The Jebel Qatrani Formation (also Gebel Qatrani, Gabal Qatrani or Djebel Qatrani) is a geologic formation located in the Faiyum Governorate of central Egypt. It is exposed between the Jebel Qatrani escarpment and the Qasr el Sagha escarpment, north of Birket Qarun lake near Faiyum. The formation conformably overlies the Qasr el Sagha Formation and is topped by the Widan el Faras Basalt. The age of the formation has been subject to debate, but the most recent research indicates that it covers both the latest parts of the Eocene and the Early Oligocene, spanning over the boundary between these two time periods.
The geology and fauna of this formation gives a good idea of the environment and animals present during this time period. Research suggests that the Jebel Qatrani Formation featured a mix of subtropical to tropical forest, lowland swamps and marshes, ponds and rivers that would empty northward into the Tethys Sea. This is supported by the presence of water-dependent fauna including podocnemidid turtles, crocodilians, sea cows, various fish, jacanas, early flamingo-relatives, ospreys, herons and shoebills.
Besides these, the fossil record of the Jebel Qatrani Formation is especially well known for its value to understanding the early evolution of many modern mammal groups. Primates are represented by over a dozen genera, several forms of early elephants have been recovered from the sediments including the terrestrial Phiomia and the semi-aquatic Moeritherium. The fossil rodents of the formation meanwhile are thought to be an important link between the African phiomorphs (dassies, old world porcupines, mole rats and cane rats) and the caviomorphs of South America (capybaras, chinchillas and new world porcupines). Besides these early members of groups that would later rise to prominence, the formation was also home to a variety of unique groups no longer found today or only found in a greatly diminished diversity. This includes the enigmatic, possibly carnivorous ptolemaiids, large hyaenodonts, a vast number of highly diverse hyracoids including species the size of rhinos, anthracotheres and the bizarre embrithopod Arsinoitherium.
and 30 Related for: Jebel Qatrani Formation information
The JebelQatraniFormation (also Gebel Qatrani, Gabal Qatrani or Djebel Qatrani) is a geologic formation located in the Faiyum Governorate of central...
Qatrani (Persian: قطراني) may refer to: Getrani Qatrani-ye Olya Yek Qatrani-ye Sofla Yek JebelQatraniFormation Ali Faraj Qatrani, Libyan politician Hussein...
bird. The holotype is an ulna recovered from lower beds of the JebelQatraniFormation in Faiyum Governorate in Egypt. Initially thought to be a heron...
flightless Eremopezus eocaenus. This was found in Upper Eocene JebelQatraniFormation deposits around the Qasr el Sagha escarpment, north of the Birket...
1652) recovered from early Oligocene deposits of Fayyum, Egypt (JebelQatraniFormation, about 33 million years ago (Mya)) is similar in general pattern...
to 36 in) long. Aegyptopithecus fossils have been found in the JebelQatraniFormation of modern-day Egypt. Aegyptopithecus is believed to be a stem-catarrhine...
Green River Formation, Eden Valley, Wyoming) Palmoxylon elsaadawii Nour-El-Deen, El-Saadawi & Thomas, 2018 (Paleogene; JebelQatraniFormation, Egypt) Palmoxylon...
dated to the Upper Eocene and Lower Oligocene is known from the JebelQatraniFormation of the Fayum Depression, Egypt. The three recognized extant species...
family Pandionidae fossils were recovered from the Oligocene age JebelQatraniFormation in Faiyum Governorate, Egypt. However, they are not complete enough...
1922 for the species T. ultimus from the early Oligocene of the JebelQatraniFormation, Fayum Depression, Egypt. The author described it as an “extremely...
the JebelQatraniFormation in which they were found. However, analysis by Erik Seiffert in 2006 concluded that the age of the JebelQatraniFormation should...
lyonsi, was described by Henry Fairfield Osborn in 1908 from the JebelQatraniFormation of Egypts' Fayum Depression. The genus name alludes to the Ptolemaic...
order Ptolemaiida. Two species are known from the Lower Oligocene JebelQatraniFormation of modern-day Egypt: C. ayeshae, and the more powerfully built...
podocnemoides Qasr el Sagha Formation, Egypt, Late Eocene †Dacquemys Birket Qarun Formation, Egypt, Late Eocene, JebelQatraniFormation, Egypt, Early Oligocene...
parapithecid is Apidium phiomense, found like many of the species in the JebelQatraniFormation in Egypt. It appears to have been arboreal, diurnal and frugivorous...
single species, Qarunavus meyeri is known from the Lower Oligocene JebelQatraniFormation of modern-day Egypt. Described by Elwyn Simons & Philip Gingerich...
Fossils were found in 1983 in Egypt, 46 m above the bottom of the JebelQatraniFormation. The species Antilohyrax pectidens had an approximate weight of...
Catopithecus browni, found in the JebelQatraniFormation of the Fayum Province, Egypt. The JebelQatraniFormation has been divided into two main faunal...
Paleogene. The oldest fossils are from the latest Eocene strata of the JebelQatraniFormation, near the Fayum oasis in Egypt. A tooth is known from an Oligocene-aged...
early Oligocene periods. Fossils that have been found are in the JebelQatraniFormation in Egypt. Currently two genera are recognised, each with a single...
skull bones were found in the upper Eocene and lower Oligocene JebelQatraniFormation of the Fayum Depression, Egypt. The zoogeographic importance of...
differently sized types have been recovered from the early Oligocene JebelQatraniFormation of Fayum, Egypt. A possible species of Megapaloelodus was found...
Olson, S. L. & Simons, E. L. 1987. Fossil birds from Oligocene JebelQatraniFormation, Fayum Province, Egypt. Smithsonian Contributions for Paleobiology...
A similar sample was found in the Late Eocene-early Oligocene JebelQatraniFormation in Faiyum, Egypt, but whether this sample represents P. tenuirostris...
which the same formation is exposed. Such sites may have separate entries if they are considered to be more notable than the formation as a whole. In...
palaeontologist Martin Schmidt erected the species M. mezi from the JebelQatraniFormation of Egypt, making it the first species classified as Mixtotherium...
Global Information
Egypt