Guelb el Ahmar, GEA 1 (Jurassic of Morocco)

Where: Figuig, Morocco (32.7° N, 3.1° W: paleocoordinates 27.1° N, 1.0° E)

• coordinate stated in text

When: Lower Anoual Member (Anoual Formation), Bathonian (168.3 - 166.1 Ma)

• The Guelb el Ahmar fauna is stratigraphically located in the upper part

•of the Anoual Formation... subdivided into a thick continental lower member, and a shallow marine carbonaceous upper member. The lithology and sedimentary structures of the lower member suggest a flooding plain and/or deltaic depositional environment. This is consistent with the large fossil trunks that are common in that unit. The fossiliferous levels yielding the Guelb el Ahmar (GEA) vertebrate fauna belong to the upper part of the lower member of the Anoual Fm. Sites GEA 3 and GEA 1 correspond to the same level of calcareous lacustrine limestones, which underlies site GEA 2.

Environment/lithology: fluvial-deltaic; lithified, calcareous limestone

• "The lithology and sedimentary structures of the lower member suggest a flooding plain and/or deltaic depositional environment."
• Two contiguous fossiliferous beds yielding microvertebrates have been sampled at Guelb el Ahmar. The lower fossiliferous level is a lacustrine limestone yielding small and medium-sized fossil remains, including fishes and turtles. The top of this lacustrine bed is capped by a duricrust yielding abundant remains of fishes such as Lepidotes; it was sampled especially at GEA 1 and GEA 3 sites. This crust of a few centimeters (its thickness varies laterally) is overlaid by a thin bed of dark-brown, slightly lignitic marls that were intensively sampled (GEA 2) for screen-washing. They are covered by 2–3mof green-grayish marls which pass upward into reddish mudstone and cross-bedding sandstone with bioturbation.

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Collection methods: bulk, surface (in situ), mechanical, peroxide, sieve,

Primary reference: H. Haddoumi, R. Allain, S. Meslouh, G. Metais, M. Monbaron, D. Pons, J.-C. Rage, R. Vullo, S. Zouhri and E. Gheerbrant. 2016. Guelb el Ahmar (Bathonian, Anoual Syncline, eastern Morocco): first continental flora and fauna including mammals from the Middle Jurassic of Africa. Gondwana Research 29:290-319 [P. Barrett/T. Cleary]more details

Purpose of describing collection: general faunal/floral analysis

PaleoDB collection 176122: authorized by Paul Barrett, entered by Terri Cleary on 29.01.2016

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Show authors, comments, and common names
Coelacanthimorpha
 Coelacanthiformes - Mawsoniidae
Mawsoniidae indet.
Mawsoniidae indet. Schultze 1993 coelacanth
skull bones
Actinopteri
 Holostei -
Lepisosteiformes indet.
Lepisosteiformes indet. Hay 1929 gar
"Lepidotes sp. or Scheenstia sp.", isolated scales
Osteichthyes
 Halecomorphi -
cf. Ionoscopiformes indet.
cf. Ionoscopiformes indet. Grande and Bemis 1998 ray-finned fish
scales