Sedimentology and vertebrate taphonomy of the Moradi Formation of northern Niger: A Permian wet desert in the tropics of Pangaea

Pangaean paleogeographic models place the Tim Mersoi basin of northern Niger in a 5000-km-wide corridor between Gondwana and Laurasia approximately 15 degrees south of the paleoequator. Late Permian paleoclimate models position this basin between tropical summer-wet to the north and desert to the south. Recent investigations of the fossil vertebrates and paleosols in the late Permian (Lopingian) Moradi Formation confirm that the climate was warm and hyperarid with highly seasonal monsoonal rainfall. Possibly as a result of these unusual “wet desert” conditions, the tetrapod fauna shows a high degree of endemism. This study tests existing paleoclimate models by providing additional data on sedimentary environments and vertebrate taphonomic processes. The Moradi red bed sequences accumulated in a gently subsiding sag basin to the west of the tectonically active Massif de l'Aïr. Low angle gravelly alluvial fans prograded westward from the massif and at times impinged on a large stable northward flowing meandering channel system. The interchannel mudrock sequences are over-thickened by the accumulation of loessic silts and preserve isolated skull and post crania of amphibians (Nigerpeton and Saharastega) as well as semi-articulated captorhinids (Moradisaurus). Detailed surface mapping of a fossil-rich exposure revealed an anastomosed network of loess-filled distributary channels incised into the floodplain mudrocks. This provided a locus for the accumulation and rapid burial of at least 15 associated skeletons of the pareiasaurian Bunostegos. Semi-permanent ponds are evidenced by patches of fissile red mudstone containing rare bivalves and spiral coprolites. In the distal floodplains away from the main river channels, the combination of a generally high groundwater table, warm mean annual temperatures, and deflation of fines from the floodplain surface promoted the formation of gypsiferous paleosols and end-point playa lakes. Carbonate-rich mud accumulated around the lake margins and provided ideal conditions for the imprinting and preservation of tetrapod trackways. [Display omitted] •The Late Permian Moradi Formation of Niger accumulated in subtropical central Pangaea.•Monsoonal seasonality amplified by orographic rain-shadow promoted species endemism in resident tetrapods.•Fossils preserved in ephemeral distributaries, loessic plains, and playa lakes.•End-point playa deposits preserve numerous tetrapod tracks of taxa that have not been found as body fossils