Magnesian Conglomerate

Last updated
Magnesian Conglomerate
Stratigraphic range: Rhaetian
~208–202  Ma
Cromhall quarry.jpg
Slickstones Quarry, where an outcrop of the Magnesian Conglomerate is present
Type Geological formation, fissure fill
Underliesnone
Overlies Friars Point Limestone Formation?
Lithology
Primary Breccia
Other Limestone
Location
Coordinates 51°30′N2°36′W / 51.5°N 2.6°W / 51.5; -2.6
Approximate paleocoordinates 35°54′N0°48′E / 35.9°N 0.8°E / 35.9; 0.8
Region South West England & South Wales
CountryFlag of England.svg  England
Extent Bristol
Type section
Named by Henry Riley & Samuel Stutchbury
Year defined1836
England relief location map.jpg
Pink ff0080 pog.svg
Magnesian Conglomerate (England)

The Magnesian Conglomerate is a geological formation in Clifton, Bristol in England (originally Avon), Gloucestershire and southern Wales, present in Tytherington, Durdham Down, Slickstones Quarry and Cromhall Quarry.

Contents

It dates back to the Rhaetian stage of the Late Triassic, [1] [2] although it may be as old as the Norian stage of the Late Triassic and as young as the Hettangian stage of the Early Jurassic.[ citation needed ]

The Magnesian Conglomerate was first discovered in autumn 1834 and was studied in 1836 by Henry Riley and Samuel Stutchbury. [3]

The Avon Fissure Fill is often paired with the Magnesian Conglomerate. [1]

Vertebrate paleofauna

Taxon [1] SpeciesPresenceNotesImages
Actinopteri [4] Indeterminate [4] Geographically present in Durdham Down. [4] A tooth. [4]
Agnosphitys [2] [5] A. cromhallensis [2] [5] Geographically present in Avon, England (now Bristol). [2] Its remains include a left ilium (holotype) and a left maxilla, astragalus and humerus (referred specimen). [2] Agnosphitys cromhallensis2 copia.jpg
Agrosaurus [6] [2] A. macgillivrayi [6] [2] Geographically present in Avon, England (now Bristol). Originally believed to have been found in Cape York Peninsula, Queensland (Australia). [2] A tibia, a claw and some other fragments. [2]
Archosauria [7] Indeterminate [7] Geographically present in Durdham Down. [4] Five specimens, including jaw fragments, caudals, and a scapulocoracoid. [7]
Archosauromorpha [4] Indeterminate [4] Geographically present in Durdham Down. [4] A fragment of a small tooth. [4]
Asylosaurus [2] [8] A. yalensis [2] [8] Geographically present in Avon, England (now Bristol). [2] [9] Dorsal vertebrae, ribs, gastralia, a shoulder girdle, humeri, a partial forearm, and a hand; additional bones from the neck, tail, pelvis, arm and legs that may represent the same individual. [8] [2] Asylosaurus NT.jpg
Chimaeriformes [10] Indeterminate [10] Geographically present in Bristol. [2] Indeterminate remains. [10]
Clevosaurus [11] C. hudsoni [11] Geographically present in Gloucestershire. [2] Partial cranial and post-cranial skeleton (holotype). [11] Clevosaurus cropped.jpg
Crinoidea [10] Indeterminate [10] Geographically present in Bristol. [2] Reworked from older Carboniferous sediments (Friars Point Limestone Formation). [12]
Cryptovaranoides [13] C. microlanius [13] Geographically present in Slickstones Quarry. [13] Holotype (partial skeleton) and referred isolated remains. [13] Cryptovaranoides.jpg
Diphydontosaurus [10] D. avonensis [10] Geographically present in Bristol. [2] Complete to near-complete specimens. [10] Diphydontosaurus life restoration.png
Herrerasauria? [8] Indeterminate [8] Geographically present in Durdham Down. [4] 3 indeterminate specimens. [8]
Hwiccewyrm [14] H. trispiculum [14] Geographically present in Slickstones Quarry. [14] Several specimens comprising a partial skeleton. [14] Discovered during the 1970s and listed as cf. Hypsognathus by Whiteside et al. (2016). [15] Hwiccewyrm trispiculum holotype.jpg
Hybodontiformes? [4] Indeterminate [4] Geographically present in Bristol. [2] Indeterminate remains. [4]
Gyrolepis [16] Indeterminate [16] Geographically present in Bristol. [2] Indeterminate remains. [16]
Kuehneosauridae [4] Indeterminate [4] Geographically present in Durdham Down. [4] Rib that may instead be an ulna belonging to Terrestrisuchus . [4]
Lissodus [4] L. minimus [4] Geographically present in Bristol. [2] Teeth. [4] Lissodus fossil cropped.png
Ornithischia [8] Indeterminate [8] Geographically present in Durdham Down. [4] Indeterminate specimen. [8]
Palaeosaurus [2] [8] P. cylindrodon [2] [8] Geographically present in Avon, England (now Bristol) and Bristol. [2] Two teeth (one destroyed in 1940). [2] Palaeosaurus both holotypes.png
Phytosauria [4] Indeterminate [4] Geographically present in Durdham Down. [4] Two teeth previously assigned to Mystriosuchinae. [4]
Planocephalosaurus [17] [18] P. robinsonae [17] [18] Geographically present in Bristol. [2] Skull (holotype) and a tooth. [17]
Plateosauria [19] Indeterminate [19] Geographically present in Durdham Down. [4] 22 partial specimens. [19]
Rhomphaiodon [4] R. minor [4] Geographically present in Bristol. [2] Teeth, including the subsidiary cusp of one tooth. [4]
Rileyasuchus [2] [20] [21] R. bristolensis [2] [20] [21] Geographically present in Bristol. [2] Two vertebrae and a humerus. [2]
Sauropodomorpha [8] Indeterminate [8] Geographically present in Durdham Down. [4] Indeterminate remains. [8]
Sphenosuchia [4] Indeterminate [4] Geographically present in Durdham Down. [4] A right femur initially named as Thecodontosaurus costa. [4]
Terrestrisuchus [4] [10] T. gracilis and indeterminate [4] [10] Geographically present in Bristol and South Wales. [2] Indeterminate and partial remains. [4] [10] Terrestrisuchus BW.jpg
Theropoda [2] Indeterminate [2] Geographically present in Avon, England (now Bristol) and Bristol. [2] A tooth, and a tibia that was once allied with Thecodontosaurus . [2] [8] Possibly similar to Pendraig milnerae . [22]
Thecodontosaurus [2] T. antiquus [2] Geographically present in Avon, England (now Bristol) and Bristol. [2] Partial cranial and postcranial remains (holotype is a lower jaw). [2] Thecodontosaurus.jpg

