Toolebuc Formation | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: | |
Type | Geological formation |
Unit of | Rolling Downs Group |
Underlies | Allaru Formation |
Overlies | Wallumbilla Formation |
Thickness | Up to 65 m (213 ft) |
Lithology | |
Primary | Limestone, mudstone |
Other | Shale |
Location | |
Coordinates | 20°24′S144°24′E / 20.4°S 144.4°E |
Approximate paleocoordinates | 52°42′S132°30′E / 52.7°S 132.5°E |
Region | Queensland |
Country | Australia |
Extent | Eromanga Basin |
The Toolebuc Formation is a geological formation that extends from Queensland across South Australia and the Northern Territory in Australia, whose strata date back to the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous. Dinosaurs, [1] pterosaurs, plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, protostegid turtles, sharks, chimaeroids and bony fish remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.
Deposition occurred in a cool to temperate inland sea setting and the present lithology is dominantly made up of limey shales with abundant Inoceramus bivalve shells. Ichthyosaurs and protostegid turtles were the most common marine reptiles at this time in the Eromanga Sea, in contrast to older Aptian deposits such as the Bulldog Shale of South Australia, which show that plesiosaurs were previously more abundant and also more diverse. The Toolebuc Formation is one of the richest known sources of Mesozoic vertebrate fossils in Australia, with notable collecting areas situated around the towns of Richmond, Julia Creek, Hughenden and Boulia.
Possible indeterminate ankylosaurid remains are present in Queensland, Australia. [1] Indeterminate ornithopod remains have also been found in Queensland, Australia. [1]
Dinosaurs (including birds) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
Kunbarrasaurus | K. ieversi | Queensland | [1] | |
cf. Kunbarrasaurus sp. | Intermediate | Queensland | [2] | |
Muttaburrasaurus | Indeterminate | Queensland | [1] | |
Nanantius | N. eos | Queensland | "Tibiotarsi and vertebra" [1] [3] | |
Pterosaurs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
Anhangueria indet. | Indeterminate | Queensland | [4] | |
Aussiedraco | A. molnari | Queensland | ||
Mythunga | M. camara | Queensland | ||
Thapunngaka | T. shawi | Queensland | [5] | |
Plesiosaurs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
Kronosaurus | K. queenslandicus | Queensland | ||
Eromangasaurus | E. australis | Queensland | ||
Polycotylidae indet. | Undescribed polycotylid (specimen QM F18041, nicknamed Penny) [6] | Queensland | ||
Ichthyosaurs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
Platypterygius | P. australis | Queensland | ||
Turtles | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
Bouliachelys | B. suteri | "Around Boulia in Western Queensland" [7] | [7] | |
Cratochelone | C. berneyi | Queensland | ||
Notochelone | N. costata | Queensland | ||
Fish | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
Australopachycormus | A. hurleyi | "QM F52641 (holotype); partial snout (lacking tip of rostrum) and mandible including dentition and associated cranial/postcranial fragments; SAM P40514 (referred specimen), partial skull with rostrum and incomplete pectoral fin" [8] | Long-rostrum pachycormiform | |
Canaryichthys | C. rozefeldsi | A fossil specimen which is "undistorted and preserved in 3-dimensions but lacks all but the cranial vault." [9] | A halecomorph, possibly an ionoscopiform. [9] | |
Cardabiodontidae | Undescribed genus and species [10] | Associated teeth and vertebrae suggesting an individual 8 to 9 meters long [11] [10] [12] | Closely related to Cardabiodon [10] | |
Cooyoo | C. australis | An ichthyodectiform also present in the Allaru Formation [13] | ||
Dugaldia | D. emmilta | [13] | ||
Euroka | E. dunravenensis | An elopiform [14] | ||
Flindersichthys | F. denmeadi | [15] | ||
Marathonichthys | M. coyleorum | An albuliforme [16] | ||
Pachyrhizodus | P.marathonensis, P. grawi | Two species known from both this and the Allaru Formation [17] [18] | ||
Pristiophorus | Indeterminate | Known from rostral teeth that are tentatively referred to P. tumidens . [19] Adnet and Cappetta (2001) considered that these remains are teeth and jaw fragments of teleostean instead. [20] | ||
? Pseudocorax | Partially disarticulated vertebrae | Probable anacoracid remains [21] | ||
Ptykoptychion | P. tayyo | [22] | ||
Richmondichthys | R. sweeti | An aspidorhynchid also found in the Allaru Formation [23] | ||
Stewartichthys | S. leichhardti | An albuliforme [16] |
Arthropods | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
Brunnaega | B. tomhurleyi | An isopod, over 130 fossil individuals found infesting a Pachyrhizodus marathonensis carcass. [18] | ||
Molluscs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
Beudanticeras | B. flindersi | [24] | ||
Enchoteuthis | E. tonii | [25] | ||
Inoceramus | I. sutherlandi | "Siphon Paddock, Dunluce Street, near Hughendon, North Queensland, Australia" [26] | [26] | |
Trachyteuthis | T. willisi | [24] | ||
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.
