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The Elliot Formation is a geological formation and forms part of the Stormberg Group, the uppermost geological group that comprises the greater Karoo Supergroup. Outcrops of the Elliot Formation have been found in the northern Eastern Cape, southern Free State, and in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa. Outcrops and exposures are also found in several localities in Lesotho such as Qacha's Neck, Hill Top, Quthing, and near the capital, Maseru. The Elliot Formation is further divided into the lower (LEF) and upper (UEF) Elliot formations to differentiate significant sedimentological differences between these layers. The LEF is dominantly Late Triassic (Norian-Hettangian) in age while the UEF is mainly Early Jurassic (Sinemurian-Pliensbachian) and is tentatively regarded to preserve a continental record of the Triassic-Jurassic boundary in southern Africa. This geological formation is named after the town of Elliot in the Eastern Cape, and its stratotype locality is located on the Barkly Pass, 9 km north of the town.
Erythrochampsa is an extinct genus of protosuchian crocodyliform. Fossils have been found from the Red Beds of the Stormberg Group, the youngest group of strata from the Karoo Supergroup outcropping in South Africa.
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Platyognathus is an extinct genus of protosuchian crocodyliform. Fossils are known from the Early Jurassic Lower Lufeng Formation in Yunnan, China and belong to the type and only species, P. hsui.
The Stormberg Group is one of the four geological groups that comprises the Karoo Supergroup in South Africa. It is the uppermost geological group representing the final phase of preserved sedimentation of the Karoo Basin. The Stormberg Group rocks are considered to range between Lower Triassic (Olenekian) to Lower Jurassic (Pliensbachian) in age. These estimates are based on means of geological dating including stratigraphic position, lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic correlations, and palynological analyses.
The geology of Lesotho is built on ancient crystalline basement rock up to 3.6 billion years old, belonging to the Kaapvaal Craton, a section of stable primordial crust. Most of the rocks in the country are sedimentary or volcanic units, belonging to the Karoo Supergroup. The country is notable for large fossil deposits and intense erosion due to high rainfall and a rare case of southern African glaciation during the last ice age. Lesotho has extensive diamonds and other natural resources and has the highest concentration of kimberlite pipes anywhere in the world.
References
- 1 2 3 Dollman, Kathleen N.; Clark, James M.; Viglietti, Pia A.; Browning, Claire; Choiniere, Jonah N (2021). "Revised anatomy, taxonomy and biostratigraphy of Notochampsa istedana Broom, 1904, a Lower Jurassic crocodyliform from the Clarens Formation (Stormberg Group), and its implications for early crocodyliform phylogeny". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 19 (9): 651–675. doi:10.1080/14772019.2021.1948926. S2CID 238241175 . Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- ↑ Walker, A. D. (1990). "A revision of Sphenosuchus acutus Haughton, a crocodylomorph reptile from the Elliot Formation (Late Triassic or Early Jurassic) of South Africa". Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences. 330 (1256): 1–120. doi:10.1098/rstb.1990.0185.
- ↑ Nash, D. S. (1975). "The morphology and relationships of a crocodilian, Orthosuchus stormbergi, from the Upper Triassic of Lesotho". Annals of the South African Museum. 67 (1975)(7): 227–329.
- ↑ Durand, J. F. (2005). "Major African contributions to Palaeozoic and Mesozoic vertebrate palaeontology". Journal of African Earth Sciences. Phanerozoic Evolution of Africa. 43 (1–3): 53–82. Bibcode:2005JAfES..43...53D. doi:10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2005.07.014.
- ↑ Kitching, J. W.; Raath, M. A. (1984). "Fossils from the Elliot and Clarens formations (Karoo sequence) of the northeastern Cape, Orange Free State and Lesotho, and a suggested biozonation based on tetrapods". Paleontologica Africana. 25: 111–125.
- ↑ Broom, R. (1904). "On a new crocodilian genus (Notochampsa) from the upper Stormberg beds of South Africa". Geological Magazine. New Series, Decade V. 1 (12): 582–584. Bibcode:1904GeoM....1..582B. doi:10.1017/S0016756800124367. S2CID 128988222.
- ↑ Haughton, S. H. (1924). "The fauna and stratigraphy of the Stormberg Series". Annals of the South African Museum. 12: 323–497.
- ↑ Romer, A. S. (1956). Osteology of the Reptiles. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-89464-985-X.
- ↑ Steel, R. (1973). "Crocodylia". In Kuhn, O. (ed.). Handbuch der Palaoherpetologie (16 ed.). Stuttgart: G. Fischer Verlag. pp. 1–116.
- ↑ Huene, F. von (1925). "Die Bedeutung der Sphenosuchus-Gruppe fur den Ursprung der Krokodile". Z. Indukt. Abstamm.-u. Vererblehre. 38: 307–322. doi:10.1007/BF02118235. S2CID 12461978.
