0 1999 Academic

des sciences

/ tditions

scientifiques

Palaeontology
/ Pal6ontologie
(Vertebrate
Palaeontology
/ Palbontologie

des

et medicales

Elsevier

SAS. Tous droits rkervfk.

Vert6br6s)

Late Paleocene to Early Eocene marine vertebrates

from the Uppermost
Aruma Formation
(northern
Saudi Arabia): implications
for the K-T transition
Dkouverte de vert&br& marins du Pakocene suphieur b ll?oc&e inj&ieur
au sommet de la formation dtlruma dans le Nord de ltlrabie Saoudite :
implications sur la transition K-T
Herbert
Chantal
Haiyan

Thomasa*,
Jack Rogerb, Mohammed
Bourdillon
, Eric Buffetaut,
Henri
Tong, Denis Vasletb

a College
75005
b BRGM,

de France
et laboratoire
Paris,France
SGN, 3, av. C.-Guillemin,

c Ministry
d BRGM

of Petroleum
and Mineral
Resources,
Deputy
Ministry
Mission,
Ministry
of Petroleum
and Mineral
Resources,

e UMR

5561,

16, tour

BP 6009,

du Libgat,

f Laboratoire
de palkontologie,
34095
Montpellier
cedex
g Laboratoire
de pakontologie,
(Received

de palbontologie,

Halawani,
Abdallah
Memeshd,
Patrick Lebretb,
Cappettaf, Claude Cavelierb,
Didier Dutheilg,

9 September

75013

UMR
5, France
UMR

1999,

new assemblage
of
sider the age of the top unit of
assemblage
contains
the remains
representing
a new dermochelyid
and a revision
of the stratigraphic
important

hiatus

at the

Arabian
Peninsula/
vertebrates

K-T

Paris,

8569,

MusCum

after

8569,

Orleans

Mu&urn

cedex

national

dhistoire

naturelle,

8, rue Buffon,

2, France

for Mineral
Resources,
Jeddah,
Kingdom
DMMR
Jeddah,
Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia

of Saudi

Arabia

France

kern,

Universitb

revision

Montpellier-2,

national

CC 064,

dhistoire

8 November

naturelle,

place
8, rue

Eugene-Bataillon,
Buffon

75005

Paris,

France

1999)

marine
vertebrates
from
northern
Saudi
Arabia,
east of the Nafud,
leads us to
the Aruma
Formation,
the Lina Member,
hitherto
referred
to the Maastrichtian.
of a dozen
selachian
and actinopterygian
fishes,
as well
as those of a giant sea
taxon.
It suggests
a Late Paleocene
to Early Eocene
age for this unit. This new
position
of the Lina Member
demonstrate
the existence,
on a regional
scale,

boundary.

Saudi

45060

5554,

accepted

Abstract-A

UMR

Arabia

(0

1999

/ Aruma

Acadkmie

des sciences

Formation

/ K-T

/ iditions

boundary

/ late

scientifiques

et medicales

Paleocene/

Early

Elsevier

Eocene/

reconThis
turtle
dating
of an
SAS.)

fauna/

R&umk - Une faune irkdite de vertkbrks marins provenant du Nord de 1Arabie Saoudite, P lest du Nafud, nous am&e 2
rajeunir lunitk sommitale de la formation dAruma, le membre de Lina, jusqualors attribuk au Maastrichtien. Cette faune, qui
comprend les restes dune douzaine de poissons selaciens et actinoptkygiens,
ainsi quune tortue marine gkante, representant un
dermochelyide nouveau, permet dattribuer P cette unit6 un Pge Palko&ne supkrieur 2 Locke infkrieur. Cette nouvelle datation et
la revision de la position stratigraphique du membre de Lina demontrent lexistence, P lkchelle regionale, dun important hiatus ~3
la limite K-T. (0 1999 Acadkmie des sciences / editions scientifiques et mkdicales Elsevier SAS.)
phimule
Arabique
faune / vert&br&

/ Arabie

Version abegee
Note

communicated

* Correspondence

Saoudite

(voir

/ formation

dAmma

/ limite

K-T / Pal&&me

p. 910)

by Yves Coppens.
and reprints.

C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Sciences

1999.329,905-912

de la terre

et des plan&es

/ Earth

& Planetary

Sciences

suphieur

/ fioche

infhieur

H. Thomas

et al.

