Marsa Alam, Shagra Formation (Pliocene of Egypt)

Where: Egypt (25.3° N, 34.8° E: paleocoordinates 25.1° N, 34.6° E)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• local area-level geographic resolution

When: Shagra Formation, Late/Upper Pliocene (3.6 - 2.6 Ma)

• thickness of Shagra Formation: 46 m (Wadi Shagra), 20 m Wadi Wizr), 31 m (Wadi Samadai); Lithophaga avitensis-Pecten acuticostatus zone in the lower-middle part, Clypeaster reticulatus-Laganum depressum zone in the upper part

• group of beds-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: perireef or subreef; limestone and calcareous sandstone

• lower part: reddish to pink algal limestones with intercalations of sandstones, upper part: white sandy, occasionaly reefal limestones and calcareous sandstones

Size class: macrofossils

Primary reference: M. Kora and Z. Abdel-Fattah. 2000. Pliocene and Plio-Pleistocene macrofauna from the Red Sea coastal plain (Egypt): biostratigraphy and biogeography. Geologica et Palaeontologica 34:219-235 [W. Kiessling/U. Merkel]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 96759: authorized by Wolfgang Kiessling, entered by Uta Merkel on 30.06.2010

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Anthozoa
 Scleractinia - Poritidae
Porites solida Forskal 1775 stony coral
 Scleractinia - Merulinidae
Favites complanata Ehrenberg 1834 stony coral
Platygyra daedalea Ellis and Solander 1786 stony coral
Cyphastrea serailia Forskal 1775 stony coral
Goniastrea retiformis Lamarck 1816 stony coral
Echinopora gemmacea Lamarck 1816 stony coral
 Scleractinia - Dendrophylliidae
Turbinaria mesenterina Lamarck 1816 stony coral
Bivalvia
 Pectinida - Pectinoidae
"Chlamys pallium" = Gloripallium pallium Linnaeus 1758 royal cloak scallop
Pecten (Pecten) vasseli Fuchs 1878 scallop
 Ostreida - Gryphaeidae
"Lopha (Lopha) virleti" = Hyotissa virleti
"Lopha (Lopha) virleti" = Hyotissa virleti Deshayes 1832 oyster
 Ostreida - Ostreidae
Alectryonella plicatula Lamarck 1801 oyster
 Mytilida - Mytilidae
 Lucinida - Lucinidae
 Cardiida - Veneridae
Venus plicata venus clam
 Cardiida - Cardiidae
Echinoidea
 Camarodonta - Echinometridae
 Spatangoida - Brissidae
Brissus carinatus heart urchin
 Clypeasteroida - Clypeasteridae
Clypeaster reticulatus Linnaeus 1758 sand dollar
 Clypeasteroida - Laganidae
Laganum depressum Agassiz 1841 sand dollar