Sannine Formation
The Sannine Formation also called the Sannine Limestone is a Cretaceous geologic formation in Lebanon.
| Sannine Formation Stratigraphic range: late Albian-Cenomanian ~100–93.5 Ma | |
|---|---|
| Type | Geological formation |
| Underlies | Maameltain Formation |
| Overlies | Hammana Formation |
| Thickness | Coastal: >2,000 m (6,600 ft) Mountains: 500–700 m (1,600–2,300 ft) |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Chalk, limestone |
| Other | Marl |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 34.1°N 35.7°E |
| Approximate paleocoordinates | 12.9°N 30.4°E |
| Region | Jabal Lubnan |
| Country |  Lebanon |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Mount Sannine |
  Sannine Formation (Lebanon) | |
Description
It is primarily Cenomanian in age. The formation laterally varies from east to west; the western lowland "coastal" sequence is over 2000 metres thick and primarily consists of deep water limestone and chalk, while the eastern "mountain" sequence is 500–700 metres thick and consists of shallow water limestone.[1] Pterosaur fossils have been recovered from the formation, including those of Mimodactylus[2] and Microtuban.[3] The pythonomorphs Pontosaurus, Eupodophis and probably Aphanizocnemus are known from the formation.[4] Insects are also known from compression fossils, including those of a dragonfly,[5] enigmatic pond-skater like insect Chresmoda.[6] and a mesoblattinid cockroach.[7] Compression fossils of angiosperm Sapindopsis are also known.[8] Numerous species of fossil fish are known,[9] including Ionoscopid Spathiurus dorsalis[10] and pycnodontid Flagellipinna rhomboides.[11]
References
- Walley, Christopher D. (1997). The Lithostratigraphy of Lebanon: A Review (PDF). pp. 1–20.
- Kellner, Alexander W. A.; Caldwell, Michael W.; Holgado, Borja; Vecchia, Fabio M. Dalla; Nohra, Roy; Sayão, Juliana M.; Currie, Philip J. (2019-11-29). "First complete pterosaur from the Afro-Arabian continent: insight into pterodactyloid diversity". Scientific Reports. 9 (1): 17875. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-54042-z. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 6884559. PMID 31784545.
- Elgin, Ross A.; Frey, Eberhard (December 2011). "A new azhdarchoid pterosaur from the Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous) of Lebanon". Swiss Journal of Geosciences. 104 (S1): 21–33. doi:10.1007/s00015-011-0081-1. ISSN 1661-8726. S2CID 128405107.
- Campbell Mekarski, Michelle; Pierce, Stephanie E.; Caldwell, Michael W. (2019-09-24). "Spatiotemporal Distributions of Non-ophidian Ophidiomorphs, With Implications for Their Origin, Radiation, and Extinction". Frontiers in Earth Science. 7: 245. doi:10.3389/feart.2019.00245. ISSN 2296-6463.
- Azar, Dany; Maksoud, Sibelle; Huang, Diying; Nel, André (January 2019). "First Lebanese dragonflies (Insecta: Odonata, Aeshnoptera, Cavilabiata) from the Arabo-African mid-Cretaceous paleocontinent" (PDF). Cretaceous Research. 93: 78–89. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2018.08.025.
- Nel, Andre; Azar, Dany; Martinez-Delclos, Xavier; Makhoul, Edouard (2004-03-25). "A new Upper Cretaceous species of Chresmoda from Lebanon - a latest representative of Chresmodidae (Insecta: Polyneoptera inc. sed.): first record of homeotic mutations in the fossil record of insects". European Journal of Entomology. 101 (1): 145–151. doi:10.14411/eje.2004.019.
- P. Vršanský and E. Makhoul. 2013. Mieroblattina pacis gen. et sp. n. - Upper Cretaceous cockroach (Blattida: Mesoblattinidae) from Nammoura limestone of Lebanon. Insect Evolution in an Ambiferous and Stone Alphabet 167-172
- D. L. Dilcher and P. W. Basson. 1990. Mid-Cretaceous angiosperm leaves from a new fossil locality in Lebanon. Botanical Gazette 151(4):538-547
- Forey, Peter L.; Yi, Lu; Patterson, Colin; Davies, Cliff E. (January 2003). "Fossil fishes from the Cenomanian (Upper Cretaceous) of Namoura, Lebanon". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 1 (4): 227–330. doi:10.1017/S147720190300107X. ISSN 1477-2019. S2CID 85606708.
- El Hossny, Tamara; Maksoud, Sibelle; Azar, Dany; Saad, Pierre Abi; Cavin, Lionel (August 2020). "Spathiurus dorsalis Davis, 1887, from the Upper Cretaceous of Haqel, Lebanon, and the evolutionary history of Ionoscopiformes". Cretaceous Research: 104619. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104619.
- Cawley, John Joseph; Kriwet, Jürgen (2019-03-04). "A new genus and species of pycnodontid fish Flagellipinna rhomboides , gen. et sp. nov. (Neopterygii, Pycnodontiformes), from the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of Lebanon, with notes on juvenile form and ecology". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 39 (2): e1614012. doi:10.1080/02724634.2019.1614012. ISSN 0272-4634. PMC 6817322. PMID 31709027.