1. Introduction
The

Cretaceous-Tertiary

boundary,

known

for

mass

extinction,
has not ceased
to attract
the attention
of a
large
number
of researchers
over
the past 20 years.
On
the Arabian
Peninsula,
most work
concerning
this subject
was
done
some
time
ago,
though
there
are rare
exceptions
(see Roger
et al., 1998).
In addition,
a degree
of confusion
exists
in this area of the world
with respect
to the nature
of the K-T boundary,
usually
perceived
as
transitional
despite
some
precursor
biostratigraphical
work
(Hasson,
1985),
which
showed
at least locally,
the
existence
of a major
hiatus.
Recent
exploration
in Saudi
Arabia,
has led to reconsideration
of the nature
of the K-T transition
in the central region
of the Arabian
plate.
investigations
respect
were
largely
obscured
until
the present
paucity
of fauna1
associations
and the absence

in this
by the
of strati-

graphically
useful
faunas
in beds straddling
the K-T transition
(Lina Member).
Revision
of some work
was made
possible
because
of the recent
discovery
in the northern
region
of the Kingdom,
to the east of the Nafud,
of atypical marine
vertebrate
fossils
in sediments
of the Lina
Member,
hitherto
attributed
to the Maastrichtian.
Analysis of these fossils,
principally
collected
to the east of the
small
village
of Linah,
have
led us, as will
be seen further on, to considerably
rejuvenate
this unit,
denoting
also the existence
of a major
hiatus
at the K-T boundary,
which
conforms
readily
to ideas which
have
emanated
from

more

recent

2. Geological

work

on the Arabian

peninsula.

In central
and
northern
Arabia
(figure),
Late
Cretaceous
deposits
form
arc-shaped
outcrops
that
are
roughly
draped
around
the Proterozoic
basement
to the
west.
These
deposits
constitute
a fairly
continuous
strip
extending
from
the edge of the Rubal
Khali
sand-sea
in
the south,
to the Riyadh
area in central
Arabia;
further
north,
they
skirt
the east and
the northeast
of Great
Nafud
sand-sea
and continue
into Iraq. Studied
by petroleum
geologists
during
the early
days of oil exploration
in Saudi
Arabia
(Steineke
et al., 1958;
Powers
et al.,
1966;
Powers,
1968),
these
deposits
were
named
the
Aruma
Formation
and attributed
a Campanian
to Maastrichtian
age. Detailed
mapping
at 1:250
000 scale (Vaslet et al., 1988,
1991)
in the Riyadh
area, contributed
to
the collection
biostratigraphic
data that reconfirmed
the
earlier
conclusions
of the oil geologists,
i.e., a Late Campanian
to Maastrichtian
age for the Aruma
Formation.

3. The Aruma Formation in the type

locality: description
and subdivision
that
on the
of two

the Aruma
AIAramah
main
units,
C. R. Acad.

Quaternary

Cenozoic

Neogene

FZl

Paleogene

ForPlathe

eolian

sands

volcanic

rocks

Mesozoic

LE

Paleozoic

Arabian

shield

/
Figure.
Geological
fossil
vertebrate

Situation
dans

sketch
localities

gkologique

le Nord

lower

setting

The first oil geologists

recognised
mation,
defined
in a type section
teau near Riyadh,
was composed

c]

des gisements

de IArabie

boundary

map of northern
of Linah.

Saudi

2 vert6br6s

Arabia

fossiles

showing

de Linah

Saoudite.

of the

formation

being

a minor

uncon-

formity
above
the Albian
to Turonian
Wasia
Formation
deposits.
Their
basal
informal
Atj member
was a thick
unit,
mainly
composed
of carbonates
with
rudists;
the
overlying
informal
Lina Member
was principally
composed
of shale,
and was thinner
than
the Atj member
(Powers
et al., 1966;
Powers,
1968).
This two-member
division
was further
justified
by a non-conformable
contact
between
the two
members,
seen
at outcrop
but
more particularly
in drill cores where
it was described
as
an angular
discordance
(Redmond,
in Powers,
1968).
Using
this work,
El-Asaad
(1983a,
b) maintained
the formal Lina Member
and divided
the informal
Atj member
into two formal
members:
the Khanasir
Member
at the
base and the Hajajah
Member
above.
The
Aruma
Formation
is overlain
by the
Umm
er
Radhuma
Formation,
Paleocene
to Early Eocene
in age
(Steineke
et al., 1958;
Sander,
1962;
Powers
et al., 1966;
Powers,
1968);
this formation
is composed
of limestone
and dolomite
deposited
on a marine
platform.
At outcrop,
the dolomitic
limestone
of the Umm
er Radhuma
Formation
overlies
the Lina Member
dolomitic
shale
in
apparent
conformity.
Al-Asaad
(1983a)
confirmed
the
conformable
and gradational
character
of this contact.
However,
a compilation
of data
on a regional
scale
(Powers,
1968)
suggested
a possible
lacuna
of deposits
approximately
straddling
the
K-T
transition;
Powers
(1968)
mentioned
the possibility
of a non-conformable
relationship
between
the Umm
er Radhuma
and Aruma

Sci. Paris, Sciences

de la terre

et des plan&es

/ Earth & Planetary

Sciences
1999.329,905-912

Late Paleocene

to Early Eocene

marine

vertebrates

Formations.
This hypothesis was confirmed
by Hasson
(1985) who found a major hiatus at the CretaceousTertiary boundary in the Rubal Khali.

