Guelb el Ahmar, GEA 3: Bathonian, Morocco

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Coelacanthimorpha - Coelacanthiformes - Mawsoniidae
Mawsoniidae indet. Schultze 1993
skull bones
Reptilia
Testudinata informal sp. 1 (Oppel 1811)
morphotype 1 represented by "about 50 plate fragments" from sites GEA 2 and 3
Testudinata informal sp. 2 (Oppel 1811)
morph. 2 is represented "at least by a neural plate" from sites GEA 2 and 3
Testudinata informal sp. 3 (Oppel 1811)
morph. 3 is represented "by smooth plates" from sites GEA 2 and 3
Testudinata informal sp. 4 (Oppel 1811)
morph. 4 is represented "by two small incomplete costal plates" from sites GEA 2 and 3
Reptilia - Metriorhynchidae
? Metriorhynchidae indet. Fitzinger 1843
large robust crocodilian teeth, plus several poorly preserved skeletal elements belonging probably to a single individual
Actinopteri - Lepisosteiformes
Lepisosteiformes indet. Hay 1929
"Lepidotes sp. or Scheenstia sp.", isolated scales
Ionoscopiformes
cf. Ionoscopiformes indet. Grande and Bemis 1998
scales
see common names

Geography
Country:Morocco State/province:Figuig County:Anoual Syncline area
Coordinates: 32.7° North, 3.2° West (view map)
Paleocoordinates:27.1° North, 1.0° East
Basis of coordinate:stated in text
Time
Period:Jurassic Epoch:Middle Jurassic
Stage:Bathonian 10 m.y. bin:Jurassic 4
Key time interval:Bathonian
Age range of interval:168.20000 - 165.30000 m.y. ago
Stratigraphy
Formation:Anoual Member:Lower Anoual
Stratigraphy comments: 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.
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology: lithified calcareous "limestone"
Includes fossils?Y
Lithology description: 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.
Environment:fluvial-deltaic indet.
Geology comments: "The lithology and sedimentary structures of the lower member suggest a flooding plain and/or deltaic depositional environment."
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body
Size of fossils:macrofossils,mesofossils
Collection methods and comments
Collection methods:bulk,surface (in situ),mechanical,peroxide,sieve,field collection
Minimum sieve size:0.800
Reason for describing collection:general faunal/floral analysis
Metadata
Database number:176123
Authorizer:P. Barrett Enterer:T. Cleary
Created:2016-01-29 12:03:49 Last modified:2016-01-29 12:03:49
Access level:the public Released:2016-01-29 12:03:49
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:
57820. 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]