Panchet Formation

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Panchet Formation
Stratigraphic range: Early Triassic, Induan
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Type Geological formation
Underlies Supra Panchet Formation
Overlies Raniganj Formation
Location
Region West Bengal, Jharkhand
CountryFlag of India.svg  India

The Panchet Formation is an Early Triassic geological formation from the Damodar Valley of India. [1] [2]

Contents

It is among the few geological formations outside of Russia, South Africa, and China that documents the recovery of global ecosystems immediately after the Permian-Triassic extinction. It shares similar traits to some of these other formations, including the dominance of Lystrosaurus and the primary predators being proterosuchid reptiles. It also preserves a diversity of temnospondyl amphibians. [3] [4]

Palaeofauna

Synapsids

GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
Lystrosaurus

L. murrayi (synonyms: L. orientalis, L. rajurkari)

L. cf. curvatus

L. cf. declivis

A lystrosaurid dicynodont. Lystrosaurus BW.jpg
Panchetocynodon
  • P. damodarensis
A cynodont of uncertain affinity.
Thrinaxodon A thrinaxodontid cynodont.

Amphibians

GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
?Benthosuchidae indet.
Capulomala C. panchetensisA plagiosaurid temnospondyl.
Gonioglyptus

G. fragilis

G. longirostris

A trematosaurid temnospondyl.
Indobrachyops I. panchetensisA rhytidosteid temnospondyl. Indobrachyops panchetensis.jpg
Indolyrocephalus I. huxleyiA trematosaurid.
Lydekkerina L. sp.A lydekkerinid temnospondyl. Lyddekerina1db.jpg
Pachygonia P. incurvataPossibly a brachyopid temnospondyl.
Manubrantlia M. khakiA lapillopsid temnospondyl Manubrantlia jaws.png
Tupilakosaurus T. spA tupilakosaurid temnospondyl. Tupilakosaurus.jpg

Reptiles

GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
Samsarasuchus S. pamelaeA proterosuchid archosauriform.
 ?" Teratosaurus "T. bengalensisA dubious archosauriform represented by a single tooth, formerly considered a rauisuchian but most likely a proterosuchid. [3]
Ankistrodon A. indicusDubious proterosuchid.
Neodiapsida indet.A non-archosauromorph diapsid, known from an ilium. [4]

Fish

GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
Acrolepidae indet.An acrolepid fish.
Perleididae indet.A perleidid fish.
Chondrichthyes indet.A cartilaginous fish.
Ceratodontidae indet.A ceratodontid lungfish.

See also

Related Research Articles

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

Ankistrodon is an extinct genus of archosauriform known from the Early Triassic Panchet Formation of India. First thought to be a theropod dinosaur, it was later determined to be a proterosuchid. The type species is A. indicus, described by prolific British zoologist Thomas Henry Huxley in 1865. One authority in the 1970s classified Ankistrodon as a senior synonym of Proterosuchus. Ezcurra (2023) found Ankistrodon to be a nomen dubium, as the teeth are indistinguishable from those of Proterosuchus. A second Indian proterosuchid from the same formation, Samsarasuchus, was also described in the same study, making it the only known valid proterosuchid from India.

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

Chasmatosuchus was an archosauriform reptile from the early Triassic period of European Russia. One of the earliest described archosauriforms, it was over 2 m long and is thought to have behaved like a modern crocodile. Its mouth had two distinct features: the top of its jaw hooked downwards to aid in holding prey, and the upper palate was lined with a row of teeth—a primitive feature lost in later archosaurs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proterosuchidae</span> Extinct family of reptiles

Proterosuchidae is an early family of basal archosauriforms whose fossils are known from the Late Permian and the Early Triassic. The highest diversity of genera is known from European Russia, but fossils are also known from South Africa, India, China, Australia, Brazil and possibly Argentina. The name comes from Greek πρότερο- ("first") and σοῦχος ("crocodile").

<i>Proterosuchus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles from the Early Triassic of South Africa

Proterosuchus is an extinct genus of archosauriform reptiles that lived during the Early Triassic. It contains three valid species: the type species P. fergusi and the referred species P. alexanderi and P. goweri. All three species lived in what is now South Africa. The genus was named in 1903 by the South African paleontologist Robert Broom. The genus Chasmatosaurus is a junior synonym of Proterosuchus.

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

Archosaurus is an extinct genus of carnivorous proterosuchid archosauriform reptile. Its fossils are dated to the latest Permian of Russia and Poland, it is one of the earliest known archosauriforms. The type and only species is Archosaurus rossicus, known from several fragmentary specimens which cumulatively represent parts of the skull and cervical vertebrae. It would have been 3 metres (9.8 ft) long when fully grown.

The Kota Formation is a geological formation in India. The age of the Kota Formation is uncertain; it is commonly considered to date to the Early Jurassic, but some studies have suggested it may extend into the Middle Jurassic or even later. It conformably overlies the Lower Jurassic Upper Dharmaram Formation and is unconformably overlain by the Lower Cretaceous Gangapur Formation. It is split into a Lower Member and Upper Member. The Lower Member is approximately 100 m thick while the Upper Member is 490 m thick. Both subunits primarily consist of mudstone and sandstone, but near the base of the upper unit there is a 20-30 metre thick succession of limestone deposited in a freshwater setting.

