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Fossilized marine gastropod collected from the Dammam Formation
© Qatar National Museum
Uplifting of the Qatar Peninsula (Miocene)
Object Name: Marine Gastropod
Period: Uplifting of the Qatar Peninsula (Miocene)
Date: 23–5 Million Years Ago
Dimensions: 9.2 cm (H) x 11.4 cm (W) x 17.5 cm (D)
Medium: fossil
Registration Number: QNM.2013.88.186
Place Of Discovery/Findspot:  Dammam Formation
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The object is a fossilized gastropod with a spiral conical shape that has four spirals. Gastropods are a type of mollusk characterized by their coiled shells. This specimen was found in the Dammam Formation, which was created during the Middle Eocene period, approximately 40 million years ago.
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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