Qusour el Arab (Eocene of Egypt)

Also known as Qaret Qusur El-Arab

Where: Egypt (29.1° N, 30.1° E: paleocoordinates 21.6° N, 25.2° E)

• coordinate stated in text

When: Midawara Formation, Lutetian (47.8 - 41.3 Ma)

• Based on regional lithological and paleontological correlation between Cairo et al., (2008) found that the Midawara Formation spans the fourth and fifth Mokattamian stages, making it middle to late Lutetian in age.

• formation-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: coastal; shale

• The Midawara Formation is a multistory sedimentary package in Wadi El-Rayan. A single sedimentary cycle consists of thick shales and dark green sandy glauconites topped by benches of thin coquinal limestone. The middle part of the Midawara Formation here is 30–40 meters thick and bears a rich middle Eocene assemblage of neoselachians (Underwood et al., 2011) and marine mammals (Gingerich et al., 2013).

Size class: macrofossils

Preservation: original phosphate

Primary reference: P. D. Gingerich. 2010. Cetacea. In L. Werdelin & W. J. Sanders (ed.), Cenozoic Mammals of Africa 873-899 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen]more details

Purpose of describing collection: general faunal/floral analysis

PaleoDB collection 96948: authorized by Mark Uhen, entered by Mark Uhen on 14.07.2010

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Show authors, comments, and common names
Mammalia
 Cetacea - Remingtonocetidae
Rayanistes afer n. gen. n. sp.
Rayanistes afer n. gen. n. sp. Bebej et al. 2015 whale
 Cetacea - Protocetidae
Protocetidae indet.
Protocetidae indet. Stromer 1908 whale