Late Cretaceous (Campanian—Maastrichtian) marine reptiles from the Adaffa Formation, NW Saudi Arabia

2008 ◽  
Vol 145 (5) ◽  
pp. 648-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. P. KEAR ◽  
T. H. RICH ◽  
M. A. ALI ◽  
Y. A. AL-MUFARRIH ◽  
A. H. MATIRI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Arabian Peninsula ◽  
Detailed Report ◽  
Late Mesozoic ◽  
Marine Reptiles ◽  
Lower Maastrichtian ◽  
Marine Reptile ◽  
Lower Campanian

AbstractMarine reptile remains occur in the Upper Cretaceous (lower Campanian to lower Maastrichtian) Adaffa Formation of NW Saudi Arabia. This is the first detailed report of late Mesozoic marine reptiles from the Arabian Peninsula. The fossils include bothremydid (cf. Taphrosphyini) turtles, dyrosaurid crocodyliforms, elasmosaurid plesiosaurs, mosasaurs (Prognathodon, plioplatecarpines) and an indeterminate small varanoid. The assemblage is compositionally similar to contemporary faunas from elsewhere in the Middle East/North Africa, and comprises taxa that are typical of the southern margin of the Mediterranean Tethys.

scholarly journals A review of aquatic vertebrate remains from the Middle–Upper Triassic Jilh Formation of Saudi Arabia

2010 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin P. Kear ◽  
Thomas H. Rich ◽  
Patricia Vickers-Rich ◽  
Mohammed A. Ali ◽  
Yahya A. Al-Mufarrih ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Field Survey ◽  
Arabian Peninsula ◽  
Upper Triassic ◽  
Marine Deposits ◽  
Marine Reptiles ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Aquatic Vertebrate ◽  
Faunal List

A recent field survey of the Middle–Upper Triassic (upper Anisian to lowermost Carnian) paralic marine deposits of the Jilh Formation in central Saudi Arabia has yielded large quantities of vertebrate fossils. These finds prompt a revision of the existing faunal list and include at least one novel stratigraphical occurrence for the Arabian Peninsula. The remains comprise sauropterygian marine reptiles (Psephosauriscus sp., Nothosaurus cf. tchernovi, Nothosaurus cf. giganteus, Simosaurus sp.), a lungfish (Ceratodus sp.), hybodontiform sharks (Hybodus sp.) and saurichthyform actinopterygians (Saurichthys sp.). Palaeobiogeographical assessment reinforces Tethyan affinities for the assemblage and reflects the close proximity of the Arabian region to the ‘Sephardic Realm’, a compositionally distinct circum-Mediterranean faunal province characterized by hypersaline Muschelkalk facies.

scholarly journals Khat (Catha edulis) Plant Abuse in Saudi Arabia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tareq AlAhmadi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Public Education ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Arabian Peninsula ◽  
Intervention Programs ◽  
Third Place ◽  
Catha Edulis ◽  
15Th Century ◽  
Loss Of Appetite

Abstract BackgroundThe khat (Catha edulis) shrub is cultivated in both the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa. The citizens of this region have carried the tradition of chewing khat leaves since the 15th century. This plant is a natural stimulant which contains two main substances, cathine and cathinone, which cause excitement, euphoria, and loss of appetite. Moreover, the khat trade is considered a source of income within countries of these regions. However, khat holds both benefits and negative aspects for mankind, society, and the environment. This article focuses on the issue of khat smuggling to Saudi Arabia, which has increased over between 2010 and 2016 according to the recent statistics.MethodResearch on the problem of khat smuggling to Saudi Arabia was performed through the analysis of seven years of data (2010–2016) obtained by Saudi Customs and other governmental entities responsible for monitoring the smuggling of drugs, which includes data reflecting the amount of khat seized and smuggled to Saudi Arabia.ResultsKhat smuggling has increased in Saudi Arabia over seven (2010–2016) years. The analysis of data on both the promotion and smuggling of khat were considered, and placed khat in third place among other drugs since the year 1999.ConclusionStatistically, Jazan is the most vulnerable to the smuggling of khat. As such, the to design of intervention programs is recommended to address the problem of khat smuggling in the Jazan region. Additionally, awareness should be increased among the youth through cooperation between public education and higher education, which should include further research on this problem.

scholarly journals Description of the lower jaws of Baculites from the Upper Cretaceous U.S. Western Interior

2017 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neal L. Larson ◽  
Neil H. Landman
Keyword(s):  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Fecal Pellet ◽  
Ventral Side ◽  
Acute Angle ◽  
Body Chamber ◽  
Pierre Shale ◽  
Lower Maastrichtian ◽  
Lower Campanian

Abstract We report the discovery of lower jaws of Baculites (Ammonoidea) from the Upper Cretaceous U.S. Western Interior. In the lower Campanian Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Chalk of Kansas, most of the jaws occur as isolated elements. Based on their age, they probably belong to Baculites sp. (smooth). They conform to the description of rugaptychus, and are ornamented with coarse rugae on their ventral side. One specimen is preserved inside a small fecal pellet that was probably produced by a fish. Another specimen occurs inside in a crushed body chamber near the aperture and is probably in situ. Three small structures are present immediately behind the jaw and may represent the remains of the gills. In the lower Maastrichtian Pierre Shale of Wyoming, two specimens of Baculites grandis contain lower jaws inside their body chambers, and are probably in situ. In both specimens, the jaws are oriented at an acute angle to the long axis of the shell, with their anterior ends pointing toward the dorsum. One of the jaws is folded into a U-shape, which probably approximates the shape of the jaw during life. Based on the measurements of the jaws and the shape of the shell, the jaws could not have touched the sides of the shell even if they were splayed out, implying that they could not have effectively served as opercula. Instead, in combination with the upper jaws and radula, they constituted the buccal apparatus that collected and conveyed food to the esophagus.

