Paleontology in Lebanon explained

The paleontological sites of Lebanon contain deposits of well preserved fossils and include some species found nowhere else. Notable among these is the Lebanese lagerstätten of the Late Cretaceous age, which contain a well-preserved variety of different fossils. Some fossils date back to the Jurassic period, and younger fossils of mammals from a different site belong to the Miocene through the Pleistocene.

History

The earliest known account of Lebanese fossils is attributed to Herodotus. The existence of fossil fishes in the Lebanon is referred to by Jean de Joinville. In his Histoire de Saint Louis he wrote that during the sojourn of King Louis IX of France at Sidon in 1253, just before his return home from the Seventh Crusade, a stone was brought him,

European scientists became interested in Lebanese fossils in the 19th century.

Locations and fossils

There are three major fossil locations in Lebanon: Sahel Alma, Hajula and Hakel (the latter two being part of the Sannine Formation). Hajula and Hakel are each about twelve miles north-east of the coastal town of Byblos. Hajula is situated six miles south of Hakel; and between the two villages there are two westward-projecting spurs of Mount Lebanon and an intervening valley. Both villages are approximately 2500–3000 feet above sea level. In both places there is clear evidence of faulting by which the fish-bearing strata have been lowered into the midst of older strata. Those at Hakel have been lowered to the level of the hippurite limestone of Lebanon, being above the trigonia sandstone. The Hajula beds are thought to be an extension of those at Hakel. The study of fish fossils appears to show that the horizon of the beds at Hajula is somewhat higher than that of the beds at Hakel.

The fishes found at Sahel Alma mostly belong to the same genera as those at Hakel and Hajula, but of around sixty species, probably not one is found elsewhere. Twenty-one species found at Hajula also occur at Hakel. These data make it quite certain that the beds at Sahel Alma are on a different level from those at Hakel and Hajula; while those at the latter places are on the same, or nearly the same, horizon. Opinions differ as to which are older, the fish-beds at Sahel Alma or those at Hakel, but the view of modern authorities is that those at Hakel are more ancient. This opinion appears to be supported by the character of the fishes in each. From a study of the fishes taken at Hajula, the beds containing them may belong to a slightly more recent time than that of the beds at Hakel.

The landscape of Lebanon has been subject to volcanic eruptions, tectonic plate movement, and the rising and dropping of sea levels. The Late Cretaceous was characterized by very high sea levels. During that time fossil-bearing limestone was formed.

One of the discoveries reported in 1989 was the description of Hipparion fossils from the Bekaa Valley by M. Malez and A. Forsten.

Another find was a snake with two legs. This provided a valuable example of evolution at work, illustrating how ancient lizards became modern snakes.

Octopuses are some of the rarest marine fossils, since most species have no hard structures apart from a beak. An octopus's corpse cannot usually survive long enough to become fossilized, which is why the discovery of well-preserved octopuses in Lebanon in 2009 was remarkable. Dirk Fuchs of the Freie University Berlin said about these 95-million-year-old fossil octopuses found in Lebanon:

Some of the fossils of Keuppia levante are preserved so well that their ink is still visible.

Fossil taxa discovered in Lebanon

For a comprehensive, taxonomically-ordered list, see the tables on Sannine Formation and Sahel Alma:

NameAuthorityAgelocalityFamilyNotesFossils
Aeger libanensisRoger, 1946CenomanianHjoula and MayfouqAegeridaeA shrimp
Aphanizocnemus libanensis Dal Sasso and Pinna, 1997CenomanianNammoûraVaranoideaa lizard
Aipichthys minor(Pictet, 1850)CenomanianHjoula and MayfouqAipichthyidaeA stem Lampridacea ray-finned fishthumb|center|upright|Aipichthys minor
Aipichthys oblongusGayet, 1980CenomanianHjoula and MayfouqAipichthyidaeA stem Lampridacea ray-finned fish
Aipichthys veliferWoodward, 1901CenomanianHjoula and MayfouqAipichthyidaeA stem Lampridacea ray-finned fish
Carpopenaeus callirostrisGlaessner, 1946CenomanianHjoula and MayfouqCarpopenaeidaeA Carpopenaeidae shrimp
Charbelicaris maronites Haug et al., 2016CenomanianHjoula and MayfouqCancrinidaea slipper lobster relative
Cheirothrix lewisii Davis, 1887SantonianSahel Almaan Alepisauriformes fish
Corusichthys megacephalusTaverne & Capasso, 2014Cenomanian CoccodontidaeA pycnodontid fish
CyclobatisEgerton, 1844CyclobatidaeA ray genus
Dorateuthis syrica(Woodward, 1883)SantonianSahel AlmaPlesioteuthididaeA squid
Enantiophoenix electrophylaCau & Arduini, 2008CenomanianNammoûraAvisauridaeAn enantiornithine bird
Eupodophis descouensiRage & Escuillié, 2000CenomanianNammoûraSimoliophiidaeA simoliophiid snake
Hakelocaris vavassoriiGarassino, 1994CenomanianHjoula and MayfouqPenaeidaeA penaeid shrimp
Hensodon spinosusKriwet, 2004CenomanianHaqel, Mount LebanonCoccodontidaeA pycnodontiform fish
Homarus hakelensis(Fraas, 1878)CenomanianHjoula and MayfouqNephropidaeA lobster
Ichthyotringa damoniDavis, 1887SantonianSahel AlmaAn Alepisauriformes fish
Ichthyotringa delicataHay, 1903SantonianAn Alepisauriformes fish
Ichthyotringa feroxDavis, 1887SantonianSahel AlmaAn Alepisauriformes fish
Ichthyotringa furcataAgassiz, 1844SantonianAn Alepisauriformes fish
Keuppia levanteFuchs, Bracchi & Weis, 2009CenomanianHjoula PalaeoctopodidaeA stem-group octopus
Keuppia hyperbolarisFuchs, Bracchi & Weis, 2009CenomanianHjoula PalaeoctopodidaeA stem-group octopus
Lebanoraphidia nanaBechly & Wolf-Schwenninger, 2011Barremian–AptianLebanese amberMesoraphidiidaeA stem group Snakefly
Libanopristis hiram(Hay, 1903)CenomanianHjoula SclerorhynchidaeA sawfish
LibanopsisKirejtshuk, 2015BarremianLebanese amberSphindidaeA beetle genus with five species
Micropristis solominis(Hay, 1903)CenomanianHjoula Sclerorhynchidaea sclerorhynchid sawfish
Microtuban altivolansElgin & Frey 2011CenomanianSannine FormationNeoazhdarchiaAn Azhdarchoid pterosaur
Mimodactylus libanensisKellner et al., 2019Cenomanian Sannine FormationMimodactylidaeA Mimodactylid pterosaur
Nematonotus longispinus(Davis, 1887)CenomanianHaqel, Mount LebanonAulopidaeAn aulopid fish
Palaeobalistum goedeliHeckel, 1856CenomanianHjoula and MayfouqPycnodontidaeA pycnodont fish
Palaeobenthesicymus libanensis(Brocchi, 1875)SantonianSahel AlmaBenthesicymidaeA benthesicymid shrimp
Palaeoctopus newboldi(Woodward, 1896)SantonianSahel AlmaPalaeoctopodidaeA stem-group octopus
Paracancrinos libanensis (Garassino & Schweigert, 2006)upper CretaceousCancrinidaeA cancrinid lobster
Parasabatinca aftimacraiWhalley, 1978BarremianLebanese amberMicropterigidae?A micropterigid moth
Palibacus praecursor(Dames, 1886)CenomanianHakelScyllaridaeA slipper lobster
Pontosaurus kornhuberiCaldwell, 2006Upper CretaceousDolichosauridaeA dolichosaurid lizard
Pronotacanthus sahelalmae(Davis, 1887)SantonianNotacanthidaea spiny eel
Rhinochelys nammourensis Tong, Hirayama, Makhoul and Escuillie, 2006CenomanianNammoûraProtostegidaeA protostegid sea turtle
Scapanorhynchus lewisii(Davis, 1887)SantonianSahel AlmaMitsukurinidaeA goblin shark
Sorbinichthys elusivoBannikov & Bacchia, 2000CenomanianNammoûraSorbinichthyidaeA clupeiform fish
Styletoctopus annaeFuchs, Bracchi & Weis, 2009CenomanianHjoula PalaeoctopodidaeA stem-group octopus
Tragichrysa ovoruptoraPérez-de la Fuente et al., 2018BarremianLebanese amberChrysopoideachrysopoid lacewing neonates of uncertain placement
Trewavasia carinata(Davis, 1887)CenomanianHekelCoccodontidaeA pycnodontiform fish
Tyruschrysa melqartPérez-de la Fuente et al., 2018BarremianLebanese amberChrysopoideachrysopoid lacewing larva of uncertain placement

See also

External links