The Itombe Formation is a

geological formation A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics ( lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exp ...

of the Kwanza Basin in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

dated to the Coniacian stage of the

Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...

. The environment of deposition is shallow marine. Reptile fossils have been recovered from the Tadi beds locality within the formation, including the dinosaur ''

Angolatitan ''Angolatitan'' (meaning "Angolan giant") is a genus of titanosauriform sauropod dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous. It is also the first non-avian dinosaur discovered in Angola. The genus contains a single species, ''Angolatitan adamastor'', kn ...

'', the

mosasaur Mosasaurs (from Latin ''Mosa'' meaning the 'Meuse', and Greek ' meaning 'lizard') comprise a group of extinct, large marine reptiles from the Late Cretaceous. Their first fossil remains were discovered in a limestone quarry at Maastricht on ...

s '' Angolasaurus'' and '' Mosasaurus iembeensis'' and the turtle ''

Angolachelys ''Angolachelys'' is an extinct genus of African eucryptodiran turtle which existed in Angola during the Turonian stage of the Late Cretaceous. The type species is ''Angolachelys mbaxi''. The type MGUAN-PA includes skull, jaw, and postcranial frag ...

''.The Itombe formation was formerly considered

Turonian The Turonian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the second age in the Late Cretaceous Epoch, or a stage in the Upper Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 93.9 ± 0.8 Ma and 89.8 ± 1 Ma (million years ago). The Turonian is preceded b ...

in age, but new data suggests to be Coniacian.

References

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See also

References

Further reading