Moradi Formation

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Moradi Formation
Stratigraphic range: Lopingian
~259–252  Ma
Type Geological formation
Unit of Izégouandane Group
Sub-unitsLower, Middle and Upper Units
Underlies Teloua 1 Formation
Overlies Tamamaït Formation
Thickness100 metres (330 ft)
Lithology
Primary Mudstone, siltstone
Other Sandstone, conglomerate
Location
Coordinates 18°48′N7°12′E / 18.8°N 7.2°E / 18.8; 7.2
Approximate paleocoordinates 16°36′S8°12′E / 16.6°S 8.2°E / -16.6; 8.2
Region Agadez Region
CountryFlag of Niger.svg  Niger
Extent Iullemmeden Basin
Niger relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Moradi Formation (Niger)

The Moradi Formation is a geological formation in Niger. It is of Late Permian age. It is informally divided into three subunits. The lower portion of the formation consists of red mudstone, with muddy calcareous sandstone and quartz-granlule conglomerate present as lenses. The middle portion consists of muddy siltstone in thick beds interbedded with red argillaceous sandstone. The lower two thirds of the upper portion of the formation consist of red siltstone intercalated with channel lag intraformational conglomerates, while the upper third consists of barchanoid shaped lenses of conglomeratic sandstone with ventifacts. [1] These facies are indicatived of deposition under arid conditions, with less than 300 millimetres (12 in) of annual rainfall in the Central Pangean desert, with annual temperatures of 30 to 35 °C (86 to 95 °F), but with ephemeral water presence including lakes. [2]

Fossil content

The formation is known for its fossils, including the temnospondyls Nigerpeton [3] and Saharastega, [4] [5] the pareiasaur Bunostegos, [6] the captorhinid Moradisaurus , [7] as well as a large indeterminate gorgonopsid. [8] Dicynodonts, widespread in other contemporary deposits, appear to be absent, with previous reports being in error. [8] The flora of the formation includes indeterminate voltzian conifers. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Permian</span> Sixth and last period of the Paleozoic Era 299–252 million years ago

The Permian is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period 298.9 million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.902 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleozoic Era; the following Triassic Period belongs to the Mesozoic Era. The concept of the Permian was introduced in 1841 by geologist Sir Roderick Murchison, who named it after the region of Perm in Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dicynodontia</span> Extinct clade of therapsids

Dicynodontia is an extinct clade of anomodonts, an extinct type of non-mammalian therapsid. Dicynodonts were herbivores that typically bore a pair of tusks, hence their name, which means 'two dog tooth'. Members of the group possessed a horny, typically toothless beak, unique amongst all synapsids. Dicynodonts first appeared in Southern Pangaea during the mid-Permian, ca. 270–260 million years ago, and became globally distributed and the dominant herbivorous animals in the Late Permian, ca. 260–252 Mya. They were devastated by the end-Permian Extinction that wiped out most other therapsids ca. 252 Mya. They rebounded during the Triassic but died out towards the end of that period. They were the most successful and diverse of the non-mammalian therapsids, with over 70 genera known, varying from rat-sized burrowers to elephant-sized browsers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pareiasauria</span> Extinct clade of reptiles

Pareiasaurs are an extinct clade of large, herbivorous parareptiles. Members of the group were armoured with osteoderms which covered large areas of the body. They first appeared in southern Pangea during the Middle Permian, before becoming globally distributed during the Late Permian. Pareiasaurs were the largest reptiles of the Permian, reaching sizes equivalent to those of contemporary therapsids. Pareiasaurs became extinct in the Permian–Triassic extinction event.

<i>Daptocephalus</i> Assemblage Zone

The Daptocephalus Assemblage Zone is a tetrapod assemblage zone or biozone found in the Adelaide Subgroup of the Beaufort Group, a majorly fossiliferous and geologically important geological Group of the Karoo Supergroup in South Africa. This biozone has outcrops located in the upper Teekloof Formation west of 24°E, the majority of the Balfour Formation east of 24°E, and the Normandien Formation in the north. It has numerous localities which are spread out from Colesberg in the Northern Cape, Graaff-Reniet to Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, and from Bloemfontein to Harrismith in the Free State. The Daptocephalus Assemblage Zone is one of eight biozones found in the Beaufort Group and is considered Late Permian (Lopingian) in age. Its contact with the overlying Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone marks the Permian-Triassic boundary.

<i>Lystrosaurus</i> Assemblage Zone

The Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone is a tetrapod assemblage zone or biozone which correlates to the upper Adelaide and lower Tarkastad Subgroups of the Beaufort Group, a fossiliferous and geologically important geological Group of the Karoo Supergroup in South Africa. This biozone has outcrops in the south central Eastern Cape and in the southern and northeastern Free State. The Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone is one of eight biozones found in the Beaufort Group, and is considered to be Early Triassic in age.

