Wonthaggi Formation

Last updated
Wonthaggi Formation
Stratigraphic range: Valanginian–Barremian
Flat rocks.jpeg
Flat rocks locality
Type Geological formation
Unit of Strzelecki Group
Underlies Unconformity with Wombat Volcanics & Kersop Arkose
Overlies Paleozoic basement
ThicknessUp to 2,500 m (8,200 ft)
Lithology
Primary Volcaniclastic sandstone, siltstone
Other Conglomerate, coal
Location
Coordinates 38°42′S145°42′E / 38.7°S 145.7°E / -38.7; 145.7
Approximate paleocoordinates 77°00′S117°30′E / 77.0°S 117.5°E / -77.0; 117.5
RegionFlag of Victoria (Australia).svg  Victoria
CountryFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Extent Gippsland Basin
Eumeralla and Wonthaggi locations.jpeg
Exposure of Wonthaggi Formation green in bottom-right

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. [1] [2] It is partially equivalent to the Eumeralla Formation.

Contents

Geology

The Wonthaggi Formation was deposited within Gippsland Basin, which formed part of a extensional rift valley system between Australia and Antarctica. The lithology primarily consists of fluvially deposited siliciclastics derived from volcanic rocks of the Whitsunday Silicic Large Igneous Province to the East, with suggestions that the sediments either originated from braided river and sheet flood deposits, or meandering river systems on vegetated floodplains. [3] The age of the formation is thought to be Valanginian to Barremian, with the Flat Rocks site being late Barremian (~125 Ma) in age, older than the sediments from the Eumeralla Formation, which are thought to be Aptian-Albian in age. [3]

Vertebrate paleofauna

Indeterminate ornithopod remains are present in Victoria, Australia. [3] Indeterminate megaraptorid remains are present in Victoria, Australia. [4]

Dinosaurs of the Wonthaggi Formation
GenusSpeciesLocalityMaterialNotesImages

cf. Atlascopcosaurus [3]

cf. A. loadsi [3]

Flat Rocks

known as "Victorian ornithopod maxillary morphotype 4", consists of a partial right maxillaIntermediate in morphology between Galleonosaurus and Atlascopcosaurus
Atlascopcosaurus Atlascopcosaurus loadsi.JPG
Atlascopcosaurus
Qantassaurus Qantassaurus skel aus.jpg
Qantassaurus

Galleonosaurus [3]

G. dorisae [3]

Flat Rocks

Known from a maxilla

Qantassaurus [1]

Q. intrepidus [1]

Flat Rocks

"[Three] dentaries and teeth." [5]

Q. ?intrepidus [3] Flat RocksKnown as "Victorian ornithopodan dentary morphotype 2", represented by two dentary fragments,Possibly distinct from Q. intrepidus

Serendipaceratops [1]

S. arthurclarkei [1]

The Arch, Kilcunda

Single damaged ulna

Aves [6]

Indeterminate

Possibly also present at the Eumeralla Formation (footprints).

Single furcula.

