Baynunah Formation Explained

Baynunah Formation
Type:	Geological formation
Age:	Late Miocene ~
Period:	Miocene
Prilithology:	Sandstone, conglomerate
Region:	Al Gharbia
Coordinates:	24.03°N 53.0383°W
Underlies:	Shuwaihat Formation

The Baynunah Formation is a palaeontological formation located in the western region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. It dates to the Upper Miocene epoch of the Neogene period in the Cenozoic Era.

Fauna

Fossils of the hippopotamus genus Archaeopotamus have been found in the formation^{[1] [2] [3]}

Birds

Taxa	Species	Locality	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Diamantornis	D. laini	Jaw al Dibsa (DBS 2), Hamra (HMR 1, 3, 5), Hadwaniyya (HAD 4, 5, 6), Harmiyyah (HAR 3, 4), Jebel Barakah (JBR 2), Kihal (KIH 3), Ras alQal’a (RAQ 1, 2), Gerain al Aysh (GAA 3, 4, 8), Ras Dubay’ah (RDB 4), Ruwais (RUW), Shuwaihat(SHU 2, 3, 4, 8), and Umm Al Khabir (UAK 1)		Multiple collected specimens.	An extinct Ratite bird
Struthio	S. cf. karatheodoris	Kihal 2		A pelvis, almost complete except for the pubic symphysis region.
Phalacrocorax	P. sp.			A proximal left carpometacarpus, distal right tarsometatarsus, and a tentatively referred proximal right humerus fragment.

Mammals

Artiodactyls

Bovids

Taxa	Species	Locality	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Afrotragus	A. libycus
Miotragocerus	M. cyrenaicus
Pachyportax	P. latidens
Prostrepsiceros	P. vinayaki
Tragoportax	T. cyrenaicus

Giraffids

Taxa	Species	Locality	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Paleotragus	P. aff. germaini
Samotherium	S. cf. sp.

Hippotamids

Taxa	Species	Locality	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Archaeopotamus	A. lothagamensis
	A. qeshta

Suidae

Taxa	Species	Locality	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Nyanzachoerus	N. syrticus
Propotamochoerus	P. hysudricus

Proboscideans

Taxa	Species	Locality	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Stegotetrabelodon	S. emiratus				A primitive elephantid.
Tetralophodon	Indeterminate				A gomphothere.
Gomphotheriidae	Indeterminate.				A gomphothere.
Deinotherium	D. aff. bozasi				A deinotheriid

Rodents

Taxa	Species	Locality	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Abudhabia	A. baynunensis
Dendromus	D. sp
Jebelus	J. rex
Myocricetodon	M. sp
Parapelomys	P. cf. charkhensis
Protohummus	P. dango

Fish

Taxon	Notes	Image
Bagrus^[4]
Clarias	At least two species (possibly 3)
Labeobarbus
?Capoeta	Probably Capoeta
African cichlid	At least one species
	Intermediate

Stegotetrabelodon footprints

Footprints attributed to Stegotetrabelodon have been found in the formation.^[5]

See also

• • • History of the United Arab Emirates
• List of fossil sites

Further reading

• (1993); Wildlife of Gondwana. Reed.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Boisserie . Jean-Renaud . Schuster . Mathieu . Beech . Mark . Hill . Andrew . Bibi . Faysal . A New Species of Hippopotamine (Cetartiodactyla, Hippopotamidae) from the Late Miocene Baynunah Formation, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates .
2. Bibi, F., Hill, A., Beech, M., & Yasin, W. (2013). Late Miocene Fossils from the Baynunah Formation, United Arab Emirates. Fossil Mammals of Asia, 583–594. https://doi.org/10.7312/COLUMBIA/9780231150125.003.0027
3. Antoine Louchart, Faysal Bibi, John Stewart. Birds from the Baynunah Formation. Sands of Time, Springer International Publishing; Springer International Publishing, pp.125-139, 2022, Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology, ⟨10.1007/978-3-030-83883-6_9⟩. ⟨hal-04025279⟩
4. Book: Otera . Olga . Home Sands of Time Chapter Fishes from the Baynunah Formation . Springer International Publishing . 10.1007/978-3-030-83883-6_7.
5. Book: Bibi . Faysal . Kraatz . Brian . Beech . Mark . Hill . Andrew . Sands of Time . Fossil Trackways of the Baynunah Formation . Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology . 2022 . 283–298 . 10.1007/978-3-030-83883-6_17 . 978-3-030-83882-9 . http://paleorxiv.org/uekfw/ .