| Ariyalaur Group | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Late Cretaceous (Campanian) to (Maastrichtian) ~ | |
| Type | Geological group |
| Sub-units | Sillakkudi formation, Kallakurichi Formation, Ottakovil formation, Kallamedu Formation |
| Overlies | Anaipadi Formation, Trichinopoly Group |
| Location | |
| Country |  India |
The Ariyalaur Group is a geological group in Tamil Nadu in Southern India. [1] [2]
Color key
| Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; |
| Dinosaurs from the Ariyalaur group | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Material | Notes | Member |
| Abelisauridae indet. [3] | "Disassociated remains" and teeth. | Kallamedu formation | ||
| Carnosauria indet.? [4] | "Fragmentary remains" | Carnosauria was often used as a wastebasket taxon. | Kallamedu formation | |
| Troodontidae indet. [3] | One isolated tooth (DUGF/52). | Kallamedu formation | ||
| Bruhathkayosaurus [4] [5] | B. matleyi | ilium and ischium, femur, tibia, radius and part of a vertebra (specifically a platycoelous caudal centrum). Remains no longer exist | Initially described as a Theropod, it was reclassified as a Titanosaur. | Kallamedu formation |
| Sauropoda | Indeterminate. [6] [7] | "Fragmentary remains." | Kallamedu formation | |
| Titanosauria | Indeterminate. [8] | Solitary egg. | Kallamedu formation | |
| Titanosauria | Indeterminate. [9] | Ten large sauropod bones, some of which could be identified as a humerus or femur, proximal end of a femur and scapula. All the bones pertain to the limbs. | Similar in size to Bruhathkayosaurus. [5] | Kallamedu formation |
| Fusioolithus [8] | F. baghensis | Dinosaur eggs. | Kallamedu formation | |
| ?Camarasauridae [10] | Indeterminate. | Vertebrae. | Camarasaurids are not known from the cretaceous. | Kallamedu formation |
| ?Stegosauria [11] | Indeterminate. | Misinterpreted sauropod bone. | Other more plausible Stegosaur material is known from Cretaceous India. | Kallamedu formation |
| Sauropoda | Sauropoda indet. [5] | "Scant remains" | ||
| Stegosauria | Stegosauria indet. [5] | |||
| Theropoda | Theropoda indet. [5] | "Scant remains" | ||
| Theropoda [12] | indet | A Theropod. | Kallankurichchi formation | |
| ? Titanosaurus [12] | T. indicus | A titanosaurian sauropod. | Kallakurichi Formation | |
| Megaloolithus [13] | M. cylindricus | Fossilised Eggs | A Sauropod Oogenus. | Kallakurichi Formation |
| Stegosauridae indet | A Stegosaurid. | Kallakurichi Formation | ||
| Molluscs from the Ariyalaur group | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Material | Notes | Member |
| Inoceramus [5] | I sp. | Sillakkudi formation | ||
| Karapadites [5] | K. karapadense | Sillakkudi formation | ||
| Inoceramus [14] | I. bulbus | A Clam. | Kallakurichi formation | |
| I. tamulicus | Kallakurichi formation | |||
| Pycnodonta [14] | P. vesicularis | A Clam. | Kallakurichi formation | |
| Ostrea (Alectryonia) [14] | sp. | A Clam. | Kallakurichi formation | |
| Anisomyon [14] | A. indicus | A snail. | Kallakurichi formation | |
| Foraminiferas from the Ariyalaur group | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Material | Notes | |
| Globotruncana | G. arca [5] | |||
| G. ventricosa [5] | ||||
| G. elevata [5] | ||||
| Sea Urchins from the Ariyalaur group | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Material | Notes | Member |
| Hemipneustes | H. compressus [15] | |||
| Rhynchonellatans from the Ariyalaur group | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Material | Notes | Member |
| Rectithyris | R. subdepressa [14] | |||
| Rhynchonella | R. sp. [14] | |||
| Brachiopods from the Ariyalaur group | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Material | Notes | Member |
| Gyrodina | G. globosa [14] | |||
| Neobulimina | N. sp. [14] | |||
Bruhathkayosaurus is a controversial genus of sauropod dinosaur found in the Kallamedu Formation of India. The fragmentary remains were originally described as a theropod, but it was later determined to be a titanosaurian sauropod. Length estimates by researchers exceed those of the titanosaur Argentinosaurus, as longer than 35 metres (115 ft) and weighing over 80 tonnes. A 2023 estimate placed Bruhathkayosaurus as potentially weighing approximately 110–170 tonnes, with paleontologist Michael Benton, giving Bruhathkayosaurus a length of 45 metres (148 ft). If the upper estimates of the 2023 records are accurate, Bruhathkayosaurus may have rivaled the blue whale as one of the largest animals to ever exist. However, all of the estimates are based on the dimensions of the fossils described in Yadagiri and Ayyasami (1987), and in 2017, it was reported that the holotype fossils had disintegrated and no longer exist.
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