4. The problematic
of the Lina Member
4.1.

The Lina

Member

Maastrichtian

in central

and northern

age

Arabia

If, as mentioned
above, the precise age of the onset of
the last transgression
during the Late Cretaceous
is still
under discussion for central and northern Arabia, most
authors agreed on the standard proposition
for the Lina
Member:
Maastrichtian
for the oil geologists (Powers et
al., 1966; Powers,
1968), Late Maastrichtian
for ElAsaad (1983b) and Vaslet et al. (I 988, 1991).
In fact, this age is still a problem:
the undoubted
Maastrichtian
fauna1 association
described
by Powers
(1968) from subsurface samples (with Omphalocyc/us
macroporus
and Lofiusia sp.), was never found again
during surface sampling by the geologists who restudied
the type sections (first El-Asaad then the DMMR/BRGM
team that mapped central Arabia). Everywhere, the outcrops were very poor in fossils and no large benthic
foraminifera
were found. Faced with this difficulty, ElAsaad and Vaslet used El-Khayals work (1969, 1974)
for dating the Lina Member. They mention the presence
of Omphalocyclus
in shale underlying
the dolomitic
limestone of the Umm er Radhuma Formation, the latter
containing
an uncontested
Tertiary fauna. However, the
age of the shale was not confirmed
by Hasson (1985),
who noticed that this rock was azoic and proposed an
Early Paleocene age for this unit. This contradictory
result demonstrates
that the question of the origin and exact stratigraphic
position
of El Khayals facies with
Omphalocyclus
is still open. Did he really sample the
Lina Member, or did the samples come from the top of
the underlying
Hajajah
Member?
It should also be
pointed out that the exact origin of the samples studied
by El-Khayal in his PhD thesis (1969) is uncertain, and
that the precise location of his cutting samples from the
Arabian
American
Oil Company
(ARAMCO)
was not
confirmed during the paleontological
study.
4.2. The lateral
equivalents
Arabian
Peninsula

of the Lina Member

in the

In central and northern Arabia, the Lina Member has a

remarkable
lateral continuity,
both in thickness (about
30 m) and in facies (predominantly
alternating
shale and
subsidiary dolomite).
Outside this area, the data compiled for the Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary deposits
in the Rubal Khali, Qatar, Oman, and Yemen (see arguments presented below) demonstrate
the ubiquity of a
shale or marl unit above the top of the rudist limestone
at the top of the Aruma Formation (Aruma Group in the
eastern Arabian
Peninsula),
and below the Paleogene
limestone of the Umm er Radhuma Formation.
If it is
C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Sciences
1999.329,905-912

de la terre

et des plan&es

/ k&h

from

the Uppermost

Aruma

Formation

(northern

Saudi

Arabia)

supposed that these units can be correlated on a regional

scale, the question of their age remains an open one; in
fact, there is strong disagreement
between the different
authors. If in central to northern Arabia, this shale unit
(Lina Member)
is considered
as part of the Aruma Formation, Hasson (I 985) demonstrated
that this unit, composed of dark pyritic and carbonaceous
shales with
sparse benthic fauna including
Lockhartia
haimei,
is
younger than basal Paleogene in the Rubal Khali basin.
It is the same in Qatar, where Sugden and Standring
(1975) recognised that this shaly and marly Lockhartiabearing unit, the informal Shammar Shale member, corresponds to the base of the Umm er Radhuma Formation. This shale-marl
unit was also identified
on the
southern edge of the Arabian plate, in the interior of the
Sultanate of Oman (Shammar Shale member, Hughes
Clarke, 1988), in Yemen (Beydoun
and Greenwood,
1968) and in Dhofar (Atayr member, Roger et al., 1989,
1994), where it consistently
occupied
the same stratigraphic
position
at the base part of the Umm er
Radhuma Formation, and consistently contains Lockhartia sp.
4.3. The Lina Member
to the east of the Great
the stratigraphic
position
of the fossil beds

