Small vertebrates from Khasm El-Raqaba, late Middle Miocene, Eastern Desert, Egypt

Gregg F. Gunnell; Alisa J. Winkler; Ellen R. Miller; Jason J. Head; Ahmed N. El-Barkooky; Mohamed Abdel Gawad; William J. Sanders; Philip D. Gingerich

doi:10.1080/08912963.2015.1014354

Small vertebrates from Khasm El-Raqaba, late Middle Miocene, Eastern Desert, Egypt

Gregg F. Gunnell, Alisa J. Winkler, Ellen R. Miller, Jason J. Head, Ahmed N. El-Barkooky, Mohamed Abdel Gawad, William J. Sanders, Philip D. Gingerich

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Khasm El-Raqaba (KER) (28.451°N, 31.834°E) is a large commercial limestone quarry in Egypt's Eastern Desert. The site is best known for cetacean fossils recovered from middle Eocene deposits, but remains of some geologically younger, small fossil vertebrates representing snakes, rodents and bats, have been recovered from karst fissure-fill deposits intrusive into the Eocene limestones. Comparisons with extant and extinct material reveal that the KER snakes represent two different colubrines, the rodents are referable to the ctenodactylid Africanomys, and the bats represent a new species of Hipposideros (Pseudorhinolophus). Together, faunal correlation and geological evidence are in broad agreement with a late Middle Miocene age for this KER fauna, and a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of mixed subtropical and more arid microhabitats.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	159-171
Number of pages	13
Journal	Historical Biology
Volume	28
Issue number	1-2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2015.1014354
State	Published - Feb 17 2016

Keywords

Neogene
North Africa
bats
limestone
rodents
snakes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)

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10.1080/08912963.2015.1014354

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title = "Small vertebrates from Khasm El-Raqaba, late Middle Miocene, Eastern Desert, Egypt",

abstract = "Khasm El-Raqaba (KER) (28.451°N, 31.834°E) is a large commercial limestone quarry in Egypt's Eastern Desert. The site is best known for cetacean fossils recovered from middle Eocene deposits, but remains of some geologically younger, small fossil vertebrates representing snakes, rodents and bats, have been recovered from karst fissure-fill deposits intrusive into the Eocene limestones. Comparisons with extant and extinct material reveal that the KER snakes represent two different colubrines, the rodents are referable to the ctenodactylid Africanomys, and the bats represent a new species of Hipposideros (Pseudorhinolophus). Together, faunal correlation and geological evidence are in broad agreement with a late Middle Miocene age for this KER fauna, and a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of mixed subtropical and more arid microhabitats.",

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year = "2016",

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doi = "10.1080/08912963.2015.1014354",

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AU - Gunnell, Gregg F.

AU - Winkler, Alisa J.

AU - Miller, Ellen R.

AU - Head, Jason J.

AU - El-Barkooky, Ahmed N.

AU - Gawad, Mohamed Abdel

AU - Sanders, William J.

AU - Gingerich, Philip D.

PY - 2016/2/17

Y1 - 2016/2/17

N2 - Khasm El-Raqaba (KER) (28.451°N, 31.834°E) is a large commercial limestone quarry in Egypt's Eastern Desert. The site is best known for cetacean fossils recovered from middle Eocene deposits, but remains of some geologically younger, small fossil vertebrates representing snakes, rodents and bats, have been recovered from karst fissure-fill deposits intrusive into the Eocene limestones. Comparisons with extant and extinct material reveal that the KER snakes represent two different colubrines, the rodents are referable to the ctenodactylid Africanomys, and the bats represent a new species of Hipposideros (Pseudorhinolophus). Together, faunal correlation and geological evidence are in broad agreement with a late Middle Miocene age for this KER fauna, and a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of mixed subtropical and more arid microhabitats.

AB - Khasm El-Raqaba (KER) (28.451°N, 31.834°E) is a large commercial limestone quarry in Egypt's Eastern Desert. The site is best known for cetacean fossils recovered from middle Eocene deposits, but remains of some geologically younger, small fossil vertebrates representing snakes, rodents and bats, have been recovered from karst fissure-fill deposits intrusive into the Eocene limestones. Comparisons with extant and extinct material reveal that the KER snakes represent two different colubrines, the rodents are referable to the ctenodactylid Africanomys, and the bats represent a new species of Hipposideros (Pseudorhinolophus). Together, faunal correlation and geological evidence are in broad agreement with a late Middle Miocene age for this KER fauna, and a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of mixed subtropical and more arid microhabitats.

KW - Neogene

KW - North Africa

KW - bats

KW - limestone

KW - rodents

KW - snakes

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Small vertebrates from Khasm El-Raqaba, late Middle Miocene, Eastern Desert, Egypt

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Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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