Aïn el Guettar Formation explained

The Aïn el Guettar Formation is a geological formation in Tunisia, whose strata date back to the Late Aptian to Late Albian stages of the Cretaceous period.^{[1] [2]} The lithology consists of coarse sandstones with occasional conglomerates and mudstones.^[3] Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.^[4]

Stratigraphy

The Aïn el Guettar Formation is divided into at least 3 members, which represent different depositional environments. In ascending order these are: the Chenini Member, the Oum ed Diab Member and the Jebel El Mra Member.

Vertebrate paleofauna

The Ain el Guettar Formation during the Early Cretaceous period was a marsh-like habitat with swamps and plenty of water. The most famous dinosaur discoveries made here include Carcharodontosaurus and Spinosaurus.

Dinosaurs
Genus	Species	Location	Material	Notes	Images
Carcharodontosaurus	C. saharicus			A Carcharodontosaurid Theropod
Spinosaurus	cf. S.aegyptiacus [5]			A Spinosaurid theropod
Tataouinea	T. hannibalis[6]			A Nigersaurine Sauropod
	Iguanodontidae indet.
Sauropoda indet.	Sauropoda indet.
Abelisauridae	Abelisauride indet.
Carcharodontosauridae	Carcharodontosauridae indet. [7]

Crocodylomorphs
Genus	Species	Location	Material	Notes	Images
Sarcosuchus	cf. Sarchosuchus			A Pholidosaurid Crocodylomorph
Araripesuchus[8]	A.sp			A notosuchian crocodylomorph
Crocodyliformes	crocodyliformes indet. [9]

Fish
Genus	Species	Location	Material	Notes	Images
Mawsonia	M.sp.			A Coelacanth
Caturus	C. sp.[11]
Onchopristis	O. dunklei
Hybodus	H. sp.
Lepidotes	L.sp.

See also

• List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
• Geology of Tunisia

Further reading

• S. Bouaziz, É. Buffetaut, M. Ghanmi, J.-J. Jaeger, M. Martin, J.-M. Mazin, and H. Tong. 1988. Nouvelles découvertes de vertébrés fossiles dans l'Albien du sud tunisien [New discoveries of fossil vertebrates in the Albian of southern Tunisia]. Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France, 8e série 4(2):335-339
• J. Le Loeuff, É. Buffetaut, G. Cuny, Y. Laurent, M. Ouaja, C. Souillat, D. Srarfi and H. Tong. 2000. Mesozoic continental vertebrates of Tunisia. 5th European Workshop on Vertebrate Palaeontology, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Geowissenschaften Abteilung. Program. Abstracts. Excursion Guides 45

'

Notes and References

1. https://paleobiodb.org/classic/displayCollResults?collection_no=125935 Bateun el Hmaima
2. https://paleobiodb.org/classic/displayCollResults?collection_no=67203 Bir Miteur, RH 45
3. Benton. Michael J.. Bouaziz. Samir. Buffetaut. Eric. Martill. David. Ouaja. Mohamed. Soussi. Mohamed. Trueman. Clive. April 2000. Dinosaurs and other fossil vertebrates from fluvial deposits in the Lower Cretaceous of southern Tunisia. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 157. 3–4. 227–246. 10.1016/s0031-0182(99)00167-4. 2000PPP...157..227B. 0031-0182.
4. Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Early Cretaceous, Africa)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 571-573. .
5. Buffetaut, E & Ouaja, M (2002) A new specimen of Spinosaurus (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Lower Cretaceous of Tunisia, with remarks on the evolutionary history of the Spinosauridae. Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France 173: 415–421.
6. Federico Fanti. Andrea Cau. Mohsen Hassine. Michela Contessi. amp. 2013. A new sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Tunisia with extreme avian-like pneumatization. Nature Communications. 4. 2080. 1–7. 10.1038/ncomms3080. 23836048. 2013NatCo...4.2080F. free.
7. Fanti. Federico. Cau. Andrea. Martinelli. Agnese. Contessi. Michela. September 2014. Integrating palaeoecology and morphology in theropod diversity estimation: A case from the Aptian-Albian of Tunisia. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 410. 39–57. 10.1016/j.palaeo.2014.05.033. 2014PPP...410...39F . 0031-0182.
8. G. Cuny, A. M. Cobbett, F. J. Meunier and M. J. Benton. 2010. Vertebrate microremains from the Early Cretaceous of southern Tunisia. Geobios 43:615-628
9. Dridi. Jihed. November 2018. New fossils of the giant pholidosaurid genus Sarcosuchus from the Early Cretaceous of Tunisia. Journal of African Earth Sciences. 147. 268–280. 10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2018.06.023. 2018JAfES.147..268D . 1464-343X.
10. BENTON, M. J., BOUAZIZ, S., BUFFETAUT, E., MARTILL, D. M., OUAJA, M., SOUSSI, M. & TRUEMAN, C. (2000): Dinosaurs and other fossil vertebrates from fluvial deposits in the Lower Cretaceous of southern Tunisia. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 157: 227–246.
11. Fanti. Federico. Contessi. Michela. Franchi. Fulvio. September 2012. The "Continental Intercalaire" of southern Tunisia: Stratigraphy, paleontology, and paleoecology. Journal of African Earth Sciences. 73-74. 1–23. 10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2012.07.006. 2012JAfES..73....1F . 1464-343X.