Quseir Formation

Quseir Formation
Stratigraphic range: Campanian
~80–72 Ma
TypeGeological formation
Sub-unitsMut & El Hindaw Members
UnderliesDuwi Formation
OverliesUnconformity with Taref Formation
Thicknessat least 250 metres (820 ft)
Lithology
PrimaryShale
OtherSandstone, siltstone, phosphorite
Location
LocationAl Wadi al Jadid, New Valley
Coordinates25°36′N 29°06′E / 25.6°N 29.1°E / 25.6; 29.1
Approximate paleocoordinates9°18′N 24°54′E / 9.3°N 24.9°E / 9.3; 24.9
RegionKharga Oasis
CountryEgypt
Quseir Formation is located in Egypt
Quseir Formation
Quseir Formation (Egypt)

The Quseir Formation is a geological formation in the vicinity of the Kharga Oasis in Egypt. It is Campanian in age. The lithology largely consists of soft shale with hard bands of sandstone, siltstone and phosphorite. The environment of deposition was nearshore to freshwater fluvio-lacustrine characterized by moist and aquatic habitats with a tropical warm-humid climate. It is conformably overlain by the marine late Campanian-Maastrichtian Duwi Formation, and unconformably overlies the Turonian Taref Formation. The sauropod dinosaurs Mansourasaurus and Igai are known from the formation, as well as the proximal fibula of an indeterminate theropod and possible remains tentively assigned to Spinosaurus. Additionally the lungfish genera Lavocatodus and Protopterus, the crocodyliform Wahasuchus and the bothremydid turtle Khargachelys are also known.

Fossil content

Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon

Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text
crossed out taxa are discredited.

Dinosaurs

Theropods including a proximal fibula and specimens tentatively assigned to Cenomanian theropod genera Spinosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus are now classified as Theropoda indet.

Sauropods

Sauropods of the Quseir Formation
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Mansourasaurus M. shahinae A lithostrotian titanosaur
Igai I. semkhu A saltasaurid titanosaur

Theropods

Theropods of the Quseir Formation
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
cf.Abelisauridae Indeterminate Proximal fibula (MUVP 187)
Theropoda Caudal vertebra (MUVP 199)

Fish

Bony fish

Bony fish of the Quseir Formation
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Lavocatodus L. giganteus A lavocatodid lungfish
L. humei
L. protopteroides
Protopterus P. nigeriensis A protopterid lungfish
Lepisosteoidea Indeterminate Mut Member

Cartilaginous Fish

Cartilaginous Fishes of the Quseir Formation
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Scapanorhynchus S. rapax Mut Member Teeth A close relative of the living goblin shark

Crocodylomorphs

Crocodylomorpha of the Quseir Formation
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Dyrosauridae indet. Indeterminate Mandibular symphysis
Wahasuchus W. egyptensis A mesoeucrocodylian
Wadisuchus W. kassabi Skulls A dyrosaurid.

Turtles

Turtles of the Quseir Formation
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Khargachelys K. caironensis A bothremydid side-necked turtle

