| Khuff Formation | |
| Type: | Geological formation |
| Age: | Middle Permian (?Capitanian) to early Triassic |
| Period: | Permian |
| Namedby: | Steineke et. al. |
| Year Ts: | 1958 |
| Region: | Middle East |
| Unitof: | Akhdar Group |
| Subunits: | From youngest to oldest:
|
| Underlies: | Sudair Formation |
| Overlies: | Gharif Formation |
| Thickness: |
|
The Khuff Formation is a geologic formation in Oman and Saudi Arabia.[1] It preserves fossils dating back to the Permian and early Triassic periods.[2]
Depending on the author, various definitions and names for the members of the Khuff Formation have been proposed, which may lead to confusion. Vaslet et. al. (2005) defines the members as such (from oldest to youngest):
The Al Siqqah Member is the oldest of the members, tentatively dated to the middle Permian (Capitanian). It is 35 meters thick at the type section, becoming thinner to the southeast. It has previously been referred to as the Unayzah Formation or Unayzah Member.
The Huqayl Member has been dated to the late Permian (?Wuchiapingian) based on foraminifer assemblage. It ranges from 30 to 40 meters in thickness.
The Duhaysan Member is 13.4 meters thick at Jabal Duhaysan, and is believed to be late Permian (Wuchiapingian-Changhsingian) in age.
The Midhnab Member (or Midhnab Shale) is believed to date to the Changhsingian and is about 60 meters thick in the Ad Dawadimi quadrangle.
The Khartam Member (formerly the Khartam Limestone) is the youngest member, with the lower part dating to the latest Permian and the upper part to the early Triassic.
The Khuff Formation was deposited on the outer shelf of the Arabian Platform and represents a shallow carbonate platform, with a coastline oriented northeast-southwest and facing the spreading Neotethys Ocean. The various units have been interpreted as lagoonal tidal sand flats or barrier beaches, outer-shelf conditions below storm wave base and deposition around storm wave base. The known fossil content supports the interpretation of the Khuff Formation as a marine environment. The presence of Tethyan brachiopods suggest a subtropical and warm climate, while cosmopolitan, endemic and Gondwanan brachiopod taxa indicate the area was open to outside influence, and the conodont fauna confirms a shallow marine habitat.[3] [4]
A large number of chondrichthyan dermal denticles are known from the formation.
| Cartilaginous fish reported from the Khuff Formation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic member | Material | Notes | Images |
| Amelacanthus | A. cf. sulcatus | Haushi-Huqf area (Oman). | 25 spine fragments. | A ctenacanth. | ||
| Anachronistidae? | Gen. et. sp. indeterminate | Haushi-Huqf area (Oman). | 2 teeth. | A potential anachronistid. | ||
| Cooleyella | C. cf. fordi | Haushi-Huqf area (Oman). | 2 teeth. | An anachronistid. | ||
| Deltodus | D. aff. mercurei | Haushi-Huqf area (Oman). | 24 tooth plates. | A cochliodontiform. | ||
| Eugeneodontiformes? | Gen. et. sp. indeterminate | Haushi-Huqf area (Oman). | 2 tooth crowns. | A likely eugeneodont. | ||
| Euselachii incertae sedis | Haushi-Huqf area (Oman). | 10 teeth. | A potential protacrodontid. | |||
| Glikmanius | G. culmenis | Haushi-Huqf area (Oman). | 137 teeth. | A ctenacanth. | ||
| G. cf. myachkovensis | Haushi-Huqf area (Oman). | 649 teeth. | A ctenacanth. | |||
| Gunnellodus | G. bellistriatus | Haushi-Huqf area (Oman). | 254 teeth. | A hybodont. | ||
| Khuffia | K. lenis | Haushi-Huqf area (Oman). | 79 teeth. | A sphenacanthid. | ||
| K. prolixa | Haushi-Huqf area (Oman). | 27 teeth. | A sphenacanthid. | |||
| Nemacanthus | N. sp. | Haushi-Huqf area (Oman). | 2 dorsal spine fragments. | A palaeospinacid. | ||
| Omanoselache | O. angiolinii | Haushi-Huqf area (Oman). | 86 teeth. | A hybodont. | ||
| O. hendersoni | Haushi-Huqf area (Oman). | 717 teeth. | A hybodont. | |||
| cf. O. sp. | Haushi-Huqf area (Oman). | 14 teeth. | A hybodont. | |||
| cf. 'Paleozoic Genus 1' sp. | Haushi-Huqf area (Oman). | A tooth. | A hybodont, potential lochidiid. | |||
| Petalodontiformes? | Gen. et. sp. indeterminate | Haushi-Huqf area (Oman). | 2 broken teeth. | Similar to Chomatodus. | ||
| Reesodus | R. underwoodi | Haushi-Huqf area (Oman). | 6 teeth. | A hybodont. | ||
| Solenodus | S. cf. crenulatus | Haushi-Huqf area (Oman). | 4 tooth plates. | A cochliodontiform. | ||
| Teresodus | T. amplexus | Haushi-Huqf area (Oman). | 103 teeth. | A hybodont. | ||
| Brachiopods reported from the Khuff Formation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic member | Material | Notes | Images |
| Kotlaia | K. sp. ind. | Saudi Arabia.[6] | Midhnab Member. | An articulated specimen & a dorsal valve. | An enteletoid. | |
| Omanilasma | O. desertica | Haushi ring (Oman). | 29 articulated specimens. | A terebratulidan. | ||
| O. husseinii | Oman & Saudi Arabia. | Midhnab Member. | Over 200 specimens. | A terebratulidan. | ||
| Cephalopods reported from the Khuff Formation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic member | Material | Notes | Images |
| Tirolonautilus | T. feltgeni | South of Jabal al Amshiyah (Saudi Arabia).[7] | Lower Khartam Member. | Internal mould. | A tainoceratid nautiloid. | |
| T. hoernesi | East of Safra ad Dumaythiyat (Saudi Arabia). | Lower Midhnab Member. | Internal mould. | A tainoceratid nautiloid. | ||