Bled Douarah- Upper Faunal Level, upper subunit (Miocene to of Tunisia)

Also known as Bled el Douarah, yellow sands

Where: Gafsa, Tunisia (34.0° N, 8.0° E: paleocoordinates 33.7° N, 7.5° E)

• coordinate estimated from map

• local area-level geographic resolution

When: Beglia Formation, Serravallian to Serravallian (13.8 - 7.2 Ma)

• Beglia Formation is divided into units. Two fossiliferous levels have been identified. The Upper Faunal Level is subdivided into two units- upper and lower subunits. 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).

• bed-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: lacustrine; poorly lithified, yellow, conglomeratic sandstone

• Fossils collected from several localities, thought to be approximately the same age. Localities in the upper subunit of the Upper Faunal Level are 2,4,6,9,14, 16, and 28.
• Units 13 is a yellow sand, cross-laminated with lateral lenses of coarse conglomerate with mudballs.

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Collection methods: bulk, surface (float), surface (in situ),

• Information on stratigraphic level is only available for some taxa.

Primary reference: 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]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 35279: authorized by Anna Behrensmeyer, entered by Suzanne Cote on 24.11.2003

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• Incomplete, because stratigraphic information is not available for all taxa. See PBDB record # 35277 for complete list of known Beglia Fauna.
Aves
 Struthioniformes - Struthionidae
Struthio sp.4 Linnaeus 1758 ostrich
locality 2
Reptilia
 Loricata -
Crocodylia indet. crocodilian
Mammalia
 Perissodactyla - Equidae
"Hipparion primigenium" = Hippotherium primigenium2
"Hipparion primigenium" = Hippotherium primigenium2 von Meyer 1829 hipparionine horse
localities 4,16, 14, 7, 2, 6, 28
 Artiodactyla - Hippopotamidae
Kenyapotamus sp. Pickford 1983 hippopotamus
localities 2,4
 Artiodactyla - Anthracotheriidae
Merycopotamus anisae n. sp.1 anthracothere
localities 2, 4, 6, 14, 16
Actinopteri
 Acanthomorphata - Centropomidae
Lates sp.3 Cuvier 1828 lates
localities 2, 4, 6, 16
 Cypriniformes - Cyprinidae
? Barbus sp.3 Cuvier and Cloquet 1816 carp-like fish
locality 16
 Teleostei -
Siluriformes indet.3 catfish
localities 2, 4, 6, 19, and 16
Siluriformes sp. A3 catfish
locality 2
Siluriformes sp. B3 catfish
localities 2, 16
Siluriformes sp. C3 catfish
localities 2, 16
 Siluriformes - Clariidae
Clariidae indet.3 Bonaparte 1846 airbreathing catfish
localities 2, 6, 16
Cladistia
 Polypteriformes - Polypteridae
Polypterus sp.3 Lacépède 1803 bichir
locality 6
Pisces
  -
"Pisces indet." = Osteichthyes3
"Pisces indet." = Osteichthyes3 Huxley 1880 bony fish
locality 19
Chondrichthyes
 Lamniformes - Lamnidae
Lamna sp.3 Cuvier 1816 mackerel shark
localities 2, 16
 Lamniformes - Odontaspididae
Odontaspis sp.3 Agassiz 1838 sand tiger shark
localities 2, 16