Pebbly Arkose | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: Carnian ~ | |
Type | Geological formation |
Unit of | Upper Karoo Group, Karoo Supergroup |
Underlies | Forest Sandstone |
Overlies | Escarpment Grit & Angwa Sandstone |
Lithology | |
Primary | Sandstone |
Location | |
Coordinates | 16°12′S30°18′E / 16.2°S 30.3°E |
Approximate paleocoordinates | 50°48′S11°54′E / 50.8°S 11.9°E |
Region | Mashonaland Central & West |
Country | Botswana Zambia Zimbabwe |
Type section | |
Named for | Descriptive name |
Named by | A.M. MacGregor, Zimbabwe Geological Survey |
The Pebbly Arkose Formation is a Late Triassic geologic formation found in southern Africa.
The formation comprises mainly coarse, arkosic sandstones. [1]
The Pebbly Arkose Formation is found in Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, in the Mid-Zambezi, Mana Pools, Cabora Bassa and Limpopo basins.
The Pebbly Arkose Formation is part of the Upper Karoo Group, overlies the Escarpment formation (in the Mid-Zambezi and Limpopo basins) [2] and the Angwa Sandstone Formation (in the Mana Pools and Cabora Bassa Basins) [3] and underlies the Forest Sandstone Formation. [4]
The Pebbly Arkose has been correlated to the Elliot Formation of the Great Karroo Basin, South Africa [4] [5] and the Mpandi Formation of the Thuli Basin in Botswana and Zimbabwe. [6]
Pinales of the Pebbly Arkose Formation | ||||
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Taxa | Presence | Notes | Images | |
Form genus: Dadoxylon | Widespread in the formation [7] | |||
Archosaurs of the Pebbly Arkose Formation | |||||
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Taxon | Species | Presence | Materials | Notes | Images |
Mbiresaurus [8] | M. raathi | Dande Communal Land. | A complete partially-articulated skeleton. | An early member of Sauropodomorpha | |
Musankwa [9] | M. sanyatiensis | Spurwing Island. | An articulated partial right leg. | A basal massopodan sauropodomorph | |
Massospondylus | M. sp. | Spurwing Island. | A basal sauropodomorph. | ||
Aetosaur [8] | Indeterminate. | ||||
Herrerasaurid [8] | Indeterminate | Dande Communal Land. |
Rhynchosauria of the Pebbly Arkose Formation | |||||
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Taxon | Species | Presence | Materials | Notes | Images |
Hyperodapedon [10] | Dande, Mbire District, Zimbabwe [10] | ||||
Synapsida of the Pebbly Arkose Formation | |||||
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Taxon | Species | Presence | Materials | Notes | Images |
Dicynodontia | Indeterminate. | A possible dicynodont [8] | |||
Gomphodontosuchine [8] | A traversodontid cynodont. |
Fish of the Pebbly Arkose Formation | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Taxon | Species | Presence | Materials | Notes | Images |
Ferganoceratodus [11] | F. edwardsi | A ceratodontiform lungfish |
Euskelosaurus is a sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Late Triassic of South Africa and Lesotho. Fossils have only been recovered from the lower Elliot Formation in South Africa and Lesotho, and in one locality in Zimbabwe.
The Karoo Supergroup is the most widespread stratigraphic unit in Africa south of the Kalahari Desert. The supergroup consists of a sequence of units, mostly of nonmarine origin, deposited between the Late Carboniferous and Early Jurassic, a period of about 120 million years.
The Beaufort Group is the third of the main subdivisions of the Karoo Supergroup in South Africa. It is composed of a lower Adelaide Subgroup and an upper Tarkastad Subgroup. It follows conformably after the Ecca Group and unconformably underlies the Stormberg Group. Based on stratigraphic position, lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic correlations, palynological analyses, and other means of geological dating, the Beaufort Group rocks are considered to range between Middle Permian (Wordian) to Early Triassic (Anisian) in age.
Thuli Parks and Wildlife Land is a protected area in south-western Zimbabwe. It comprises four areas within the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Estate and covers the entire west bank of the Shashe River within the Thuli Circle.
The Clarens Formation is a geological formation found in several localities in Lesotho and in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, and Eastern Cape provinces in South Africa. It is the uppermost of the three formations found in the Stormberg Group of the greater Karoo Supergroup rocks and represents the final phase of preserved sedimentation of the Karoo Basin.
The Forest Sandstone is a geological formation in southern Africa, dating to roughly between 200 and 190 million years ago and covering the Hettangian to Sinemurian stages of the Jurassic Period in the Mesozoic Era. As its name suggests, it consists mainly of sandstone.
