The Xiagou Formation is the middle
strata
In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as ei ...
of the
Xinminbao Group
The Xīnmínbǎo Group () is a group of geological formations in north central China. They occur across a large depression (geology), depression between the Altai mountains of Mongolia to the north and the Qilian Shan, Qilian mountains of the Qing ...
. It is named for its type site in
Xiagou, in the
Changma Basin
The East Asian Monsoon is a monsoonal flow that carries moist air from the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean to East Asia. It affects approximately one-third of the global population, influencing the climate of Japan, the Korean Peninsula, Taiwan, Ch ...
of
Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
Province, northwestern China and is considered
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 ...
in age. It is known outside the specialized world of Chinese
geology
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...
as the site of a
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 which the fossils were preserved of ''
Gansus yumenensis
''Gansus'' is a genus of aquatic birds that lived during the Aptian age of the Early Cretaceous (Aptian-Albian) period in what are now Gansu and Liaoning provinces, western China. The rock layers from which their fossils have been recovered are ...
'', the earliest true modern bird.
Description
The laminated yellowish
mudstone
Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from '' shale'' by its lack of fissility (parallel layering).Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology. ...
s of the Xiagou Formation are the lithified remnants of
varves that were laid down as extremely fine
silt
Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel when ...
settled to the bottom of a tranquil freshwater lake. The result was dense anoxic bottom sediment, where the lack of bacteria slowed the processes of decay, preserving uncompressed fossils in details that include feather impressions and remnants of the webbing between the bird's toes. The age of the formation has not yet been confidently determined. The underlying
Chijinpu Formation is likely the same age as the
Jehol Group
The Jehol Biota includes all the living organisms – the ecosystem – of northeastern China between 133 and 120 million years ago. This is the Lower Cretaceous ecosystem which left fossils in the Yixian Formation and Jiufotang Formation. These ...
due to the presence of similar fossils, meaning that the Xiagou Formation is probably slightly younger than the
Jehol biota, dating to around the late
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 ...
.
Fossil content
The Xiagou Formation is particularly noted for its high diversity of ancient birds. These include both modern birds close to the ancestors of living species, and related lineages now entirely extinct. Other fossils from the Xiagou Formation are characteristic of an Early Cretaceous lake ecology. There are fossils of abundant fish fauna,
Charophyta and
ostracod
Ostracods, or ostracodes, are a class of the Crustacea (class Ostracoda), sometimes known as seed shrimp. Some 70,000 species (only 13,000 of which are extant) have been identified, grouped into several orders. They are small crustaceans, typic ...
s.
[
]
Invertebrates
Arthropods
Theropods
Birds
Ornithomimosaurs
Therizinosaurs
Tyrannosauroids
Cerapods
Ceratopsians
Hadrosauroids
Sauropods
Macronarians
Other vertebrates
Turtles
Fish
See also
* List of fossil sites ''(with link directory)''
* , contemporaneous fossiliferous formation of Xinjiang, western China
* Jiufotang Formation, contemporaneous fossiliferous formation of Liaoning, northeastern China
* Eumeralla Formation, contemporaenous fossiliferous formation of Victoria, Australia
* Elrhaz Formation, contemporaenous fossiliferous formation of Niger
* Crato Formation, contemporaneous fossil insect bearing Lagerstätte of Brazil
References
{{reflist
Geologic formations of China
Lower Cretaceous Series of Asia
Cretaceous China
Aptian Stage
Mudstone formations
Lacustrine deposits
Lagerstätten
Fossiliferous stratigraphic units of Asia
Paleontology in Gansu