The Toolebuc 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 ...
that extends from
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
across
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
and the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
in Australia, whose strata date back to the
Albian
The Albian is both an age of the geologic timescale and a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the youngest or uppermost subdivision of the Early/Lower Cretaceous Epoch/Series. Its approximate time range is 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma to 100.5 ± 0.9 M ...
stage 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 ...
. Dinosaurs,
[Weishampel ''et al.'', 2004, pp.573-574] pterosaurs, plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, protostegid turtles, sharks, chimaeroids and bony fish remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.
Description
Deposition occurred in a cool to temperate inland sea setting and the present lithology is dominantly made up of limey shales with abundant ''
Inoceramus
''Inoceramus'' (Greek: translation "strong pot") is an extinct genus of fossil marine pteriomorphian bivalves that superficially resembled the related winged pearly oysters of the extant genus '' Pteria''. They lived from the Early Jurassic ...
'' bivalve shells. Ichthyosaurs and protostegid turtles were the most common marine reptiles at this time in the Eromanga Sea, in contrast to older Aptian deposits such as the
Bulldog Shale of South Australia, which show that plesiosaurs were previously more abundant and also more diverse. The Toolebuc Formation is one of the richest known sources of Mesozoic vertebrate fossils in Australia, with notable collecting areas situated around the towns of Richmond, Julia Creek, Hughenden and Boulia.
Fossil content
Possible indeterminate
ankylosaurid
Ankylosauridae () is a family of armored dinosaurs within Ankylosauria, and is the sister group to Nodosauridae. The oldest known Ankylosaurids date to around 122 million years ago and went extinct 66 million years ago during the Cretaceous–Pal ...
remains are present in Queensland, Australia.
Indeterminate
ornithopod
Ornithopoda () is a clade of ornithischian dinosaurs, called ornithopods (), that started out as small, bipedal running grazers and grew in size and numbers until they became one of the most successful groups of herbivores in the Cretaceous world ...
remains have also been found in Queensland, Australia.
Animals
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 ...
*
Paja Formation
Paja may refer to:
* Paja, Iran, a village in Sari County
* Paja (given name), a Serbian masculine name
* Paja (surname)
* Paja Formation, geologic formation in Colombia
* Paja Brava
:''Paja Brava is also used in Spanish speaking countries to ...
, ''
Kronosaurus
''Kronosaurus'' ( ; meaning "lizard of Kronos") is a potentially dubious genus of extinct short-necked pliosaur. With an estimated length of , it was among the largest pliosaurs, and is named after the leader of the Greek Titans, Kronos. It l ...
'' and ''
Platypterygius
''Platypterygius'' is a historically paraphyletic genus of platypterygiine ichthyosaur from the Cretaceous period. It was historically used as a wastebasket taxon, and most species within ''Platypterygius'' likely are undiagnostic at the genus or ...
''
Lagerstätte
A Lagerstätte (, from ''Lager'' 'storage, lair' '' Stätte'' 'place'; plural ''Lagerstätten'') is a sedimentary deposit that exhibits extraordinary fossils with exceptional preservation—sometimes including preserved soft tissues. These for ...
in Colombia
*
Sierra Madre Formation, contemporaneous fossiliferous formation of Mexico
*
Santana Group
The Santana Group is a geologic group, formerly included as the middle part of the Araripe Group, in the Araripe Basin of northeastern Brazil. The group comprises the Crato, Ipubi and Romualdo Formations and is dated to the Aptian to Albian stage ...
, contemporaneous Lagerstätte in northeastern Brazil
**
Crato Formation
The Crato Formation is a geologic formation of Early Cretaceous ( Aptian) age in northeastern Brazil's Araripe Basin. It is an important Lagerstätte (undisturbed fossil accumulation) for palaeontologists. The strata were laid down mostly duri ...
**
Romualdo Formation
The Romualdo Formation is a geologic Konservat-Lagerstätte in northeastern Brazil's Araripe Basin where the states of Pernambuco, Piauí and Ceará come together. The geological formation, previously designated as the Romualdo Member of the Sa ...
References
Bibliography
*
* {{cite book , editor-last=Weishampel , editor-first=David B. , editor-link=David B. Weishampel , editor-last2=Dodson , editor-first2=Peter , editor-link2=Peter Dodson , editor-last3=Osmólska , editor-first3=Halszka , editor-link3=Halszka Osmólska , year=2004 , title=The Dinosauria, 2nd edition , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vtZFDb_iw40C , publisher=Berkeley: University of California Press , access-date=2019-02-21 , isbn=0-520-24209-2
Geologic formations of Australia
Cretaceous System of Australia
Early Cretaceous Australia
Albian Stage
Aptian Stage
Limestone formations
Mudstone formations
Shale formations
Shallow marine deposits
Lagoonal deposits
Fossiliferous stratigraphic units of Oceania
Paleontology in Queensland