References

  1. ↑ Quseir Formation at Fossilworks.org
  2. ↑ Mahmoud, Magdy S. (April 2003). "Palynology and palaeoenvironment of the Quseir Formation (Campanian) from central Egypt". Journal of African Earth Sciences. 36 (3): 135–148. Bibcode:2003JAfES..36..135M. doi:10.1016/s0899-5362(03)00047-2. ISSN 1464-343X.
  3. ↑ Sallam, Hesham M.; O'Connor, Patrick M.; Kora, Mahmoud; Sertich, Joseph J.W.; Seiffert, Erik R.; Faris, Mahmoud; Ouda, Khaled; El-Dawoudi, Iman; Saber, Sara (May 2016). "Vertebrate paleontological exploration of the Upper Cretaceous succession in the Dakhla and Kharga Oases, Western Desert, Egypt". Journal of African Earth Sciences. 117: 223–234. Bibcode:2016JAfES.117..223S. doi:10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2016.01.022. ISSN 1464-343X.
  4. ↑ Sallam, Hesham M.; Gorscak, Eric; O’Connor, Patrick M.; El-Dawoudi, Iman A.; El-Sayed, Sanaa; Saber, Sara; Kora, Mahmoud A.; Sertich, Joseph J. W.; Seiffert, Erik R. (2018-01-29). "New Egyptian sauropod reveals Late Cretaceous dinosaur dispersal between Europe and Africa". Nature Ecology & Evolution. 2 (3): 445–451. Bibcode:2018NatEE...2..445S. doi:10.1038/s41559-017-0455-5. ISSN 2397-334X. PMID 29379183. S2CID 3375335.
  5. ↑ Gorscak, Eric; Lamanna, Matthew C.; Schwarz, Daniela; Díaz, Verónica díez; Salem, Belal S.; Sallam, Hesham M.; Wiechmann, Marc Filip (2023-07-20). "A new titanosaurian (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Quseir Formation of the Kharga Oasis, Egypt". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 42 (6) e2199810. doi:10.1080/02724634.2023.2199810. ISSN 0272-4634.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Salem, Belal S.; O'Connor, Patrick M.; Gorscak, Eric; El-Sayed, Sanaa; Sertich, Joseph J.W.; Seiffert, Erik; Sallam, Hesham M. (2021-07-01). "Dinosaur remains from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) of the Western Desert, Egypt". Cretaceous Research. 123 104783. Bibcode:2021CrRes.12304783S. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104783. ISSN 0195-6671. S2CID 233900405.
  7. 1 2 3 Churcher, C. S.; De iuliis, G. (2001). "A new species of Protopterus and a revision of Ceratodus humei (Dipnoi: Ceratodontiformes) from the Late Cretaceous Mut Formation of eastern Dakhleh Oasis, Western Desert of Egypt". Palaeontology. 44 (2): 305–323. Bibcode:2001Palgy..44..305C. doi:10.1111/1475-4983.00181. ISSN 0031-0239.
  8. ↑ Augustin, Felix J.; Hartung, Josephina; Kampouridis, Panagiotis (2023), "Dinosaur Faunas of Egypt—The Terrestrial Late Cretaceous Vertebrate Record", in Hamimi, Zakaria; Khozyem, Hassan; Adatte, Thierry; Nader, Fadi H. (eds.), The Phanerozoic Geology and Natural Resources of Egypt, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 253–284, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-95637-0_9, ISBN 978-3-030-95636-3, retrieved 2024-11-26
  9. 1 2 3 Claeson, Kerin M; Sallam, Hesham M; O'Connor, Patrick M.; Sertich, Joseph J. W. (2014). "A revision of the Upper Cretaceous lepidosirenid lungfishes from the Quseir Formation, Western Desert, central Egypt". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 34 (4): 760–766. Bibcode:2014JVPal..34..760C. doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.838574. S2CID 17120150.
  10. ↑ Saber, Sara; Sertich, Joseph J.W.; Sallam, Hesham M.; Ouda, Khaled A.; O'Connor, Patrick M.; Seiffert, Erik R. (October 2018). "An enigmatic crocodyliform from the Upper Cretaceous Quseir Formation, central Egypt". Cretaceous Research. 90: 174–184. Bibcode:2018CrRes..90..174S. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2018.04.004. ISSN 0195-6671.
  11. ↑ AbdelGawad, Mohamed; Pérez-García, Adán; Hirayama, Ren; Mohesn, Sara; Tantawy, Abdel-Aziz; Abu El-Kheir, Gebely (February 2023). "The First Side-Necked Turtle (Pleurodira, Bothremydidae) from the Campanian (Late Cretaceous) of Egypt". Diversity. 15 (2): 284. Bibcode:2023Diver..15..284A. doi:10.3390/d15020284. ISSN 1424-2818.
  12. ↑ Augustin, Felix J.; Hartung, Josephina; Kampouridis, Panagiotis (2023), "Dinosaur Faunas of Egypt—The Terrestrial Late Cretaceous Vertebrate Record", in Hamimi, Zakaria; Khozyem, Hassan; Adatte, Thierry; Nader, Fadi H. (eds.), The Phanerozoic Geology and Natural Resources of Egypt, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 253–284, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-95637-0_9, ISBN 978-3-030-95636-3, retrieved 2024-10-18
  13. ↑ Sallam, Hesham M.; Gorscak, Eric; O’Connor, Patrick M.; El-Dawoudi, Iman A.; El-Sayed, Sanaa; Saber, Sara; Kora, Mahmoud A.; Sertich, Joseph J. W.; Seiffert, Erik R.; Lamanna, Matthew C. (2018-01-29). "New Egyptian sauropod reveals Late Cretaceous dinosaur dispersal between Europe and Africa". Nature Ecology & Evolution. 2 (3): 445–451. Bibcode:2018NatEE...2..445S. doi:10.1038/s41559-017-0455-5. ISSN 2397-334X. PMID 29379183.
  14. ↑ Gorscak, Eric; Lamanna, Matthew C.; Schwarz, Daniela; Díaz, Verónica Díez; Salem, Belal S.; Sallam, Hesham M.; Wiechmann, Marc Filip (2022-12-14). "A new titanosaurian (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Quseir Formation of the Kharga Oasis, Egypt". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 42 (6) e2199810. Bibcode:2022JVPal..42E9810G. doi:10.1080/02724634.2023.2199810. ISSN 0272-4634.
  15. ↑ Saber, Sara; Salem, Belal S.; Ouda, Khaled; Gohar, Abdullah S.; El-Sayed, Sanaa; Sallam, Hesham M. (January 2025). "A long-snouted dyrosaurid (Crocodyliformes, Mesoeucrocodylia) from the Campanian Quseir Formation of Egypt". Cretaceous Research. 165 105982. Bibcode:2025CrRes.16505982S. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105982.
  16. ↑ Saber, Sara; Sertich, Joseph J.W.; Sallam, Hesham M.; Ouda, Khaled A.; O'Connor, Patrick M.; Seiffert, Erik R. (2018). "An enigmatic crocodyliform from the Upper Cretaceous Quseir Formation, central Egypt". Cretaceous Research. 90: 174–184. Bibcode:2018CrRes..90..174S. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2018.04.004.
  17. ↑ Sara Saber, Belal S Salem, Khaled Ouda, Abdullah S Gohar, Sanaa El-Sayed, Patrick M O’Connor, Hesham M Sallam, An early dyrosaurid (Wadisuchus kassabi gen. et sp. nov.) from the Campanian of Egypt sheds light on the origin and biogeography of Dyrosauridae, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, Volume 205, Issue 2, October 2025, zlaf134, https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf134