Tahora Formation

Last updated
Tahora Formation
Stratigraphic range: Santonian-Maastrichtian (Piripauan)
~85.8–66  Ma
Type Geological formation
Unit of Tinui Group
Sub-unitsMaungataniwha Sandstone Member, Mutuera Member, Houpapa Member
Underlies Whangai Formation
Overlies Urewera Group or Matawai Group
Thickness~500 m (1,600 ft) [1]
Lithology
Primary Sandstone, conglomerate
Other Siltstone
Location
Coordinates 39°00′S176°48′E / 39.0°S 176.8°E / -39.0; 176.8
Approximate paleocoordinates 59°24′S168°48′W / 59.4°S 168.8°W / -59.4; -168.8
Region North Island
CountryFlag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
Extent Gisborne
Type section
Named forTahora Station
New Zealand relief map.jpg
Lightgreen pog.svg
Tahora Formation (New Zealand)

The Tahora Formation is a Late Cretaceous geologic formation that outcrops in northeastern New Zealand near Napier. [2] [3] It is Haumurian in age according to the New Zealand geologic time scale (mainly Campanian, but ranging from Santonian to lower Maastrichtian). It forms part of the Upper Cretaceous to Teurian (Danian) (lower Paleocene) Tinui Group. It unconformably overlies the Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous Urewera Group or the Upper Cretaceous Matawai Group. It is conformably overlain by the Haumurian to Teurian Whangai Formation. It consist of three members, the Maungataniwha Sandstone Member, the Mutuera Member and the Houpapa Member. [1] It is named for Tahora Station, south of Matawai in the Gisborne Region. The aptly named Maungataniwha (Māori for "mountain of monsters") Sandstone Member is known for its rich reptile fossil remains, first investigated by amateur palaeontologist Joan Wiffen.

Contents

Depositional environment

The whole of the Tinui Group is interpreted to be an upper Cretaceous transgressive sequence. The Maungataniwha Sandstone Member was deposited in a very shallow water to beach environment. The siltstones of the time-equivalent Mutuera Member are thought to have been deposited in a mid to outer shelf environment. The Houpapa Member is interpreted to be the fill of local channels cut into the underlying strata. [1]

Fossil content

Vertebrates

Indeterminate dinosaur remains have been recovered from the formation, including indeterminate theropod, titanosaur, nodosaurid, and hypsilophodont remains. [4] Other fossils found in the Tahora Formation are of the 40 feet (12 m) long mosasaur Moanasaurus . The humerus of a pterosaur very similar to the Australian Mythunga has also been found. An ulna of an indeterminate pterosaur known has also been found in this formation. Other fossils include Australopristis wiffeni , Mauisaurus haasti and Tuarangisaurus keyesi . [5]

The theropod from the Tahora Formation would have been bipedal and likely carnivorous. Because of the lack of material, its exact taxonomic placement is uncertain, although its discoverer Joan Wiffen considered it possibly a megalosaurid, at the time a poorly defined group of unspecialized large carnivorous dinosaurs. The vertebra was described by Molnar (1981), and was considered an indeterminate theropod by Agnolin et al. (2010). [6] [7]

Invertebrates

Invertebrates found in the formation include beetles, [8] ammonites, annelids, belemnites, bivalves, brachiopods, crinoids, crustaceans, gastropods, nautiloids and scaphopods. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Polar region of the Cretaceous</span> Animals that lived below the Antarctic circle in the Cretaceous

The South Polar region of the Cretaceous comprised the continent of East Gondwana–modern day Australia, Zealandia, and Antarctica–a product of the break-up of Gondwana in the Cretaceous Period. The southern region, during this time, was much warmer than it is today, ranging from perhaps 4–8 °C (39–46 °F) in the latest Cretaceous Maastrichtian in what is now southeastern Australia. This prevented permanent ice sheets from developing and fostered polar forests, which were largely dominated by conifers, cycads, and ferns, and relied on a temperate climate and heavy rainfall. Major fossil-bearing geological formations that record this area are: the Santa Marta and Sobral Formations of Seymour Island off the Antarctic Peninsula; the Snow Hill Island, Lopez de Bertodano, and the Hidden Lake Formations on James Ross Island also off the Antarctic Peninsula; and the Eumeralla and Wonthaggi Formations in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romualdo Formation</span> Brazilian geologic formation

The Romualdo Formation is a geologic Konservat-Lagerstätte in northeastern Brazil's Araripe Basin where the states of Pernambuco, Piauí and Ceará come together. The geological formation, previously designated as the Romualdo Member of the Santana Formation, named after the village of Santana do Cariri, lies at the base of the Araripe Plateau. It was discovered by Johann Baptist von Spix in 1819. The strata were deposited during the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous in a lacustrine rift basin with shallow marine incursions of the proto-Atlantic. At that time, the South Atlantic was opening up in a long narrow shallow sea.

<i>Walgettosuchus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Walgettosuchus is a dubious or possibly invalid genus of extinct tetanuran theropod dinosaur that lived in Australia during the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian). It is known from a single caudal vertebra.

<i>Rapator</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Rapator is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Griman Creek Formation of New South Wales, Australia, dating to the Albian-Cenomanian ages of the Cretaceous period, 105-96 million years ago. It contains only the type species, Rapator ornitholestoides, which was originally named by Friedrich von Huene in 1932.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dinosaur Park Formation</span> Uppermost member of the Belly River Group geologic unit in Alberta, Canada

The Dinosaur Park Formation is the uppermost member of the Belly River Group, a major geologic unit in southern Alberta. It was deposited during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, between about 76.5 and 74.4 million years ago. It was deposited in alluvial and coastal plain environments, and it is bounded by the nonmarine Oldman Formation below it and the marine Bearpaw Formation above it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two Medicine Formation</span> Geological formation in Montana, United States and Alberta, Canada

The Two Medicine Formation is a geological formation, or rock body, in northwestern Montana and southern Alberta that was deposited between 83.5 ± 0.7 Ma and 70.6 ± 3.4 Ma, during Campanian time. It crops out to the east of the Rocky Mountain Overthrust Belt, and the western portion of this formation is folded and faulted while the eastern part, which thins out into the Sweetgrass Arch, is mostly undeformed plains. Below the formation are the nearshore deposits of the Virgelle Sandstone, and above it is the marine Bearpaw Shale. Throughout the Campanian, the Two Medicine Formation was deposited between the western shoreline of the Late Cretaceous Interior Seaway and the eastward advancing margin of the Cordilleran Overthrust Belt. The Two Medicine Formation is mostly sandstone, deposited by rivers and deltas.

The Portezuelo Formation is a geologic formation of Late Cretaceous age, outcropping in the Mendoza, Río Negro and Neuquén provinces of Argentina. It is the fourth-oldest formation in the Neuquén Group and the older of the two formations in the Río Neuquén Subgroup. Formerly, that subgroup was treated as a formation, and the Portezuelo Formation was known as the Portezuelo Member.

The Cedar Mountain Formation is the name given to a distinctive sedimentary geologic formation in eastern Utah, spanning most of the early and mid-Cretaceous. The formation was named for Cedar Mountain in northern Emery County, Utah, where William Lee Stokes first studied the exposures in 1944.

Tuarangisaurus is an extinct genus of elasmosaurid known from New Zealand. The type and only known species is Tuarangisaurus keyesi, named by Wiffen and Moisley in 1986.

The Milk River Formation is a sandstone-dominated stratigraphic unit of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in southern Alberta, Canada. It was deposited in near-shore to coastal environments during Late Cretaceous time. Based on uranium-lead dating, palynology and stratigraphic relationships, deposition occurred between ~84.1 and 83.6 Ma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eumeralla Formation</span> Geological formation in Victoria, Australia

The Eumeralla Formation is a geological formation in Victoria, Australia whose strata date back to the Early Cretaceous. It is Aptian to Albian in age. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, particularly from the Dinosaur Cove locality It is partially equivalent to the Wonthaggi Formation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gosau Group</span>

The Gosau Group is a geological stratigraphic group in Austria, Germany and western Slovakia whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous to Eocene. It is exposed in numerous sporadic isolated basins within the Northern Calcareous Alps. It is divided into two subgroups, the Lower Gosau Subgroup which dates from the Turonian to Campanian, approximately 90 to 75 Ma and the Upper Gosau Subgroup which dates to the Santonian to Eocene, about 83.5 to 50 Ma. The formations within each subunit vary significantly between basins. The sequence is largely marine, but the Grünbach Formation represents a terrestrial deposit. Many of the units of the group are fossiliferous, typically providing marine fossils such as ammonites, though terrestrial remains including those of dinosaurs are known from the Grünbach Formation and Schönleiten Formation.

