Qasr_el_Sagha_Formation

Qasr el Sagha Formation

Qasr el Sagha Formation

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The Qasr el Sagha Formation is a geological formation located in Egypt.[1] The formation is part of the Wadi El Hitan World Heritage Site. The Qasr el Sagha Formation overlies the Birket Qarun Formation and is overlain by the Gebel Qatrani Formation. The sandstones and shales of the formation were deposited in a deltaic to shallow marine environment.[2] It dates to the Late Eocene (middle Priabonian, 37.2 to 33.9 million years ago).[3]

Quick Facts Quasr el Sagha Formation, Type ...

Paleontological significance

Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
 Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.

Fossils of the early whale genus Saghacetus ("Sagha whale", originally named "Zeuglodon osiris") were first collected at Qasr al Sagha by German explorer Georg August Schweinfurth in January 1886 (a well-preserved dentary).Saghacetus is common in the middle of Qasr el Sagha, but there are few other specimens of archaeocetes whales; the only exception being the enigmatic "Prozeuglodon stromeri", named in 1828 based on specimens from 1904, but never adequately described before their destruction during the bombing of Munich in World War II.[4]

Other fossils found in the formation include:[5]

Mammals

Afrotheres

More information Afrotheres, Genus ...

Ferae

More information Ferae, Genus ...

Ungulates

More information Ungulates, Genus ...

Reptiles

Squamates

More information Squmates, Genus ...

Testudines

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Fish

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Vickers-Rich & Rich 1993
  2. [2]
    Gingerich et al., 2019
  3. [3]
    Tamariskenbucht (Eocene of Egypt) in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved July 2013.
  4. [4]
    Gingerich 2007, pp. 363–4
  5. [5]
    Qasr el Sagha Formation at Fossilworks.org
  6. [6]
    Gingerich, Philip D (September 2006). "Marine Mammals (Cetacean and Sirenia) from the Eocene of Gebel Mokattam and Fayum, Egypt: Stratigraphy, Age, and Paleoenvironments". University of Michigan Papers on Paleontology. 30: 1–84.
  7. [7]
    Holroyd, P.; Simons, E.; Bown, T.; Polly, P. D.; Kraus, M. (1996). "New records of terrestrial mammals from the Upper Eocene Qasr El Sagha Formation, Fayum Depression, Egypt". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. [8]
    Gingerich, Philip D. "Early Evolution of Whales A Century of Research in Egypt". Elwyn Simons: A Search for Origins.
  9. [9]
    Gingerich, Philip. "Stromerius Nidensis, New Archaeocete (Mammalia, Cetacea) From the Upper Eocene Qasr El-Sagha Formation, Fayum, Egypt". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. [10]
    Rio, Jonathan P.; Mannion, Philip D. (2017-07-04). "The osteology of the giant snake Gigantophis garstini from the upper Eocene of North Africa and its bearing on the phylogenetic relationships and biogeography of Madtsoiidae". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 37 (4): e1347179. doi:10.1080/02724634.2017.1347179. hdl:10044/1/48946. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 90335531.
  11. [11]
    Pérez-García, Adán (2019-03-16). "New information and establishment of a new genus for the Egyptian Paleogene turtle 'Stereogenys' libyca (Podocnemididae, Erymnochelyinae)". Historical Biology. 31 (3): 383–392. doi:10.1080/08912963.2017.1374383. ISSN 0891-2963. S2CID 90915135.
  12. [12]
    Cherney, Michael D.; Mantilla, J. a. W.; Gingerich, P.; Zalmout, Iyad S.; Antar, M. (2020). "New Specimens of the Late Eocene Turtle Cordichelys (Pleurodira: Podocnemididae) From Wadi Al Hitan and Qasr El-Sagha in the Fayum Province of Eqypt". S2CID 228833249. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

Bibliography

  • A. Pérez-García. 2019. New information and establishment of a new genus for the Egyptian Paleogene turtle ‘Stereogenys’ libyca (Podocnemididae, Erymnochelyinae). Historical Biology 31(3):383-392
  • S. Adnet, H. Cappetta, S. Elnahas and A. Strougo. 2011. A new Priabonian Chondrichthyans assemblage from the Western desert, Egypt: Correlation with the Fayum oasis. Journal of African Earth Sciences 61:27-37
  • Gingerich, Philip D (2007). "Stromerius nidensis, new archaeocete (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Upper Eocene Qasr El-Sagha Formation, Fayum, Egypt" (PDF). Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology. 31 (13): 363–78. OCLC 214233870.
  • Vickers-Rich, Patricia; Rich, Thomas Hewitt V. (1993). Wildlife of Gondwana. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-7301-0315-3.
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