Bled Douarah- Lower Faunal Level: Serravallian - Tortonian, Tunisia

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
unclassified
Paleotragus robinsoni
Mammalia - Carnivora - Hyaenidae
Tungurictis sp. Colbert 1939
1 specimen
Mammalia - Creodonta - Hyaenodontidae
Hyaenodontidae indet. Leidy 1869
Mammalia - Bovidae
Antilopini indet. Gray 1821
hypsodont
Tragocerus sp. Gaudry 1861
Tragoportax or Ouzocerus?
Pachytragus solignaci Robinson 1972
Robinson 1972 515 specimens
localities 17, 20, 18, 22, 23, 24
Gazella sp. Blaineville 1816
Reptilia
Crocodylus lloydi (Fourtau 1918)
Pickford 2000 1 specimen
recombined as Rimasuchus lloydi
aka Rimnasuchus locality 20
Euthecodon sp. Fortau 1920
Agrasar 2003
Reptilia - Struthioniformes - Struthionidae
Struthio sp. Linnaeus 1758
Vickers-Rich 1972 1 specimen
locality 17
Reptilia - Balaenicipitiformes - Balaenicipitidae
cf. Balaenicipitidae indet. Bonaparte 1853
Vickers-Rich 1972 1 specimen
locality 20
Reptilia - Ciconiiformes - Ciconiidae
Leptoptilos cf. falconeri (Milne Edwards 1868)
Vickers-Rich 1972 2 specimens
localiity 17, 20
Reptilia - Suliformes - Phalacrocoracidae
Phalacrocorax cf. littoralis (Milne-Edwards 1863)
Vickers-Rich 1972 1 specimen
locality 17
Reptilia - Suliformes - Anhingidae
Anhinga pannonica (Lambrect 1916)
Vickers-Rich 1972 2 specimens
original and current combination Plotus pannonicus
localities 17, 20
Reptilia - Testudines - Trionychidae
Cladistia - Polypteriformes - Polypteridae
Polypterus sp. Lacépède 1803
Greenwood 1972 3 specimens
locality 17
Actinopteri - Siluriformes
Siluriformes indet.
Greenwood 1972 78 specimens
localities 17, 18, 20, and 23
Siluriformes sp. A
Greenwood 1972 14 specimens
localities 17 and 20
Siluriformes sp. B
Greenwood 1972 27 specimens
localities 17, 20, 23
Siluriformes sp. C
Greenwood 1972 10 specimens
localities 17, 20, 23
Actinopteri - Siluriformes - Claroteidae
? Clarotes sp. Kner 1855
Greenwood 1972 3 specimens
locality 17
Actinopteri - Siluriformes - Clariidae
Clariidae indet. Bonaparte 1846
Greenwood 1972 129 specimens
localities 17, 20
Actinopteri - Cypriniformes - Cyprinidae
? Cyprinidae indet. Rafinesque 1815
Greenwood 1972 9 specimens
locality 17
Actinopteri - Centropomidae
Lates sp. Cuvier 1828
Greenwood 1972 70 specimens
localities 17, 20, 23
Actinopteri - Perciformes
Perciformes indet. Bleeker 1859
Greenwood 1972 4 specimens
locality 17
Chondrichthyes - Lamniformes - Odontaspididae
Odontaspis sp. Agassiz 1838
Greenwood 1972 3 specimens
locality 17
see common names

Geography
Country:Tunisia State/province:Gafsa
Coordinates: 34.0° North, 8.0° East (view map)
Paleocoordinates:33.7° North, 7.5° East
Basis of coordinate:estimated from map
Geographic resolution:local area
Time
Period:Neogene Epoch:Miocene
Key time interval:Serravallian - Tortonian
Age range of interval:13.82000 - 7.24600 m.y. ago
Stratigraphy
Formation:Beglia
Local section:Units 10-11 Local bed:Units 10-11
Local order:bottom to top
Stratigraphic resolution:group of beds
Stratigraphy comments: Beglia Formation is divided into units. Two fossiliferous levels have been identified. The age of the formation is estimated to be 12.5-9.5 Ma. No more specific dating is available, however Hipparion is present in both subunits of the Upper Faunal Level.

