Quseir Formation | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: Campanian ~ | |
Type | Geological formation |
Sub-units | Mut & El Hindaw Members |
Underlies | Duwi Formation |
Overlies | Unconformity with Taref Formation |
Thickness | at least 250 metres (820 ft) |
Lithology | |
Primary | Shale |
Other | Sandstone, siltstone, phosphorite |
Location | |
Location | Al Wadi al Jadid, New Valley |
Coordinates | 25°36′N29°06′E / 25.6°N 29.1°E |
Approximate paleocoordinates | 9°18′N24°54′E / 9.3°N 24.9°E |
Region | Kharga Oasis |
Country | Egypt |
The Quseir Formation is a geological formation in the vicinity of the Kharga Oasis in Egypt. [1] It is Campanian In age. [2] The lithology largely consists of soft shale with hard bands of sandstone, siltstone and phosphorite. [3] The environment of deposition was nearshore to freshwater fluvio-lacustrine characterized by moist and aquatic habitats with a tropical warm-humid climate. It is conformably overlain by the marine late Campanian-Maastrichtian Duwi Formation, and unconformably overlies the Turonian Taref Formation. The sauropod dinosaurs Mansourasaurus and Igai are known from the formation, [4] [5] as well as the proximal fibula of an indeterminate theropod. [6] Additionally the lungfish genera Lavocatodus and Protopterus , [7] the crocodyliform Wahasuchus [8] and the bothremydid turtle Khargachelys are also known. [9]
Color key
| Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; |
Enchodus is an extinct genus of aulopiform ray-finned fish related to lancetfish and lizardfish. Species of Enchodus flourished during the Late Cretaceous, and there is some evidence that they may have survived to the Paleocene or Eocene; however, this may just represent reworked Cretaceous material.
Oligopithecus is a fossil primate that lived in Africa during the Early Oligocene. It is represented by one species, Oligopithecus savagei, known from one jaw bone found in Egypt.
Pellegrinisaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous period. The holotype was found in the Allen Formation, Argentina.
The Kaiparowits Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in the Kaiparowits Plateau in Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, in the southern part of Utah in the western United States. It is over 2800 feet thick, and is Campanian in age. This Upper Cretaceous formation was formed from alluvial floodplains of large rivers in coastal southern Laramidia; sandstone beds are the deposit of rivers, and mudstone beds represent floodplain deposits. It is fossiliferous, with most specimens from the lower half of the formation, but exploration is only comparatively recent, with most work being done since 1982. It has been estimated that less than 10% of the Kaiparowits formation has been explored for fossils. The Natural History Museum of Utah has conducted most fieldwork.
The Maevarano Formation is a Late Cretaceous sedimentary rock formation found in the Mahajanga Province of northwestern Madagascar. It is most likely Maastrichtian in age, and records a seasonal, semiarid environment with rivers that had greatly varying discharges. Notable animal fossils recovered include the theropod dinosaur Majungasaurus, the early bird Vorona, the paravian Rahonavis, the titanosaurian sauropod Rapetosaurus, and the giant frog Beelzebufo.
The Bahariya Formation is a fossiliferous geologic formation dating back to the early Cenomanian, which outcrops within the Bahariya depression in Egypt, and is known from oil exploration drilling across much of the Western Desert where it forms an important oil reservoir.
Oligopithecidae is an extinct basal Catarrhine family from the late Eocene of Egypt as sister of the rest of the Catarrhines. Its members were probably insectivorous, due to their simple molars and cusp arrangement.
The Wahweap Formation of the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument is a geological formation in southern Utah and northern Arizona, around the Lake Powell region, whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.
