# Anoual Formation

The Anoual Formation is a geological formation in the High Atlas of Morocco. It is early Bathonian in age. It consists of two members. The lower member is several hundred metres thick, and consists largely of mudstone with lens beds of cross bedded sandstone, with thin intercalations of limestone that was deposited in a freshwater continental setting, likely lacustrine or palustrine, with small marine influences. The upper member is several tens of metres thick and consists of limestone deposited in a shallow marine setting. The formation is fossiliferous, with several of the limestone intercalations yielding a diverse fauna, including amphibians, reptiles, dinosaurs and mammals.

## Paleobiota
### Brachiopoda

| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic Position | Material | Notes | Images |
| Burmirhynchia | B. gr. termierae-athiaensis | Anoual | Upper Member | Isolated shells | A Branchiopod of the family Tetrarhynchiidae | |
| Kallirhynchia | K. oranensis | Anoual | Upper Member | Isolated shells | A Branchiopod of the family Tetrarhynchiidae | Kallirhynchia specimen |

### Crustacea

| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic Position | Material | Notes |
| Asciocythere | A. sp. | Anoual | Upper Member | Isolated Valves | A Marine Ostracod of the family Schulerideidae. |
| Bythocypris | B. sp. | Anoual | Upper Member | Isolated Valves | A Marine Ostracod of the family Bythocyprididae |
| Asciocythere | A. sp. | Anoual | Upper Member | Isolated Valves | A Marine Ostracod of the family Schulerideidae. |
| Cypridea | C. cf. postelongata | Anoual | Lower Member | Isolated Valves | A Freshwater Ostracod of the family Cyprididae |
| Cypris | C. spp. | Anoual | Lower Member | Isolated Valves | A Freshwater Ostracod of the family Cyprididae |
| Darwinula | D. magna D. cf. leguminella | Anoual | Lower Member | Isolated Valves | A Freshwater Ostracod of the family Darwinulidae |
| Fabanella | F. bathonica F. sp. | Anoual | Upper Member | Isolated Valves | A Freshwater Ostracod of the order Podocopida |
| Fastigocythere | F. sp. | Anoual | Upper Member | Isolated Valves | A Marine Ostracod of the order Podocopida |
| Klieana | K. levis | Anoual | Upper Member | Isolated Valves | A Freshwater Ostracod of the order Cytherideidae |
| Kinkelinella | K. sp. | Anoual | Lower Member | Isolated Valves | A Freshwater/Brackish Ostracod of the family Protocytheridae |
| Mantelliana | M. sp. | Anoual | Lower Member | Isolated Valves | A Freshwater Ostracod of the family Cyprididae |
| Metacypris | M. sp. | Anoual | Lower Member | Isolated Valves | A Freshwater/Brackish Ostracod of the family Limnocytheridae |
| Paracypris | P. sp. | Anoual | Upper Member | Isolated Valves | A Marine Ostracod of the family Candonidae. Dominant marine taxon |
| Pneumatocythere | P.? juglandiformis | Anoual | Upper Member | Isolated Valves | A Marine Ostracod of the order Podocopida |
| Praeschuleridea | P. sp. | Anoual | Upper Member | Isolated Valves | A Marine Ostracod of the family Candonidae. |
| Procytheridea | P. sp. | Anoual | Upper Member | Isolated Valves | A Marine Ostracod of the order Podocopida |
| Scabriculocypris | S. sp. | Anoual | Lower Member | Isolated Valves | A Freshwater Ostracod of the family Cyprididae |
| Theriosynoecum | T. sp. | Anoual | Lower Member | Isolated Valves | A Freshwater/Brackish Ostracod of the family Limnocytheridae |

### Mollusca

| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic Position | Material | Notes |
| Lymnaeidae | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Isolated shells | Freshwater snails |
| Nerineidae | Indeterminate | Anoual | Upper Member | Isolated shells | Marine snails |
| Planorbidae | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Isolated shells | Freshwater snails |
| Provalvata | P. sp. | Anoual | Lower Member | Isolated shells | Freshwater snail of the family Provalvatidae |
| Valvatidae | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Isolated shells | Freshwater snails |

### Fish

Abundant osteichthyan ichthyoliths are know. An isolated spine displaying characters seen in extant cypriniform or siluriform fishes has been recovered, alternatively can belong to a member of Myriacanthidae.
| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic Position | Material | Notes | Images |
| Arganodus | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Isolated tooth plates | Lungfish | Arganodus reconstruction |
| Lepidotes/Scheenstia | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Isolated teeth and scales | Lepidotidae bony fish | Lepidotes reconstruction |
| cf. Ionoscopiformes | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Rhomboidal scales | Tentatively assigned to Ophiopsidae | |
| Mawsoniidae | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Skull bones including a parasphenoid | Coelacanth | |
| Osteoglossiformes | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Squamules (small scales) | The oldest record of the group | |

### Amphibians

| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic Position | Material | Notes |
| Albanerpetontidae | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Incomplete premaxilla and incomplete frontal | Likely represents a new taxon |
| Caudata? | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Fragment of a dentary | |
| Lissamphibia? | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Fragment of a maxilla | |

### Turtles

| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic Position | Material | Notes |
| Araripemydidae? | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Shell Fragments | Resembles both Araripemydids and Trionychidae |
| Cryptodira? | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Shell Fragments | Resembles younger-aged Solemydidae and Pleurosternidae taxa |
| Testudinata | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Shell Fragments | Neural plate slightly longer than wide |
| Testudinata | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Shell Fragments | Represented by smooth plates |