Indolyrocephalus is an extinct genus of prehistoric amphibian belonging to the family Trematosauridae. It contains a single species, I. huxleyi, from the Early Triassic Panchet Formation of India. It was initially classified in Gonioglyptus, then into its own genus Indolyrocephalus, and then back into Gonioglyptus, but is presently placed in Indolyrocephalus once again.

Gonioglyptus is an extinct genus of trematosaurian temnospondyl within the family Trematosauridae. It is known from the Early Triassic Panchet Formation of India. It contains two species: G. longirostris and G. fragilis. The species G. kokeni from Pakistan has since been reclassified into Aphaneramma.

Pachygonia is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Early Triassic Panchet Formation of India. It contains a single species, P. incurvata. It may potentially be a member of the family Brachyopidae.

Jaikosuchus is an extinct genus of proterosuchid archosauriform. It contains a single species, J. magnus. Fossils have been found from European Russia that date back to the upper Olenekian stage of the Early Triassic.

Tsylmosuchus is an extinct genus of proterosuchid archosauriform reptile known from Western Russia. Fossils referred to Tsylmosuchus occurred over a wide area in sediments corresponding to the Induan and Olenekian stages of the Early Triassic. Most of these fossils are fragmentary neck vertebrae which were originally reported as sharing similarities with crocodile-line archosaurs (pseudosuchians) such as Mandasuchus. As a result, Tsylmosuchus was first described as part of the family Rauisuchidae, making it supposedly one of the oldest known archosaurs. However, its fragmentary remains do not show any of the distinguishing features of rauisuchids or even pseudosuchians in general, so Tsylmosuchus has more recently been interpreted as an indeterminate archosauriform. Although three species of Tsylmosuchus have been named, they lack diagnostic traits and are probably not distinct from each other. In 2023, Tsylmosuchus was reinterpreted as a proterosuchid, specifically a member of the subfamily Chasmatosuchinae.

Nambalia is a genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur. It lived during the Late Triassic period in what is now Telangana, central India. It is known from the holotype ISI R273, parts 1–3, partially articulated postcranial material and from the paratypes ISI R273, parts 4-29, including partial postcrania of at least two individuals of different sizes found closely associated and one of them is nearly the same size as the holotype.

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The Lower Dharmaram Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is one of the formations of the Pranhita–Godavari Basin. It is of latest Norian and Rhaetian ages, and is notable for its fossils of early dinosaurs.

Vonhuenia is an extinct genus of proterosuchid, a basal archosauriform from the Early Triassic of Russia. Fossils have been found in the Vokhminskaya Formation, along the Vetluga River that are Induan in age, making Vonhuenia one of the earliest archosauriforms.

The Yerrapalli Formation is a Triassic rock formation consisting primarily of mudstones that outcrops in the Pranhita–Godavari Basin in southeastern India. The Yerrapalli Formation preserves fossils of freshwater and terrestrial vertebrates as well as trace fossils of invertebrates. The tetrapod fauna includes temnospondyl amphibians, archosauromorph reptiles, and dicynodonts.

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Samsarasuchus is an extinct genus of archosauriform reptile from the Early Triassic of India. This genus has one known species, Samsarasuchus pamelae. Samsarasuchus lived a few million years after the Permian-Triassic extinction, the largest known mass extinction event. It was a member of the Proterosuchidae, a group of successful crocodile-like reptiles that survived the extinction event and were among the earliest successful archosauromorphs.

References

  1. Romano, Marco; Bernardi, Massimo; Petti, Fabio Massimo; Rubidge, Bruce; Hancox, John; Benton, Michael J. (2020). "Early Triassic terrestrial tetrapod fauna: a review". Earth-Science Reviews. 210: 103331. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.103331.
  2. Bandyopadhyay, Saswati; Ray, Sanghamitra (2020-03-01). "Gondwana Vertebrate Faunas of India: Their Diversity and Intercontinental Relationships". Episodes. 43 (1): 438–460. doi: 10.18814/epiiugs/2020/020028 . ISSN   0705-3797.
  3. 1 2 Ezcurra, Martín D.; Bandyopadhyay, Saswati; Sengupta, Dhurjati P.; Sen, Kasturi; Sennikov, Andrey G.; Sookias, Roland B.; Nesbitt, Sterling J.; Butler, Richard J. (25 October 2023). "A new archosauriform species from the Panchet Formation of India and the diversification of Proterosuchidae after the end-Permian mass extinction". Royal Society Open Science. 10 (10). doi:10.1098/rsos.230387. ISSN   2054-5703. PMC   10598453 . PMID   37885992.
  4. 1 2 Ezcurra, Martín D.; Bandyopadhyay, Saswati; Sen, Kasturi (March 2022). "A new faunistic component of the Lower Triassic Panchet Formation of India increases the continental non-archosauromorph neodiapsid record in the aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction". Journal of Paleontology. 96 (2): 428–438. doi:10.1017/jpa.2021.100. ISSN   0022-3360.