Mali geology: Fossil research
Source: Stony Brook Vertebrate Fossil Preparation Laboratory
(click on map to view area of detail larger)The Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary faunas of the Taoudenit and Iullemeden Basins, Republic of Mali
STONY BROOK PROJECT LEADER: Dr. Maureen O’Leary
The Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary (65 million years ago) represents one of the five largest mass extinction events in Earth history. This extinction event marks a transition point when dinosaurs (other than birds) became extinct and modern orders of mammals first appeared. Identifying geological sections from various continents to which vertebrate fossils can be tied is very important for understanding which species of vertebrates went extinct and which survived this extinction event. Mali is one of several countries in the modern Sahara desert that has exposures of rock formations left by shallow seaways that existed before and which survived. Current research focuses on understanding vertebrate evolution across the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in southern West Africa. Finding the remains of species that lived within and along this ancient seaway, including the extinct relatives of modern-day mammals, is of continued interest for Dr. O’Leary and her team.
Explorations of rocks from the Taoudenit and Iullemeden Basins in Mali began in 1999, and have resulted in the discovery of dinosaurs, fossil forests, invertebrates, fishes, turtles, and crocodiles. Dr. O’Leary and other researchers from the Unites States work in collaboration with the Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique in the Republic of Mali.
Field work has been funded by the Saurus Institute, the Cranbrook Institute of Science, the L. S. B. Leakey Foundation, and the National Geographic Society.
