The Tamaguélelt Formation is an

Early Eocene In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age (geology), age or lowest stage (stratigraphy), stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between , is preceded by the Thanetian Age (part of the Paleocene) and is followed by th ...

-aged

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 expo ...

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

. It comprises

phosphorite Phosphorite, phosphate rock or rock phosphate is a non-detrital sedimentary rock that contains high amounts of phosphate minerals. The phosphate content of phosphorite (or grade of phosphate rock) varies greatly, from 4% to 20% phosphorus pentoxi ...

sediments deposited within the

Trans-Saharan seaway The Trans-Saharan seaway was a sea in the present-day Sahara in the Late Cretaceous period to the Early Eocene In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age (geology), age or lowest stage (stratigraphy), stratigraphic stage of the Eoce ...

. Many of the preserved fossils of the formation indicate that it was a marginal marine habitat. In addition to these marine fossils, fossils of freshwater and terrestrial animals are also common in the formation, due to a vast freshwater network that regularly deposited fossils into the seaway.

Fossil content

Reptiles

Squamata

Crocodylomorpha

Ray-finned fish

Lobe-finned fish

Mammals

Proboscidea

Hyracoidea

Mollusca

Bivalvia

Cephalopoda

References

{{Reflist Fossiliferous stratigraphic units of Africa Ypresian Stage Paleontology in Mali Eocene Series of Africa