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Mokattam Formation

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Coordinates: 30°00′N 31°18′E / 30.0°N 31.3°E / 30.0; 31.3
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Mokattam Formation
Stratigraphic range: Middle Eocene (Late Lutetian to Bartonian)
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A limestone quarry in the Mokattam Hills
TypeSedimentary
Sub-unitsBuilding Stone Member, Giushi Member
UnderliesMaadi Formation
OverliesMinia Formation
Lithology
PrimaryLimestone
Location
Coordinates30°00′N 31°18′E / 30.0°N 31.3°E / 30.0; 31.3
Approximate paleocoordinates17°06′N 33°00′E / 17.1°N 33.0°E / 17.1; 33.0
CountryEgypt
Type section
Named forMokattam Hills
Mokattam Formation is located in Egypt
Mokattam Formation
Mokattam Formation (Egypt)

The Mokattam Formation[1][2] is a Middle Eocene-aged geological formation in northern Egypt. Consisting of nummulitic marine limestone outcropping across the Mokattam Hills, it has been extensively quarried from Ancient Egypt to the present day, and represents the source material for most of the famous archeological sites of Greater Cairo, most notably the Giza pyramid complex, the Great Sphinx, and much of Historic Cairo.[3]

The age of the formation is thought to span from the late Lutetian to the Bartonian, depending on the member (Building Stone or Giushi). However, some authors treat the Giushi Member as its own geologic formation, which would restrict the Mokattam to just the Lutetian.[2][4][5][6]

The Great Sphinx was carved entirely out of the Mokattam Formation[7]

Numerous fossil fishes are known from this formation.[4][8] Sirenian bones have been reported. This formation is the type locality of the early whales Protocetus atavus, and the sirenians Eotheroides aegyptiacus and Protosiren fraasi.[6][9]

Paleobiota

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Cartilaginous fish

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Based on Leriche (1921):[10]

Genus Species Member Locality Notes Image
Galeocerdo G. latidens Gebel Mokattam A relative of the tiger shark.[11]
Isurus I. desori A mako shark.[12]
Myliobatis M. goniopleurus An eagle ray.[13]
Nebrius N. blanckenhorni A relative of the tawny nurse shark.[14]
Otodus O. obliquus A megatooth shark.[15]
Physogaleus P. alabamensis (=Galeocerdo aegyptiacus) A ground shark.[16]

Bony fish

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Genus Species Member Locality Material Notes Image
Arius A. fraasi A sea catfish.[17]
Blabe B. crawleyi Tura Full specimen A percomorph of uncertain affinities, possibly a serranid.[18]
Cylindracanthus C. gigas Spine A ray-finned fish of uncertain affinities. Identified from the rocks of the Great Sphinx.[19]
Eobuglossus E. eocenicus Tura Full specimen A sole.[20][21]
Mylomyrus M. frangens Tura Full specimen An eel.[20]
"Perca" (Smerdis?) "P." lorenti Incomplete specimen A percomorph of uncertain affinities.[22]
Pomadasys P. sadeki (=Kemticthys sadeki) Tura Full specimen A grunt.[18]
Pycnodus P. mokattamensis[10] Tooth plate A pycnodont.
Trigonodon T. laevis Pharyngeal teeth A wrasse, taxonomic assignment uncertain.[23]
Turahbuglossus T. cuvillieri Tura Full specimen A sole.[21]

Reptiles

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Genus Species Member Locality Material Notes Image
'Tomistoma' T. cairense Skull A gavialoid crocodilian.[24]

Mammals

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Genus Species Member Locality Material Notes Image
Eotheroides E. aegyptiacus A sirenian.[9][25]
Protocetus P. atavus Gebel Mokattam A protocetid whale.[6]
Protosiren P. fraasi Gebel Mokattam A sirenian.[6][25]

References

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  1. ^ "PBDB". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2025-05-09.
  2. ^ a b "Mokattam Formation". mideastlex.geolex.org. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  3. ^ Aly, Nevin; Gomez-Heras, Miguel; Alveraz de Burgo, Monica; Hamed, Ayman; Soliman, Farouk Ahmed (2014). "Describing differential decay in Mokattam formation limestone used in World Heritage Sites: the cases of the Great Sphinx – Giza and Historic Cairo, Egypt". YOCOCU 2014 Youth in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage.
  4. ^ a b Priem, Fernand (1899). "Sur des poissons fossiles de l'Éocène d'Égypte". Bulletin de l'institut d'Égypte. 3 (10): 101–103. doi:10.3406/bie.1899.4248.
  5. ^ Safia, Menoufy Al; Radwan, Abul-Nasr; Marwa, Askar (2019). "A New Hiatus within the Lutetian of the El Basatin Section, Gebel Mokattam, Egypt: Field and Sedimentological Observations, with Special Emphasis on Nummulites". Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition. 93 (1): 12–29. Bibcode:2019AcGlS..93...12S. doi:10.1111/1755-6724.13759. ISSN 1755-6724.
  6. ^ a b c d Gingerich, Philip D. (1992). "Marine Mammals (Cetacea and Sirenia) from the Eocene of Gebel Mokattam and Fayum, Egypt: Stratigraphy, Age and Paleoenvironments". Papers on Paleontology (30): 1–84. hdl:2027.42/48630 – via Museum of Paleontology, The University of Michigan.
  7. ^ Jhonny E. Casas; Mayra Cañizares; Ivan Baritto (2023-02-28). "The Great Step Pyramid of Djoser: History, Geology and Nanoplankton Content from its Rock Casing". Journal of Geological Resource and Engineering. 10 (1). doi:10.17265/2328-2193/2023.01.001. ISSN 2328-2193.
  8. ^ Egerton, Philip de M. Grey (1854). "Palichthyologic Notes. No. 8. On some Ichthyolites from the Nummulitic Limestone of the Mokattam Hills, near Cairo". Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London. 10 (1–2): 374–378. Bibcode:1854QJGS...10..374E. doi:10.1144/GSL.JGS.1854.010.01-02.42.
  9. ^ a b Owen (1875). "On Fossil Evidences of a Sirenian Mammal (Eotherium ægyptiacum, Owen) from the Nummulitic Eocene of the Mokattam Cliffs, near Cairo". Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London. 31 (1–4): 100–105. Bibcode:1875QJGS...31..100O. doi:10.1144/GSL.JGS.1875.031.01-04.05.
  10. ^ a b Leriche, Maurice (1921). "Note sur des Poissons de l'Eocène du Mokattam, près du Caire (Egypte)". Bulletin de la Société belge de géologie, de paléontologie et d'hydrologie (in French). 31: 202–210. ISSN 0037-8909.
  11. ^ Asan, Anhar; Salame, Iman; Strougo, Amin (2022-12-01). "Sharks and Rays from the Mokattamian Stage (Middle and Late Eocene) of Egypt, Including Some Species from the Middle Eocene Midra Shale of Qatar". Egyptian Journal of Geology. 66 (1): 113–161. doi:10.21608/egjg.2022.173845.1028. ISSN 0022-1384.
  12. ^ "Extinct - complete list | Species | Shark-References". shark-references.com. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  13. ^ "Extinct - valid species | Species | Shark-References". shark-references.com. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  14. ^ "Extinct - complete list | Species | Shark-References". shark-references.com. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  15. ^ "Extinct - complete list | Species | Shark-References". shark-references.com. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  16. ^ Türtscher, Julia; López-Romero, Faviel A.; Jambura, Patrick L.; Kindlimann, René; Ward, David J.; Kriwet, Jürgen (2021). "Evolution, diversity, and disparity of the tiger shark lineage Galeocerdo in deep time". Paleobiology. 47 (4): 574–590. Bibcode:2021Pbio...47..574T. doi:10.1017/pab.2021.6. ISSN 0094-8373. PMC 7612061. PMID 34866693.
  17. ^ Murray, Alison M.; Holmes, Robert (2021). "Osteology of the cranium and Weberian apparatus of African catfish families (Teleostei: Ostariophysi: Siluriformes) with an assessment of Palaeogene genera". Vertebrate Anatomy Morphology Palaeontology. 9 (1): 156–191. doi:10.18435/vamp29382. ISSN 2292-1389.
  18. ^ a b White, Errol Ivor (1936-07-01). "V.—On certain Eocene percoid fishes". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 18 (103): 43–54. doi:10.1080/00222933608655173. ISSN 0374-5481.
  19. ^ Woodward (1891). Catalogue of the Fossil Fishes in the British Museum (Natural History).
  20. ^ a b Woodward, Henry (1910). Geological Magazine. Cambridge University Press.
  21. ^ a b Chabanaud, Paul (1876- ) (1937). MIE 32 Chabanaud, P - Les Téléostéens dyssymétriques du Mokattam inférieur de Tourah (1937).{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ Geology, British Museum (Natural History) Department of; Woodward, Arthur Smith (1901). Catalogue of the Fossil Fishes in the British Museum (Natural History): Actinopterygian Teleostomi of the suborders Isospondyli (in part), Ostariophysi, Apodes, Percesoces, Hemibranchii, Acanthopterygii, and Anacanthini. order of the Trustees.
  23. ^ Schultz, Ortwin; Bellwood, David R. (2003). "Trigonodon oweni and Asima jugleri are different parts of the same species Trigonodon jugleri, a Chiseltooth Wrasse from the Lower and Middle Miocene in Central Europe (Osteichthyes, Labridae, Trigonodontinae)". Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien. Serie A für Mineralogie und Petrographie, Geologie und Paläontologie, Anthropologie und Prähistorie. 105: 287–305. ISSN 0255-0091. JSTOR 41702061.
  24. ^ Brochu, Christopher A. (1997-09-01). "Morphology, Fossils, Divergence Timing, and the Phylogenetic Relationships of Gavialis". Systematic Biology. 46 (3): 479–522. doi:10.1093/sysbio/46.3.479. ISSN 1063-5157. PMID 11975331.
  25. ^ a b Mamdouh, Ahmed; El-Kahawy, Ramadan M.; AbdelGawad, Mohamed; Abu El-Kheir, Gebely (2024-06-01). "The first Protosiren remains preserved in ornamental limestones, Middle Eocene, North Eastern Desert, Egypt". Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. 135 (3): 310–320. Bibcode:2024PrGA..135..310M. doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2024.04.005. ISSN 0016-7878.
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