Hekou Formation

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Hekou Formation
Stratigraphic range: Late Cretaceous, ?Maastrichtian [1]
Type Geological formation
Unit of Guifeng Group
Underlies Tangbian Formation
OverliesUnconformity: Zhoutian Formation
Lithology
Primary Conglomerate, glutenite
Other Sandstone, siltstone, tuff
Location
Region Jiangxi Province, Asia
Country China

The Hekou Formation is a Cretaceous geologic formation in China. Pterosaur fossils have been recovered from the formation. It is a unit of the Guifeng Group and dates to the Late Cretaceous. [2] Dinosaur fossils from the formation include a nearly perfect oviraptorid embryo nicknamed Baby Yingliang, an unnamed large hadrosaurid, and hadrosauroid eggs with embryos. [3] [4] [5] Mammal fossils include Erythrobaatar and Yubaatar qianzhouensis . [6] [7] The polyglyphanodontian lizard Yechilacerta has also been described from the formation. [8]

Contents

Description

The Hekou Formation is a constituent of the Guifeng Group; a sequence of formations that were deposited in the Xinjiang Basin including the Hekou, Tangbian, and Lianhe formation which record aeolian-alluvial interactions in a palaeoplateau desert. Both a successional and coeval model of the deposition of these units have been proposed, with estimated ages of the Hekou formation ranging from Coniacian-Santonian to Maastrichtian. [9] [10] The associated facies include alluvial fans and adjacent wadi river channels, with mudcracks indicating subaerial exposure of the deposits. Oxygen-18 isotope values recorded in Dinosaur eggshells indicated low annual precipitation and humidity, suggesting an arid to semi-arid environment. The occurrence of striated cobbles in the alluvial facies suggests glacial activity in the catchment areas of the Cretaceous plateau. [11] [12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Xing, Lida; Niu, Kecheng; Yang, Tzu-Ruei; Wang, Donghao; Miyashita, Tetsuto; Mallon, Jordan C. (2022-05-09). "Hadrosauroid eggs and embryos from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Jiangxi Province, China". BMC Ecology and Evolution . 22 (1). doi: 10.1186/s12862-022-02012-x . ISSN   2730-7182. PMC   9088101 . PMID   35534805.
  2. ↑ Xi, D.; Wan, X.; Li, G.; Li, G. (2018). "Cretaceous integrative stratigraphy and timescale of China". Science China Earth Sciences. 61: 1–31. doi:10.1007/s11430-017-9262-y. S2CID   135150710.
  3. ↑ Xing, Lida; Niu, Kecheng; Ma, Waisum; Zelenitsky, Darla K.; Yang, Tzu-Ruei; Brusatte, Stephen L. (2022). "An exquisitely preserved in-ovo theropod dinosaur embryo sheds light on avian-like prehatching postures". iScience. 25 (1): 103516. Bibcode:2022iSci...25j3516X. doi:10.1016/j.isci.2021.103516. PMC   8786642 . PMID   35106456.
  4. ↑ Xing, Lida; Niu, Kecheng; Wang, Donghao; Marquez, Albert Prieto (2020-06-18). "A partial articulated hadrosaurid skeleton from the Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) of the Ganzhou area, Jiangxi Province, China" . Historical Biology. 33 (10): 2256–2259. doi:10.1080/08912963.2020.1782397. ISSN   0891-2963. S2CID   225764043.
  5. ↑ Xing L, Niu K, Yang TR, Wang D, Miyashita T, Mallon JC (2022). "Hadrosauroid eggs and embryos from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Jiangxi Province, China". BMC Ecology and Evolution. 22 (1): Article number 60. doi: 10.1186/s12862-022-02012-x . PMC   9088101 . PMID   35534805.
  6. ↑ Jin, X.; Mao, F.; Du, T.; Yang, Y.; Meng, J. (2022). "A new multituberculate from the latest Cretaceous of central China and its implications for multituberculate tooth homologies and occlusion". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 30: 1–20. doi:10.1007/s10914-022-09636-2. S2CID   253192551.
  7. ↑ Hu, J.; Han, F. (2021). "A new multituberculate, Yubaatar qianzhouensis sp. nov.: the first Late Cretaceous mammal from Ganzhou Basin, Jiangxi Province". Acta Palaeontologica Sinica. 60 (4): 565–579. doi:10.19800/j.cnki.aps.2020057.
  8. ↑ Xing, Lida; Niu, Kecheng; Evans, Susan E. (2023). "A new polyglyphanodontian lizard with a complete lower temporal bar from the Upper Cretaceous of southern China". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 21 (1). Bibcode:2023JSPal..2181494X. doi: 10.1080/14772019.2023.2281494 . ISSN   1477-2019.
  9. ↑ "UQ eSpace". espace.library.uq.edu.au. Retrieved 2025-06-11.
  10. ↑ Xi, Dangpeng; Wan, Xiaoqiao; Li, Guobiao; Li, Gang (2019-01-01). "Cretaceous integrative stratigraphy and timescale of China". Science China Earth Sciences. 62 (1): 256–286. doi:10.1007/s11430-017-9262-y. ISSN   1869-1897.
  11. ↑ Jiao, Haijing; Wu, Chihua; Rodríguez-López, Juan Pedro; Sun, Xiaoming; Yi, Haisheng (2020-10-01). "Late Cretaceous plateau deserts in the South China Block, and Quaternary analogues; sedimentology, dune reconstruction and wind-water interactions". Marine and Petroleum Geology. 120: 104504. Bibcode:2020MarPG.12004504J. doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2020.104504. ISSN   0264-8172.
  12. ↑ He, Qing; Jiang, Qin; Xing, Lida; Zhang, Shukang; Pang, Wenjing; Hu, Hui; Lu, Shuo; Yin, Qifeng (2019-07-01). "Geochemical characteristics of newly discovered Elongatoolithidae eggs from the Upper Cretaceous of Jiangxi Province, southern China: Palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic inferences". Cretaceous Research. 99: 352–364. Bibcode:2019CrRes..99..352H. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2018.12.015. ISSN   0195-6671.
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