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Three large fragments of dugong bones discovered in the Dammam Formation
© Qatar National Museum
Uplifting of the Qatar Peninsula (Miocene)
Object Name: Dugong Bone
Period: Uplifting of the Qatar Peninsula (Miocene)
Date: 23–5 Million Years Ago
Provenance: Donation by Jacques LeBlanc in 2011
Dimensions: 218 mm (H) x 90 mm (W) x 44 mm (D) 3870 g (Wt)
Medium: fossil
Registration Number: QNM.2011.660.2ABC
Place Of Discovery/Findspot:  Dammam Formation
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The object consists of three fossilized vertebral bones from the ribs of a sea cow or dugong. These bones are estimated to be around 20 million years old. They were found in the Dammam Formation, a layer of sedimentary rock in southwest Qatar that was formed during the Miocene period.
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