Kronosaurus is an extinct genus of short-necked pliosaurs that lived during the Early Cretaceous period in what is now Australia. It is a monotypic genus with one species K. queenslandicus, described in 1924 from the Toolebuc Formation in Queensland, Australia. With traditionally attributed fossils indicating a total length of up to 10 meters (33 ft), Kronosaurus may have been among the largest pliosaurs.
Aletopelta is a monospecific genus of basal ankylosaurid dinosaur from Southern California that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now the Point Loma Formation. The type and only species, Aletopelta coombsi, is known from a partial skeleton preserving osteoderms. It was originally described in 1996 by W. P. Coombs, Jr. and T.A. Deméré before being named in 2001 by Tracy Ford and James Kirkland. Aletopelta has an estimated size of 5 metres and weight of 2 tonnes. The holotype formed a miniature reef and was scavenged upon by invertebrates and sharks.
Umoonasaurus is an extinct genus of plesiosaur belonging to the family Leptocleididae. This genus lived approximately 115 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous period, in shallow seas covering parts of what is now Australia. It was a relatively small animal around 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) long. An identifying trait of Umoonasaurus is three crest-ridges on its skull.
Woolungasaurus is a dubious genus of plesiosaur, an extinct marine reptile, belonging to the Elasmosauridae.
The Winton Formation is a Cretaceous geological formation in central-western Queensland, Australia. It is late Albian to early Turonian in age. The formation blankets large areas of central-western Queensland. It consists of sedimentary rocks such as sandstone, siltstone and claystone. The sediments that make up these rocks represent the remnants of the river plains that filled the basin left by the Eromanga Sea - an inland sea that covered large parts of Queensland and central Australia at least four times during the Early Cretaceous. Great meandering rivers, forest pools and swamps, creeks, lakes and coastal estuaries all left behind different types of sediment.
Cratochelone is an extinct genus of sea turtle in the family Protostegidae and containing a single species Cratochelone berneyi. The species is known only from the mid to late Albian Toolebuc Formation, part of the Rolling Downs Group, in the Hughenden of Central northern Queensland, Australia.
Mythunga is a genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the late Early Cretaceous of Australia. Fossil remains of Mythunga dated back to the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous, and the animal itself was found to be a close relative of another Australian anhanguerid called Ferrodraco.
The Mackunda Formation is a geological formation in Queensland, Australia whose strata date back to the Early Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. It consists primarily of interbedded and cross bedded greensand, with variably calcareous shale, with local ferricrete.
The Allaru Formation, also known as the Allaru Mudstone, is a geological formation in Queensland, Australia, whose strata date back to the Early Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.
The Griman Creek Formation is a geological formation in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland, Australia whose strata date back to the Albian-Cenomanian stages of the mid-Cretaceous. It is most notable being a major source of opal, found near the town of Lightning Ridge, New South Wales. Alongside the opal opalised fossils are also found, including those of dinosaurs and primitive monotremes.
The Wonthaggi Formation is an informal geological formation in Victoria, Australia whose strata date back to the Early Cretaceous. It is part of the Strzelecki Group within the Gippsland Basin. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. It is partially equivalent to the Eumeralla Formation.
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.
Eromangasaurus is an extinct genus of elasmosaurid known from northern Queensland of Australia.
Flindersichthys is an extinct genus of prehistoric bony fish that lived during the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous epoch.
Wintonotitan is a genus of titanosauriform dinosaur from Cenomanian -age Winton Formation of Australia. It is known from partial postcranial remains.
Dwardius is an extinct genus of cardabiodontid sharks which existed during the Cretaceous period in what is now Australia, England, France, and India. It was described by Mikael Siverson in 1999, as a new genus for the species Cretalamna woodwardi, which had been described by J. Hermann in 1977. Another species, D. siversoni, was described from the middle Albian of northeastern France by V.I. Zhelezko in 2000; the species epithet honours the author of the genus. A new species, D. sudindicus, was described by Charlie J. Underwood, Anjali Goswami, G.V.R. Prasad, Omkar Verma, and John J. Flynn in 2011, from the Cretaceous Karai Formation of India.
The Bulldog Shale is a formation of Early Cretaceous age that forms part of the Marree Subgroup of the Rolling Downs Group, located in the Eromanga Basin of South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales.
Australopachycormus is an extinct genus pachycormiform fish. It is only known from the type species, A. hurleyi, from the Early Cretaceous (Albian) Toolebuc Formation of Queensland, Australia. Like the related Protosphyraena, it possessed an elongated rostrum.
Patagopelta is an extinct genus of nodosaurine dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Allen Formation of Argentina. The genus contains a single species, P. cristata, known from a partial skeleton. Patagopelta is a very small ankylosaur, comparable in size to the dwarf nodosaurid Struthiosaurus, about 2 m (6.6 ft) long.
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