Nafud

and

East of the Great Nafud, the Lina Member is exposed

in small cuestas about 30 m high comprising
alternating
ochre dolomitic
shale, dolomitic
marl and minor offwhite dolomite
(figure). It was studied in detail during
the mapping of the Turubah quadrangle
at 1:250 000
scale, by a joint DMMR/BRGM
team (Lebret et al.,
1999). The unit, exposed to the north and northeast of
Linah town over a distance of more than 30 km, shows a
clear sequential
organisation,
consisting
of five sequences each several meters in thickness. The elementary cycle, which is repeated several times, begins with
dolomitic
shale grading
into dolomitic
highly bioturbated marl with a nodular aspect, and overlain by several thin dolomitic
beds that, again, are strongly bioturbated. Close to the top of the member, a layer occurs
that is enriched in bipyramidal
quartz and siliceous nodules that are interpreted
as former anhydrite
nodules.
The lower and middle parts of the Lina Member are very
poor in fossils, except for a few plant, coral and decalcified bivalve casts. Only the upper 5 m, just below the
Tertiary Umm er Radhuma Formation dolomite,
yielded
many fauna1 remains. The most diversified
macrofauna
is found in the topmost
dolomite
bed, which
also
yielded an association of various molluscs (bivalves, gastropods), and reef-type colonial
and solitary corals of
unspecific age. Among gastropods, which are not easily
identifiable
because of crushing, a large strongly winged
strombid is dominant,
besides poorly preserved impressions of cerithids and a Rostellaria cast - cf. Rostellaria
(hippochrenes)
amp/a. Pelecypods
are not better preserved, with the exception
of impressions
of Corbula
@icorbulal
gr. exarata, recognizable
by their curvature
and ornamentation.
The underlying
Lina Member shale
& Planetary

Sciences

H. Thomas
yielded
turtle

et al.

hundreds
associated

of bone fragments
from
a giant marine
with
many
selachian
and actinoptery-

gian teeth,
most of them
washing
the samples.

small

the

only

discovered

common
in
continent

the Upper
Cretaceous
where
it is reported

on
from

the
the

by

Maghreb,
Egypt,
subsaharan
Africa
and the Negev.
A
different
form
of E. libycus
is also present
in the Moroccan Danian
(Arambourg,
1952),
as well
as in intercalated sediments
in the Deccan
traps,
the ages of which
are situated
on both sides of the K-T boundary
(Patterson, 1993).

Vertebrate
remains
collected
in the shaley
horizon
of
Lina Member
contain
on one hand,
a relatively
poor

The most commonly

found
actinopterygian
remains
in
the Lina Member,
are represented
by pharyngian
teeth
with
an eyelash
shape
and
massive
incisiform
teeth.

5. The vertebrate
Member

and

dus is very
Arabia-African

fauna from the Lina

ichthyofauna
made
up mainly
of isolated
teeth
commonly
reduced
to a state of debris,
and on the other,
a
very
large
number
of isolated
ossicles
belonging
to a
dermochelyid
turtle.
5.1.

Selachians

The Lamniformes
are represented
by a single
tooth,
the morphology
of which
resembles
Cretolamna
maroccana which
is only
known
from
the Maastrichtian;
this
tooth
is however
neither
perfectly
preserved
nor particularly typical.
The Orectolobiformes
are in quite
diverse
contrast
since
they
are represented
by three
different
genera;
Orectolobus,
Ginglymostoma
sp. and Plicatoscyllium
sp. Whilst
several
very
fragmentary
scyliorhinid
teeth recall
those from the Paleogene
genus
Premontreia,
the batoids
constitute
the most
numerous
and
varied

eral teeth
with
a very
distinct
and original
morphology,
can
be attributed
to Dasyatoidea.
Lastly,
the
Myliobatidae
are represented
by large
teeth
or tooth
debris
characterized
by their
greater
thickness;
certain
teeth
show
morphology
close
to that of Rhombodus,
a genus
which
does not cross
the K-T boundary.
Unfortunately

5.2.

their
well

roots,
are consistently
be lateral
teeth
of large

About
15 grinding
teeth,
are diamond
to sub-diamond
shaped
and belong
to an indeterminate
pycnodontiform.
Their
sizes
vary
from
a few
millimetres
to 14 mm
in
length.
Pycnodontiform
teeth
have
been
reported
from

Around
lopiform

Umm
(Madden

ten acuminate
genus
fnchodus.

Himar
Formation
et al., 1995).

teeth
The

of

south-

are attributed
to the
largest
of these teeth,

aual-

though
broken
at its apex,
measures
45 mm. These
teeth
are very
similar
to those
of Enchodus
libycus
from
the
Maastrichtian
of Egypt and Morocco.
The genus
Encho-

908

found

C. R. Acad.

in the

same

deposits.

Chelonians

Testudines,
Cryptodira,
gen. and sp. nov.
The dermochelyid
mon fossils
yielded

sicle. These
ossicles
of a new dermochelyid
issue).
The family
Cretaceous

The Lina Member

actinopterygians
are represented
by
more
than a hundred
isolated
teeth
and a few vertebrae
belonging
to three
distinct
taxa,
only
one of which
has
been identified
to genus
level.

Jubal
Arabia

monly

Chelonioidea,

Dermochelyidae:

remains
are by far the most
by the Lina Member.
They are

comrepre-

sented
by several
hundred
isolated
ossicles,
polygonal
in
shape,
ranging
from
20 to 45 mm
in diameter,
very
thick,
some
more
than 20 mm in thickness,
and deeply
sculptured
on the external
surfaces,
with
wrinkles
and
tubercles
radiating
outward
from
the centre
of each os-

Actinopterygians

the Paleocene
western
Saudi

ered as a tetraodontiform.
However
doubt
has been cast
on its attribution
to the tetraodontiforms
by Patterson
(1993).
In fact, teeth conventionally
attributed
to the Eotrigonodontidae
are, according
to this author,
probably
pycnodontiform
teeth,
the pycnodontiforms
being
com-

5.3.

group.
The rhinobatoids
sensu
lato, are represented
by
two distinct
forms
(Rhinobatos
sp. and Rhinobatoidei
indet.),
the dental
morphology
of which
resembles
that of
certain
species
from
the Maastrichtian
of Morocco.
Sev-

these
teeth,
in particular
damaged.
In fact they may
Myliobatidae
indet.

These
teeth
resemble
those
of the genus
fotrigonodon
which
occurs
in the Eocene
of the Anglo-France-Belgian
basin
and in the Eocene
of Africa.
Although
the longest
incisiform
tooth
is more
than
25 mm in length,
other
broken
teeth,
must
have
attained
even
greater
dimensions. The genus
Eotrigonodon
is conventionally
consid-

represent
the epithecal
sea turtle
(see Tong

Dermochelyidae
to the Recent.

Two

is recorded
dermochelyid

shell mosaic
et al., in this

from

the
taxa

Late
are

known
from
the Late Cretaceous:
Corsochelys
from
the
Campanian
of the USA and Mesodermochelys
from
the
Maastrichtian
of Japan.
These
primitive
dermochelyids
have
a thecal
shell
like other
chelonioid
sea turtles,
without
an epithecal
shell
mosaic.
Few dermochelyid
turtle
remains
have
been
reported
from
the Paleocene:
fosphargis
from
the Latest Paleocene
of Denmark,
is the
only Paleocene
record
of the family.
In the Eocene
there
is a remarkable
diversity
of dermochelyids
from
all over
the world.
Except
for Eosphargis
from
the Lower
Eocene
of Europe,
which
is a dermochelyid
without
a shell mosaic, and Thalassochelys
testei from
the Lower
Eocene
of Tunisia,
known
only by a skull,
in all others
the thecal
shell
is replaced
by an epithecal
shell
composed
of a
large number
of small
ossicles
forming
a shell mosaic.

Sci. Paris, Sciences

de la terre

et des plan6tes

/ Earth & Planetory

Sciences
1999 329,90!%912

Late Paleocene

6. Discussion
6.1.

to Early Eocene

marine

vertebrates

and conclusions

Age of the Lina Member

Although
not very diverse, the malacofauna
seems to
indicate an Eocene age, judging by a cast of Rode//aria
ampla and impressions
of Corbula (Bicorbula)
gr. exarata. Although the species exarata is considered
as typical of the Middle
Eocene, various similar forms have
been described from the Early to Middle Eocene of Pakistan and the northern part of Africa, from Egypt to Senegal. Conversely, these species seem to be unknown
in
the Upper Cretaceous, or even the Paleocene. This age
suggestion
is confirmed
by the malacofauna
from a
much more productive
locality, sampled by one of us
(C.C.) in the Lina Member in central Arabia. This site is
located south of the Wadi as Sahba, in the Ar Riyad
quadrangle
(Vaslet et al., 1991). It has yielded internal
casts, sometimes silicified, of Pleurotomaria
spp. including P. cf. bianconii,
Velates sp. aff. tibeticus,
Campanilopa spp., a large strombid,
cf. Rostellaria
(Hippochrenes) ampla, cf. Arrhoges
(Drepanochilus)
sp., cf.
Surcula ingens, naticids (S./J, bullids, Corbula IBicorhula) sp., besides corals and various nautiloids
identified
by H.Tintant (in Vaslet et al., 1991). With the exception
of the nautiloids,
which are Maastrichtian
in age and
may be reworked from the underlying
Hajajah Member,
in which they are locally abundant,
the malacofauna
from Wadi as Sahba, besides genera which cross the
Cretaceous-Tertiary
boundary,
is characterized
by typically Eocene genera and species, such as Velates, Pleurotomaria bianconii,
Rostellaria ampla, Surcula ingens,
Corbula (Bicorbula),
and, by the absence of any exclusively Cretaceous, or even Paleocene, element.
The Lina Member
ichthyofauna
shows an unusual
composition
that does not enable attribution
of a precise
age. The selachians in particular, are different from both
the rich Maastrichtian
fauna1 assemblages,
collected
these last few years from Syria, Israel and Egypt (currently being studied) and those of the Late Paleocene of
Jordan (H.C.). In addition,
as no data exists on Early
Paleocene fauna from this region of the Middle East, it is
all the more difficult to make a categorical determination
with respect to the age of the Saudi Arabian fauna. However the presence, on one hand of Myliobatidae
(although this family is represented
in the Campanian
and
Maastrichtian,
but by species showing
very different
morphology)
and on the other hand, the absence of species known in the Maastrichtian
of the region, tend to
favour a post-Cretaceous
age. Whilst a Danian age cannot be ruled out, it should be stressed that the selachians
are in any case very different to those from the Danian of
Morocco.
As is the case for the selachians, the biostratigraphic
data provided
by the rare actinopterygians,
identified
from isolated teeth, are very ambiguous. The presence of
indeterminate
pycnodontiforms
does not contribute
to
the argument since their remains are recorded from the
C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Sciences
1999.329.905912

de la terre

et des plan&es

from

the Uppermost

Aruma

Formation

(northern

Saudi

Arabia)

Mesozoic
into the Cenozoic.
Whilst the Enchodus teeth
are close to f. lybicus and suggest a Maastrichtian
age,
the incisiform
and pharyngian
teeth, doubtfully
attributed to the Tetraodontiformes,
tend rather to suggest a
post-Cretaceous
age because of their large dimensions.
This said, it can be underlined
that the very poor state of
preservation
of the ichthyofauna
suggests that it is in
part, undoubtedly
reworked
from a Maastrichtian
horizon. The existence of reworked
material
is manifest
when seen in the light of the discovery, in the Lina Member, of a rolled ammonite
in the form of a cobble along
with a single fragment of a plesiosaur tooth. The major
lacuna of post K-T boundary deposits, which may correspond to a major part of the Paleocene,
must have reconcentrated,
along the Tertiary transgression
base, numerous fossils eroded out of the unit lying directly
below.
Be that as it may, with regard to the dermochelyid
remains, several evolutionary
trends have been recognised in the history of the Dermochelyidae,
including
a
progressive decrease in mosaic shell thickness, a gradual
increase in the prominence
of the carapace ridges and a
gradual decrease of the sculpture on the external surface
of the ossicles (Wood et al., 1996). The ossicles from
Saudi Arabia are the thickest among all the known dermochelyid
shell elements, the shell is the most deeply
sculptured
and the carapace ridges are absent since no
keeled ossicles are present among the abundant material
from the locality. Thus the dermochelyid
turtle from
Saudi Arabia is the most primitive known representative
of the dermochelyids
possessing an epithecal shell mosaic. These primitive features suggest that the specimens
from Saudi Arabia are older than the Mid-Late
Eocene,
at which time dermochelyids
with a more advanced epithecal shell mosaic are known.
Overall,
taking into account
all stratigraphic
and
palaeontological
data, we consider that the Lina Member deposits ought to be considered
as much younger
than hitherto thought, and we thus propose a Late Paleocene or Early Eocene age.
6.2. Implications
on the Cretaceous-Tertiary
in central
and northern
Saudi Arabia

boundary

As we have seen previously, the shaly unit occurring

at the base and initiating the Umm er Radhuma Formation, shows a vast extension and is known throughout
the Arabian platform. It is indicative of major changes in
sedimentary conditions,
marked by the disappearance
of
rudist bearing platform carbonates and the initiation of a
new depositional
cycle. The Umm er Radhuma Formation, characterized
by depositional
confinement,
indicates an inversion of the tendency which saw the end of
the progradation
of the rudist platforms and the beginning of a transgressive tendency which imposed itself at
the end of the Paleocene or beginning
of the Eocene.
The maximum flooding of the first Tertiary transgression,
was only attained in the Early Eocene, as shown by pe-

/ Earth & PlanetarySciences

H. Thomas et al.
lagic argillaceous
limestones
with planktonic
foraminifera (Hasson, op. cit.), which overlie the basal shales in
the Rubal Khali basin.
The dating of the Lina Member and the revision of its
stratigraphical
position shed a quite different light on the
Cretaceous-Tertiary
boundary
in central and northern
Arabia. Even if they were not able to prove it, the first
researchers for a long time suspected the existence of a
depositional
gap at the K-T boundary, basing this suspicion on regional data, but hindered
in this thought process by the supposed
Maastrichian
age of the Lina
Member and its conformable
contact observed with the
overlying Umm er Radhuma Formation limestones. The
Late Paleocene to Early Eocene age of this member finally brings proof of a major hiatus of about 10 Ma.
Attested to in the neighbouring
regions of Arabia, for
example
in the Rubal Khali basin, in Qatar and in

Oman, it also very logically affected the western margin

of the Arabian platform. Only on the collapsed margins
of the Arabian plate, for example in the Oman Mountains (Roger et al., 1998) or in the Huqf (Plate1 et al.,
1992) of Oman was a continuous
recording
of the
Cretaceous-Tertiary
transition possible, as witnessed by
the existence of Danian deposits. It is however probable,
in the absence of sufficiently precise dating, that the extent of the hiatus may vary quite significantly
from one
region to the next, in the interior of the plate. It is reasonable to suppose a degree of onlap of the Tertiary
transgression across the Cretaceous substratum. The very
marginal
position of the depositional
belt of the Lina
Member, close to emerged shallows (?) made up of the
Arabian
shield, strongly suggests that the region was
probably transgressed later than the Rub al Khali basin,
possibly as late as the Early Eocene.

Version abegee
Introduction
Dans la pCninsule Arabique, le passage Cr&ac&Tertiaire
fait depuis longtemps lobjet dappreciations
contradictoires :
celui-ci serait transitionnel ou marque par un hiatus correspondant 2 une importante lacune. Si certaines regions sont
bien documentCes, montrant, g lexemple de la marge omanaise, lexistence dune continuite des dep8ts (Plate1 et al.,
1992 ; Roger et al., 19981, ou au contraire, en domaine plus
interne de la plaque arabique (Rubal Khali), celle dun hiatus (Hasson, 1985), largumentation
est en revanche moins
convaincante en Arabie Saoudite centrale et septentrionale,
bien que le passage K-T y soit diicrit comme transitionnel.
Les r&entes decouvertes de vertebr&
marins 2 lest du
Nafud dans le Nord de IArabie, dans le membre de Lina, au
sommet de la formation dAruma, qui nous amsnent ici &
reconsiderer
lsge de ces dep8ts jusque-12 repute Maastrichtien, demontrent lexistence, dans cette region, dun important hiatus 2 la limite K-T.

Le membre

de Lina

Le membre de Lina represente le membre sommital de la

formation dAruma (El Asaad, 1983a et b), qui forme une
ceinture daffleurement continue depuis le grand desert du
Rubal Khali jusquau Nafud, au nord du pays. Lithologiquement distinct des unit& basales plus carbonatees et riches en
rudistes, le membre superieur de la formation dAruma montre une composition principalement
argileuse et accessoirement dolomitique ; il est repute passer transitionnellement
aux calcaires dsge Paleoc+ne 2 fioc?ne infirieur de la formation dUmm er Radhuma.
Depuis les premiers travaux des petroliers, lsge du membre de Lina est classiquement donne pour Maastrichtien
(Powers et al., 19661, ou Maastrichtien superieur (El-Khayal,
1969 ; El Asaad, 1983b ; Vaslet et al., 1988, 1991). Cet gge,
repris dun auteur B lautre, sappuie principalement
sur la

910

C. R. Acad.

Sci.

presence de grands foraminif?res benthiques maastrichtiens,

Omphalocycluset Loftusia, d&rits dans des equivalents la&
raux en subsurface, par Powers (1968) et El-Khayal (1969,
19741, mais jamais trouvCs 2 ltieurement.
Les incertitudes
quant
membre de Lina

5 l?ige Maastrichtien

du

Le recours a des equivalents 1atCraux en subsurface, pour

dater le membre de Lina, sexplique par le caractere peu
fossilifire de ces depats, jusque-12 ditpourvus, a laffleurement, de toute faune dint&@t stratigraphique. Ces datations
demeuraient d& lors fragiles.
Dans le Rubal Khali, les travaux de revision biostratigraphique entrepris par Hasson, qui a repris le materiel fossile
recueilli en forage et r&tudie
lunite argileuse sit&e 2 la
base des calcaires tertiaires de la formation dUmm er Radhuma, infirmaient les conclusions initiales, en suggerant un
Ige Palko&ne
infkrieur pour cette uniti: argileuse, qui se
cor&le avec le membre de Lina.
Plus rCcemment, en Arabie centrale, dans le secteur de Ar
Riyad, la dkcouverte 2 Iaffleurement, dans le membre de
Lina, dune curieuse association de mollusques daffmit& ilerdiennes et de nautiles maastrichtiens, soulevait a nouveau le
problkme de lsge du membre de Lina (Vaslet et al., 1991).
Une r&ision de lgge de cette unite semblait done nttcessaire : elle simpose aujourdhui,
g&e P la dkcouverte en
1998, dans des terrains du membre de Lina 2 lest du Nafud,
effect&e dans le cadre du lever de la feuille de Turubah,
dune faune atypique de vertebr& marins dlge Paleoc?ne
non basal.
La faune de verti?.brk
Nafud

du membre

de Lina & Pest du

Les dkp8ts argileux du membre de Lina, qui affleurent sur

plus de 30 km sous forme de petites cuestas au nord et au
nord-est du village de Linah, ont livre une ichthyofaune
Paris, Sciences

de la terre

et des plan&es

/ Earth

& Pkmefary
Sciences
1999 329,905912

Late Paleocene

to Early Eocene

marine

vertebrates

marine relativement pauvre, composee de dents de selaciens

et dactinopterygiens,
associee en divers endroits 2 de tr&
nombreuses plaques epithecales isolees dune tortue marine
geante.
Bien que pauvrement rep&sent&,
les shlaciens sont cependant assez diversif%. 11s comprennent 9 taxons distincts,
dont un Lamniforme (Cretolamnacf. maroccana), un Scyliorhinidae indetermint,
3 genres dOrectolobiformes
(cf. Orectolobus,Ginglymostomasp. Plicatoscyllium sp.) et divers batdides, qui constituent dailleurs les restes les plus nombreux
(Rbinobatossp., Rhinobatoidei
indet., Dasyatoidea indet.,
Myliobatidae
indet. ou Rbombodus).Cette association, qui
correspond z? une faune nCritique 1 littorale, presente une
composition tr& inhabituelle, puisque les differentes espcces
demeurent inconnues P la fois dans les faunes du Maastrichtien de Syrie, dIsra&l ou dEgypte, comme dans celles du
PalCocgne superieur de Jordanie.
Une centaine de dents isolees appartiennent
g des actinopterygiens
dont un Pycnodontiforme
indetermine,
un
Aulopiforme
proche d&zcho&s
Zibycus,connu notamment
dans le Maastrichtien
dEgypte et du Maroc, ainsi que le
genre tertiaire Eotrigonodon dont les restes sont les plus
frequents.
La faune des gisements de Lina se distingue surtout par
labondance des plaques osseuses &pith&ales
dune tortue
marine, cara&ristiques
de la famille des Dermochelyidae
representee uniquement de nos jours par la tortue luth (Dermocbelyscoriacea).Par la forte ornementation et la grande
Cpaisseur de ces plaques osseuses, ainsi que par labsence de
c&es ant&o-postCrieures,
le dermochelyide
dArabie se distingue clairement de toutes les autres formes fossiles (voir
Tong et al., 1999).

Discussion

sur l&e

des dep8ts

Alors que plusieurs Cl&ments de la faune ichthyologique

sont indicatifs dun %ge Maastrichtien, en particulier Cretolamna cf. maroccana et Encbodussp., dautres 61Cments
plaident plut& en faveur dun sge Tertiaire (e.g. Myliobatidae
et cf. Eotrigonodon).La tr?s mauvaise conservation de cette
faune laisse penser que celle-ci est sans doute en partie

from

the Uppermost

Aruma

Formation

(northern

Saudi Arabia)

remaniee 2 partir des niveaux maastrichtiens. Lexistence de

remaniements est manifeste, 2 en juger par la decouverte
dans le membre de Lina dune ammonite roulee sous forme
de galet et dun unique fragment de dent de pl&iosaure. La
faune ichthyologique
est, par ailleurs, pauvrement rep&entee, cornparke 2 la tortue marine, dont les restes sont bien
plus abondants. Les caract&istiques uniques des plaques osseuses de cette tortue en font le plus primitif des Dermochelyidae possCdant une carapace epithkcale en mosdique.
Bien que cette famille soit connue depuis le C&ace sup&
rieur, les formes poss&dant une telle carapace epithecale en
mosaique ne sont pas connues avant ll?oc&e moyen P superieur. Au total, compte tenu des don&es paleontologiques
nouvelles et aussi des donnees sedimentologiques
et stratigraphiques P la fois locales et regionales, lgge du membre
de Lina doit etre consid&ablement
rajeuni. Bien que cet %ge
soit difficile a pr&iser, nous estimons quil est compris dans
lintervalle PalCocene superieur i fiocene inferieur.

Implications
C&ac&Tertiaire
septentrionale

sur la nature de la transition

en Arabic centrale et

La &vision
de 1Pge du membre de Lina implique
Iexistence dun important hiatus, dune duree proche de
10 Ma, P la limite Cr&ac&Tertiaire,
en Arabie centrale et
septentrionale. Ce rCsultat est plus conforme aux donnkes
regionales, qui montrent un contraste net entre le domaine
interne de la plaque arabique et ses marges. Ainsi, en domaine interne, 5 lexemple du Rubal Khali (Hasson, 19851,
du Qatar (Sugden et Standring, 19751, de 1Oman interieur
(Hughes Clarke, 19881, du Dhofar (Roger et al., 19891, du
Yemen (Beydoun et Greenwood,
1968), comme en Arabie
centrale et septentrionale, on rel?ve partout une importante
lacune des termes inferieurs du Paleogene. Seules des conditions geodynamiques particulieres, liees ?t leffondrement des
marges de la plaque arabique, comme dans le Huqf (Plate1 et
al., 1992) ou dans les montagnes dOman (Roger et al.,
1998), favorisent lenregistrement
du passage C&a&Tertiaire sans lacune.

Acknowledgements.
This study was carried
out within the framework
of an agreement
between
the Saudi Arabian
Deputy
Ministry
for Mineral
Resources
and the French
Bureau
de recherches
g6ologiques
et mini&es.
Publication
of these results was
made
possible
thanks
to the support
and authorization
of Dr. M.A. Tawfiq (Assistant
Deputy
Ministry
for Survey
and Exploration.
Deputy
Ministry
for Mineral
Resources),
to whom
the authors
express
their grateful
thanks.

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