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Hâqel
The Sannine Formation, also called the Sannine Limestone, is a Cretaceous geologic Formation (geology), formation in Lebanon. It is a Lagerstätte, Konservat-Lagerstätte that contains a high diversity of well-preserved fish, reptiles, and invertebrates from the Tethys Ocean within its three main localities: Haqel (alternatively Hakel or Haqil), Hjoula (alternatively Hadjoula, Hajoula, or Hgula), and Nammoura (alternatively Namoura). It is one of three major Cretaceous lagerstätte in Lebanon, alongside the older (Barremian-aged) Lebanese amber and the younger (Santonian-aged) Sahel Aalma (fossil site), Sahel Aalma site. The Sannine Formation localities, combined with Sahel Alma, are together referred to as the "Fish Beds" of Lebanon. Description It is primarily Cenomanian in age, with Haqel and Hjoula being late Cenomanian, while the slightly older Nammoura site is middle Cenomanian. Although Lebanon is now a part of Asia, the depositional environment for both formations would ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microtuban
''Microtuban'' is an extinct genus of azhdarchoid pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous of northern Lebanon. Discovery ''Microtuban'' is known only from a partially preserved skeleton lacking the skull, holotype SMNK PAL 6595. It was acquired from a local fossil dealer by the '' Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe'' and was, as can be deduced from the qualities of the stone matrix, collected in the locality of Hjoûla in a marine layer of the Sannine Formation, dating to the early Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, about 99.6–96 million years ago. The fossil dealer however, indicated it came from a quarry at nearby Hâqel. Regardless, it is only the second pterosaur fossil found in Lebanon and a rare example of a pterosaur from the African continental plate, to which the area in Cretaceous times belonged. In this period the site was located hundreds of miles from the mainland coastline. The specimen consists of the last cervical and first dorsal vertebrae, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geological Formation
A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics (lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exposed in a geographical region (the stratigraphic column). It is the fundamental unit of lithostratigraphy, the study of strata or rock layers. A formation must be large enough that it can be mapped at the surface or traced in the subsurface. Formations are otherwise not defined by the thickness (geology), thickness of their rock strata, which can vary widely. They are usually, but not universally, tabular in form. They may consist of a single lithology (rock type), or of alternating beds of two or more lithologies, or even a heterogeneous mixture of lithologies, so long as this distinguishes them from adjacent bodies of rock. The concept of a geologic formation goes back to the beginnings of modern scientific geology. The term was used by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sahel Aalma (fossil Site)
Sahel Alma or Sahel Aalma is a Late Cretaceous Paleontology, paleontological site and Lagerstätte, Konservat-Lagerstätte in Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate, Keserwan-Jbeil, Lebanon. Located near the Sahel Alma, town of the same name, it documents well-preserved deepwater marine fossils dating to the late Santonian stage of the Cretaceous. It is often associated with the slightly older, similarly famous Sannine Formation sites (Haqel, Hadjula, and Nammoura), with these four sites being together referred to as the "Fish Beds" of Lebanon. It is one of the few fossiliferous units of the Chekka Formation, a wider geological formation in Lebanon deposited from the Late Cretaceous to the early Paleogene. Description Much like the fossil sites of the older Sannine Formation, Sahel Alma contains exquisitely preserved marine fossils from the Tethys Ocean, deposited off the northern coast of the Afro-Arabian continent. However, unlike the Sannine Formation sites, which were deposited in relativ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chresmoda
''Chresmoda'' is an extinct genus of insects within the family Chresmodidae. Description ''Chresmoda'' are large enigmatic insects with very long specialized legs, probably adapted for skating on the water surface similar to pond skaters. They can reach a body length of about , with a forewing length of about . Some lagre specimens could reached a size of about . These Polyneoptera of uncertain position have been considered aquatic and living on the water surface, probably predaceous on nektonic small animals. They lived during the Cretaceous of Brazil, China, Lebanon, Spain, United Kingdom, Mongolia and Myanmar, as well as in the Late Jurassic of Germany, from 150.8 to 93.5 Ma from the Tithonian to the Cenomanian ages. While most species are known from compression fossils, '' Chresmoda chikuni'' is known from well preserved 3-dimensional specimens in amber. Species *''Chresmoda aquatica'' Martinez-Delclos, 1989 La Pedrera de Rubies Formation and Las Hoyas, Spain, Barremian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dragonfly
A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of dragonflies are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threatens dragonfly populations around the world. Adult dragonflies are characterised by a pair of large, multifaceted, compound eyes, two pairs of strong, transparent wings, sometimes with coloured patches, and an elongated body. Many dragonflies have brilliant iridescent or metallic colours produced by structural coloration, making them conspicuous in flight. An adult dragonfly's compound eyes have nearly 24,000 ommatidia each. Dragonflies can be mistaken for the closely related damselflies, which make up the other odonatan infraorder ( Zygoptera) and are similar in body plan, though usually lighter in build; however, the wings of most dragonflies are held flat and away from the body, while damselflies hold their wings folded at rest, al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aphanizocnemus
''Aphanizocnemus'' is an extinct genus of lizard from Lebanon. It is a marine lizard that lived during the Late Cretaceous. It is often classified in the family Dolichosauridae as a close relative of snakes, although some studies have placed it as an even closer relative to snakes than dolichosaurids. Only one species of ''Aphanizocnemus'' is known, the type species ''A. libanensis''. ''A. libanensis'' was named in 1997 on the basis of a single complete skeleton. Although the type locality is unknown, it is said to "almost certainly" originate from the Sannine Formation. ''Aphanizocnemus'' is about long, and the tail makes up half of its length. The hands and feet are very large in comparison to the limb bones. The flattened shape of the phalanges The phalanges (: phalanx ) are digit (anatomy), digital bones in the hands and foot, feet of most vertebrates. In primates, the Thumb, thumbs and Hallux, big toes have two phalanges while the other Digit (anatomy), digits have t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eupodophis
''Eupodophis'' is an extinct genus of snake from the Late Cretaceous period. It has two small hind legs and is considered a transitional form between Cretaceous lizards and limbless snakes. The feature, described as vestigial, was most likely useless to ''Eupodophis''. The type species ''Eupodophis descouensi'' was named in 2000 and resides now in the paleontology section of the Mim Museum in Beirut, Lebanon. The specific name is dedicated to the French naturalist Didier Descouens. The fossilized specimen from which the description of the type species was based was 85 cm (33.5 in) long and is approximately 92 million years old. It was found in Cenomanian-age limestone near the al-Nammoura village in Lebanon belonging to the Sannine Formation. Description ''Eupodophis'' was a marine snake that lived in the Mediterranean Tethys Ocean. It had a laterally compressed body and short, paddle-like tail. The vertebrae and ribs of ''Eupodophis'' are pachyostotic, or thickene ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pontosaurus
''Pontosaurus'' is a now extinct genus of pythonomorph from the Late Cretaceous period. It was originally named ''Hydrosaurus'', but that name was preoccupied by an agamid lizard, so it was renamed. It is known from two species, both Cenomanian in age, the type ''P. lesinensis'' which is known from Hvar in Croatia, the other ''P. kornhuberi'' is known from the Sannine Formation The Sannine Formation, also called the Sannine Limestone, is a Cretaceous geologic formation in Lebanon. It is a Konservat-Lagerstätte that contains a high diversity of well-preserved fish, reptiles, and invertebrates from the Tethys Ocean wit ... in Lebanon. See also * List of mosasaurs References External links Oceans of Kansas {{Taxonbar, from=Q9303550 Fossil taxa described in 1892 Taxa named by Dragutin Gorjanović-Kramberger Late Cretaceous lepidosaurs of Asia Dolichosauridae ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pythonomorpha
Mosasauria is a clade of Aquatic animal, aquatic and semiaquatic squamates that lived during the Cretaceous period. Fossils belonging to the group have been found in all continents around the world. Early mosasaurians like Dolichosauridae, dolichosaurs were small long-bodied lizards that inhabited Littoral zone, nearshore coastal and freshwater environments; the Late Cretaceous saw the rise of large marine forms, the mosasaurids, which are the clade's best-known members. The clade is defined as all common descent, descendants of the last common ancestor of the mosasaur ''Mosasaurus hoffmannii'' and dolichosaurs ''Dolichosaurus'', ''Coniasaurus'', and ''Adriosaurus, Adriosaurus suessi''. Its placement within the squamate tree is highly controversial. Two prominent hypotheses include the Varanoidea, varanoid hypothesis, which holds that mosasaurians are most closely related to monitor lizards, and the pythonomorph hypothesis, which argues for a sister group, sister relationship wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swiss Journal Of Geosciences
Springer Science+Business Media, commonly known as Springer, is a German multinational publishing company of books, e-books and peer-reviewed journals in science, humanities, technical and medical (STM) publishing. Originally founded in 1842 in Berlin, it expanded internationally in the 1960s, and through mergers in the 1990s and a sale to venture capitalists it fused with Wolters Kluwer and eventually became part of Springer Nature in 2015. Springer has major offices in Berlin, Heidelberg, Dordrecht, and New York City. History Julius Springer founded Springer-Verlag in Berlin in 1842 and his son Ferdinand Springer grew it from a small firm of 4 employees into Germany's then second-largest academic publisher with 65 staff in 1872.Chronology ". Springer Science+Business Media. In 1964, Springer expanded its business internationally, op ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mimodactylus
''Mimodactylus'' is a genus of istiodactyliform pterosaur that lived in what is now Lebanon during the Late Cretaceous, 95 million years ago. The only known specimen was discovered in a limestone quarry near the town of Hjoula, belonging to the Sannine Formation. The owner of the quarry allowed the specimen to be prepared and scientifically described by an international team of researchers. When it was eventually sold, the buyer donated it to the MIM Museum in Beirut. In 2019, the researchers named the new genus and species ''Mimodactylus libanensis''; the generic name refers to the MIM Museum, combined with the Greek word ''daktylos'' for "digit", and the specific name refers to Lebanon. The well-preserved holotype specimen is the first complete pterosaur from the Afro-Arabian continent (which consisted of the then joined Arabian Peninsula and Africa), and the third pterosaur fossil known from Lebanon. The holotype specimen is comparatively small, with a wingspan of , and w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pterosaur
Pterosaurs are an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 million to 66 million years ago). Pterosaurs are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight. Their wings were formed by a membrane of skin, muscle, and other tissues stretching from the ankles to a dramatically lengthened fourth finger. There were two major types of pterosaurs. Basal pterosaurs (also called 'non-pterodactyloid pterosaurs' or ' rhamphorhynchoids') were smaller animals with fully toothed jaws and, typically, long tails. Their wide wing membranes probably included and connected the hind legs. On the ground, they would have had an awkward sprawling posture, but the anatomy of their joints and strong claws would have made them effective climbers, and some may have even lived in trees. Basal pterosaurs were insectivores or predators of small vertebrates. Later pte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
