Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 6 Bramkampella arabic
a
Redmond (B), a foraminiferal
species indicated to the Berriasian
age
Only the best-known tracksites located in Madar and Bait
Sha
along the northern edge of the site. We refer these quadru-
pedal tracks to neosauropods based on the anteroposteriorly
short, u-shaped manus impressions suggesting an arc-shaped
articulation of metacarpals, as observed in the Neosauro-
poda. The quadrupedal trackways at Arhab are relatively
narrow-gauge, with the left and right pes tracks touching
[but not overlapping] the trackway midline, unlike the wide-
gauge trackways typically associated with titanosauriforms.
Given this narrow-gauge stance, together with a more
derived, arc-shaped manus impression, quadrupedal tracks at
Arhab were likely made by nontitanosauriform neosauro-
pods. Additional tracks have been recognized nearby, within
Bait Al-Washr village (Fig.
11
), 4 km south of Serwah site.
afal villages will be described below, while general
information about the other geosites are given in Table 1.
'
3.1
Geosites of Madar Village
In 2003, the
rst dinosaur footprints were discovered in
many sites near Madar village (Fig.
8
) in a distinctive yel-
lowish fossiliferous limestone layer, except for the Al-Nadef
site where they appear at different stratigraphic levels
(Fig.
7
b). Below is a review of the
rst discovered footprints
sites within Madar Village at the Serwah geosite.
The Serwah geosite consists of the
rst and main discovery
of bipedal dinosaur footprints in Yemen and in the Arabian
Peninsula. It is accessible via an unpaved road from Madar
village. Schulp et al. (
2008
) described this trackway as the
3.2
Geosites of Bait Sha
'
afal Village
rst
discovery of a bipedal tridactyl series spanning 14 m; it shows
15 consecutive tracks directed SSW. These footprints were
referred to ornithopods (Schulp and Al-Wosabi
2012
). This
geosite was fenced in 2006 by the YGS (Fig.
9
a, b).
At the same site, eleven trackways were discovered next
to the
This is the most remote area of recorded dinosaur footprints
in the proposed geopark area. The tracks within this village
are easily accessible from the main road linking the capital
Sana
a and Al-Jawf District at coordinates 0421775 and
1749626 (Fig.
8
). Several geosites were discovered around
this village such as Jern Bait Derhem, Masqa Al-Jerbah, Al-
Saleel, Ad Darb, Bait Al-Muslem and Haid Eraij (Fig.
1
and
Table 1). The famous geosite in Bait Sha
'
rst bipedal trackway; these are quadrupedal dinosaur
tracks belonging to the large dinosaurs
(Schulp
et al.
2008
) (Fig.
10
a, b). They preserve evidence of large
and small quadrupedal animals traveling together in a herd.
The longest trackways currently preserves 16 consecutive
footprints. As with the bipedal trackway, potential exists for
discovering additional tracks by further exposing the layer
“
Sauropod
”
afal is Masqa Al-
Jerbah which is a part of the track of 150 m linking the main
road and Bait Sha
'
afal village (Fig.
12
). Many bipedal and
quadrupedal trackways have been recorded here, though
most are poorly preserved. The longest bipedal trackway is
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