Massopoda is a clade of sauropodomorph dinosaurs which lived during the Late Triassic to Late Cretaceous epochs. It was named by paleontologist Adam M. Yates of the University of the Witwatersrand in 2007. Massopoda is a stem-based taxon, defined as all animals more closely related to Saltasaurus loricatus than to Plateosaurus engelhardti.
The Batoka Formation is a geological formation in the Zambezi valley in Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is predominantly a volcanic unit comprising mainly basalts. It was formerly thought to contain sand stones containing the dinosaur Vulcanodon, however this was shown to be in error resulting from interpreting folding of the rocks as separate layers, with the sandstone layers actually being from the underlying Forest Sandstone.
The Molteno Formation is a geological formation found in several localities in Lesotho and South Africa. It lies mainly south of Maseru, near Burgersdorp, Aliwal North, Dordrecht, Molteno, and Elliot. It extends as far north as Matatiele in the Eastern Cape. The formation's localities lie along the Drakensberg Mountains in Kwazulu-Natal, and near Ladybrand in the Free State of South Africa. The Molteno Formation is the lowermost of the three formations in the Stormberg Group of the greater Karoo Supergroup. The Molteno Formation represents the initial phase of preserved sedimentation of the Stormberg Group.
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 Dwyka Group is one of four geological groups that compose the Karoo Supergroup. It is the lowermost geological group and heralds the commencement of sedimentation of the Karoo Supergroup. Based on stratigraphic position, lithostratigraphic correlation and palynological analyses, these lowermost Karoo strata range between the Late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) to Early Permian in age.
The Abrahamskraal Formation is a geological formation and is found in numerous localities in the Northern Cape, Western Cape, and the Eastern Cape of South Africa. It is the lowermost formation of the Adelaide Subgroup of the Beaufort Group, a major geological group that forms part of the greater Karoo Supergroup. It represents the first fully terrestrial geological deposits of the Karoo Basin. Outcrops of the Abrahamskraal Formation are found from the small town Middelpos in its westernmost localities, then around Sutherland, the Moordenaarskaroo north of Laingsburg, Williston, Fraserburg, Leeu-Gamka, Loxton, and Victoria West in the Western Cape and Northern Cape. In the Eastern Cape outcrops are known from Rietbron, north of Klipplaat and Grahamstown, and also southwest of East London.
The Angwa Sandstone is a geological formation of the mid-Triassic Cabora Bassa Basin and Mana Pools Basin of southern Africa, consisting mainly of sandstone.
The Escarpment Grit is a Triassic geologic formation. It is also referred to as the Nyoka Grit.
The Upper Karoo Group is a sequence of Triassic to Early Jurassic sedimentary and volcanic rocks found in Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The Lower Karoo Group is a sequence of late Carboniferous and Permian sandstone sedimentary rocks of the Karoo Supergroup, found in Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.
The Katberg Formation is a geological formation that is found in the Beaufort Group, a major geological group that forms part of the greater Karoo Supergroup in South Africa. The Katberg Formation is the lowermost geological formation of the Tarkastad Subgroup which contains the Lower to Middle Triassic-aged rocks of the Beaufort Group. Outcrops and exposures of the Katberg Formation are found east of 24 degrees on wards and north of Graaff-Reniet, Nieu Bethesda, Cradock, Fort Beaufort, Queensdown, and East London in the south, and ranges as far north as Harrismith in deposits that form a ring around the Drakensberg mountain ranges.
The Middleton Formation is a geological formation that extends through the Northern Cape, Western Cape, and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. It overlies the lower Abrahamskraal Formation, and is the eastern correlate, East of 24ºE, of the Teekloof Formation. Outcrops and exposures of the Middleton Formation range from Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape onwards. The Middleton Formation's type locality lies near the small hamlet, Middleton, approximately 25 km south of Cookhouse. Other exposures lie in hillsides along the Great Fish River in the Eastern Cape. The Middleton Formation forms part of the Adelaide Subgroup of the Beaufort Group, which itself forms part of the Karoo Supergroup.
Mbiresaurus is an extinct genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Late Triassic (Carnian) Pebbly Arkose Formation of Zimbabwe. The genus contains a single species, Mbiresaurus raathi, known from a nearly complete skeleton. Mbiresaurus represents one of Africa’s earliest known definitive dinosaurs.
Musankwa is an extinct genus of massopodan sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Late Triassic (Norian) Pebbly Arkose Formation of Zimbabwe. The genus contains a single species, M. sanyatiensis, known from a partial leg. Musankwa represents the fourth dinosaur genus to be named from Zimbabwe.