The Cenomanian
(97.5 - 91 million year old) sublithographic
limestone deposits of HAQEL,
Lebanon
rival the Eocene (50 million year old) deposits of Wyoming
for the degree of preservation and variety of fish to
be found. The other lifeforms found with them are indicative
of a warm and shallow sea environment. The deposits themselves
are found in basins only a few hundred meters across,
and are indicative of slow deposition during a stagnant
stage. They are currently to be found at depths up to
800 feet.
This rare Palaeobalistum,
a member of the Order Pycnodontiformes, comes from the
region near Hajoula, Lebanon. It has also been called
Palaeobalistes, referring to its resemblance to Balistes,
the modern-day triggerfish. It measures 2.5 inches in
length. This is a spectacularly fine, very well-preserved
individual, with exquisite preservational detail in both
the body and fin rays. Notice the preservation of the
crusher teeth that are indicative of a durophagous diet.
Like the triggerfish of today, these probably fed on crabs,
shrimp, sea urchins, and starfish. Unike most all fish
from Lebanon, which went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous,
this genus survived another 45 million years, going extinct
in the Eocene.
|