Kurek Formation

Last updated
Kurek Formation
Stratigraphic range: Late Oxfordian
~160–157  Ma
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
Type Geological formation
Unit of Kugitang Svita
Lithology
Primary Limestone
Other Mudstone
Location
Coordinates 38°30′N68°36′E / 38.5°N 68.6°E / 38.5; 68.6 Coordinates: 38°30′N68°36′E / 38.5°N 68.6°E / 38.5; 68.6
Approximate paleocoordinates 43°12′N73°12′E / 43.2°N 73.2°E / 43.2; 73.2
Region Lebap (Turkmenistan)
Kashkadarya (Uzbekistan)
CountryFlag of Turkmenistan.svg  Turkmenistan
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan
Type section
Named for Mount Kurek
Relief Map of Uzbekistan.png
Cyan pog.svg
Cyan pog.svg
Cyan pog.svg
Kurek Formation (Uzbekistan)

The Kurek Formation (Russian : Kurek Svita) is a late Oxfordian (Late Jurassic) geologic formation of the Kugitang Svita in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Fossil sauropod tracks have been reported from the formation. [1]

Contents

Etymology

The formation is named after Mount Kurek (2,280 metres (7,480 ft)), near Langar, Uzbekistan. [2]

Description

The mudstones and limestones of the formation comprise a 2 centimetres (0.79 in) thick, massive micrite (mudstone) with sporadic and poorly preserved thin-walled bivalves. Also tracks were preserved at that were probably made in shallow water, showing, in some parts, ripple marks. [3]

Fossil content

Among the following fossils have been found in the Kurek Formation: [4]

Dinosaurs
Ichnofossils
Invertebrates

See also

Related Research Articles

Morrison Formation Rock formation in the western United States

The Morrison Formation is a distinctive sequence of Upper Jurassic sedimentary rock found in the western United States which has been the most fertile source of dinosaur fossils in North America. It is composed of mudstone, sandstone, siltstone, and limestone and is light gray, greenish gray, or red. Most of the fossils occur in the green siltstone beds and lower sandstones, relics of the rivers and floodplains of the Jurassic period.

Volkheimeria was a eusauropod. It lived during the Early Jurassic, approximately 178 million years ago. Fossils of Volkheimeria have been found in the Cañadón Asfalto Formation of the Cañadón Asfalto Basin in Patagonia, Argentina. The type species, V. chubutensis, was described by José Bonaparte in 1979. Volkheimeria is known from some incomplete postcrania, including a mostly complete pelvis and sacrum, caudal vertebrae and a femur and tibia. Many features of this scant material can distinguish Volkheimeria especially in the pelvic and vertebral regions, such as the very low flat neural spines.

Tendaguru Formation Geological formation and paleontological site in Tanzania

The Tendaguru Formation, or Tendaguru Beds are a highly fossiliferous formation and Lagerstätte in southeastern Tanzania. The formation represents the oldest sedimentary unit of the Mandawa Basin, overlying Neoproterozoic basement, separating by a long hiatus and unconformity. The formation reaches a total sedimentary thickness of more than 110 metres (360 ft). The formation ranges in age from the late Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous, Oxfordian to Hauterivian stages, with the base of the formation possibly extending into the Callovian.

Cerro Carnerero Formation

The Cerro Carnerero Formation is a geological formation of the Golfo San Jorge Basin in Chubut Province, Patagonia, Argentina.

Alcobaça Formation

The Alcobaça Formation, previously known as the Guimarota Formation, is a geological formation in Portugal. It dates back to the Oxfordian stage of the Late Jurassic. It is an important source of information on the diversity of Late Jurassic mammals. Many of the fossils were collected from the now disused and flooded Camadas de Guimarota coal mine.

Shishugou Formation

The Shishugou Formation is a geological formation in Xinjiang, China.

Kadzi Formation

The Kadzi Formation is a geological formation in Zimbabwe whose strata date back to the Tithonian stage of the Late Jurassic. The conglomeratic sandstones and silty mudstones of the formation were deposited in an alluvial environment. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.

