Echkar Formation | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: Late Albian-Cenomanian ~ | |
Type | Geological formation |
Unit of | Tegama Group |
Underlies | Farak Formation |
Overlies | Elrhaz Formation |
Lithology | |
Primary | Sandstone |
Other | Claystone |
Location | |
Coordinates | 17°54′N5°36′E / 17.9°N 5.6°E Coordinates: 17°54′N5°36′E / 17.9°N 5.6°E |
Approximate paleocoordinates | 2°48′N0°24′E / 2.8°N 0.4°E |
Region | Agadez Region |
Country | Niger |
Extent | Iullemmeden Basin |
Type section | |
Named for | Echkar, Aderbissinat |
The Echkar Formation is a geological formation comprising sandstones and claystones in the Agadez Region of Niger, central Africa.
Its strata date back to the Late Albian to Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian stages, about 100-95 million years ago). Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. [1]
Archosaurs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Material | Notes | Images |
Aegyptosaurus | A. baharijensis | |||
Araripesuchus | A. rattoides | |||
Bahariasaurus | B. ingens | |||
Carcharodontosaurus [3] | C. iguidensis [4] C. saharicus [2] | |||
Ceratodus | C. sp. | |||
Elaphrosaurus | E. iguidiensis (=Theropoda indet.) | Likely an indeterminate theropod. | ||
Elosuchus | E. sp. | |||
Fortignathus | F. felixi | |||
Inosaurus | I. tedreftensis | |||
Kaprosuchus | K. saharicus | |||
Laganosuchus | L. thaumastos | |||
Lepidotes | L. sp. | |||
Onchopristis | O. numida | |||
Platyspondylus | P. foureaui | |||
Rebbachisaurus | R. tamesnensis R. sp.[ citation needed ] | |||
Rugops | R. primus | |||
Spinosaurus | S. aegyptiacus | |||
?Stegosauria indet. | No genus given. May not actually belong to Stegosauria. | |||
Testudines indet. | No genus given. | |||
Carcharodontosaurus is a genus of large carcharodontosaurid theropod dinosaur that existed during the Cenomanian age of the Late Cretaceous in Northern Africa. The genus Carcharodontosaurus is named after the shark genus Carcharodon, itself composed of the Greek karchar[os] and odōn, and the suffix -saurus ("lizard"). It is currently known to have two species: C. saharicus and C. iguidensis.
Aegyptosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in what is now Africa, around 95 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous Period.
Rugops is a monospecific genus of basal abelisaurid theropod dinosaur from Niger that lived during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now the Echkar Formation. The type and only species, Rugops primus, is known only from a partial skull. It was named and described in 2004 by Paul Sereno, Jeffery Wilson and Jack Conrad. Rugops has an estimated length of 4.4–5.3 metres and weight of 410 kilograms. The top of its skull bears several pits which correlates with overlaying scale and the front of the snout would have had an armour-like dermis.
Bahariasaurus is an enigmatic genus of large theropod dinosaur. Bahariasaurus is known to have included at least 1 species, Bahariasaurus ingens, which was found in North African rock layers dating to the Cenomanian and Turonian ages of the Late Cretaceous. The only fossils confidently assigned to Bahariasaurus were found in the Bahariya Formation of the Bahariya oasis in Egypt by Ernst Stromer but were destroyed during a World War II bombing raid with the same raid taking out the holotype of Spinosaurus and Aegyptosaurus among other animals found in the Bahariya Formation. While there have been more fossils assigned to the genus such as some from the Farak Formation of Niger, these remains are referred to with much less certainty. Bahariasaurus is, by most estimations, one of the largest theropods, approaching the height and length of other large bodied theropods such as Tyrannosaurus rex and the contemporaneous Carcharodontosaurus. The aforementioned estimations tend to put it at around 11–12 metres in length and 4 tonnes in overall weight.
Rebbachisaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur of the superfamily Diplodocoidea, that lived during the Late Cretaceous period in Africa and possibly also South America about 99-97 million years ago. Remains attributed to Rebbachisaurus have been found in Morocco, Niger, Algeria, Tunisia and possibly also Argentina, although only the Moroccan remains can be referred to the genus without doubt. The discovery of Rayososaurus, a South American sauropod nearly identical to Rebbachisaurus which may have actually have been the same animal as Rebbachisaurus, supports the theory that there was still a land connection between Africa and South America during the Early Cretaceous, long after it was commonly thought the two continents had separated.
Jeffrey A. Wilson, also known as JAW, is a paleontologist and professor of geological sciences and assistant curator at the Museum of Paleontology at the University of Michigan.
The Oldman Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Late Cretaceous age that underlies much of southern Alberta, Canada. It consists primarily of sandstones that were deposited in fluvial channel and floodplain environments. It was named for exposures along the Oldman River between its confluence with the St. Mary River and the city of Lethbridge, and it is known primarily for its dinosaur remains and other fossils.
Cristatusaurus is a genus of theropod dinosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous Period of what is now Niger, 112 million years ago. It was a baryonychine member of the Spinosauridae, a group of large bipedal carnivores with well-built forelimbs and elongated, crocodile-like skulls. The type species Cristatusaurus lapparenti was named in 1998 by scientists Philippe Taquet and Dale Russell, on the basis of jaw bones and some vertebrae. Two claw fossils were also later assigned to Cristatusaurus. The animal's generic name, which means "crested reptile", alludes to a sagittal crest on top of its snout; while the specific name is in honor of the French paleontologist Albert-Félix de Lapparent. Cristatusaurus is known from the Albian to Aptian Elrhaz Formation, where it would have coexisted with sauropod and iguanodontian dinosaurs, other theropods, and various crocodylomorphs.
Spinostropheus is a genus of carnivorous ceratosaurian theropod dinosaur that lived in the Middle Jurassic period and has been found in the Tiouraren Formation, Niger. The type and only species is S. gautieri.
Stephen Louis Brusatte is an American paleontologist and evolutionary biologist, who specializes in the anatomy and evolution of dinosaurs. He was educated at the University of Chicago for his BS degree, at the University of Bristol for his MSc on a Marshall Scholarship, and finally at the Columbia University for MPhil and PhD. He is currently a Reader in Vertebrate Palaeontology at the University of Edinburgh.
The Continental intercalaire, sometimes referred to as the Continental intercalaire Formation, is a term applied to Cretaceous strata in Northern Africa. It is the largest single stratum found in Africa to date, being between 30 to 800 metres thick in some places. Fossils, including dinosaurs, have been recovered from this formation. The Continental intercalaire stretches from Algeria, Tunisia and Niger in the west to Egypt and Sudan in the east.
The Tiourarén Formation is a geological formation in the Agadez Region of Niger whose strata were originally thought to be Early Cretaceous. However, re-interpretation of the sediments showed that they are probably Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) in age. It is the uppermost unit of the Irhazer Group. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.
The Farak Formation is a geological formation in Niger, central Africa.
The Kem Kem Group is a geological group in the Kem Kem region of eastern Morocco, whose strata date back to the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous. Its strata are subdivided into two geological formations, with the lower Ifezouane Formation and the upper Aoufous Formation, with the Gara Sbaa Formation and Douira Formation used in the southern Tafilalt region. It is exposed on an escarpment along the Algeria–Morocco border.
The Elrhaz Formation is a geological formation in Niger, West Africa.
The In Beceten Formation, also Beceten or Ibecten is a Coniacian to Santonian geologic formation in the Iullemmeden Basin of Niger. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, although none have yet been referred to a specific genus. The lithology primarily consists of clays, fine limestones and sandy clays.
The Assaouas Formation, also referred to as the Assaouas Sandstone is a Late Jurassic geologic formation in Niger. Fossil sauropod tracks have been reported from the formation.
The Irhazer Shale or Irhazer II Formation is a Middle Jurassic geologic formation of the Irhazer Group in the Agadez Region of Niger. Fossil ornithopod tracks have been reported from the formation. The dinosaur Spinophorosaurus is known from the formation.