Fossils from Qatar's Al Maszhabiya reveal a newly identified sea cow, Salwasiren qatarensis, that lived about 21 million years ago. Researchers documented 304 bones across 172 localities, with sirenians making up 98% of vertebrate fossils at the site. The Early Miocene species retained hind limbs and likely functioned as a seagrass ecosystem engineer much like modern dugongs—insights that may inform conservation of today’s vulnerable seagrass grazers.
21-Million-Year-Old Sea Cow Unearthed in Qatar Reveals Ancient Arabian Gulf Ecosystem
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Fossils unearthed in the sands of southwestern Qatar reveal that about 21 million years ago the peninsula now projecting into the Persian Gulf was home to a rich marine world. A new study published in PeerJ reports that this ancient seascape was dominated by a previously unknown sea cow species that likely played the same ecosystem-engineering role that modern dugongs and manatees perform today.
Discovery at Al Maszhabiya
Paleontologists from the Smithsonian Institution and Qatar Museums surveyed a fossil-rich site known locally as the “dugong cemetery” at Al Maszhabiya. Using aerial photography, field surveys and 3-D digitization, the team documented sharks, prehistoric dolphins, sea turtles and an exceptional accumulation of sirenian remains. The bonebed produced the largest known assemblage of sea cow fossils from the region: 304 bones recorded across 172 distinct localities.
A New Species: Salwasiren qatarensis
Although the fossils resemble modern dugong bones, key anatomical differences identify them as a new species from the Early Miocene. The researchers named the animal Salwasiren qatarensis. Distinctive features include retained hind limbs (absent in living sirenians), a relatively straighter snout and smaller tusks compared with modern dugongs and manatees.
“This part of the world has been prime sea cow habitat for the past 21 million years—it’s just that the sea cow role has been occupied by different species over time,”
—Nick Pyenson, Smithsonian paleontologist and co-author of the study.
Evidence of Ecosystem Engineering
Although seagrasses rarely fossilize, the body proportions of S. qatarensis indicate substantial grazing pressure. An individual is estimated to have weighed roughly 250 pounds, and, given that sirenians typically consume about 10% of their body weight daily, a single animal would have required around 25 pounds of aquatic vegetation per day. Remains attributed to S. qatarensis accounted for 98% of the vertebrate fossils catalogued at Al Maszhabiya, suggesting the species exerted an outsized influence on its marine environment.
“The density of the Al Maszhabiya bonebed gives us a big clue that Salwasiren played the role of a seagrass ecosystem engineer in the Early Miocene, the way that dugongs do today,”
—Nick Pyenson.
Relevance to Modern Conservation
Modern dugongs in the Arabian Gulf shape seagrass meadows by grazing and creating furrows that recycle nutrients and promote plant diversity. However, dugong populations today are threatened by coastal development, accidental capture in fishing gear (bycatch), boat strikes and declines in seagrass habitat. Ferhan Sakal, an archaeologist with Qatar Museums and a co-author, emphasizes that understanding how seagrass communities and their grazers responded to past climate shifts, sea-level changes and salinity fluctuations could help set conservation priorities for the Arabian Gulf.
By documenting long-term continuity in ecological roles despite changing species, this discovery highlights both the resilience and fragility of seagrass ecosystems—and underscores the conservation urgency for their modern grazers.
Study: PeerJ. Institutions: Smithsonian Institution and Qatar Museums. Site: Al Maszhabiya, southwestern Qatar.
