GPS Coordinates: N33°06.752' E10°15.812'
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Site Highlights
- Rich fossil deposit
- Aptian and Albian vertebrates on the same site
Access Route: This site is crossed by the road to Ksar Haddada, nearly 200m from the town of Ghomrassen. It is accessible via the Oued el Khil road. From there, one can follow a 5 km track leading directly to the old artisanal sand quarry, located on the slope of a small hill.
Site Description: The Lower Cretaceous of the Dahar chain in Tataouine (Southern Tunisia) has yielded a rich fauna of selachians in the Douiret formation (Aptian) and the Chenini and Oum ed Diab members (Albian). These faunas are very different from each other and suggest different depositional environments. This can be observed at the Bateun el Hmaima site, where two fossiliferous layers are found. The indurated sandstones in the upper part of the Douiret formation contain shark teeth (Priohybodus) as well as fish teeth and scales (Lepidotes), plus remains of reptiles that are still poorly understood (crocodiles and turtles). The second fossiliferous sandstone bar is found at the lower part of the Chenini sandstone and has yielded teeth, dermal bones of lungfish, vertebrae, and teeth of dinosaurs (Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, Carcharodontosaurus saharicus, and Sauropodes Tataouinae Hannibalis) and crocodiles.
(A-E) Priohybodus arambourgi. (F-G) Hybodus sp., New morphotype 1. (H-I) Hybodus sp., New morphotype 2. (J) Lepidotes tooth, morphotype 1. (K) Lepidotes tooth, morphotype 2. (L-N) Lepidotes tooth, morphotype 3. (P-R) Lepidotes scale. (S-T) Mawsonia sp. tooth. Scale bar 1 cm.
