Matmor Formation
The Matmor Formation is a geologic formation of up to 100 metres (330 ft) thick, that is exposed in Hamakhtesh Hagadol in southern Israel. The Matmor Formation contains fossils from a Jurassic equatorial shallow marine environment. Bivalves, gastropods, sponges, corals, echinoderms, and sclerobionts are present in the Matmor Formation to various degrees (Wilson et al., 2010). The stratigraphy of the Matmor Formation consists of alternating layers of limestone and marl (Hirsch and Roded, 1996).
| Matmor Formation Stratigraphic range: Late Callovian ~164–160 Ma | |
|---|---|
 Matmor Formation (foreground and middle ground) in Hamakhtesh Hagadol, Israel | |
| Type | Sedimentary |
| Underlies | Hatira Formation |
| Overlies | Zohar Formation |
| Thickness | Up to 100 m (330 ft) |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Limestone |
| Other | Marl |
| Location | |
| Region | Negev |
| Country |  |
| Extent | Southern Israel |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Matmor, Israel |
| Named by | Hirsch & Roded |
| Year defined | 1996 |
Stratigraphy
The Iraq Petroleum Company originally described the Jurassic sequence in Hamakhtesh Hagadol of Israel in the 1930s (Hudson, 1958). These findings were later described and published by Blake (1935). Shaw (1947) published a limited summary of the stratigraphy. Hudson (1958) later subdivided the rocks into the Callovian, Divesian, Argovian, Sequanim biostratigraphic stages. In 1963, Goldberg subdivided the section into the Zohar, Kidod and Be'er Sheva Formations. Goldberg (1963) further divided the Zohar Formation into the Ziyya and Madsus members. In 1966, Mayac dated the Callovian and what appeared to be the Lower Oxfordian stages with forams (Mayac, 1966, in Hirsch and Roded, 1996). Further biostratigraphic work by Hirsch et al. (1998) and Grossowicz et al. (2000) show that the Matmor Formation is entirely Late Callovian.
Gallery
Marls and limestones of the Matmor Formation exposed near the center of Makhtesh Gadol
Gastrochaenolites boring in a coral from the Matmor Formation
Scleractinian coral from the Matmor Formation
Paracenoceras, a nautiloid from the Matmor Formation
Enallhelia, a scleractinian coral from the Matmor Formation
Fimbria sp.; a bivalve from the Matmor Formation
Amphiastrea Etallon 1859; a scleractinian coral from the Matmor Formation
Axosmilia, a scleractinian coral from the Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic) of southern Israel; side view
Axosmilia, a scleractinian coral from the Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic) of southern Israel; oral view
The scleractinian coral Microsolena from the Matmor Formation, Middle Jurassic, southern Israel
Epistreptophyllum, a scleractinian coral from the Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic) of southern Israel; side view
Actinostreon spp. from the Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic, Callovian) of Makhtesh Gadol, southern Israel_jurensis.jpg)
Mytilus (Falcimytilus) jurensis from the Middle Jurassic (Callovian) Matmor Formation of Makhtesh Gadol, southern Israel
References
Further reading
- Goldberg, M. (1963). "Reference section of Jurassic sequence in Hamakhtesh Hagadol (Kurnub Anticline). Detailed binocular sample description, including field observations." Israel Geological Survey, Unpublished Report, pp. 1–50.
- Grossowicz, L.P., Bassoullet, J.P., Hirsch, F., & Peri, M. (2000). "Jurassic large Foraminifera from Israel." Geol. Surv. Isr. Current Res, 12, 132-144.
- Hirsch, F., Bassoullet, J. P., Cariou, E., Conway, B., Feldman, H., Grossowicz, L., Honigstein, A., Owen, E. and Rosenfeld, A. (1998). "The Jurassic of the southern Levant. Biostratigraphy, palaeogeography and cyclic events." In: S. Crasquin-Soleau and E. Barrier (eds.), Peri- Tethys Memoir 4: Epicratonic basins of the Peri- Tethyan platforms. Mem. Mus. natn. Hist. nat. 179: 213-235.
- Hirsch, F.; Roded, A. (1996). "The Jurassic stratigraphic nomenclature in Hamakhtesh Hagadol, northern Negev". Geological Survey of Israel, Current Research. 10: 10–14.
- Hudson, R.G.S. (1958). "The Upper Jurassic faunas of southern Israel". Geological Magazine. 95 (5): 415–425. doi:10.1017/S0016756800062993.
- Wilson, M.A.; Feldman, H.R.; Krivicich, E.B. (2010). "Bioerosion in an equatorial Middle Jurassic coral-sponge reef community (Callovian, Matmor Formation, southern Israel)". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 289: 93–101. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.02.019.