia, 583–594. https://doi.org/10.7312/COLUMBIA/9780231150125.003.0027
↑ Antoine Louchart, Faysal Bibi, John Stewart. Birds from the Baynunah Formation. Sands of Time, Springer International Publishing; Springer International Publishing, pp.125-139, 2022, Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology, ⟨10.1007/978-3-030-83883-6_9⟩. ⟨hal-04025279⟩
↑ Bibi, Faysal. (2022). Bovidae and Giraffidae from the Baynunah Formation. 10.1007/978-3-030-83883-6_14.
1 2 3 4 Sanders, William J. (2022), Bibi, Faysal; Kraatz, Brian; Beech, Mark J.; Hill, Andrew (eds.), "Proboscidea from the Baynunah Formation", Sands of Time, Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 141–177, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-83883-6_10, ISBN 978-3-030-83882-9 , retrieved 2024-01-03
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Otera, Olga. Home Sands of Time Chapter Fishes from the Baynunah Formation. Springer International Publishing. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-83883-6_7.
↑ Bibi, Faysal; Kraatz, Brian; Beech, Mark; Hill, Andrew (2022). "Fossil Trackways of the Baynunah Formation". Sands of Time. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. pp. 283–298. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-83883-6_17. ISBN 978-3-030-83882-9.