Original paper
Jurassic bivalves of Gebel Maghara, North Sinai, Egypt
Ayoub-Hannaa, Wagih S.; Fürsich, Franz T.; Abdelhady, Ahmed A.
Palaeontographica Abteilung A (2026)
347 references
published online: Mar 24, 2026
manuscript accepted: Feb 9, 2026
manuscript received: Jul 10, 2025
DOI: 10.1127/pala/0176
Abstract
The Jurassic rocks of the Maghara area (Egypt) contain a highly diverse bivalve fauna, which has received little attention in the last 100 years. This paper concludes a monograph of the Jurassic bivalve fauna of the Maghara area (Sinai, Egypt) dealing with all groups except for the subclass Protobranchia and order Trigoniida. The more than 1400 specimens, collected from five sections in the Maghara area, i.e., Gebel Homayir, G. Arousiah, western Bir Maghara, G. Engabashi, and G. Mowerib, belong to 69 species, 43 genera, 25 families, and 12 orders. They are described and figured in detail. The majority of the species are from the Middle and Upper Jurassic strata of the study area, and the bivalve diversity is highest in the silt- to marl-dominated Bathonian strata and lowest in the Kimmmeridgian carbonates. Three species are new to science; Isoarca minima n. sp., Liostrea paucistriata n. sp., and Protocardia (Protocardia) magharensis n. sp. Thirteen species are recorded from the Jurassic of Egypt for the first time. As most of the taxa have close affinities with species occurring in the Middle East, North and East Africa, India, and Madagascar, the Maghara area was part of the Ethiopian faunal province during the Jurassic Period.
Keywords
Jurassic • bivalves • taxonomy • Gebel Maghara • Egypt