Gebel Gharra, Suez (Miocene of Egypt)

Where: Egypt (30.2° N, 32.3° E: paleocoordinates 29.1° N, 31.1° E)

• coordinate stated in text

• small collection-level geographic resolution

When: Gharra Formation, Burdigalian (20.4 - 16.0 Ma)

• group of beds-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: lagoonal or restricted shallow subtidal; calcareous limestone

• shallow, lagoonal-like environment with an unstable substratum and relatively high sedimentation, situated on a gently sloping shelf without major reef structures
• Gharra formation can be divided into two units,lower unit -> echinoids & bivalves

•upper unit-> dominated by calcareous red algae, the corals are at the base of this second unit as scattered, isolated colonies (80 cm long, only 1.2-4 cm thick)

Size class: macrofossils

Primary reference: F. Schuster. 2002. Early Miocene corals and associated sediments of the northwestern Gulf of Suez,Egypt. Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg 239:57-81 [W. Kiessling/A. Girndt/U. Merkel]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 79595: authorized by Wolfgang Kiessling, entered by Antje Girndt on 14.03.2008

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Anthozoa
 Scleractinia - Columastreidae
"Solenastrea turonensis" = Palaeoplesiastraea turonensis
"Solenastrea turonensis" = Palaeoplesiastraea turonensis Michelin 1847 stony coral
 Scleractinia - Merulinidae
Favites cf. neglecta Michelotti 1868 stony coral
frequent
Tarbellastraea reussiana Milne-Edwards and Haime 1850 stony coral
abundant
 Scleractinia - Dendrophylliidae
Balanophyllia sp. Wood 1844 stony coral
frequent
Dendrophyllia sp. Blainville 1830 stony coral
abundant
 Scleractinia - Acroporidae
Alveopora sp. Blainville 1830 stony coral
Acropora sp. Oken 1815 stony coral
abundant
 Scleractinia - Flabellidae
Flabellum sp. Lesson 1831 stony coral
frequent