Adaffa Formation Stratigraphic range: Campanian ~72 Ma | |
---|---|
Type | Geological formation |
Unit of | Suqah Group |
Underlies | Unconformity with Lower Miocene Al Wajh Formation |
Overlies | Proterozoic granite basement |
Thickness | Up to 200 m (660 ft) |
Lithology | |
Primary | Sandstone, siltstone, marl |
Other | Conglomerate |
Location | |
Location | Midyan Peninsula, Tabuk Region |
Coordinates | 27°18′N35°42′E / 27.3°N 35.7°E Coordinates: 27°18′N35°42′E / 27.3°N 35.7°E |
Approximate paleocoordinates | 9°42′N29°12′E / 9.7°N 29.2°E |
Region | Arabian Peninsula |
Country | Saudi Arabia |
The Adaffa Formation is a Geological formation in Saudi Arabia, and the lowermost unit of the Suqah Group. It dates back to the Campanian of the Late Cretaceous. The lithology consists of sandstone, siltstone and marl, with a basal granitic conglomerate with phosphatic nodules. Also present are ferricrete horizons. It was deposited in marginal marine conditions close to land. Fish, [1] marine reptile [2] and dinosaur [3] remains have been recovered from the formation.
Fish of the Adaffa Formation | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
Ceratodus | Indeterminate | Toothplates | Lungfish | |||
cf. Enchodus | Indeterminate | Teeth | ||||
cf. Protosphyraena | Indeterminate | Teeth | Pachycormid | |||
?Anacoracidae | Indeterminate | Vertebrae | ||||
Lepisosteidae | Indeterminate | Vertebral centra | ||||
Pycnodontiformes | Indeterminate | Teeth | ||||
Crocodyliformes of the Adaffa Formation | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
Dyrosauridae | Indeterminate | Two vertebrae | ||||
Crocodyliformes | Indeterminate | Cranial fragment | ||||
Plesiosaurians of the Adaffa Formation | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
Elasmosauridae | Indeterminate | Rostral portion of a skull | ||||
Squamates of the Adaffa Formation | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
Prognathodon | Indeterminate | Teeth | Mosasaur | |||
cf. Pachyvaranus | Indeterminate | Vertebrae | Aquatic varanoid | |||
Mosasauridae | Pygal vertebra | |||||
Plioplatecarpinae | Indeterminate | Dorsal vertebra | ||||
Turtles of the Adaffa Formation | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
Bothremydidae | Indeterminate | Shell fragments and a femur | ||||
Dinosaurs of the Adaffa Formation | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
Abelisauridae | Indeterminate | Two teeth | ||||
Titanosauria | Indeterminate | Seven caudal vertebrae, seemingly from the same individual | ||||
The South Polar region of the Cretaceous comprised the continent of East Gondwana–modern day Australia and Antarctica–a product of the break-up of Gondwana. The southern region, during this time, was much warmer than it is today, ranging from perhaps 4–8 °C (39–46 °F) in the latest Cretaceous Maastrichtian in what is now southeastern Australia. This prevented permanent ice sheets from developing and fostered polar forests, which were largely dominated by conifers, cycads, and ferns, and relied on a temperate climate and heavy rainfall. Major fossil-bearing geological formations that record this area are: the Santa Marta and Sobral Formations of Seymour Island off the Antarctic Peninsula; the Snow Hill Island, Lopez de Bertodano, and the Hidden Lake Formations on James Ross Island also off the Antarctic Peninsula; and the Eumeralla and Wonthaggi Formations in Australia.
Pachyrhinosaurus is an extinct genus of centrosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period of North America. The first examples were discovered by Charles M. Sternberg in Alberta, Canada, in 1946, and named in 1950. Over a dozen partial skulls and a large assortment of other fossils from various species have been found in Alberta and Alaska. A great number were not available for study until the 1980s, resulting in a relatively recent increase of interest in Pachyrhinosaurus.
The Maastrichtian is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age of the Late Cretaceous epoch or Upper Cretaceous series, the Cretaceous period or system, and of the Mesozoic era or erathem. It spanned the interval from 72.1 to 66 million years ago. The Maastrichtian was preceded by the Campanian and succeeded by the Danian.
The Campanian is the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous epoch on the geologic timescale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In chronostratigraphy, it is the fifth of six stages in the Upper Cretaceous series. Campanian spans the time from 83.6 to 72.1 million years ago. It is preceded by the Santonian and it is followed by the Maastrichtian.
Notoceratops is a dubious genus of extinct ornithischian dinosaur based on an incomplete, toothless left dentary from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia, probably dating to the Campanian or Maastrichtian. It was probably a ceratopsian and it was found in the Pehunche Formation or the Laguna Palacios Formation.
The Horseshoe Canyon Formation is a stratigraphic unit of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in southwestern Alberta. It takes its name from Horseshoe Canyon, an area of badlands near Drumheller.
The Bearpaw Formation, also called the Bearpaw Shale, is a geologic formation of Late Cretaceous (Campanian) age. It outcrops in the U.S. state of Montana, as well as the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and was named for the Bear Paw Mountains in Montana. It includes a wide range of marine fossils, as well as the remains of a few dinosaurs. It is known for its fossil ammonites, some of which are mined in Alberta to produce the organic gemstone ammolite.
Dyrosauridae is a family of extinct neosuchian crocodyliforms that lived from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) to the Eocene. Dyrosaurid fossils are globally distributed, having been found in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America. Over a dozen species are currently known, varying greatly in overall size and cranial shape. A majority were aquatic, some terrestrial and others fully marine, with species inhabiting both freshwater and marine environments. Ocean-dwelling dyrosaurids were among the few marine reptiles to survive the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.
Bothremydidae is an extinct family of side-necked turtles (Pleurodira) known from the Cretaceous and Cenozoic. They are closely related to Podocnemididae, and are amongst the most widely distributed pleurodire groups, with their fossils having been found in Africa, India, the Middle East, Europe, North America and South America. Bothremydids were aquatic turtles with a high morphological diversity, indicative of generalist, molluscivorous, and piscivorous diets. Unlike modern pleurodires, which are exclusively freshwater, bothremydids inhabited freshwater, marine and coastal settings. Their marine habits allowed bothremydids to disperse across oceanic barriers into Europe and North America during the early Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian). The youngest records of the group are indeterminate remains from Saudi Arabia and Oman, dating to the Miocene.
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The Aguja Formation is a geological formation in North America, exposed in Texas, United States and Chihuahua and Coahuila in Mexico, whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.
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The Cerro del Pueblo Formation is a geological formation in Coahuila, Mexico whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. The formation is believed to correlate with the Baculites reesidesi and Baculites jenseni ammonite zones, which dates it to 73.63-72.74 Ma.
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The Kristianstad Basin is a Cretaceous-age structural basin and geological formation in northeastern Skåne, the southernmost province of Sweden. The sediments in the basin preserves a wide assortment of taxa represented in its fossil record, including the only non-avian dinosaur fossils in Sweden and one of the world's most diverse mosasaur faunas.