Notes on Some Mosques in Eastern and Western Saudi Arabia

1980 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. R. D. King
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Arabian Peninsula ◽  
Islamic Architecture ◽  
Architectural Style ◽  
Architectural Tradition

In studies of Islamic architecture dealing with the earliest periods, a natural emphasis has fallen on the mosques of the Holy Cities of Arabia, the Ḥaramayn, whenever the architecture of the Arabian Peninsula has been discussed. In later periods, extensions and restorations in the Ḥaram in Mecca and the Mosque of the Prophet in al-Madīna have likewise been discussed, but until recent times, little has been said of any other Arabian mosques. As far as mosques beyond the Ḥaramayn are concerned, this neglect has been caused largely by their inaccessibility; but as a result of the imbalance, students of Islamic architecture have been left to judge Arabia by the Prophet's Mosque, which was only truly Arabian at its foundation, and the Ḥaram and the Ka'ba, which were always unique in Islam in terms both of religion and of architecture. As for later extensions and restorations of either mosque, these tell more of the development of Islamic architectural style and taste beyond the Peninsula than of any Arabian religious architectural tradition.

Late Mesozoic—Cenozoic clay mineral successions of southern Iran and their palaeoclimatic implications

Clay Minerals ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Khormali ◽  
A. Abtahi ◽  
H. R. Owliaie
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Sedimentary Rocks ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
Humid Climate ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Late Mesozoic ◽  
Southern Iran ◽  
Transmission Electron

AbstractClay minerals of calcareous sedimentary rocks of southern Iran, part of the old Tethys area, were investigated in order to determine their origin and distribution, and to reconstruct the palaeoclimate of the area. Chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and thin-section studies were performed on the 16 major sedimentary rocks of the Fars and Kuhgiluyeh Boyerahmad Provinces.Kaolinite, smectite, chlorite, illite, palygorskite and illite-smectite interstratified minerals were detected in the rocks studied. The results revealed that detrital input is possibly the main source of kaolinite, smectite, chlorite and illite, whilein situneoformation during the Tertiary shallow saline and alkaline environment could be the dominant cause of palygorskite occurrences in the sedimentary rocks.The presence of a large amount of kaolinite in the Lower Cretaceous sediments and the absence or rare occurrence of chlorite, smectite, palygorskite and illite are in accordance with the warm and humid climate of that period. Smaller amounts of kaolinite and the occurrence of smectite in Upper Cretaceous sediments indicate the gradual shift from warm and humid to more seasonal climate. The occurrence of palygorskite and smectite and the disappearance of kaolinite in the late Palaeocene sediments indicate the increase in aridity which has probably continued to the present time.

Faunistic inventory and zoogeographical analysis of the ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) of Garf Raydah Nature Reserve, Southwestern of Saudi Arabia, and description of a new species of Paussinae

Zootaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4514 (3) ◽  
pp. 341 ◽  
Author(s):  
MAHMOUD S. ABDEL-DAYEM ◽  
IFTEKHAR RASOOL ◽  
ALI A. ELGHARBAWY ◽  
PETER NAGEL ◽  
HATHAL M. ALDHAFER
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Life Form ◽  
Nature Reserve ◽  
Arabian Peninsula ◽  
New Records ◽  
Ground Beetles ◽  
Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia ◽  
Form Analysis ◽  
A New Species

Study of ground beetles of the Garf Raydah Nature Reserve, located in the Asir Mountains of southwestern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) resulted in one species, Paussus abditus Nagel, sp. n. described as new to science. Thirteen species (21.3%) are reported as new country records and fifteen species (24.6%) are new records for Asir Province. Adult beetles were collected from 2013 to 2017. The determination of this material yielded a total of 61 species in 40 genera and 17 tribes belonging to nine subfamilies of Carabidae. The species richness represented approximately 36.1% of carabid species previously reported from KSA. The most species rich tribes were the Lebiini (20 species), the Harpalini (10 species), and the Bembidiini (6 species). The life form analysis of adults indicated 18 life form types that are grouped into three categories, Zoophagous (77.1%), Mixophytophagous (18.0%), and Myrmecophilous (4.9%). Zoogeographical analyses indicated that the Afrotropical (19.3%) and the Saharo-Arabian (19.3%) species dominate the carabid fauna of this region of KSA. Coryza cf. maculata (Nietner, 1856) is considered the only Oriental representative. Only one cosmopolitan species, Perigona nigriceps (Dejean, 1831), was collected. Eleven endemics were identified; six species are considered KSA endemics and five are Arabian Peninsula endemics. 

A lower Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) concentration Lagerstätte of bourgueticrinid crinoids from the Miechów Trough (southern Poland)

2016 ◽  
Vol 279 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariusz A. Salamon ◽  
Rafał Lach ◽  
Anna Wieczorek ◽  
Bruno Ferré ◽  
Tomasz Brachaniec ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Southern Poland ◽  
Lower Maastrichtian
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document