Fossil Sirenia from the Pleistocene of Qatar: new questions about the antiquity of sea cows in the Gulf Region.

ABSTRACT: One of the largest and least documented populations of dugongs (Dugong dugon) resides in the coastal waters of the United Arab Emirates, and waters surrounding Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Qatar. The archaeological record of dugongs in the Gulf Region is abundant, but little is known about their fossil record in the region. Here we report an isolated sirenian rib fragment from the Futaisi Member of the Fuwayrit Formation near the town of Al Ruwais, in northern Qatar. The Fuwayrit Formation is a marine Pleistocene deposit exposed onshore in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Based on the correlative dating of the basal Futaisi Member with other onshore platforms, the rib fragment is approximately 125 ka. We propose that this isolated rib (likely the first rib from the right side) belo

SUBMITTER: Pyenson ND 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9586076 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature