Qigu Formation | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: Oxfordian-Early Kimmeridgian, | |
Type | Geological formation |
Underlies | Kalaza Formation |
Overlies | Toutunhe Formation (Junggar) Qiketai Formation (equivalent unit in the Turpan Basin) |
Thickness | Over 520 m (1,710 ft) |
Lithology | |
Primary | Siltstone, sandstone |
Location | |
Coordinates | 43°36′N87°18′E / 43.6°N 87.3°E |
Approximate paleocoordinates | 42°54′N97°30′E / 42.9°N 97.5°E |
Region | Xinjiang |
Country | China |
Extent | Southern Junggar Basin (blue) Turpan Basin (disputed) (cyan) |
The Qigu Formation is a Late Jurassic (Oxfordian) geologic formation in the Southern Junggar Basin in China. Indeterminate Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, including theropod teeth and a fibula. [1] a stegosaur dorsal vertebra [2] and a Eusauropod tooth. [3] Xinjiangtitan was erroneously thought to be from this formation, but it is actually from the older Qiketai Formation, which is in a different basin. [4] The term "Qigu Formation" is also used to sediments of equivalent age in the Turpan Basin, but this might better be treated as a separate formation. It is laterally equivalent to the Shishugou Formation.
The mass accumulation of Jurassic freshwater turtle fossils belonging to the genus Annemys , discovered in 2009 at a site nicknamed "Mesa Chelonia" in Shanshan County, Xinjiang is thought to likely belong to the Qigu Formation, though it belongs to the strata of the Turpan Basin. [5] [6] Remains of indeterminate dinosaurs, including ankylosaurs, metriacanthosaurids, and dromaeosaurids are known from the formation. [7] [8] [9]
The remains of indeterminate rhamphorhynchid pterosaurs have been recovered from the formation. Among others, the following fossils have been found in the formation: [10]
Crocodyliformes | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Taxa | Species | Material | Location | Notes | Images | |
Nominosuchus | Indeterminate | Liuhuanggou bonebed | ||||
Sunosuchus | ||||||
Theriosuchus |
Mammaliamorphs [11] | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Taxa | Species | Material | Location | Notes | Images | |
Nanolestes | N. mackennai | Liuhuanggou bonebed | ||||
Tegotherium | Indeterminate | |||||
Dsungarodon | D. zuoi | Docodontan | ||||
Sineleutherus | S. uyguricus | |||||
Eutriconodonta | Indeterminate |
Metriacanthosauridae is an extinct family of allosauroid theropod dinosaurs that lived from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. The family is split into two subgroups: Metriacanthosaurinae, which includes dinosaurs closely related to Metriacanthosaurus, and another group composed of the close relatives of Yangchuanosaurus. Metriacanthosaurids are considered carnosaurs, belonging to the Allosauroidea superfamily. The group includes species of large range in body size. Of their physical traits, most notable are their neural spines. The records of the group are mostly confined to Asia, though Metriacanthosaurus is known from Europe. Metriacanthosauridae is used as a senior synonym of Sinraptoridae.
Lukousaurus is an archosauromorph based on most of a small skull's snout, displaying distinctive lachrymal horns, found in the Early Jurassic-age Lower Lufeng Formation, Yunnan, China and was described by Chung Chien Young in 1940. The generic name refers to the Lugou Bridge, lit. “crossroads”, near Beijing, where the Sino-Japanese War started. L. yini is tentatively classified as a theropod dinosaur by some allied to ceratosaurs, by others a coelurosaur. Its skull is rather robust for its size though the teeth were described by the author as typically theropodan. Whatever Lukousaurus was, it was definitely an archosauromorph.
Sphenosuchia is a suborder of basal crocodylomorphs that first appeared in the Triassic and occurred into the Middle Jurassic. Most were small, gracile animals with an erect limb posture. They are now thought to be ancestral to crocodyliforms, a group which includes all living crocodilians.
Compsognathidae is a family of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs. Compsognathids were small carnivores, generally conservative in form, hailing from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. The bird-like features of these species, along with other dinosaurs such as Archaeopteryx inspired the idea for the connection between dinosaur reptiles and modern-day avian species. Compsognathid fossils preserve diverse integument — skin impressions are known from four genera commonly placed in the group, Compsognathus, Sinosauropteryx, Sinocalliopteryx, and Juravenator. While the latter three show evidence of a covering of some of the earliest primitive feathers over much of the body, Juravenator and Compsognathus also show evidence of scales on the tail or hind legs. "Ubirajara jubatus", informally described in 2020, had elaborate integumentary structures on its back and shoulders superficially similar to the display feathers of a standardwing bird-of-paradise, and unlike any other non-avian dinosaur currently described.
Lonchognathosaurus is a genus of dsungaripterid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Aptian-Albian-age Lower Cretaceous Lianmuqin Formation of Xinjiang, China.
The Inferior Oolite is a sequence of Jurassic age sedimentary rocks in Europe. It was deposited during the Middle Jurassic. The Inferior Oolite Group as more recently defined is a Jurassic lithostratigraphic group in southern and eastern England. It has been variously known in the past as the Under Oolite, the Inferior Oolite, the Inferior Oolite Series and the Redbourne Group.
The Shishugou Formation is a geological formation in Xinjiang, China.
The Kalaza Formation is a geological formation in Xinjiang, China whose strata date back to the Late Jurassic. There is some confusion with the stratigraphy of this unit, as the term is used for sediments of equivalent age in both the Junggar Basin and the Turpan Basin. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from formation.
The Tugulu Group is a geological Group in Xinjiang, China whose strata date back to the Early Cretaceous. Dinosaur skeletal remains and footprints are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.
Gobiops is an extinct genus of temnospondyl from the Jurassic of Mongolia, China, and possibly Kyrgyzstan. The genus is represented by a single species, Gobiops desertus. It was named in 1991 from the Late Jurassic Shar Teeg Beds of Mongolia. Additional material was described in 2005 from the Middle Jurassic Toutunhe Formation in the Junggar Basin of China. Gobiops belongs to the family Brachyopidae. The poorly known genus Ferganobatrachus, named in 1990 from Shar Teeg, is probably synonymous with Gobiops.
Dyoplax is an extinct genus of pseudosuchian archosaur, possibly an erpetosuchid. Fossils have been found from the type locality within the upper Schilfsandstein Formation in Stuttgart, Germany. The holotype specimen was a natural cast of a nearly complete skeleton that lacked only parts of the tail and limb bones.
The Solnhofen Limestone or Solnhofen Plattenkalk is a collective term for multiple Late Jurassic lithographic limestones in southeastern Germany, which is famous for its well preserved fossil flora and fauna dating to the late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian-Tithonian). The paleoenvironment is also often referred to as the Solnhofen Archipelago. The Solnhofen Archipelago was located at the northern edge of the Tethys Ocean as part of a shallow epicontinental sea and is firmly a part of the Mediterranean realm.
The Lianmuqin Formation, also transcribed as Lianmugin Formation, and Lianmuxin Formation, is an Early Cretaceous geologic formation composed of "interbedded red green and yellow variegated mudstones and siltstones". Dinosaur remains have been recovered from it.
Sineleutherus is an extinct genus of euharamiyids which existed in Asia during the Jurassic period. The type species is Sineleutherus uyguricus, which was described by Thomas Martin, Alexander O. Averianov and Hans-Ulrich Pfretzschner in 2010; it lived in what is now China during the late Jurassic Qigu Formation. A second species, Sineleutherus issedonicus, was described by A. O. Averianov, A. V. Lopatin and S. A. Krasnolutskii in 2011. It lived in what is now Sharypovsky District during the middle Jurassic ; its fossils were collected from the upper part of the Itat Formation. However, this is now believed to represent several euharamiyid taxa not closely related to Sineleutherus.
Jiaodontus is an extinct genus of lonchidiid cartilaginous fish which existed in Liuhuanggou, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, northwestern China, during the late Jurassic. Fossils have been found in the Qigu Formation, China. It was first named by Stefanie Klug, Thomas Tütken, Oliver Wings, Hans-Ulrich Pfretzschner and Thomas Martin in 2010 and the type species is Jiaodontus montaltissimus.
Nanolestes is an extinct genus of mammals in the order Amphitheriida from the Late Jurassic of Eurasia. Two species, N. krusati and N. drescherae are known from the Alcobaça Formation in Portugal. Another species, N. mackennai, was described from the Oxfordian aged Qigu Formation of China by Thomas Martin, Alexander O. Averianov and Hans-Ulrich Pfretzschner in 2010.
Xinjiangtitan is an extinct genus of mamenchisaurid sauropod that lived during the Middle Jurassic of what is now Xinjiang, northwestern China. Its type and only species is Xinjiangtitan shanshanesis, known from a single incomplete skeleton recovered from the Qiketai Formation. The holotype preserves one of the most complete vertebral columns of any sauropod found in Asia, and has the longest complete neck known for any animal.
Sungeodon is an extinct genus of dicynodont therapsid from the Early Triassic of China. It is known from a single type species, Sungeodon kimkraemerae, which was named in 2014. Sungeodon is the earliest member of a group of dicynodonts called Kannemeyeriiformes, which would radiate later in the Triassic to become the dominant large herbivores of terrestrial ecosystems. Before its discovery no kannemeyeriiform dicynodonts were known from the Early Triassic. The presence of Sungeodon in the earliest Triassic Jiucaiyuan Formation indicates that dicynodonts diversified soon after the Permian-Triassic extinction event, mirroring the explosive radiations of other tetrapod groups such as archosaurs soon after the extinction.
Tegotherium is an extinct mammaliaform from the Late Jurassic of East Asia. The type species T. gubini is known from the Shar Teeg Beds of Mongolia and an indeterminate species is also known from the Late Jurassic Qigu Formation of China. It belongs to the clade Docodonta.
The Qiketai Formation is a geological formation in Xinjiang, China. It is found within the Turpan-Hami Basin. It is roughly equivalent in age to the nearby Toutunhe Formation and Wucaiwan Formation of the Southern and Northern Junggar Basin, respectively. Tuffites within the unit have been dated to the Callovian stage of the Jurassic approximately 164.6 ± 1.4 ma. The dinosaur Xinjiangtitan is known from the formation.