Tiki Formation | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: Carnian-Norian ~ | |
Type | Geological formation |
Unit of | Gondwana Group |
Sub-units | Lower & Upper members |
Lithology | |
Primary | Mudstone |
Other | Claystone, sandstone |
Location | |
Coordinates | 23°54′N81°24′E / 23.9°N 81.4°E |
Approximate paleocoordinates | 42°36′S51°06′E / 42.6°S 51.1°E |
Region | Madhya Pradesh |
Country | India |
Type section | |
Named for | Tiki village |
The Tiki Formation is a Late Triassic (Carnian to Norian) geologic formation in Madhya Pradesh, northern India. [1] Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, although none have yet been referred to a specific genus. [2] Phytosaur remains attributable to the genus Volcanosuchus have also been found in the Tiki Formation. [3]
The genera Tikiodon , Tikitherium and Tikisuchus and species Rewaconodon tikiensis , Hyperodapedon tikiensis and Parvodus tikiensis have been named after the Tiki Formation.
The following fossils have been described from the formation: [1]
Cynodonts of the Tiki Formation | |||
---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Material | Notes |
Gondwanadon [4] [5] | G. tapani | A single molar | A morganucodont |
Inditherium [4] | I. floris | Three postcanine teeth | A dromatheriid |
Rewaconodon [4] | R. indicus | A partial jaw and three postcanine teeth | A dromatheriid |
R. tikiensis [6] | |||
Ruberodon [4] [7] | R. roychowdhurii | Five partial jaws | A traversodontid |
Tikiodon [4] | T. cromptoni | A single postcanine tooth | A mammaliamorph |
Tikitherium [4] [8] | T. copei | A single postcanine tooth | A mammaliaform related to Docodonta, or a Neogene shrew fossil that was reworked into the older deposit |
Cynodontia indet. | |||
Reptiles of the Tiki Formation | |||
---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Material | Notes |
Colossosuchus | C. techniensis | Known form multiple skeletons, all likely died together | A Mystriosuchine Phytosaur |
Hyperodapedon huxleyi [9] [6] | H. huxleyi | A Rhynchosaur | |
H.tikiensis [10] | Various cranial and postcranial elements | ||
Parasuchus [11] [6] | P. hislopi | Two articulate skeletons and isolated skulls | A basal Phytosaur |
Tikisuchus [11] | T. romeri | The skull and some postcranial elements of a young individual | A Rauisuchid |
Volcanosuchus [3] | V. statisticae | A Phytosaur | |
Ornithischia indet. [12] [6] | |||
Phytosauria indet. [12] [13] | |||
Pseudosuchia indet. [14] | |||
Sphenodontia indet. [12] [6] | |||
Theropoda indet. [11] | |||
Amphibians of the Tiki Formation | |||
---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Material | Notes |
Eodiscoglossus [6] | E. sp | Prehistoric frog | |
Compsocerops | C. tikiensis | A Chigutisaurid Temnospondyl | |
Metoposaurus [11] | M. sp. | A Temnospondyl | |
Fishes of the Tiki Formation | |||
---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Material | Notes |
Cladodus [6] | C. sp. | An isolated tooth | A Cladoselachid |
Lissodus [6] | L. duffini | An isolated tooth | A Hybodontid |
Parvodus [6] | P. tikiensis | Teeth | A Hybodontid |
Actinopterygii indet. [6] | |||
Coelacanthidae indet. [6] | |||
The Tiki Formation is considered a temporal equivalent of the Lower Maleri Formation. The majority of the Tiki Formation correlates with the Ischigualasto Formation of Argentina, the upper part of the Santa Maria Formation, and the overlying lower Caturrita Formation of Brazil, the Isalo II Beds of Madagascar, Lossiemouth Sandstone of Scotland, and the lower Tecovas Formation of the Chinle Group of North America. [1]
Chiniquodon is an extinct genus of carnivorous cynodonts, which lived during the Late Triassic (Carnian) in South America and Africa. Chiniquodon was closely related to the genus Aleodon, and close to the ancestry of mammals.
Rhynchosaurs are a group of extinct herbivorous Triassic archosauromorph reptiles, belonging to the order Rhynchosauria. Members of the group are distinguished by their triangular skulls and elongated, beak like premaxillary bones. Rhynchosaurs first appeared in the Early Triassic, reaching their broadest abundance and a global distribution during the Carnian stage of the Late Triassic.
Hyperodapedon is an extinct genus of rhynchosaur reptiles which lived during Late Triassic period. Like other rhynchosaurs, it was an heavily built archosauromorph, distantly related to archosaurs such as crocodilians and dinosaurs. Hyperodapedon in particular was part of the subfamily Hyperodapedontinae, a specialized rhynchosaurian subgroup with broad skulls, beaked snouts, and crushing tooth plates on the roof of the mouth.
Parasuchus is an extinct genus of basal phytosaur known from the Late Triassic of Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, India. At its most restricted definition, Parasuchus contains a single species, Parasuchus hislopi. Parasuchus hislopi is one of several species belonging to a basal grade of phytosaurs, typified by the genus Paleorhinus. Historically, Paleorhinus has been known from better-described fossils, and many species have been lumped into that genus. Parasuchus hislopi, despite being described earlier than Paleorhinus, was considered an undiagnostic chimera until new neotype fossils were described in the late 1970s. Parasuchus hislopi and the two unambiguously valid species of Paleorhinus are all closely related; some authors have historically described them all under the species Paleorhinus, while others place the two Paleorhinus species into Parasuchus according to the principle of priority.
Rutiodon is an extinct genus of mystriosuchine phytosaurs from the Late Triassic of the eastern United States. The type species of Rutiodon, Rutiodon carolinensis, encompasses a large number of skulls and assorted postcranial fossils discovered in the Cumnock Formation of North Carolina. Fossils referable to the species are also known from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Virginia. Rutiodon carolinensis is the most well-described species of phytosaur in eastern North America, though its validity as a natural taxon has been questioned. Some paleontologists also recognize a larger and more robust species, Rutiodon manhattanensis, which is known from teeth and postcranial fossils from New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
The Santa Maria Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is primarily Carnian in age, and is notable for its fossils of cynodonts, "rauisuchian" pseudosuchians, and early dinosaurs and other dinosauromorphs, including the herrerasaurid Staurikosaurus, the basal sauropodomorphs Buriolestes and Saturnalia, and the lagerpetid Ixalerpeton. The formation is named after the city of Santa Maria in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, where outcrops were first studied.
The Ischigualasto Formation is a Late Triassic geological formation in the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin of southwestern La Rioja Province and northeastern San Juan Province in northwestern Argentina. The formation dates to the late Carnian and early Norian stages of the Late Triassic, according to radiometric dating of ash beds.
The Caturrita Formation is a rock formation found in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Its sediments were deposited in the Paraná Basin. The formation is from the Upper Triassic and forms part of the Santa Maria Supersequence in the upper section of the Rosário do Sul Group.
The Cooper Canyon Formation is a geological formation of Norian age in Texas and New Mexico. It is one of several formations encompassed by the Dockum Group.
Rewaconodon is an extinct genus of dromatheriid cynodonts which existed in India during the upper Triassic period. It is known from two species: R. tikiensis and R. indicus, both of which were found in the Tiki Formation. Other, undescribed species may have lived in North America.
Isalorhynchus is an extinct genus of hyperodapedontine rhynchosaur from the late Triassic period of Toliara Province, southwestern Madagascar. It is known from the holotype MDE-R18, a nearly complete maxilla and from other specimens from the same locality, Malio River area. It was found in the Makay Formation of the Morondava Basin. It was first named by Eric Buffetaut in 1983 and the type species is Isalorhynchus genovefae. The majority of Isalorhynchus specimens are isolated jaw bones, but two nearly complete skeletons were found in 1998. Langer et al., 2000 concluded that Isalorhynchus is a synonym of Hyperodapedon and referred it to a new species of Hyperodapedon. Whatley, 2005 retained this genus as valid with a description of new materials in her PhD thesis. Montefeltro et al., 2010 and Langer et al., 2010 accepted Isalorhynchus as valid genus.
Tikisuchus is an extinct genus of rauisuchid archosauromorph. It is known from the Late Triassic Tiki Formation in the Shahdol District of central India and was the first rauisuchid to have been found in Asia. The horizon from which remains have been found is Carnian in age. The type species is T. romeri, named in honor of American paleontologist Alfred Romer. Romer was present at the Tiki locality during the excavation of the fossil, but died before the description of the genus in 1987. Tikisuchus is known only from one specimen, called ISI R 305, which consists of the skull and some postcranial elements of a young individual.
Stenaulorhynchus is an extinct genus of hyperodapedontid rhynchosaur known from the Middle Triassic deposits of Tanganyika Territory, Tanzania. It was found in the Lifua Member of the Manda Formation in the Karoo Supergroup. It was named and first described by Sidney Henry Haughton in 1932. The type species is Stenaulorhynchus stockleyi, a beaked herbivore measuring 1–6 meters in length.
Hyperodapedontinae is a subfamily of rhynchosaurs within the family Rhynchosauridae. Fossils have been found from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, India, Madagascar, Scotland, Tanzania, United States and Zimbabwe.
Ruberodon is an extinct genus of traversodontid cynodonts known from the type and only species Ruberodon roychowdhurii from the Late Triassic of India. Ruberodon was named in 2015 on the basis of several isolated lower jaws found in the Tiki Formation. The lower jaw of Ruberodon has three pairs of incisors, one pair of canines, and 9 pairs of postcanine teeth. The first pair of incisors is enlarged and protrudes forward from the tip of the jaw and there is a gap called a diastema between the canines and postcanines. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that among traversodontids, R. roychowdhurii is most closely related to Exaeretodon statisticae, which is also from India.
Tikitherium is an extinct genus of mammaliaforms from India, known from a single upper tooth. Originally argued to be a primitive mammaliaform from the Late Triassic, a 2024 study argued that it actually represented the remains of a shrew from the Neogene. Tikitherium refers to Tiki, the village located near the Tiki Formation where the specimen was originally thought to have come from, and therium is Greek for “Beast”. The species was named copei in honor of Edward Drinker Cope for his pioneering discoveries towards understanding mammalian molars.
Oryctorhynchus is an extinct genus of rhynchosaur from the Late Triassic (Carnian-Norian)-aged Wolfville Formation of Nova Scotia, Canada that may have been the same animal as Beesiiwo. The type species, O. bairdi, was named and described in 2020. It was originally seen as a species of Hyperodapedon until 2020.
Tikiodon is an extinct genus of mammaliamorphs that lived in what is now India during the Late Triassic. Its type and only species is Tikiodon cromptoni, which is known from a single lower postcanine tooth discovered at the Tiki Formation of Madhya Pradesh.
The Panchet Formation is an Early Triassic geological formation from the Damodar Valley of India.