Birket Qarun Formation Explained

Birket Qarun Formation
Type:	Sedimentary
Age:	Eocene ~
Period:	Eocene
Region:	Faiyum Governorate
Country:	Egypt
Overlies:	Gehannam Formation
Thickness:	up to 50m (160feet)

The Birket Qarun Formation is an Eocene aged formation in Egypt. It is part of the famous Wadi al Hitan.^[1] Notable fossils include the ancient whales Basilosaurus and Dorudon as well as sirenians Eotheroides and Eosiren. It also contains the teeth of various sharks and reptiles. The area was likely a mix of both marine and freshwater area with many freshwater deposits being found alongside a marine influence from the Tethys Sea.^[2] Fossils here also preserve a shallow marine nursery for the whale Dorudon and it seems that this area would have also been the site of active predation from Basilosaurus as it attacked the newly born Dorudon calves. ^[3]

Paleobiota

Mammals

Afrotheres

Afrotheres!Genus!Species!Member!Locality!Material!Notes!Images
Eotheroides^[4]	clavigerum
Dilambdogale	gheerbranti
Eosiren	libyca
Dimaitherium	patnaiki
Barytherium	sp.
Moeritherium	lyonsi

Bats

Bats!Genus!Species!Member!Locality!Material!Notes!Images
Witwatia^[5]	schlosseri, eremicus
Qarunycteris	moerisae
Aegyptonycteris	knightae

Primates

Primates!Genus!Species!Member!Locality!Material!Notes!Images
Karanisia	clarki
Afradapis	longicristatus
Nosmips	aenigmaticus
Masradapis	tahai
Saharagalago	misrensis
Biretia	fayumensis, megalopsis

Cetaceans

Cetaceans!Genus!Species!**Member**!Locality!Material!Notes!Images
Dorudon	atrox
Basilosaurus	isis, cetoides
Masracetus	markgrafi
Ancalecetus	simonsi

Birds

Birds!Genus!Species!Member!Locality!Material!Notes!Images
Eopelecanus	aegyptiacus

Crocodylomorphs

Crocodylomorphs!Genus!Species!Member!Locality!Material!Notes!Images
Tomistoma	kerunense
Crocodyliformes	indeterminate

Testudines

Testudines!Genus!Species!Member!Locality!Material!Notes!Images
Dacquemys	paleomorpha
Cordichelys	antiqua

Squamates

Squamates!Genus!Species!Member!Locality!Material!Notes!Images
Gigantophis	garstini
	schweinfurthi
	indeterminate
	indeterminate
	sp.
	sp.
	indeterminate
Caenophidia	indeterminate
Serpentes	indeterminate
	indeterminate

Actinopterygians

Actinopterygians!Genus!Species!Member!Locality!Material!Notes!Images
Qarmoutus	hitanensis
Hydrocynus	sp.
Polypterus	sp.
Perciformes	indeterminate
Gymnarchus	sp.
Mochokidae	indeterminate

Chondrichthyes

Selachimorpha!Genus!Species!Member!Locality!Material!Notes!Images
Rhizoprionodon	sp.
Macrorhizodus	praecursor
Negaprion	frequens, amekiensis
Nebrius	sp.
Alopias	sp.
Hemipristis	sp.
Triakidae
Otodus^[6]
Hexanchus	sp.
Squatina	sp.
Leptocharias	sp.
Carcharias	sp.
Physogaleus	sp.
Abdounia	sp.
Crassescyliorhinus	sp.
Galeocerdo	sp.
Brachycarcharias	cf.twiggsensis

Batoidea!Genus!Species!Member!Locality!Material!Notes!Images
Torpedo	sp.
Narcine	sp.
Coupatezia	wousteri, attiai
Propristis	schweinfurthi
Anoxypristis	mucrodens

Molluscs

Molluscs!Genus!Species!Member!Locality!Material!Notes!Images
Carolia	placunoides
Ostrea	reili
Cubitostrea	multicostata
Claibornicardia	pharaonum
Acanthocardia (Schedocardia)	gehannamensis
	pharaonica
	niloatica

Plants

Notes and References

Web site: Birket Qarun Formation . PBDB.org.
Murray . Alison M. . Cook . Todd D. . Attia . Yousry S. . Chatrath . Prithijit . Simons . Elwyn L. . 2010-05-18 . A freshwater ichthyofauna from the late Eocene Birket Qarun Formation, Fayum, Egypt . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . en . 30 . 3 . 665–680 . 10.1080/02724631003758060 . 0272-4634.
Web site: Naturkunde~julia.fahlke@mfn-berlin.de . Julia M. Fahlke~Museum für . 2012-11-15 . Bite marks revisited – evidence for middle-to-late Eocene Basilosaurus isis predation on Dorudon atrox (both Cetacea, Basilosauridae) . 2024-09-16 . Palaeontologia Electronica . en.
Zalmout . Iyad S. . Gingerich . Philip D. . LATE EOCENE SEA COWS (MAMMALIA, SIRENIA) FROM WADI AL HITAN IN THE WESTERN DESERT OF FAYUM, EGYPT . Univeristy of Michigan PAPERS ON PALEONTOLOGY . 37.
Gunnell . Gregg F. . Simons . Elwyn L. . Seiffert . Erik R. . 2008-03-12 . http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1671/0272-4634(2008)28[1:NBMCFT2.0.CO;2 New bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) from the late Eocene and early Oligocene, Fayum Depression, Egypt ]. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . en . 28 . 1 . 1–11 . 10.1671/0272-4634(2008)28[1:NBMCFT]2.0.CO;2 . 0272-4634.
Underwood . Charlie J. . Ward . David J. . King . Christopher . Antar . Sameh M. . Zalmout . Iyad S. . Gingerich . Philip D. . 2011-01-01 . Shark and ray faunas in the Middle and Late Eocene of the Fayum Area, Egypt . Proceedings of the Geologists' Association . Environmental Change in sub-Saharan Africa . 122 . 1 . 47–66 . 10.1016/j.pgeola.2010.09.004 . 0016-7878.