### Lepidosaurs

| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic Position | Material | Notes |
| Parviraptor | Cf.P.sp. | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Four vertebral centra | Squamatan, previously identified as a stem-snake |
| Rhynchocephalia | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | One fragment of dentary bearing two incomplete teeth, one fragment of maxilla bearing the bases of two teeth. | Similar to the co-regional but younger genus Tingitana, but also to Clevosaurus. |
| Scincomorpha | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | A fragment of bone bearing teeth, potentially a fragment of bone bearing one complete tooth | Squamatan |
| Squamata | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Incomplete maxilla, incomplete dorsal vertebra, one proximal part of femur | |

### Choristoderes

| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic Position | Material | Notes | Images |
| Choristodera | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Fragmentary dentary, centrum of an anterior caudal vertebra, possibly centrum of a dorsal vertebra | Similar to Cteniogenys | |

### Dinosaurs

| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic Position | Material | Notes | Images |
| Ornithischia | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Tooth | Similar to Alocodon | Illustration of a fossil of Alocodon |
| cf.Stegosauria | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Poorly preserved tooth | | |
| Theropoda | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Several teeth | | |

### Pterosaurs

| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic Position | Material | Notes | Images |
| Pterosauria | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Teeth | Similar to wukongopterids | |
| Rhamphorhynchidae | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Teeth | | |

### Crocodyliformes

| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic Position | Material | Notes |
| Atoposauridae | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Teeth | |
| Teleosauridae | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Teeth | |
| Thalattosuchia | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Teeth, various skeletal elements probably belonging to a single individual | |
| Theriosuchus | Cf.T. sp. | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Teeth | An Atoposaurid |

### Mammals

| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic Position | Material | Notes | Images |
| Amphitheriidae | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Fragment of right dentary of a juvenile individual with an anterior lower premolar and a replacing posterior premolar, fragment of an edentulous right dentary, probably middle-posterior part. | Both fragments probably belong to the same taxon | |
| Dryolestida | Indeterminate | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Fragment of a tooth bearing one cusp and one root | | |

### Charophyta

| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic Position | Material | Notes | Images |
| Aclistochara | A. africana | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Gyrogonites | A Characean algae of the family Characeae | |
| Porochara | P. hians | Anoual | Lower Member | Oogonia | A characean algae of the family Porocharaceae | |

### Palynology

| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic Position | Material | Notes | Images |
| Alisporites | A. spp. | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Pollen | Affinities with the families Peltaspermaceae or Corystospermaceae | |
| Araucariacites | A. australis | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Pollen | Affinities with Araucariaceae inside Coniferae. | Example of extant Araucaria cones |
| Callialasporites | C. spp. | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Pollen | Affinities with Araucariaceae inside Coniferae. | Example of extant Araucaria cones |
| Classopollis | C. spp. | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Pollen | Affinities with Cheirolepidiaceae inside Coniferae. | |
| Cyathidites | C. sp. | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Spores | Affinities with the family Cyatheaceae inside Cyatheales. Arboreal Fern Spores | Modern Cyathea, Cyathidites come probably from similar genera |
| Cycadopites | C. spp. | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Pollen | Affinities with the Cycadopsida inside Cycadales. Pollen related with modern Cycas | Encephalartos, Cycadopites come probably from similar genera |
| Inaperturopollenites | I. spp. | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Pollen | Affinities with the Pinidae inside Coniferae. | Extant Pinus Cone. Inaperturopollenites is similar to the pollen found on this genus |
| Ischyosporites | I. cf. variegatus I. sp | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Spores | Affinities with Pteridopsida, likely derived from a member of Anemiaceae | Extant Anemia specimens; Ischyosporites probably comes from similar genera |
| Leptolepidites | L. spp. | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Spores | Affinities with the family Dennstaedtiaceae in the Polypodiales. Forest fern spores. | Extant Dennstaedtia specimens; Leptolepidites probably comes from similar genera |
| Pityosporites | P. sp. | Guelb el Ahmar | Lower Member | Pollen | Affinities with the Pinidae inside Coniferae. | |

### Fossil Wood

| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic Position | Material | Notes |
| Agathoxylon | A. aff. sahariense | Guelb el Ahmar Oued Metlili | Lower Member | Fossil Wood | Conifer fossil wood of the family Araucariaceae |
| Metapodocarpoxylon | M. libanoticum | Guelb el Ahmar Oued Metlili | Lower Member | Fossil Wood | Conifer fossil wood of the family Podocarpaceae |
| Protopodocarpoxylon | P. subrochii P. teixeirae | Guelb el Ahmar Oued Metlili | Lower Member | Fossil Wood | Conifer fossil wood of the family Hirmeriellaceae |
| Phyllocladoxylon | P. atlasicum | Guelb el Ahmar Oued Metlili | Lower Member | Fossil Wood | Conifer fossil wood of the family Podocarpaceae |

## See Also

* Ksar Metlili Formation, from the Same area
* Guettioua Formation, coeval from the Azilal Region
* El Mers Group, coeval from the Skoura syncline
* Tafraout Group, older, from the Central High Atlas
* Azilal Formation, older, from the Central High Atlas