Abstract

The preservational quality of fossils varies greatly from place to place, due in part to variation in factors such as sedimentary environment, diagenetic processes and taphonomic conditions. High-quality preservation of marine invertebrate animals is often associated with rapid burial in sediment. Depositional environments with high sedimentation rates are often associated with tectonic deformation (folds and faults). For example, the Syrian Arc System has formed a highly folded and deformed tectonic regime in the northern Sinai Peninsula. The resulting heavy sedimentation rates in the adjacent Tethys Sea produced thick packages of fossiliferous (sandstones, mudstones, limestones) during the Cretaceous. This study details the tectonic context of the abundant and well-preserved marine invertebrate faunas in the northern Sinai, of Egypt, focusing on the Gebel Yelleg and Gebel Mistan sites.

Keywords: Rock; Deformation; Cretaceous; Fauna; Sediments