The Anoual Formation is a geological formation in the High Atlas of Morocco . It is early Bathonian in age. It consists of two members. The lower member is several hundred metres thick, and consists largely of mudstone with lens beds of cross bedded sandstone, with thin intercalations of limestone that was deposited in a freshwater continental setting, likely lacustrine or palustrine, with small marine influences.[ 1] [ 2]
Paleobiota
Brachiopoda Genus Species Location Stratigraphic Position Material Notes Images Burmirhynchia [ 3] B. gr. termierae-athiaensis Anoual Upper Member Isolated shells A brachiopod of the family Tetrarhynchiidae Kallirhynchia [ 3] Anoual Upper Member Isolated shells A brachiopod of the family Tetrarhynchiidae Kallirhynchia specimen
Crustacea
Mollusca Genus Species Location Stratigraphic Position Material Notes Images Lymnaeidae [ 2] Indeterminate Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Isolated shells Freshwater snails Nerineidae [ 1] Indeterminate Anoual Upper Member Isolated shells Marine snails Planorbidae [ 2] Indeterminate Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Isolated shells Freshwater snails Provalvata [ 1] P. sp. Anoual Lower Member Isolated shells Freshwater snail of the family Provalvatidae Valvatidae [ 2] Indeterminate Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Isolated shells Freshwater snails
Fish Abundant osteichthyan ichthyoliths are known. An isolated spine displaying characters seen in extant cypriniform or siluriform fishes has been recovered, alternatively can belong to a member of Myriacanthidae .[ 2]
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic Position Material Notes Images Arganodus [ 2] Indeterminate Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Isolated tooth plates Lungfish Arganodus reconstruction Lepidotes Scheenstia [ 2] Indeterminate Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Isolated teeth and scales Lepidotidae bony fish Lepidotes reconstruction cf. Ionoscopiformes[ 2] Indeterminate Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Rhomboidal scales Tentatively assigned to Ophiopsidae Mawsoniidae [ 2] Indeterminate Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Skull bones including a parasphenoid Coelacanth Osteoglossiformes [ 2] Indeterminate Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Squamules (small scales) The oldest record of the group
Amphibians Genus Species Location Stratigraphic Position Material Notes Images Albanerpetontidae [ 2] Indeterminate Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Incomplete premaxilla and incomplete frontal Likely represents a new taxon Caudata ?[ 2] Indeterminate Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Fragment of a dentary Lissamphibia ?[ 2] Indeterminate Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Fragment of a maxilla
Turtles Genus Species Location Stratigraphic Position Material Notes Images Testudinata [ 2] "Morphotype 1" Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Fifty plate fragments Similar to Solemydidae and Pleurosternidae turtles "Morphotype 2" Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Single neural plate Plate slightly longer than wide "Morphotype 3" Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Multiple plates By far the most abundant, maybe a larger taxon with smooth plates "Morphotype 4" Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Two costal plates Similar to Araripemys Trionychidae
Lepidosaurs Genus Species Location Stratigraphic Position Material Notes Images Parviraptor [ 2] Cf.P.sp. Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Four vertebral centra Squamatan , previously identified as a stem-snake Rhynchocephalia [ 2] Indeterminate Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member One fragment of dentary bearing two incomplete teeth; one fragment of maxilla bearing the bases of two teeth. Similar to the co-regional but younger genus Tingitana , but also to Clevosaurus Scincomorpha [ 2] Indeterminate Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member A fragment of bone bearing teeth; potentially a fragment of bone bearing one complete tooth Squamatan Squamata [ 2] Indeterminate Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Incomplete maxilla, incomplete dorsal vertebra, one proximal part of femur
Choristoderes Genus Species Location Stratigraphic Position Material Notes Images Choristodera [ 2] Indeterminate Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Fragmentary dentary, centrum of an anterior caudal vertebra, possibly centrum of a dorsal vertebra Similar to Cteniogenys
Dinosaurs Genus Species Location Stratigraphic Position Material Notes Images Ornithischia [ 2] Indeterminate Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Tooth Similar to Alocodon Illustration of a fossil of Alocodon cf.Stegosauria [ 2] Indeterminate Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Poorly preserved tooth Theropoda [ 2] Indeterminate Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Several teeth
Pterosaurs
