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Four oyster fossils collected from the Dammam Formation
© Qatar National Museum
Uplifting of the Qatar Peninsula (Miocene)
Object Name: Oyster Shell
Period: Uplifting of the Qatar Peninsula (Miocene)
Date: 23–5 Million Years Ago
Provenance: Donation by Jacques LeBlanc in 2011
Dimensions: 21.8 mm (H) x 73.5 mm (W) x 84.2 mm (D) 228 g (Wt)
Medium: fossil
Registration Number: QNM.2011.660.14.1-.4
Place Of Discovery/Findspot:  Dammam Formation
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This object consists of four fossilized oysters, which are likely members of the genus Ostrea. Oysters are a type of bivalve that belongs to the phylum Mollusca. Bivalve fossils are commonly found in Miocene deposits in Qatar, these were found in a layer of sedimentary rocks known as the Dammam Formation in southwest Qatar.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT QATAR
At the beginning of this period, Qatar was covered by shallow tropical waters. Sea turtles, marine crocodiles and dugongs all lived here.
Later, the Qatar peninsula gradually rose above sea level. The climate was much more humid than today, and Qatar was covered by grasslands and rivers. Ancient species of freshwater crocodiles, ostriches, elephants and giraffes walked the land.
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Dammam Formation
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Gallery 1