Al-Sarrar, Locality 7, Dam Formation: Burdigalian, Saudi Arabia

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
unclassified
Angiosperm indet.
Palm tree, silicified.
cf. Indocrassatella sp.
AS 798
Hyperopisus sp.
Labeo sp.
Gastropoda - Strombidae
Strombus sp. Linnaeus 1758
Malacostraca - Decapoda - Callianassidae
Callianassa sp. Leach 1814
3 fixed fingers, AS 789.
Chondrichthyes - Myliobatiformes - Myliobatidae
Myliobatis sp. Cuvier 1816
Rhinoptera sp. Cuvier 1829
Chondrichthyes - Myliobatiformes - Aetobatidae
Aetobatus arcuatus (Agassiz 1843)
synonym of Aetobatus irregularis
Chondrichthyes - Carcharhiniformes - Carcharhinidae
Negaprion eurybathrodon (Blake 1862)
Carcharhinus aff. plumbeus (Nardo 1827)
Carcharhinus aff. priscus Agassiz 1843
Scoliodon sp. Muller and Henle 1837
Chondrichthyes - Carcharhiniformes - Hemigaleidae
Hemipristis serra Agassiz 1835
Chondrichthyes - Carcharhiniformes - Sphyrnidae
Sphyrna sp. Rafinesque 1810
Mammalia - Rodentia
Rodentia indet. Bowdich 1821
1 incisor and a few bone fragments.
Mammalia - Perissodactyla - Rhinocerotidae
Rhinocerotidae indet. Gray 1821
1 specimen
Right upper D2-D3, AS 773.
Aceratherium sp. Kaup 1834
1 specimen
1 left navicular, AS 769.
Mammalia - Tragulidae
Dorcatherium cf. libiensis Hamilton 1973
1 specimen
I mandible with D3 to M4, AS 781.
Mammalia - Bovidae
Bovidae indet. Gray 1821
1 specimen
1 horncore, poorly preserved, AS 774. Similar in size to the living Dorcas Gazelle.
Reptilia - Testudines - Trionychidae
aff. Cycloderma sp. Peters 1854
new primitive form.
Reptilia
Crocodylus cf. pigotti Tchernov and Van Couvering 1978
    = Crocodylus pigotti Tchernov and Van Couvering 1978
Buffetaut 1984
recombined as Brochuchus pigotti
AS 802 (partial right dentary)
Actinopteri - Centropomidae
Lates sp. Cuvier 1828
Actinopteri - Cypriniformes - Cyprinidae
Barbus sp. Cuvier and Cloquet 1816
Actinopteri - Siluriformes - Clariidae
Clarias sp. Scopoli 1777
Heterobranchus sp. Hilaire 1827
Actinopteri - Acanthopteri - Sphyraenidae
Sphyraena sp. Artedi 1793
see common names

Geography
Country:Saudi Arabia
Coordinates: 26.0° North, 49.4° East (view map)
Paleocoordinates:22.9° North, 46.8° East
Basis of coordinate:based on nearby landmark
Time
Period:Neogene Epoch:Miocene
Stage:Burdigalian 10 m.y. bin:Cenozoic 5
Key time interval:Burdigalian
Age range of interval:20.44000 - 15.97000 m.y. ago
Stratigraphy
Formation:Dam
Stratigraphy comments: 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.
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology: not reported
Lithology description: No lithology given for locality 7.
Environment:fluvial indet.
Geology comments: '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.'
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body
Size of fossils:macrofossils,mesofossils
Collection methods and comments
Collection methods:bulk,field collection
Reason for describing collection:general faunal/floral analysis
Collection method comments: 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.
Taxonomic list comments: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.
Metadata
Database number:47026
Authorizer:A. Turner, P. Mannion Enterer:H. O'Regan, P. Mannion
Modifier:G. Varnham Research group:PACED
Created:2005-02-01 04:35:38 Last modified:2022-01-28 05:55:25
Access level:the public Released:2005-02-01 04:35:38
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:

12499.PACED 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]

Secondary references:

47638 E. Buffetaut. 1984. On the occurrence of Crocodylus pigotti in the Miocene of Saudi Arabia, with remarks on the origin of the Nile crocodile. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Monatshefte 1984(9):513-520 [P. Mannion/P. Mannion]