Dear Dr. Diabat,

these are trace fossils produced by burrowing, crawling and grazing organism. They do not show special patterns resulting from their activity so that an environment analysis or bathymetric assessment is hard to be done. They come close to palaeochorda sp. and climactichnites sp. I need do know a bit more of the data collected at the quarry. I guess it is a rather shallow coastal marine environment. Which minerals, body fossils are these trace fossils associated with?

I refer to:

DILL, H.G., BOTZ, R. , BERNER, Z., STÜBEN, D., NASIR, S. and AL-SAAD, H. (2005) Sedimentary facies, mineralogy and geochemistry of the sulphate -bearing Miocene Dam Formation in Qatar.- Sedimentary Geology, 174: 63-96.

If you want do learn more about these trace fossils, consult the classical paper by Dimitijevic et al. on trace fossils. The "top scorer" on this matter was Prof. Seilacher. You should not mistake these sedimentary features for sole marks which are caused by non-biogenic processes.

This is what I can see on the rock surface of the calcareous rocks.

Best regards

Harald G. Dill

Thank you very much Prof. Dill for this explanation...

Dear Dr. Dabiat,

in case of futher data on the outcrop I will try and draw a more precise picture of the environment of deposition.

Best regards

Harald G. Dill

I am not a paleontologist. But according to my field observations in Paleontology course I had during in my BSc. We have the same microfossils in Asmari-Jahrom Limestone Formation in Fars Province, Iran. As remember we have Nummulites (Late Cretaceous). 

Dear Dr. Kompanizare,

the nummulites are forams "blooming" especially in the Paleogene (Eocene). In the present situation we have to deal with ichnofossils or trace fossils. The Fars Fm. (to my knowledge Oligocene to Miocene) may be enriched in nummulites that is true, but these disc-shaped body fossils show up in a different way on the bottom or top side of limestones beds.

Best regards

Harald G. Dill

to me, these look like fecal pellets of various (planctic) animals

The rocks belong to Turonian age...

Dear Professor Dill

Thanks for your useful discussions.

Regards

M. Kompanizare

Dear colleagues,

after our colleague Dr. Diabat has disclosed the age of sedimentation, I feel there will be only one way out of the dilemma, if you want a precise palecological environment analysis and end further speculation: Paleontologists specialized in ichnofossils or trace fossils of Turonian age "to the front" .

But you can go it also through the backdoor, if you know or have an idea of the water depth and you want to know only the group of ichnofossils. In this case I recommend the classical paper:

Seilacher, A. 1967. Bathymetry of trace fossils. Marine Geology 5, p. 413-428

Best regards

Harald G. Dill

Dear colleagues , below is some information about the outcrop (Wadi Es Sir Formation):

 The formation consists of three distinctive units; the lower part comprises dolomite, dolometic limestone, the middle consists of soft marly limestone and limestone, and the upper unit consists almost totally of thick bedded to massive limestone. The thick-bedded to massive limestone of the formation forms distinctive rocky steep slopes.

The formation was deposited on a wide shallow marine carbonate platform within tidal to lagoon regimes. The formation marks the maximum extent of the marine transgress pulses during Cenomanian to late Turonian- middle Coniacian time (Abed, 2002).

Dear Abdullah

This reminds me of the Turanian Shivta and Netzer Fms. in the Negev-Naqb and Judea Desert. Perhaps the  reference below will be of use

Best

Amotz

B. Buchbinder, C. Benjamini and S. Lipson-Benitah. Sequence development of Late Cenomanian–Turonian carbonate ramps, platforms and basins in Israel. Cretaceous Research (2000) 21, 813–843

Dear colleagues,

the first attempt to perform an environment analysis based on the textures of the trace fossils obviously worked. Find attached the Wadi Es Sir shallow marine limestone beds from Jordan (WP 2) and equivalent rocks (only based on my own lithostratigraphic correlation by visual inspection) from the Negev Desert, Israel (IMG). The surface tracks and trails observed on bedding planes of the Wadi Es Sir limestone may belong to the Cruziana Facies of Seilacher (1967).

Best regards

Harald G. Dill

Hi dear colleages: these fosils may be cianobacteries or alges.

We may find coeval and similar ichnofabric (Chondrites, etc.) assemblages in the chalks of the Anglo-Paris Basin (Cenomanian-Turonian). They are mostly related to low-oygenated bottom-waters.

For bibliographical references, see Late Prof Seilacher, Bromley & Ekdale, and the masterpiece of Flügel (published in Springer Verlag).

I' ve seen similar  appearance on the weathered surface of discocyclinid limestome (middle-upper Eocene) of Meghalaya, Bharuch and Kutch from India, The thin tests of Discocylina spp. in  transverse section may look  crescent, nail other slit like shapes, specially when most tests have preferred orientation with resyecy to the exposed asurface. However, internal structure needs to be ascertained through thin section. Often algae and ichnoforms may look alike.  If internally these are massive and comprising micrite, these are most likely mudflakes from adjacent tidal flat. 

These are not sections of large benthic forams. Either an ichnofabric, or most unlikely (from a far distance) ophiuroid mass accumulation.

As a personal guess, I would prefer ichnofabric!

Dear Dr. Ferre,

I  agree with you. It is why I always tried to get the classical paper from, e.g., Seilacher as an aid for interpretation in this discussion. I saw them several times in tidal and near-shore marine calcareous sediments, also the Middle East.

Best regards

Harald G. Dill