Bet-Meir Formation
| Bet-Meir Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) | |
Bet-Meir formation at Shomron | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Unit of | Judea Group |
| Underlies | Amminadav Formation |
| Overlies | Kesalon Formation |
| Area | West Bank |
| Thickness | Up to 60 m |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Dolostone |
| Other | Chalk, limestone, marl |
| Location | |
| Region | Judea and Samaria |
| Country | Palestine |
| Extent | Palestine (Judea and Samaria), west of Hebron, near Jericho |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Bet Meir |
| Named by | Itzhaki et al., 1964 |
The Bet-Meir Formation is a Late Cretaceous sedimentary unit exposed in the central highlands of the West Bank (Palestine). It belongs to the regional Judea Group and records sedimentation on a broad, shallow marine carbonate platform along the southern margin of the Tethys Ocean during the Early Cenomanian.
The formation is paleontologically significant. Vertebrate remains recovered from it include pterosaurs, several species of ray-finned fish, and early snakes. Many important specimens come from quarries near Ein Yabrud, north and east of Ramallah, where fossil-bearing beds occur close to the contact with the Amminadav Formation. Owing to the close stratigraphic relationship between the two units, it remains uncertain whether some of the vertebrate fossils should be assigned to the Bet-Meir Formation or to the overlying formation.