Ankylosauria indet. [7] IndeterminateFlat RocksTeeth, dorsal vertebra, ribs, osteoderms
Noasauridae indet. [8] IndeterminateSan Remo MemberNMV P221202, astragalocalcaneumA non-elaphrosaurine noasaurid.
Ornithopoda indet. [3] IndeterminateFlat RocksDentaries referred to as "Victorian ornithopodan dentary morphotype 3" including P228408, NMV P231182, NMV P199135 and isolated teethDifferent from Q. intrepidus.
Ornithopoda indet. [3] IndeterminateCape Patersonsingle femurKnown as "Victorian Hypsilophodontid Femur Type 2". Larger than contemporaneous ornithopods.
Megaraptora indet.IndeterminateFlat RocksNumerous isolated teeth, and a left astragalus [9] Originally referred to "Allosaurus" robustus
Megaraptoridae indet. [10] IndeterminateShack Baya complete frontal, attached to a partial parietal
Amphibians of the Wonthaggi Formation
GenusSpeciesPresenceNotesImages
Koolasuchus K. cleelandiTree Trunk Point, Dwyers Hill, San Remo Chigutisaurid temnospondyl, last known temnospondyl
Koolasuchus.png
Mammals of the Wonthaggi Formation
GenusSpeciesPresenceMaterialNotesImages
Ausktribosphenos A. nyktosFlat rocksPartial dentary with teeth Ausktribosphenid
Bishops B. whitmoreiPartial dentary with teethAusktribosphenid
Corriebaatar C. marywaltersae"NMV P216655, a fragment of a left dentary bearing a complete plagiaulacoid p4 and the anterior root of m1" Multituberculate
Corriebaatar.png
Kryoparvus K. gerritiPartial dentary with teeth?Ausktribosphenid
Teinolophos T. trusleriPartial dentary with teeth Monotreme

See also

Related Research Articles

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

Qantassaurus is a genus of basal two-legged, plant-eating elasmarian ornithischian dinosaur that lived in Australia about 125-112 million years ago, when the continent was still partly south of the Antarctic Circle. It was described by Patricia Vickers-Rich and her husband Tom Rich in 1999 after a find near Inverloch, and named after Qantas, the Australian airline.

<i>Leaellynasaura</i> Genus of dinosaurs

Leaellynasaura is a genus of small herbivorous ornithischian dinosaurs from the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous, first discovered in Dinosaur Cove, Australia. The only known species is Leaellynasaura amicagraphica. It was described in 1989, and named after Leaellyn Rich, the daughter of the Australian palaeontologist couple Tom Rich and Patricia Vickers-Rich who discovered it. The specific name, amicagraphica, translates to "friend writing" and honours both the Friends of the Museum of Victoria and the National Geographic Society for their support of Australian paleontology.

Serendipaceratops is a genus of herbivorous ornithischian dinosaur, possibly an ankylosaur, from the early Cretaceous Period of Australia. The type species, S. arthurcclarkei, was named in 2003.

<i>Koolasuchus</i> Extinct genus of amphibians

Koolasuchus is an extinct genus of brachyopoid temnospondyl in the family Chigutisauridae. Fossils have been found from Victoria, Australia and date back 125-120 million years ago to Barremian-Aptian stages of the Early Cretaceous. Koolasuchus is the youngest known temnospondyl. It is known from several fragments of the skull and other bones such as vertebrae, ribs, and pectoral elements. The type species Koolasuchus cleelandi was named in 1997. K. cleelandi was adopted as the fossil emblem for the state of Victoria, Australia on 13 January 2022.

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

Notoceratops is a dubious genus of extinct ornithischian dinosaur based on an incomplete, toothless left dentary from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia, probably dating to the Campanian or Maastrichtian. It was most likely a ceratopsian and it was found in the Lago Colhué Huapi Formation.

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

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.

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

Macrogryphosaurus is a genus of elasmarian dinosaur from the Coniacian age Upper Cretaceous Sierra Barrosa Formation of Argentina in Patagonia. It was described by Jorge Calvo and colleagues in 2007, with M. gondwanicus as the type and only species.

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, pterosaurs, plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, protostegid turtles, sharks, chimaeroids and bony fish 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.

<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.

Psilichthys is an extinct genus of prehistoric bony fish from Eumeralla Formation, the Lower Cretaceous epoch of what is now Victoria, Australia, known from single species P. selwyni. This is the first Mesozoic fossil vertebrate named from Victoria.

<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.

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

Wintonotitan is a genus of titanosauriform dinosaur from Cenomanian -age Winton Formation of Australia. It is known from partial postcranial remains.

The Miria Formation is a Late Cretaceous geologic formation, in Western Australia.

