Al-Sarrar, Locality 7, Dam Formation (Miocene of Saudi Arabia)

Where: Saudi Arabia (26.0° N, 49.4° E: paleocoordinates 22.9° N, 46.8° E)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

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

• Late Early Miocene. There are 3 Formations in the succession - the Hadruck, Dam and Hofuf (Hofuf overlies the others). Type section of the Dam Formation is Jabal al Lidam. The depth of the formation at Al-Sarrar varies, but is around 30m. Near the Arabian Gulf the Formation is entirely marine, with more continental facies inland. The Al-Sarrar area is an area of 'continental sediments interbedded with the marine series'.

•Fauna has been collected from a number of localities which have been entered individually.

Environment/lithology: fluvial; lithology not reported

• 'The lithologies, sedimentary structures (presence of palaeocurrents in loc. 6 and 8), the character of the fauna exclusively continental and the deposition laid down into low energy zone (specially in loc. 6 and 8 explaining the scarcity of small vertebrates and the association of postcranial bones) suggest a fluviatile environment.'
• No lithology given for locality 7.

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Collection methods: bulk,

• Al-Sarrar localities 4-9 and 11-24 can all be dated within a short period of time. Localities 5,6,7,8, and 9 are considered contemporaneous.

•All fossil material housed in the Department of Antiquities and Museums at Riyadh.

Primary reference: H. Thomas, S. Sen, M. Khan, B. Battail, and G. Ligabue. 1982. The Lower Miocene Fauna of Al-Sarrar (Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia). Atlal 5(3a):109-136 [A. Turner/H. O'Regan/H. O'Regan]more details

Purpose of describing collection: general faunal/floral analysis

PaleoDB collection 47026: authorized by Alan Turner, entered by Hannah O'Regan on 01.02.2005, edited by Philip Mannion

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• Four orders and 7 genera of fish are recognised 'mainly from localities 7, 9 and 21' but they are not all listed by locality. Those that are listed by locality have been entered on the faunal lists. The others are: Hyperopisus sp., Barbus sp., Labeo sp., Heterobranchus sp., Clarias sp. and Lates sp.
unclassified
  -
Gastropoda
 Sorbeoconcha - Strombidae
Strombus sp. Linnaeus 1758 conch
Malacostraca
 Decapoda - Callianassidae
Callianassa sp. Leach 1814 decapod
3 fixed fingers, AS 789.
Chondrichthyes
 Myliobatiformes - Myliobatidae
Myliobatis sp. Cuvier 1816 eagle ray
Rhinoptera sp. Cuvier 1829 cownose ray
 Myliobatiformes - Aetobatidae
Aetobatus arcuatus Agassiz 1843 stingray
 Carcharhiniformes - Carcharhinidae
Negaprion eurybathrodon Blake 1862 lemon shark
Carcharhinus aff. plumbeus Nardo 1827 requiem shark
Carcharhinus aff. priscus Agassiz 1843 requiem shark
Scoliodon sp. Muller and Henle 1837 requiem shark
 Carcharhiniformes - Hemigaleidae
Hemipristis serra Agassiz 1835 ground shark
 Carcharhiniformes - Sphyrnidae
Sphyrna sp. Rafinesque 1810 hammerhead shark
Mammalia
 Placentalia -
Rodentia indet. Bowdich 1821 rodent
1 incisor and a few bone fragments.
 Perissodactyla - Rhinocerotidae
Rhinocerotidae indet. Gray 1821 rhinoceros
Right upper D2-D3, AS 773.
Aceratherium sp. Kaup 1834 rhinoceros
1 left navicular, AS 769.
 Artiodactyla - Tragulidae
Dorcatherium cf. libiensis Hamilton 1973 chevrotain
I mandible with D3 to M4, AS 781.
 Artiodactyla - Bovidae
Bovidae indet. Gray 1821 antelope
1 horncore, poorly preserved, AS 774. Similar in size to the living Dorcas Gazelle.
Reptilia
 Testudines - Trionychidae
aff. Cycloderma sp. Peters 1854 softshell turtle
new primitive form.
 Crocodylia - Crocodylidae
"Crocodylus pigotti" = Brochuchus pigotti
"Crocodylus pigotti" = Brochuchus pigotti Tchernov and Van Couvering 1978 crocodile
Actinopteri
 Acanthomorphata - Centropomidae
Lates sp. Cuvier 1828 lates
 Cypriniformes - Cyprinidae
Barbus sp. Cuvier and Cloquet 1816 carp-like fish
 Siluriformes - Clariidae
Clarias sp. Scopoli 1777 catfish
Heterobranchus sp. Hilaire 1827 airbreathing catfish
 Acanthopteri - Sphyraenidae
Sphyraena sp. Artedi 1793 barracuda