The Ulan Malgait Formation is a

Late Jurassic The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 163.5 ± 1.0 to 145.0 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987. In European lithostratigraphy, the name ...

geologic

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 ...

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

Dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, although none have yet been referred to a specific

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

.Weishampel et al., 2004, pp.517-607 It is best known for the Shar Teeg locality which has lent its name to

Shartegosuchidae Shartegosuchidae is an extinct family of Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous crocodylomorphs. The family is named after the Late Jurassic Shar Teeg Beds in southwestern Mongolia, from which most shartegosuchid remains have been found. Five genera ...

, a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

mesoeucrocodylia Mesoeucrocodylia is the clade that includes Eusuchia and crocodyliforms formerly placed in the paraphyletic group Mesosuchia. The group appeared during the Early Jurassic, and continues to the present day. Diagnosis It was long known that M ...

ns (relatives of crocodilians), many of which have been found there; ''

Shartegosuchus ''Shartegosuchus'' is a genus of protosuchian-grade crocodylomorph. It is known primarily from PIN 4174/2, the partial deformed skull and jaws of a juvenile. This specimen was discovered in ancient lake deposits of the Tithonian-age Upp ...

'' (the family's

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nominal f ...

) means "Shar Teeg crocodile".Dollman et al., 2018 It is divided up into 2 subunits, the lower Shar Teg Beds and the upper Ulan Malgait Beds.Watabe, 2010 The

tritylodontids Tritylodontidae ("three-knob teeth", named after the shape of their cheek teeth) is an extinct family of small to medium-sized, highly specialized mammal-like cynodonts, bearing several mammalian traits like erect limbs, endothermy and details ...

'' Shartegodon,

Nuurtherium ''Nuurtherium'' is an extinct genus of tritylodontid cynodonts of the Late Jurassic Ulan Malgait Formation The Ulan Malgait Formation is a Late Jurassic geologic formation in Mongolia. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been rec ...

'' and ''

Bienotheroides ''Bienotheroides'' is an extinct genus of tritylodontid mammaliamorphs from the Jurassic of China and Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, borde ...

'' are known from the formation.,Velazco et al., 2017 As is

docodonta Docodonta is an Order (biology), order of extinct Mammaliaformes, mammaliaforms that lived during the Mesozoic, from the Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. They are distinguished from other early Mammaliaformes, mammaliaforms by their relativel ...

n ''

Tegotherium ''Tegotherium'' is an extinct mammaliaform from the Late Jurassic of East Asia. The type species ''T. gubini'' is known from the Shar Teeg Beds of Mongolia and an indeterminate species is also known from the Late Jurassic Qigu Formation The ...

''. The turtles '' Annemys levensis'' and '' Annemys latiens'' and crocodylians '' Sunosuchus shartegensis'' and '' Adzhosuchus fuscus'' were also recovered from the formation.Efimov et al., 2000 Numerous species of insects are also known from the formation. which was deposited in a

lacustrine A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

Age

Dollman et al. (2018) argue that the age of the Ulan Malgait Formation is likely to be Oxfordian based on the shared presence of ''

'' and ''

Nominosuchus ''Nominosuchus'' is a genus of protosuchian-grade crocodylomorph. It is known from several specimens discovered in ancient lake deposits of the Tithonian-age Upper Jurassic Tsagaantsav Formation, southwestern Mongolia. The type specimen is PIN& ...

'' with the radiometrically-dated Shishigou Formation of China.Bor Ukhaa hills
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

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{cite LSA , last=Efimov , first=M. B. , first2=Y. M. , last2=Gubin , first3=S. M. , last3=Kurzanov , year=2000 , title=New primitive crocodile (Crocodylomorpha: Shartegosuchidae) from the Jurassic of Mongolia , journal=

Paleontological Journal ''Paleontological Journal'' (Russian: ''Paleontologicheskii Zhurnal'') is a monthly peer-reviewed Russian journal of paleontology established in 1959. It focuses on the paleontology and the fossil records of Eastern Europe and Asia. Articles are ...

, volume=34 , pages=S238-S241

Age

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading