Gebel Duwi (Cretaceous to of Egypt)

Where: Egypt (26.1° N, 34.0° E: paleocoordinates 6.8° N, 28.0° E)

• coordinate stated in text

• small collection-level geographic resolution

When: Upper Member (Nubian Sandstone Formation), Cenomanian to Cenomanian (100.5 - 83.6 Ma)

• Kassib et al. 2021: In Gebel Duwi (Latitude: 26 60 59.5800 N; Longitude: 34 20 22.4000 E), the Nubian Sandstone Formation rests unconformably on the basement complex (Figures 2 and 3a) and underlies a thick Upper Cretaceous variegated marine shale sequence, known as the Quseir Formation. The Nubian Sandstone Formation consists mainly of poorly to well- sorted, fine- to coarse-grained, reddish-brown to yellowish sandstone, with some siltstone and/or mudstone intercalations. Youssef (1957) suggested a Santonian age for the Nubian Sandstone Formation. It is considered by other authors to be as old as Cenomanian (Ward & McDonald, 1979). Based on fossil evidence within the overlying Quseir Formation, Issawi, Francis, Youssef, and Osman (2009) assigned a pre-Campanian age for the Nubian Sandstone Formation.

• member-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: delta plain; sandstone

• Kassib et al. 2021: This member reflects deposition in coastal plain/shallow marine to delta plain environments. The sandy sediments of this unit grade upward into the variegated shales of the overlying Quseir Formation.
• Kassib et al. 2021: The upper member reaches about 100 m in thickness. The basal portion is about 40 m thick and is made of fining-upward, black to reddish-white, fine-grained sandstone. It is characterized by well- developed ripple marks (Figure 3f) and vertebrate footprints and hori- zontal invertebrate burrows. The dinosaur footprints are superimposed on the rippled surfaces. Sauropod dinosaur footprints are present in the first level of the upper member (elevation 100 m on Figure 2) and belong to different individuals. The theropod footprints are found in a higher stratigraphic level, at 110 m in the succession, and show a few isolated footprints. The rippled, fine-grained sand- stone of the lower part of the upper member grades upward into tab- ular cross-bedded sandstone intercalated with rippled siltstone and upper portion is varicolored silty shale with plant remains. The middle part of this member is composed of fining-upward cycles of reddish to greenish-yellow, tabular cross-bedded, fine-grained sandstone intercalated at the base with sandy siltstone and topped by varicol- ored silty shale. The top of the upper member consists of coarsening-upward, repeated cycles of yellow, tabular cross-bedded, well-sorted, and fine-grained sandstone interbedded with siltstone.

Size class: macrofossils

Preservation: mold/impression, trace

Primary reference: W. G. Kassab, G. A. Abu El-Kheir, and M. K. Abdel Gawad. 2021. First occurrence of sauropod and theropod footprints in the pre-Campanian deposits of the Nubian Sandstone, south Eastern Desert, Egypt. Geological Journal 1-12 [P. Mannion/G. Varnham/G. Varnham]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 224284: authorized by Philip Mannion, entered by Grace Varnham on 08.02.2022

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Show authors, comments, and common names
Reptilia
 Theropoda -
Theropoda indet.
Theropoda indet. Marsh 1881 theropod
footprint
 Saurischia -
Sauropoda indet.
Sauropoda indet. Marsh 1878 sauropod
footprint