Riyadh: The Saudi Arabia Geological Survey (SGS) has discovered 56 million-year-old fossils of marine creatures in the Ras Al-Ru’us sedimentary formation in the northern border region of the Kingdom. Fossils found within limestone layers date back to the early Eocene period.
These fossils, which include bony fish, are the first of their kind in the Kingdom, attributed to extinct catfish (silurians), crucial for understanding early Eocene environment.
According to Tariq Aba Al Khail, spokesman for the SGS, “this is the first discovery of vertebrate fossils from this geological period in Saudi Arabia,” highlighting the significance of the discovery in comprehending the region’s paleogeographic context and past habitat.
This discovery adds to a long list of fossil finds, including mammals in the Nefud region, the Hijaz sa’dan, and the discovery of parts of an extinct whale 37 million years ago, formed from calcareous aspergillus in Al-Qurayyat in the Al-Jawf region.
These fossils help to document Earth’s past and better comprehend the prehistoric ecosystems that the Kingdom witnessed.
The SGS and the Ministry of Tourism are collaborating to create a geological museum featuring fossils and other geological information about Saudi Arabia.
