JEDDAH, 8 August 2004 — Members of the Jeddah-based Saudi Science Club recently discovered fossils of mammals believed to have lived 63 million years ago in the Naeeriya deserts of the Eastern Province.
Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed has ordered a scientific committee to conduct a study on the geological area where the mammals lived.
“Preliminary studies conducted in the area have found remnants of petrified creatures that might have lived before 55 to 63 million years during a time that followed the extinction of dinosaurs,” said Abdul Hafeez Muhammad Ameen, executive director of the club.
Prince Abdul Majeed, who is chairman of the club, has urged its management to coordinate with the Saudi Geological Survey, the geological department of the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals and the Ministry of Culture and Information to organize a trip to the region in fall.
A television program will be prepared and telecast through Saudi Arabian Television’s Channel One to shed light on the historical region in the Arabian Peninsula.
A senior geologist at the Saudi Geological Survey highlighted the significance of the discovery as the fossils, found well protected in sedimentary layers, would interest researchers worldwide.
Mammals appeared on the earth long before the extinction of dinosaurs. They originated in the early Jurassic about 200 million years ago.
