Baynunah Formation

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Baynunah Formation
Stratigraphic range: Late Miocene
~8.0–6.0  Ma
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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 / 24.03000; 53.03833
Region Al Gharbia
CountryFlag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates relief location map.jpg
Yellow pog.svg
Baynunah Formation (United Arab Emirates)

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.

Contents

Geology

Fauna

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

Birds

TaxaSpeciesLocalityStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
Diamantornis D. lainiJaw 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. karatheodorisKihal 2A 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
TaxaSpeciesLocalityStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
Afrotragus A. libycus
Miotragocerus M. cyrenaicus
Pachyportax P. latidens
Prostrepsiceros P. vinayaki
Tragoportax T. cyrenaicus
Giraffids
TaxaSpeciesLocalityStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
Paleotragus P. aff. germaini
Samotherium S. cf. sp.
Hippotamids
TaxaSpeciesLocalityStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
Archaeopotamus A. lothagamensis
A. qeshta
Suidae
TaxaSpeciesLocalityStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
Nyanzachoerus N. syrticus
Propotamochoerus P. hysudricus

Carnivorans

TaxaSpeciesLocalityStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
Plesiogulo P. praecocidens

Perissodactyls

TaxaSpeciesLocalityStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
Hipparion H. abudhabiense

Primates

TaxaSpeciesLocalityStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages

Proboscideans

TaxaSpeciesLocalityStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
Stegotetrabelodon [5] S. emiratusA primitive elephantid.
Stegotetrabelodon11.jpg
Tetralophodon [5] IndeterminateA gomphothere.
Gomphotheriidae [5] Indeterminate.A gomphothere.
Deinotherium [5] D. aff. bozasiA deinotheriid

Rodents

TaxaSpeciesLocalityStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
Abudhabia A. baynunensis
Dendromus D. sp
Jebelus J. rex
Myocricetodon M. sp
Parapelomys P. cf. charkhensis
Protohummus P. dango

Fish

TaxonNotesImage
Bagrus [6]
Clarias [6] At least two species (possibly 3)
Labeobarbus [6] Cyprinid
 ?Capoeta [6] Probably Capoeta
African cichlid [6] At least one species
Percomorpha [6] Intermediate
Pristid sawfish [6]
Daysatid stingray [6]

Stegotetrabelodon footprints

Footprints attributed to Stegotetrabelodon have been found in the formation. [7]

See also

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References

  1. "Annual Report 2017" (pdf), Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi , vol. 1: Culture, pp. 28–29, 2017, retrieved 2019-03-09
  2. 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".
  3. 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
  4. 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⟩
  5. 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
  6. 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.
  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.

Further reading