Aïn el Guettar Formation

The Aïn el Guettar Formation is a geological formation in Tunisia, whose strata date back to the Late Aptian to Late Albian stages of the Cretaceous period.^[1][2] The lithology consists of coarse sandstones with occasional conglomerates and mudstones.^[3] Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.^[4]

Aïn el Guettar Formation
Stratigraphic range: Late Aptian-Late Albian ~115–100.5 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Type	Formation
Sub-units	Chenini & Oum ed Diab Members
Underlies	Zebbag Formation
Overlies	Douiret Formation
Lithology
Primary	Sandstone
Other	Conglomerate, mudstone
Location
Location	Sahara Desert
Coordinates	33.2°N 10.3°E / 33.2; 10.3
Approximate paleocoordinates	15.9°N 10.3°E / 15.9; 10.3
Region	Tataouine
Country	Tunisia
Type section
Named for	'Aïn el Guettar
Aïn el Guettar Formation (Tunisia)

Stratigraphy

The Aïn el Guettar Formation is divided into at least 3 members, which represent different depositional environments. In ascending order these are: the Chenini Member, the Oum ed Diab Member and the Jebel El Mra Member.

Vertebrate paleofauna

The Ain el Guettar Formation during the Early Cretaceous period was a marsh-like habitat with swamps and plenty of water. The most famous dinosaur discoveries made here include Carcharodontosaurus and Spinosaurus.

Dinosaurs
Genus	Species	Location	Material	Notes	Images
Carcharodontosaurus	C. saharicus[4]			A Carcharodontosaurid Theropod
Spinosaurus	cf. S.aegyptiacus [5]			A Spinosaurid theropod
Tataouinea	T. hannibalis[6]			A Nigersaurine Sauropod
Iguanodontidae[4]	Iguanodontidae indet.
Sauropoda indet.[4]	Sauropoda indet.
Abelisauridae	Abelisauride indet.[7][8]
Carcharodontosauridae	Carcharodontosauridae indet.[7][9][8]

Crocodylomorphs
Genus	Species	Location	Material	Notes	Images
Sarcosuchus[6]	cf. Sarchosuchus			A Pholidosaurid Crocodylomorph
Araripesuchus[4][10]	A.sp			A notosuchian crocodylomorph
Crocodyliformes	crocodyliformes indet.[8]

Pterosaurs
Genus	Species	Location	Material	Notes	Images
Ornithocheiridae[11]	Ornithocheiridae indet.

Fish
Genus	Species	Location	Material	Notes	Images
Mawsonia[4]	M.sp.			A Coelacanth
Caturus	C. sp.[7]
Onchopristis	O. dunklei[7]
Hybodus	H. sp.[7]
Lepidotes	L.sp.[7]

See also

• List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
• Geology of Tunisia