Chenini Member

Last updated
Chenini Member
Stratigraphic range: Late Aptian-Early Albian
~115–109  Ma
Type Member
Unit of Aïn el Guettar Formation
Underlies Oum ed Diab Member
Overlies Douiret Formation
Lithology
Primary Sandstone
Other Conglomerate, mudstone
Location
Location Sahara Desert
Coordinates 33°12′N10°18′E / 33.2°N 10.3°E / 33.2; 10.3
Approximate paleocoordinates 15°54′N10°18′E / 15.9°N 10.3°E / 15.9; 10.3
Region Tataouine
CountryFlag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia
Type section
Named for Chenini
Tunisian Republic location map Topographic.png
Green pog.svg
Chenini Member (Tunisia)

The Chenini Member is a geological member of the Ain el Guettar Formation in Tunisia, whose strata date back to the Late Aptian to Early Albian stages of the Cretaceous period. [1] [2] The lithology consists of coarse sandstones with occasional conglomerates and mudstones. [3] Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. [4]

Contents

Vertebrate paleofauna

The Chenini Member during the Early Cretaceous period was a marsh-like swampy habitat. The most famous dinosaur discoveries made here include Carcharodontosaurus and Spinosaurus.

Spinosaurus UDL.png

Carcharodontosaurus (cropped).png

Theropods of the Chenini memeber
GenusSpeciesLocationMaterialNotesImages
Spinosaurus [5] S.cf. aegyptiacusA spinosaurid theropod Spinosaurus UDL.png
Carcharodontosaurus [4] C. saharicusA carcharodontosaurid theropod Carcharodontosaurus (cropped).png
Sauropoda [4] Sauropoda indet.
Iguanodontia [4] Iguanodontia indet.
Pterosaurs of the Chenini memeber
GenusSpeciesLocationMaterialNotesImages
Ornithocheiridae Ornithocheiridae indet. [6]

[6]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Spinosaurus is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived in what now is North Africa during the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, about 100 to 94 million years ago. The genus was known first from Egyptian remains discovered in 1912 and described by German palaeontologist Ernst Stromer in 1915. The original remains were destroyed in World War II, but additional material came to light in the early 21st century. It is unclear whether one or two species are represented in the fossils reported in the scientific literature. The type species is S. aegyptiacus from Egypt and Morocco. Although a potential second dubious species, S. maroccanus, has been recovered from Morocco, this dubious species is likely a junior synonym of S. aegyptiacus. Other possible junior synonyms include Sigilmassasaurus from the Kem Kem beds in Morocco and Oxalaia from the Alcântara Formation in Brazil, though other researchers propose both genera to be distinct taxa.

<i>Carcharodontosaurus</i> Genus of carcharodontosaurid dinosaur from the Cretaceous period

Carcharodontosaurus is a genus of carnivorous theropod dinosaur that lived in North Africa from about 100 to 94 million years ago during the Cenomanian age of the Late Cretaceous. Two teeth of the genus, now lost, were first described from Algeria by French paleontologists Charles Depéret and Justin Savornin as Megalosaurus saharicus. A partial skeleton was collected by crews of German paleontologist Ernst Stromer during a 1914 expedition to Egypt. Stromer did not report the Egyptian find until 1931, in which he dubbed the novel genus Carcharodontosaurus, making the type species C. saharicus. Unfortunately, this skeleton was destroyed during the Second World War. In 1995 a nearly complete skull of C. saharicus, the first well-preserved specimen to be found in almost a century, was discovered in the Kem Kem Beds of Morocco; it was designated the neotype in 1996. Fossils unearthed from the Echkar Formation of northern Niger were described and named as another species, C. iguidensis, in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spinosauridae</span> Family of dinosaurs

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eumeralla Formation</span> Geological formation in Victoria, Australia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elrhaz Formation</span>

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The Aïn el Guettar Formation is a geological formation in Tunisia, whose strata date back to the Late Aptian to Early Albian stages of the Cretaceous period. The lithology consists of coarse sandstones with occasional conglomerates and mudstones. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.

References

  1. Bateun el Hmaima at Fossilworks.org
  2. Bir Miteur, RH 45 at Fossilworks.org
  3. Benton, Michael J.; Bouaziz, Samir; Buffetaut, Eric; Martill, David; Ouaja, Mohamed; Soussi, Mohamed; Trueman, Clive (April 2000). "Dinosaurs and other fossil vertebrates from fluvial deposits in the Lower Cretaceous of southern Tunisia" (PDF). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 157 (3–4): 227–246. Bibcode:2000PPP...157..227B. doi:10.1016/s0031-0182(99)00167-4. ISSN   0031-0182.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Early Cretaceous, Africa)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 571-573. ISBN   0-520-24209-2.
  5. Buffetaut, E & Ouaja, M (2002) A new specimen of Spinosaurus (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Lower Cretaceous of Tunisia, with remarks on the evolutionary history of the Spinosauridae. Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France173: 415–421. doi : 10.2113/173.5.415
  6. 1 2 BENTON, M. J., BOUAZIZ, S., BUFFETAUT, E., MARTILL, D. M., OUAJA, M., SOUSSI, M. & TRUEMAN, C. (2000): Dinosaurs and other fossil vertebrates from fluvial deposits in the Lower Cretaceous of southern Tunisia. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 157: 227–246.

Further reading