The Meng-Yin or Mengyin Formation () is a geological
formation
Formation may refer to:
Linguistics
* Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes
* Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes
Mathematics and science
* Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...
in
Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, whose strata date back to the
Berriasian
In the geological timescale, the Berriasian is an age/stage of the Early/Lower Cretaceous. It is the oldest subdivision in the entire Cretaceous. It has been taken to span the time between 145.0 ± 4.0 Ma and 139.8 ± 3.0 Ma (million years ago) ...
and
Valanginian
In the geologic timescale, the Valanginian is an age or stage of the Early or Lower Cretaceous. It spans between 139.8 ± 3.0 Ma and 132.9 ± 2.0 Ma (million years ago). The Valanginian Stage succeeds the Berriasian Stage of the Lower Cretaceou ...
stages of the
Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous ( geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma.
Geology
Pro ...
.
[Mengyin Formation]
at Fossilworks
Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database
The Paleobiology Database is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals ...
.org[Wilson & Upchurch, 2009]
Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.
[Weishampel et al., 2004, "Dinosaur distribution (Late Jurassic, Asia).", pp.550–552] The type material for the titanosauriform dinosaur ''
Euhelopus
''Euhelopus'' is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived between 145 and 133 million years ago during the Berriasian and Valanginian stages of the Early Cretaceous in what is now Shandong Province in China. It was a large quadrupedal herbivore. U ...
'' was excavated at this formation by Otto Zdansky in 1923, in green/yellow sandstone and green/yellow siltstone that were deposited during the
Barremian
The Barremian is an age in the geologic timescale (or a chronostratigraphic stage) between 129.4 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago) and 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma). It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous Epoch (or Lower Cretaceous Series). It is preceded ...
or
Aptian
The Aptian is an age in the geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early or Lower Cretaceous Epoch or Series and encompasses the time from 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma to 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma (million years ago), a ...
stages
Stage or stages may refer to:
Acting
* Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions
* Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage"
* ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper
* S ...
of the
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
period, approximately 129 to 113 million years ago.
[T'an, 1923]
Both the genus and species of ''
Mengyinaia mengyinensis'' were named after the formation.
Vertebrate paleofauna
Indeterminate stegosaurid remains have been found in Shandong, China.
Other fossils
* ''
Mengyinaia mengyinensis''
[Fang et al., 2009]
;Fish
* ''
Sinamia zdanskyi''
* ''
Tanichthys ningjiagouensis''
* ''
Lycoptera sp.''
;Reptiles
* ''
Ordosemys leios''
* ''
Shantungosuchus chuhsienensis''
[Young, 1961]
* ''
Sinemys lens''
* ''
Sinochelys applanata''
*
?Dsungaripteridae indet.
*
Stegosauria indet.
See also
*
List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
This list of dinosaur-bearing rock formations is a list of geologic formations in which dinosaur fossils have been documented.
Containing body fossils
* List of stratigraphic units with dinosaur body fossils
** List of stratigraphic units with few ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
* {{cite LSA , last=T'an , first=H. C. , year=1923 , title=New research on the Mesozoic and early Tertiary geology in Shantung , journal=
Geological Survey of China Bulletin , volume=5 , pages=95–135
Geologic formations of China
Lower Cretaceous Series of Asia
Cretaceous China
Berriasian Stage
Valanginian Stage
Sandstone formations
Siltstone formations
Paleontology in Shandong