Camarillas Formation Geological formation in Teruel and La Rioja, Spain

The Camarillas Formation is a geological formation in the Teruel Province of Aragón, Spain whose strata date back to the Early Cretaceous. The sandstones, mudstones and conglomerates of the formation, that due to syn-sedimentary faulting varies greatly in thickness from 300 to 800 metres, were deposited in fluvial, deltaic and lacustrine environments.

Tiourarén Formation

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.

Kugitang Svita Mid-Late Jurassic geologic formation in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and geologic group in Turkmenistan

The Kugitang Formation or Group is an Oxfordian geologic formation in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and a geologic group in Turkmenistan. Dinosaur remains diagnostic to the genus level are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.

Vega Formation

The Vega Formation is a Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) geologic formation of the Ribadesella Group in Asturias, Spain. Dinosaur remains diagnostic to the genus level are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. The formation is around 150 metres thick and consists of "alternating white, pale grey and reddish sandstones, and red mudstones with several sporadic conglomeratic beds typically arranged in minor finnig-upward cycles within a major cycle of the same character". An isolated caudal theropod vertebra and a partial tooth are known from the formation, belonging to large megalosaurids around 10 metres in length, comparable to Torvosaurus. Other remains known from the formation include fragmentary turtle remains, crocodylomorph teeth, as well as a sauropod caudal vertebra (MUJA-0650). Dinosaur tracks are also known from the formation, including large theropod footprints and poorly preserved quadrupedal dinosaur footprints.

Chacarilla Formation

The Chacarilla Formation is an Oxfordian to Early Cretaceous geologic formation of the Tarapacá Basin in northern Chile, close to the border with Bolivia. The marine and fluvial formation preserves several dinosaur trackways and has been declared a Natural Sanctuary in 2004.

Sousa Formation

The Sousa Formation is a Berriasian-Hauterivian geologic formation in Paraíba, Brazil. Fossil sauropod tracks have been reported from the formation.

Antenor Navarro Formation

The Antenor Navarro Formation is an Early Cretaceous geologic formation in Brazil. Fossil sauropod tracks have been reported from the formation.

Irhazer Shale

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.

Zarbuz Formation Geologic formation

The Zarbuz Formation, also named Zarbiz Svita, is a Jurassic geologic formation in Tajikistan. Fossil ornithopod tracks have been reported from the formation.

Botucatu Formation

The Botucatu Formation is an Aptian geologic formation of the Paraná and Pelotas Basins in southern Brazil and northern Uruguay. The formation is composed of quartzitic sandstones, deposited in an eolian environment. Fossil theropod tracks have been reported from the formation.

Cazaderos Formation

The Cazaderos Formation is an Albian geologic formation in southern Ecuador.

Cañadón Calcáreo Formation

The Cañadón Calcáreo Formation is an Oxfordian to Kimmeridgian-aged geologic formation, from the Cañadón Asfalto Basin in Chubut Province, Argentina, a rift basin that started forming since the earliest Jurassic. It was formerly thought to date into the Cretaceous, but the age has been revised with Uranium Lead dating as likely being solely Late Jurassic in age.

Bemaraha Formation Geologic formation in Madagascar

The Bemaraha Formation is a Middle Jurassic geological formation of the Morondava Basin of Madagascar. The lime mudstones, grainstones and limestones of the formation were deposited in lagoonal and reefal environments. Fossils of groups of invertebrates and theropod and sauropod tracks have been found in the formation. The Sahalaly River tracksite yielded a single trackway belonging to a quadrupedal dinosaur, possibly a sauropod. Sauropod tracks are rare, making up as little as 1 percent of the present sample. The best-preserved tracks are assigned to the ichnogenus Kayentapus.

References

  1. Weishampel et al., 2004, pp. 517-607
  2. Katta Langar - Mount Kurek
  3. Ak-Gaya tracksite at Fossilworks.org
  4. Kurek Formation at Fossilworks.org

Bibliography

Further reading