The Chenini Member is a geological
member
Member may refer to:
* Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon
* Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set
* In object-oriented programming, a member of a class
** Field (computer science), entries in ...
of the
Ain el Guettar Formation in
Tunisia
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
, whose strata date back to the
Late Aptian to
Early Albian stages of the
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...
period. The lithology consists of coarse sandstones with occasional conglomerates and mudstones.
Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.
[Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Early Cretaceous, Africa)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 571-573. .]
Vertebrate paleofauna
The Chenini Member during the Early Cretaceous period was a marsh-like swampy habitat. The most famous dinosaur discoveries made here include Carcharodontosaurus and Spinosaurus.
[BENTON, M. J., BOUAZIZ, S., BUFFETAUT, E., MARTILL, D. M., OUAJA, M., SOUSSI, M. & TRUEMAN, C. (2000): Dinosaurs and other fossil vertebrates from fluvial deposits in the Lower Cretaceous of southern Tunisia. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 157: 227–246.]
See also
*
List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
This list of dinosaur-bearing rock formations is a list of geologic formations in which dinosaur fossils have been documented.
* List of stratigraphic units with dinosaur body fossils
* List of stratigraphic units with dinosaur trace fossils
** ...
*
Geology of Tunisia
References
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Further reading
* S. Bouaziz, É. Buffetaut, M. Ghanmi, J.-J. Jaeger, M. Martin, J.-M. Mazin, and H. Tong. 1988. Nouvelles découvertes de vertébrés fossiles dans l'Albien du sud tunisien
ew discoveries of fossil vertebrates in the Albian of southern Tunisia Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France, 8e série 4(2):335-339
* J. Le Loeuff, É. Buffetaut, G. Cuny, Y. Laurent, M. Ouaja, C. Souillat, D. Srarfi and H. Tong. 2000. Mesozoic continental vertebrates of Tunisia. 5th European Workshop on Vertebrate Palaeontology, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Geowissenschaften Abteilung. Program. Abstracts. Excursion Guides 45
Geologic formations of Tunisia
Lower Cretaceous Series of Africa
Albian Stage
Aptian Stage
Sandstone formations
Fluvial deposits
Paludal deposits
Paleontology in Tunisia
Formations
Geological members