Mannaï-Tayech 2009: underlying Beglia sands were dated Serravallian to Lower Tortonian, based on their vertebrate faunal contents (Robinson and Black, 1974; Mannaï-Tayech and Otéro, 2005).
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology:"cross stratification",coarse,white poorly lithified sandy sandstone
Includes fossils?Y
Lithology description: Unit 10 is medium to coarse white sands with mudball cobbles. Unit 11 has coarse sand with some clay beds and some cross-stratification.
Environment:fluvial indet.
Geology comments: Characteristic of sands deposited by rivers. Fossils collected from several localities, thought to be approximately the same age. Localities in the Lower Faunal Level are 17, 18, 20, 22, 23, 24, and 26.
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body
Size of fossils:macrofossils,mesofossils
Disassociated major elements:some
Disassociated minor elements:some
Collection methods and comments
Collection excludes:some macrofossils
Collection methods:bulk,surface (float),surface (in situ),field collection
Reason for describing collection:taxonomic analysis
Collection method comments: Information on stratigraphic level and abundance is only available for some taxa.
Taxonomic list comments:Incomplete, because stratigraphic information is not available for all taxa. See PBDB record # 35277 for complete list of known Beglia Fauna.
Metadata
Also known as:Bled ed Douarah, white sands, lower level
Database number:35281
Authorizer:A. Behrensmeyer Enterer:S. Cote
Modifier:G. Varnham Research group:vertebrate
Subset of collection #:35277
Created:2003-11-24 07:30:14 Last modified:2022-01-25 07:23:33
Access level:the public Released:2003-11-24 07:30:14
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:
9487.ETE P. Robinson and C. C. Black. 1969. Note preliminaire sur les vertebres fossiles du Vinodobonien (formation Beglia), du Bled Douarah, Gouvernorat de Gafsa, Tunisie. Notes du Service Geologique Tunisie. Traveaux de Geologie Tunisienne 31(11):67-70 [A. Behrensmeyer/S. Cote/S. Cote]

Secondary references:

9486ETE E. L. Agrasar. 2003. New fossil crocodilians from the Middle/Upper Miocene of Tunisia. Annales de Paleontologie 89:103-110 [A. Behrensmeyer/S. Cote/S. Cote]
9490ETE P. H. Greenwood. 1972. New fish fossils from the late Miocene of Tunisia. Notes du Service Geologique de Tunisie. Travaux de Geologie Tunisienne 37(6):41-72 [A. Behrensmeyer/S. Cote/S. Cote]
37957 B. Mannai-Tayech. 2009. The lithostratigraphy of Miocene series from Tunisia, revisited. Journal of African Sciences 54:53-61 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen/G. Varnham]
9496ETE M. Pickford. 2000. Crocodiles from the Beglia Formation, Middle/Late Miocene Boundary, Tunisia, and their significance for Saharan palaeoclimatology. Annales de Paleontologie 86(1):59-67 [A. Behrensmeyer/S. Cote/S. Cote]
9491ETE P. Robinson. 1972. Pachytragus solognaci, a new species of Caprine bovid from the late Miocene Beglia Formation of Tunisia. Notes du Service Geologique de Tunisie. Travaux geologiques tunisiennes 37(6):73-94 [A. Behrensmeyer/S. Cote/S. Cote]
9493ETE P. Vickers-Rich. 1972. A fossil avifauna from the upper Miocene Beglia Formation of Tunisia. Notes du Service Geologique de Tunisie. Travaux de Gelogie Tunisienne 35(5):29-64 [A. Behrensmeyer/S. Cote/S. Cote]