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elasmaria</span> Clade of ornithopods (fossil)

Elasmaria is a clade of ornithopods known from Cretaceous deposits in South America, Antarctica, and Australia that contains many bipedal ornithopods that were previously considered "hypsilophodonts".

<i>Diluvicursor</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Diluvicursor is a genus of small ornithischian from the Lower Albian of Australia. It is known from one species, the type species D. pickeringi. The two known specimens, a vertebra and a partial juvenile postcranium discovered in 2005 from the Eumeralla Formation, are known, and they were named in early 2018.

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

Galleonosaurus is a genus of basal ornithopod dinosaur from the Wonthaggi Formation of the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. The type and only species is Galleonosaurus dorisae.

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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Early Cretaceous, Australasia)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 573-574. ISBN   0-520-24209-2.
  2. . "Wonthaggi Formation", Australian Stratigraphic Units Database, Geoscience Australia , retrieved 2011-09-18
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Herne, Matthew C.; Nair, Jay P.; Evans, Alistair R.; Tait, Alan M. (2019). "New small-bodied ornithopods (Dinosauria, Neornithischia) from the Early Cretaceous Wonthaggi Formation (Strzelecki Group) of the Australian-Antarctic rift system, with revision of Qantassaurus intrepidus Rich and Vickers-Rich, 1999". Journal of Paleontology. 93 (3): 543–584. doi: 10.1017/jpa.2018.95 .
  4. Poropat, Stephen F.; Martin, Sarah K.; Tosolini, Anne-Marie P.; Wagstaff, Barbara E.; Bean, Lynne B.; Kear, Benjamin P.; Vickers-Rich, Patricia; Rich, Thomas H. (2018-04-03). "Early Cretaceous polar biotas of Victoria, southeastern Australia—an overview of research to date". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 42 (2): 157–229. doi:10.1080/03115518.2018.1453085. ISSN   0311-5518. S2CID   133845914.
  5. "Table 18.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 395.
  6. Martin, Anthony J.; Vickers-Rich, Patricia; Rich, Thomas H.; Hall, and Michael (2014). "Oldest known avian footprints from Australia: Eumeralla Formation (Albian), Dinosaur Cove, Victoria". Palaeontology. 57 (1): 7–19. doi: 10.1111/pala.12082 .
  7. Barrett, Paul M.; Rich, Thomas H.; Vickers-Rich, Patricia; Tumanova, Tat'yana A.; Inglis, Matthew; Pickering, David; Kool, Lesley; Kear, Benjamin P. (September 2010). "Ankylosaurian dinosaur remains from the Lower Cretaceous of southeastern Australia". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 34 (3): 205–217. doi:10.1080/03115511003655430. ISSN   0311-5518. S2CID   128882257.
  8. Brougham, Tom; Smith, Elizabeth T.; Bell, Phil R. (2020-01-29). "Noasaurids are a component of the Australian 'mid'-Cretaceous theropod fauna". Scientific Reports. 10 (1): 1428. Bibcode:2020NatSR..10.1428B. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-57667-7 . ISSN   2045-2322. PMC   6989633 . PMID   31996712.
  9. Poropat, Stephen F.; White, Matt A.; Vickers-Rich, Patricia; Rich, Thomas H. (2019-07-04). "New megaraptorid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) remains from the Lower Cretaceous Eumeralla Formation of Cape Otway, Victoria, Australia (Including supplemental material)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 39 (4): e1666273. doi:10.1080/02724634.2019.1666273. ISSN   0272-4634. S2CID   208603798.
  10. Kotevski, Jake; Duncan, Ruairidh J.; Pentland, Adele H.; Rule, James P.; Vickers-Rich, Patricia; Rich, Thomas H.; Fitzgerald, Erich M. G.; Evans, Alistair R.; Poropat, Stephen F. (2023-11-02). "A megaraptorid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) frontal from the upper Strzelecki Group (Lower Cretaceous) of Victoria, Australia". Cretaceous Research: 105769. doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105769 . ISSN   0195-6671.