The Matmor Formation is a
geologic formation of up to thick, that is exposed in
Hamakhtesh Hagadol in southern Israel. The Matmor Formation contains fossils from a
Jurassic equatorial shallow marine environment.
Bivalves
Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...
,
gastropod
The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda ().
This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...
s,
sponges,
corals,
echinoderms, and
sclerobiont Sclerobionts are collectively known as organisms living in or on any kind of hard substrate (Taylor and Wilson, 2003). A few examples of sclerobionts include ''Entobia'' borings, '' Gastrochaenolites'' borings, ''Talpina'' borings, serpulids, encru ...
s are present in the Matmor Formation to various degrees (Wilson et al., 2010). The
stratigraphy
Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock (geology), rock layers (Stratum, strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary rock, sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks.
Stratigrap ...
of the Matmor Formation consists of alternating layers of
limestone and
marl
Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae.
Marl makes up the lower part o ...
(Hirsch and Roded, 1996).
Stratigraphy
The
Iraq Petroleum Company originally described the
Jurassic sequence in Hamakhtesh Hagadol of Israel in the 1930s (Hudson, 1958). These findings were later described and published by Blake (1935). Shaw (1947) published a limited summary of the stratigraphy. Hudson (1958) later subdivided the rocks into the
Callovian, Divesian, Argovian, Sequanim
biostratigraphic stages. In 1963, Goldberg subdivided the section into the Zohar, Kidod and Be'er Sheva Formations. Goldberg (1963) further divided the Zohar Formation into the Ziyya and Madsus members. In 1966, Mayac dated the
Callovian and what appeared to be the Lower Oxfordian stages with
forams (Mayac, 1966, in Hirsch and Roded, 1996). Further biostratigraphic work by Hirsch et al. (1998) and Grossowicz et al. (2000) show that the Matmor Formation is entirely
Late Callovian.
Gallery
Image:MakhteshGadolCenter02.jpg, Marl
Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae.
Marl makes up the lower part o ...
s and limestones of the Matmor Formation exposed near the center of Makhtesh Gadol
Image:GastrochaenolitesMatmor.jpg, ''Gastrochaenolites
''Gastrochaenolites'' is a trace fossil formed as a clavate (club-shaped) boring in a hard substrate such as a shell, rock or carbonate hardground. The aperture of the boring is narrower than the main chamber and may be circular, oval, or dumb-be ...
'' boring in a coral from the Matmor Formation
Image:Jurassic Calcarea Matmor Israel.jpg, Calcarea sponge and encrusting crinoid from the Matmor Formation
Image:MatmorScleractinian.JPG, Scleractinian coral from the Matmor Formation
Image:Cymatonautilus.JPG, ''Paracenoceras'', a nautiloid from the Matmor Formation
Image:Enallhelia 370 Callovian Israel.JPG, ''Enallhelia'', a scleractinian coral from the Matmor Formation
Image:Fimbria CW265 2007.JPG, ''Fimbria'' sp.; a bivalve from the Matmor Formation
Image:Amphiastrea Etallon 1859 Matmor Formation.JPG, ''Amphiastrea'' Etallon 1859; a scleractinian coral from the Matmor Formation
Image:Axosmilia side 031815.jpg, ''Axosmilia'', a scleractinian coral from the Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic) of southern Israel; side view
Image:Axosmilia oral view 031815.jpg, ''Axosmilia'', a scleractinian coral from the Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic) of southern Israel; oral view
Image:MicrosolenaCW366.jpg, The scleractinian coral ''Microsolena'' from the Matmor Formation, Middle Jurassic, southern Israel
Image:Epistreptophyllum Matmor CW366.jpg, ''Epistreptophyllum'', a scleractinian coral from the Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic) of southern Israel; side view
Image:Actinostreon Matmor Jurassic 171 173.jpg, ''Actinostreon'' spp. from the Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic, Callovian) of Makhtesh Gadol, southern Israel
Image:Mytilus (Falcimytilus) jurensis.jpg, ''Mytilus (Falcimytilus) jurensis'' from the Middle Jurassic (Callovian) Matmor Formation of Makhtesh Gadol, southern Israel
References
Further reading
* Goldberg, M. (1963). "Reference section of Jurassic sequence in Hamakhtesh Hagadol (Kurnub Anticline). Detailed binocular sample description, including field observations." Israel Geological Survey, Unpublished Report, pp. 1–50.
* Grossowicz, L.P., Bassoullet, J.P., Hirsch, F., & Peri, M. (2000). "Jurassic large Foraminifera from Israel." Geol. Surv. Isr. Current Res, 12, 132-144.
* Hirsch, F., Bassoullet, J. P., Cariou, E., Conway, B., Feldman, H., Grossowicz, L., Honigstein, A., Owen, E. and Rosenfeld, A. (1998). "The Jurassic of the southern Levant. Biostratigraphy, palaeogeography and cyclic events." In: S. Crasquin-Soleau and E. Barrier (eds.), Peri- Tethys Memoir 4: Epicratonic basins of the Peri- Tethyan platforms. Mem. Mus. natn. Hist. nat. 179: 213-235.
*
*
* {{cite journal , doi = 10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.02.019 , last1 = Wilson , first1 = M.A. , last2 = Feldman , first2 = H.R. , last3 = Krivicich , first3 = E.B. , year = 2010 , title = Bioerosion in an equatorial Middle Jurassic coral-sponge reef community (Callovian, Matmor Formation, southern Israel) , journal = Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology , volume = 289 , pages = 93–101
Geologic formations of Israel
Jurassic System of Asia
Callovian Stage
Limestone formations
Marl formations
Shallow marine deposits
Paleontology in Israel