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Marine vertebrate fauna from the late Eocene Samlat Formation of Ad-Dakhla, southwestern Morocco

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2017

SAMIR ZOUHRI ,
BOUZIANE KHALLOUFI ,
ESTELLE BOURDON ,
FRANCE DE LAPPARENT DE BROIN ,
JEAN-CLAUDE RAGE ,
LEILA M'HAÏDRAT ,
PHILIP D. GINGERICH  and
NAJIA ELBOUDALI
SAMIR ZOUHRI*
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Santé & Environnement, Faculty of Science Aïn Chock, Hassan II University of Casablanca, Km 8, Bd Abdallah Ibrahim, BP 5366 Maarif 20100 Casablanca, Morocco
BOUZIANE KHALLOUFI
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Informatique et Systématique, UMR 7205, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 57 rue Cuvier, CP38, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
ESTELLE BOURDON
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Informatique et Systématique, UMR 7205, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 57 rue Cuvier, CP38, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France Natural History Museum of Denmark, Section of Biosystematics, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
FRANCE DE LAPPARENT DE BROIN
Affiliation:
Sorbonne Universités, CR2P, MNHN/CNRS/UPMC, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 57 rue Cuvier, CP 38, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
JEAN-CLAUDE RAGE
Affiliation:
Sorbonne Universités, CR2P, MNHN/CNRS/UPMC, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 57 rue Cuvier, CP 38, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
LEILA M'HAÏDRAT
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Santé & Environnement, Faculty of Science Aïn Chock, Hassan II University of Casablanca, Km 8, Bd Abdallah Ibrahim, BP 5366 Maarif 20100 Casablanca, Morocco
PHILIP D. GINGERICH
Affiliation:
Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan, 1109 Geddes Ave., Ann Arbor MI 48109-1079, USA
NAJIA ELBOUDALI
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Faculty of Science Aïn Chock, Hassan II University of Casablanca, Km 8, Bd Abdallah Ibrahim, BP: 5366 Maarif 20100 Casablanca, Morocco
*
†Author for correspondence: [email protected]
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Abstract

Late Eocene deposits of the Samlat Formation, south of Ad-Dakhla city, southwestern Morocco, have yielded a mixed marine and terrestrial vertebrate fauna. Abundant and diversified chondrichthyans and archaeocete whales have been found, as well as the remains of sirenians and proboscideans. Here we describe the rest of this fossil assemblage which includes actinopterygians, turtles, palaeophiid snakes, crocodiles and pelagornithid seabirds. Actinopterygians are represented by at least two large-sized taxa, a scombroid probably close to the extant Acanthocybium or to the Eocene Aramichthys, and a siluriform related to the Ariidae. Turtles include at least four species represented by shell fragments. This mixed coastal and continental turtle fauna includes one littoral species of Podocnemididae, one or two deep-sea species of Dermochelyidae and one deep-sea species of Cheloniidae. Another turtle species is assigned to the terrestrial Testudinidae. Fragmentary crocodilian remains indicate the presence of undetermined eusuchians tentatively referred to Gavialidae and/or to Crocodylidae. Snake vertebrae are tentatively attributed to the genus Pterosphenus (Palaeophiidae) pending the discovery of new material. Avian remains belong to a large pseudo-toothed bird (Pelagornithidae). Pseudo-tooth morphology resembles that of the late Oligocene – Neogene genus Pelagornis. Additional bird remains are needed for a more precise taxonomic assignment. The fossil assemblage and palaeoenvironment of the upper Eocene deposits of the Samlat Formation appear closely related to those of the upper Eocene – lower Oligocene deposits of the Fayum (Egypt). The initial overview of this fauna provides an important contribution to the study of vertebrate evolution in North Africa near the Eocene–Oligocene transition.

Keywords

Samlat FormationAd-DakhlaMoroccovertebrateslate Eocenepalaeobiogeography
Type
Original Article
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 155 , Issue 7 , October 2018 , pp. 1596 - 1620
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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