See also

Related Research Articles

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Agrosaurus is a potentially dubious genus of thecodontosaurid sauropodomorph probably originating from the Magnesian Conglomerate of England that was originally believed to be a Triassic prosauropod from Australia. Agrosaurus would thus be the oldest dinosaur from that country. However, this appears to have been an error, and the material actually appears to come from Thecodontosaurus or a Thecodontosaurus-like animal from Bristol, England. The type species is Agrosaurus macgillivrayi.

<i>Palaeosaurus</i> Genus of reptiles (fossil)

Palaeosaurus is a genus of indeterminate archosaur known from two teeth found in the Bromsgrove Sandstone Formation and also either the Magnesian Conglomerate or the Avon Fissure Fill of Clifton, Bristol, England. It has had a convoluted taxonomic history.

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Terrestrisuchus is an extinct genus of very small early crocodylomorph that was about 76 centimetres (30 in) long. Fossils have been found in Wales and Southern England and date from near the very end of the Late Triassic during the Rhaetian, and it is known by type and only known species T. gracilis. Terrestrisuchus was a long-legged, active predator that lived entirely on land, unlike modern crocodilians. It inhabited a chain of tropical, low-lying islands that made up southern Britain, along with similarly small-sized dinosaurs and abundant rhynchocephalians. Numerous fossils of Terrestrisuchus are known from fissures in limestone karst which made up the islands it lived on, which formed caverns and sinkholes that preserved the remains of Terrestrisuchus and other island-living reptiles.

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<i>Hwiccewyrm</i> Fossil genus of parareptile