The Densuș-Ciula Formation is a geological formation in Romania whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous. It forms part of the Hațeg Island assemblage. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. It is divided up into three members, the lower member is noted for high content of volcanogenic material and is poorly fossiliferous. While the Middle member consists of silty mudstones, sandstones and conglomerates containing volcanogenic clasts and is richly fossiliferous, while the upper member consists of matrix supported red conglomerates and is poorly fossiliferous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kem Kem Group</span>

The Kem Kem Group is a geological group in the Kem Kem region of eastern Morocco, whose strata date back to the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous. Its strata are subdivided into two geological formations, with the lower Ifezouane Formation and the upper Aoufous Formation, with the Gara Sbaa Formation and Douira Formation used in the southern Tafilalt region. It is exposed on an escarpment along the Algeria–Morocco border.

<i>Australovenator</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Australovenator is a genus of megaraptoran theropod dinosaur from Cenomanian -age Winton Formation of Australia. It is known from partial cranial and postcranial remains which were described in 2009 by Scott Hocknull and colleagues, although additional descriptions and analyses continue to be published. It is the most complete predatory dinosaur discovered in Australia. It has been suggested that Australovenator is a sister taxon to Fukuiraptor, although some phylogenetic analyses find it to be a more derived member of the Megaraptora, possibly being part of the main Megaraptoridae family itself.

The Birdrong Sandstone is an Early Cretaceous geologic formation of the Barrow Group in Western Australia. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, although none have yet been referred to a specific genus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hidden Lake Formation</span> Geologic formation in Antarctica

The Hidden Lake Formation is a Late Cretaceous geologic formation in Antarctica. The sandstones and siltstones of the formation were deposited in a deltaic environment.

The Molecap Greensand is a Late Cretaceous geologic formation, located in the state of Western Australia in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tres Hermanos Formation</span> Clastic wedge in New Mexico

The Tres Hermanos Formation is a geologic formation in central and west-central New Mexico. It contains fossils characteristic of the Turonian Age of the late Cretaceous.

The Ankazomihaboka Formation is a Coniacian geologic formation in the Mahajanga Basin of northwestern Madagascar. The formation comprises claystones and sandstones deposited in a fluvial to lacustrine environment. The formation is overlain by the Marovoay Beds and overlies basalt.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Isaac M.J., Moore P.R. & Joass Y.J. (1991). "Tahora Formation: The basal facies of a Late Cretaceous transgressive sequence, northeastern New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics. 34 (2): 227–236. doi:10.1080/00288306.1991.9514460.
  2. "Tahora Formation". New Zealand Stratigraphic Lexicon. GNS Science. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  3. 1 2 Vajda V. & Raine J.I. (2010). "A palynological investigation of plesiosaur-bearing rocks from the Upper Cretaceous Tahora Formation, Mangahouanga, New Zealand". Alcheringa. 34 (3): 359–374. doi:10.1080/03115518.2010.486642.
  4. Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution" Pp. 517-607. in Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. 861 pp. ISBN   0-520-24209-2. " Pp. 517-607.
  5. Mangahouanga Stream at Fossilworks.org
  6. Molnar,R.E.1981.AdinosaurfromNewZealand.Pp.91–96in M.M.Cresswell&P.Vella(eds)GondwanaFive:Proceeding of the Fifth International Gondwanan Symposium. Wellington. A. A., Balkema, Rotterdam.
  7. Agnolin, F.L., Ezcurra, M.D., Pais, D.F. and Salisbury, S.W. (2010). "A reappraisal of the Cretaceous non-avian dinosaur faunas from Australia and New Zealand: Evidence for their Gondwanan affinities." Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 8(2): 257-300
  8. GS 14182, Mangahouanga Stream (V19/f133) at Fossilworks.org