Repeated occurrence of palaeo-wildfires during deposition of the Bahariya Formation (early Cenomanian) of Egypt
Haytham El Atfy1, Tarek Anan1, André Jasper2, 3, Dieter Uhl3, 4
1. Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, 35516 Mansoura, Egypt.;
2. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ambiente e Desenvolvimento, PPGAD, Universidade do Vale do Taquari - Univates, Lajeado, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.;
3. Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.;
4. Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Tübingen University, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.;
The Upper Cretaceous (early Cenomanian) Bahariya Formation of Egypt has an outstanding reputation for its wealth of vertebrate remains, including a variety of iconic dinosaurs, like the carnivorous Spinosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus, as well as the herbivorous Aegyptosaurus and Paralititan. Besides these dinosaur fossils, the Bahariya Formation yielded also a wealth of invertebrate and plant remains, but even today many aspects concerning the continental palaeoenvironments reflected in these deposits (including the occurrence of palaeo-wildfires) have not been studied in detail. So far six distinct macro-charcoal bearing levels could be identified within the type section of the Bahariya Formation at Gabal El Dist profile, one of the most prolific outcrops of this formation in terms of fossil occurrence located in the north of the Bahariya Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt. Most of the charcoal investigated by means of SEM originates from ferns, pointing to a considerable proportion of this plant group within the palaeo-ecosystems that experienced fires. Gymnosperms and (putative) angiosperms have less frequently been identified. The collected data present evidence that the landscapes at the northern shores of Gondwana repeatedly experienced palaeo-wildfires, adding extra proof to previous statements that the Late Cretaceous was a fiery world on a global scale.
. Repeated occurrence of palaeo-wildfires during deposition of the Bahariya Formation (early Cenomanian) of Egypt[J]. Journal of Palaeogeography, 2019, 8(4): 332-345.
. Repeated occurrence of palaeo-wildfires during deposition of the Bahariya Formation (early Cenomanian) of Egypt[J]. Journal of Palaeogeography, 2019, 8(4): 332-345.
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2019, Vol. 8 