<i>Cochleosaurus</i> Extinct genus of temnospondyls

Cochleosaurus (“spoon lizard”, from the Latin cochlear "spoon" and Greek sauros “lizard”_ were medium-sized edopoid temnospondyls that lived in Euramerica during the Muscovian period. Two species, C. bohemicus and C. florensis, have been identified from the fossil record.

<i>Edops</i> Extinct genus of amphibians

Edops is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Late Carboniferous - Early Permian periods. Unlike more advanced temnospondyls of the time, such as Eryops, Edops exhibited an archaic pattern of palatal bones, and still possessed various additional bones at the back of the skull. Edopoids also had particularly big premaxillae and proportionally small external nostrils. Within the clade, the most basal member seems to be Edops from the Early Permian Archer City Formation of the US, a broad-skulled animal with large palatal teeth.

<i>Capetus</i> (amphibian) Extinct genus of amphibians

Capetus is an extinct genus of temnospondyl from the Upper Carboniferous of the Czech Republic. It reached a length of 150 cm.

<i>Nigerpeton</i>

Nigerpeton is an extinct genus of crocodile-like temnospondyls from the late Permian (Changhsingian) period. These temnospondyls lived in modern-day Niger, which was once part of central Pangaea, about 250 million years ago. Nigerpeton is a member of the Cochleosauridae family, a group of edopoid temnospondyl amphibians known from the late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) and early Permian (Cisuralian).

Sangusaurus is an extinct genus of large dicynodont synapsid with two recognized species: S. edentatus and S. parringtonii. Sangusaurus is named after the Sangu stream in eastern Zambia near to where it was first discovered + ‘saur’ which is the Greek root for lizard. Sangusaurus fossils have been recovered from the upper parts of the Ntawere Formation in Zambia and of the Lifua Member of the Manda Beds in Tanzania. The earliest study considered Sangusaurus a kannemeyeriid dicynodont, but more recent phylogenetic analyses place Sangusaurus within the stahleckeriid clade of Dicynodontia. Until recently, little work had been done to describe Sangusaurus, likely due to the fact that only four incomplete fossil specimens have been discovered.

<i>Deltavjatia</i>

Deltavjatia was a pareiasauromorph procolophonoid from the Tatarian stage of the Permian time period. It had a large body of about 1.5 m (4.9 ft) in length. Deltavjatia was an herbivore and lived in what is now Russia. The first specimen of Deltavjatia was a specimen of a skull and lower mandible, found in the Urpalov Formation in Kotelnich, Vyatka River. Since then, numerous mostly complete skeletons have been found, many of them being so well preserved due to the silty, anaerobic environment of the Kotelnich deposits that fossilised white blood cells are able to be distinguished in them. Analyses of the bone histology of Deltavjatia show that they grew very rapidly during the early stages of their ontogeny but that their growth rate drastically slowed down once they reached approximately half of their full body size.

Christian Alfred Sidor is an American vertebrate paleontologist. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Biology, University of Washington in Seattle, as well as Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology and Associate Director for Research and Collections at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. His research focuses on Permian and Triassic tetrapod evolution, especially on therapsids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Velosauria</span> Extinct clade of reptiles

Velosauria is a group of pareiasaur reptiles that existed in the late Permian period. They ranged in size from the 50-centimeter-long Pumiliopareia to the 3-meter-long Scutosaurus. Velosaurs were some of the largest reptiles of their time.

<i>Adamanterpeton</i> Extinct genus of temnospondyls

Adamanterpeton is a genus of Edopoid Temnospondyl within the family Cochleosauridae. The type species A. ohioensis was named in 1998 and is currently the only known species within this genus. Adamanterpeton is rare in the Linton vertebrate assemblage, with other amphibians like Sauropleura, Ophiderpeton, and Colosteus being more common. Unlike other Linton vertebrates, Adamanterpeton may have been adapted to a terrestrial lifestyle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edopoidea</span> Extinct superfamily of amphibians

Edopoidea is a clade of primitive temnospondyl amphibians including the genus Edops and the family Cochleosauridae. Edopoids are known from the Late Carboniferous and Early Permian of North America and Europe, and the Late Permian of Africa. They are among the most basal temnospondyls, and possess a number of primitive features that were lost in later members of the group.