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic Position Material Notes Images Atoposauridae [ 2] Indeterminate Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Teeth Teleosauridae [ 2] Indeterminate Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Teeth Thalattosuchia [ 2] Indeterminate Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Teeth, various skeletal elements probably belonging to a single individual Theriosuchus [ 2] Cf.T. sp. Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Teeth An Atoposaurid
Mammals Genus Species Location Stratigraphic Position Material Notes Images Amphitheriidae [ 2] Indeterminate Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Fragment of juvenile right dentary; fragment of an edentulous right dentary, probably middle-posterior part. If true is the 1st Gondwanic member of the family Cf.Dryolestida /Donodontidae [ 2] Indeterminate Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Fragment of a tooth bearing one cusp and one root Similar to Donodon
Charophyta Genus Species Location Stratigraphic Position Material Notes Images Aclistochara [ 4] A. africana Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Gyrogonites A Characean algae of the family Characeae Porochara[ 3] P. hians Anoual Lower Member Oogonia A characean algae of the family Porocharaceae
Palynology Genus Species Location Stratigraphic Position Material Notes Images Alisporites[ 2] Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Pollen Affinities with the families Peltaspermaceae or Corystospermaceae Araucariacites[ 2] Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Pollen Affinities with Araucariaceae inside Coniferae . Example of extant Araucaria Callialasporites[ 2] Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Pollen Affinities with Araucariaceae inside Coniferae . Classopollis [ 2] Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Pollen Affinities with Cheirolepidiaceae inside Coniferae . Cyathidites[ 2] Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Spores Affinities with the family Cyatheaceae inside Cyatheales . Arboreal Fern Spores Modern Cyathea Cyathidites come probably from similar genera Cycadopites[ 2] Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Pollen Affinities with the Cycadopsida inside Cycadales . Pollen related with modern Cycas Encephalartos Cycadopites come probably from similar genera Inaperturopollenites[ 2] Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Pollen Affinities with the Pinidae inside Coniferae . Extant Pinus Inaperturopollenites is similar to the pollen found on this genus Ischyosporites[ 2] Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Spores Affinities with Pteridopsida , likely derived from a member of Anemiaceae Extant Anemia Ischyosporites probably comes from similar genera Leptolepidites[ 2] Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Spores Affinities with the family Dennstaedtiaceae in the Polypodiales . Forest fern spores. Extant Dennstaedtia Leptolepidites probably comes from similar genera Pityosporites[ 2] Guelb el Ahmar Lower Member Pollen Affinities with the Pinidae inside Coniferae .
Fossil Wood Genus Species Location Stratigraphic Position Material Notes Images Agathoxylon [ 2] Guelb el Ahmar Oued Metlili Lower Member Fossil Wood Conifer fossil wood of the family Araucariaceae Metapodocarpoxylon [ 2] Guelb el Ahmar Oued Metlili Lower Member Fossil Wood Conifer fossil wood of the family Podocarpaceae Protopodocarpoxylon [ 2] P. subrochii P. teixeirae Guelb el Ahmar Oued Metlili Lower Member Fossil Wood Conifer fossil wood of the family Hirmeriellaceae Phyllocladoxylon [ 2] Guelb el Ahmar Oued Metlili Lower Member Fossil Wood Conifer fossil wood of the family Podocarpaceae
See also
References ^ a b c d e f g h i Haddoumi, Hamid; Charrière, André; Andreu, Bernard; Mojon, Pierre-Olivier (2008). "Les dépôts continentaux du Jurassique moyen au Crétacé inférieur dans le Haut Atlas oriental (Maroc) : paléoenvironnements successifs et signification paléogéographique" . Carnets de Géologie / Notebooks on Geology . CG2008 (A06): 1– 29. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar Haddoumi, Hamid; Allain, Ronan; Meslouh, Said; Metais, Grégoire; Monbaron, Michel; Pons, Denise; Rage, Jean-Claude; Vullo, Romain; Zouhri, Samir (January 2016). "Guelb el Ahmar (Bathonian, Anoual Syncline, eastern Morocco): First continental flora and fauna including mammals from the Middle Jurassic of Africa" (PDF) . Gondwana Research . 29 (1): 290– 319. Bibcode :2016GondR..29..290H . doi :10.1016/j.gr.2014.12.004 . ISSN 1342-937X . ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Haddoumi, Hamid; Aiméras, Yves; Bodergat, Anne-Marie; Charrière, André; Mangold, Charles; Benshili, Khadija (1998-07-01). "Âges et environnements des Couches rouges d'Anoual (Jurassique moyen et Crétacé inférieur, Haut-Atlas oriental, Maroc)" Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences - Series IIA - Earth and Planetary Science . 327 (2): 127– 133. doi :10.1016/S1251-8050(98)80043-8 . ISSN 1251-8050 . ^ MOJON, Pierre-Olivier; HADDOUMI, Hamid; CHARRIÈRE, André (2009). "Nouvelles données sur les Charophytes et Ostracodes du Jurassique moyen-supérieur - Crétacé inférieur de l'Atlas marocain" Carnets de géologie (Notebooks on geology) (Mémoires). doi :10.4267/2042/29781 ISSN 1634-0744 .
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