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Magnesian Conglomerate in the Paleobiology Database
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 Weishampel et al., 2004, pp. 521–525
  3. ↑ Riley & Stutchbury, 1836
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 Foffa, D.; Whiteside, D. I.; Viegas, P. A.; Benton, M. J. (2014), "Vertebrates from the Late Triassic Thecodontosaurus-bearing rocks of Durdham Down, Clifton (Bristol, UK)", Proceedings of the Geologists' Association , 125 (3): 317–332, Bibcode:2014PrGA..125..317F, doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2014.02.002
  5. 1 2 Nicholas C. Fraser, Kevin Padian, Gordon M. Walkden and A. L. M. Davis, 2002. Basal dinosauriform remains from Britain and the diagnosis of the Dinosauria. Palaeontology. 45(1), 79-95.
  6. 1 2 H. G. Seeley. (1891). On Agrosaurus macgillivrayi (Seeley), a saurischian reptile from the N.E. coast of Australia. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 47:164-165
  7. 1 2 3 WHITESIDE, D. I.; MARSHALL, J. E. A. (2007-09-17). "The age, fauna and palaeoenvironment of the Late Triassic fissure deposits of Tytherington, South Gloucestershire, UK". Geological Magazine. 145 (1): 105–147. doi:10.1017/s0016756807003925. ISSN   0016-7568. S2CID   129614690.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Galton, Peter (2007). "Notes on the remains of archosaurian reptiles, mostly basal sauropodomorph dinosaurs, from the 1834 fissure fill (Rhaetian, Upper Triassic) at Clifton in Bristol, southwest England". Revue de Paléobiologie. 26 (2): 505–591.
  9. ↑ Riley H and Stutchbury S (1836a) "A description of various remains of three distinct saurian animals discovered in the autumn of 1834, in the Magnesian Conglomerate on Durdham Down, near Bristol". Geological Society of London, Proceedings, 2 (45): 397-399.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Mussini, G.; Whiteside, D. I.; Hildebrandt, C.; Benton, M. J. (2020). "Anatomy of a Late Triassic Bristol fissure: Tytherington fissure 2". Proceedings of the Geologists' Association . 131 (1): 73–93. Bibcode:2020PrGA..131...73M. doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2019.12.001. S2CID   211029445.
  11. 1 2 3 W. E. Swinton. (1939). A new Triassic rhynchocephalian from Gloucestershire. ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History: Zoology, Botany, and Geology'' '''4''':591-59
  12. ↑ Keeble, Emily; Whitestide, David I.; Benton, Michael J. (2018). "The terrestrial fauna of the Late Triassic Pant-y-ffynnon Quarry fissures, South Wales, UK and a new species of Clevosaurus (Lepidosauria: Rhynchocephalia)" (PDF). Proceedings of the Geologists' Association . 129 (2): 99–119. Bibcode:2018PrGA..129...99K. doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2017.11.001. hdl:1983/5afdc677-3ea0-4519-813d-6052ef8370ec.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Whiteside, D. I.; Chambi-Trowell, S. A. V.; Benton, M. J. (2022). "A Triassic crown squamate". Science Advances. 8 (48): eabq8274. Bibcode:2022SciA....8.8274W. doi:10.1126/sciadv.abq8274. hdl: 1983/a3c7a019-cfe6-4eb3-9ac0-d50c61c5319e . ISSN   2375-2548. PMC   10936055 . PMID   36459546.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Butler, R. J.; Meade, L. E.; Cleary, T. J.; McWhirter, K. T.; Brown, E. E.; Kemp, T. S.; Benito, J.; Fraser, N. C. (2023). "Hwiccewyrm trispiculum gen. et sp. nov., a new leptopleuronine procolophonid from the Late Triassic of southwest England". The Anatomical Record. 307 (4): 1390–1420. doi: 10.1002/ar.25316 . PMID   37735997.
  15. ↑ Whiteside, D. I., Duffin, C. J., Gill, P. G., Marshall, J. E. A., & Benton, M. J. (2016). The Late Triassic and Early Jurassic fissure faunas from Bristol and South Wales: Stratigraphy and setting. Palaeontologia Polonica,  67, 257–287.
  16. 1 2 3 Romano, Carlo; Koot, Martha B.; Kogan, Ilja; Brayard, Arnaud; Minikh, Alla V.; Brinkmann, Winand; Bucher, Hugo; Kriwet, Jürgen (February 2016). "Permian-Triassic Osteichthyes (bony fishes): diversity dynamics and body size evolution". Biological Reviews. 91 (1): 106–147. doi:10.1111/brv.12161. PMID   25431138. S2CID   5332637.
  17. 1 2 3 Fraser, N.C. (November 1982). "A New Rhynchocephalian from the British Upper Trias" (PDF). Palaeontology. 25 (4): 709–725.
  18. 1 2 Fraser, N.C.; Walkden, G.M. (August 1984). "The postcranial skeleton of the Upper Triassic sphenodontid Planocephalosaurus robinsonae" (PDF). Palaeontology. 27 (3): 575–595.
  19. 1 2 3 P. Galton. (2005). Basal sauropodomorph dinosaur taxa Thecodontosaurus Riley & Stutchbury, 1836, T. antiquus Morris, 1843 and T. caducus Yates, 2003: their status re: humeral morphs from the 1834 fissure fill (Upper Triassic) in Clifton, Bristol, UK. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology25(3, suppl.):61A
  20. 1 2 von Huene, F. (1902). Überischt über die Reptilien der Trias. Geologische und Paläontologie Abhandlungen, Neu Folge 8:97-156. [German]
  21. 1 2 Kuhn, O. (1961). Die Familien der rezenten und fossilen Amphibien und Reptilien. Meisenbach:Bamberg, 79 p.
  22. ↑ Spiekman SN, Ezcurra MD, Butler RJ, Fraser NC, Maidment SC (2021). "Pendraig milnerae, a new small-sized coelophysoid theropod from the Late Triassic of Wales". Royal Society Open Science. 8 (10): Article ID 210915. Bibcode:2021RSOS....810915S. doi: 10.1098/rsos.210915 . PMC   8493203 . PMID   34754500.

Bibliography

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