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

Bunostegos is an extinct genus of pareiasaur parareptile from the Late Permian of the Agadez Region in Niger. The type species, Bunostegos akokanensis, was named from the Moradi Formation in 2003. It was a cow-sized animal with a distinctive skull that had large bony knobs, similar in form to those of other pareiasaurs but far larger. The species appears to have lived in a desert in the centre of the supercontinent of Pangaea.

<i>Parasaurus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Parasaurus is a genus of pareiasaur known from fossils collected in the Kupferschiefer in Germany, dating to the Late Permian (Wuchiapingian). The type species, Parasaurus geinitzi, described by Hermann von Meyer in 1857, was the first pareiasaur ever described. The seven known specimens were redescribed in 2008.

<i>Hyloidichnus</i> Trace fossil

Hyloidichnus is a reptile ichnogenus commonly found in assemblages of ichnofossils dating to the Permian to Triassic in North America, Africa, South America, and Europe.

<i>Moradisaurus</i> Extinct genus of large captorhinid tetrapods

Moradisaurus is an extinct genus of large captorhinid tetrapods, with a single species Moradisaurus grandis, known from the late Permian (Lopingian) aged Moradi Formation of Niger. It is the largest captorhinid known, estimated to have reached a snout-vent length of over two metres. Similar to other members of Moradisaurinae, it possessed multiple tooth rows, which is associated with a high-fiber herbivorous diet.

References

  1. Smith, Roger M.H.; Sidor, Christian A.; Tabor, Neil J.; Steyer, J. Sébastien (December 2015). "Sedimentology and vertebrate taphonomy of the Moradi Formation of northern Niger: A Permian wet desert in the tropics of Pangaea". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 440: 128–141. Bibcode:2015PPP...440..128S. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2015.08.032.
  2. Tabor, Neil J.; Smith, Roger M.H.; Steyer, J. Sébastien; Sidor, Christian A.; Poulsen, Christopher J. (January 2011). "The Permian Moradi Formation of northern Niger: Paleosol morphology, petrography and mineralogy". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 299 (1–2): 200–213. Bibcode:2011PPP...299..200T. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.11.002.
  3. Sidor, Christian A. (November 2013). "The vertebrate fauna of the Upper Permian of Niger – VIII. Nigerpeton ricqlesi (Temnospondyli: Cochleosauridae) and tetrapod biogeographic provinces". Comptes Rendus Palevol. 12 (7–8): 463–472. Bibcode:2013CRPal..12..463S. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2013.05.005. ISSN   1631-0683.
  4. Damiani, R.; Sidor, C. A.; Steyer, J. S.; Smith, R. M. H.; Larsson, H. C. E.; Maga, A.; Ide, O. (2006). "The vertebrate fauna of the Upper Permian of Niger. V. The primitive temnospondyl Saharastega moradiensis". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 26 (3): 559–572. Bibcode:2006JVPal..26..559D. doi:10.1080/02724634.2006.10010015.
  5. Sidor, Christian A.; O'Keefe, F. Robin; Damiani, Ross; Steyer, J. Sébastien; Smith, Roger M. H.; Larsson, Hans C. E.; Sereno, Paul C.; Ide, Oumarou; Maga, Abdoulaye (April 2005). "Permian tetrapods from the Sahara show climate-controlled endemism in Pangaea" (PDF). Nature. 434 (7035): 886–889. Bibcode:2005Natur.434..886S. doi:10.1038/nature03393. ISSN   0028-0836. PMID   15829962. S2CID   4416647.
  6. Sidor, C.A.; Blackburn, D.C.; Gado, B. (2003). "The vertebrate fauna of the Upper Permian of Niger — II, Preliminary description of a new pareiasaur" (PDF). Palaeontologica Africana. 39: 45–52. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-11-07. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
  7. Taquet, P. (1969). Première découverte en Afrique d'un Reptile Captorhinomorphe (Cotylosaurien). Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de l'Academie des Sciences Paris, Série D268:779-781
  8. 1 2 Smiley, Tara M.; Sidor, Christian A.; Maga, Abdoulaye; Ide, Oumarou (2008-06-12). "The vertebrate fauna of the Upper Permian of Niger. VI. First evidence of a gorgonopsian therapsid". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 28 (2): 543–547. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2008)28[543:tvfotu]2.0.co;2. ISSN   0272-4634. S2CID   131082914.
  9. Looy, Cindy V.; Ranks, Stephanie L.; Chaney, Dan S.; Sanchez, Sophie; Steyer, Jean-Sébastien; Smith, Roger M.H.; Sidor, Christian A.; Myers, Timothy S.; Ide, Oumarou; Tabor, Neil J. (June 2016). "Biological and physical evidence for extreme seasonality in central Permian Pangea". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 451: 210–226. Bibcode:2016PPP...451..210L. doi: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.02.016 .