The Lapurr Sandstone, also spelled Lapur Sandstone, previously considered part of the informal "Turkana Grits", is a geological formation in Kenya. It is the oldest unit in the Turkana Basin. The strata date back to the Late Cretaceous, likely Campanian to Maastrichtian, based on palynology and the presence of dyrosaurs and mosasaurs, the upper part of the unit likely extends into the Palaeogene, based on zircon dating. It predominantly consists of fine-coarse arkosic sandstone, which has been interpreted as either been deposited in fluvial or shallow marine conditions. Dinosaur remains among other vertebrates have been recovered from it around Lokitaung Gorge, though these mostly consist of heavily abraded, isolated bones of robust morphology like sauropod limb bones and caudal vertebrae.
Pakasuchus is a genus of notosuchian crocodyliform distinguished by its unusual mammal-like appearance, including mammal-like teeth that would have given the animal the ability to chew. It also had long, slender legs and a doglike nose. Fossils have been found in the Galula Formation of Rukwa Rift Basin of southwestern Tanzania, and were described in 2010 in the journal Nature. Pakasuchus is originally considered to lived approximately 105 million years ago, in the mid-Cretaceous, but later age of site is reconsidered to the late Cretaceous, Cenomanian to Campanian instead. The type species is P. kapilimai. Pakasuchus means "cat crocodile" in reference to its catlike skull.
Machairoceratops, previously known as the "Wahweap centrosaurine B", is an extinct genus of centrosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur known from the Late Cretaceous Wahweap Formation of Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, southern Utah, United States.
Qarmoutus hitanensis is an extinct ariid catfish whose fossils were first discovered in Birket Qarun Formation, Wadi Al-Hitan, Egypt. It lived during the Eocene period around 37 million years ago, and its body length is estimated to be about 6.5 feet long.
Shingopana is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod from the Upper Cretaceous Galula Formation of Tanzania. It is known from only the type species, S. songwensis. Gorscak & O'Connor's phylogenetic testing suggest Shingopana is more closely related to the South American titanosaur family of Aeolosaurini than any of the titanosaurs found so far in North & South Africa.
Mansourasaurus is a genus of herbivorous lithostrotian sauropod dinosaur from the Quseir Formation of Egypt. The type and only species is Mansourasaurus shahinae.
Hesham Sallam is an Egyptian paleontologist and the founder of the Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology Center (MUVP-C), the first vertebrate paleontology program in the Middle East. He works as an associate professor at the American University in Cairo and Mansoura University. Sallam led the discovery and description of Mansourasaurus shahinae, a species of sauropod dinosaur from Egypt, which has improved understanding of the prehistory of Africa during the latest Cretaceous period. His work has helped popularize paleontology in Egypt.
Wahasuchus is a genus of extinct mesoeucrocodylian of the Middle Campanian age found in the Quseir Formation, Egypt. The generic name derives from the Arabic word واحة (waha), which means "oasis" and souchos from the Greek in honor of crocodile-headed god of ancient Egypt. The specific egyptensis (Lat.) means from Egypt.
The Galula Formation is a geological formation located south of Lake Rukwa in Tanzania, part of the Red Sandstone Group of the Rukwa Rift Basin. Along with the unconformably overlying Oligocene Nsungwe Formation. It is divided into two members, the lower Mtuka Member and the upper Namba Member.
Abditosaurus is an extinct genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Tremp Group of Catalonia, Spain. The type and only species is Abditosaurus kuehnei. Phylogenetic analyses recover it within a clade of South American and African saltasaurines, distinct from other insular dwarf sauropods from the European archipelago. Abditosaurus inhabited the Ibero-Armorican Island, a prehistoric island made up of what is now Spain, Portugal, and southern France, and would have been the largest titanosaur species in its environment.
Igai is a genus of titanosaur from the Late Cretaceous Quseir Formation of Kharga Oasis, Egypt. The type species is Igai semkhu.
The Sath El-Hadid Formation, translating to "Iron Surface" in Arabic "سطح الحديد", is a geological formation in Egypt characterized by a nummulitic limestone bank containing large and small Nummulites. Introduced into the stratigraphy of the south Fayum area by Iskander in 1943, this formation is significant in the middle Eocene (Bartonian).