The Yarenskian Gorizont ("Yarenskian Horizon") is a major biostratigraphic unit in Russia corresponding to Upper Olenekian-age terrestrial sediments. It lies above the Ustmylian Gorizont of the Vetlugian Supergorizont, and is located below a short unconformity overlain by the Donguz Gorizont. Some paleontologists elevate the Yarenskian to a supergorizont and subdivide it into two smaller units: the older Fedorovskian Gorizont (Fedorovkian Horizon) and the younger Gamskian Gorizont (Gamian Horizon). Others prefer to consider the Fedorovskian and Gamskian to be subgorizonts or members of the Yarenskian. Vertebrate index fossils of the Fedorovskian include the lungfish Gnathorhiza, the trematosaurid Inflectosaurus, and the procolophonid Burtensia . In the Gamskian, these index fossils are replaced by Ceratodus , Trematosaurus , and Kapes , respectively. The Yarenskian as a whole is characterized by the capitosaur amphibian Parotosuchus , and has also been known as the Parotosuchus fauna. [1] [2] A few geographical influence on the faunas can be observed; erythrosuchids and rhytidosteids are more common in southern exposures while procolophonids and putative "rauisuchids" are more common in the north. [2] [3]
The Yarenskian encompasses several svitas (equivalent to geological formations). The most fossiliferous and best-exposed is the Petropavlovskaya Svita (anglicized as Petropavlovka Formation), a Fedorovskian-age assemblage in the Cis-Ural region (near the Ural River in Orenburg Oblast). Another productive unit is the Gamskian-age Lipovskaya Formation, which is found near the Don River in Volgograd Oblast. The Caspian Depression includes coastal sediments equivalent to the Yarenskian (such as the Bogdo or Bogdinskaya Svita), [2] though there is some controversy over how the stratigraphy of the area should be defined. [4] Thin exposures of Yarenskian units are also known further north in the Vyatka, Vychegda, Luza, and Pechora basins. [2]
Eryosuchus is an extinct genus of capitosauroid temnospondyl amphibian from the Middle Triassic of northern Russia. It was a very large predator: the largest specimen known could reach up to 3.5 m (11.5 ft) in length, with a skull over 1 m long.
Bukobaja is an extinct genus of mastodonsaurid temnospondyl from the middle Triassic of Russia. It contains a single species, Bukobaja enigmatica. Bukobaja mainly occurs in the Bukobay Svita as part of the Ladinian?-age "Mastodonsaurus fauna", a section of Russian Triassic biostratigraphy characterized by "Mastodonsaurus" torvus. It was also present in the underlying Donguz Svita. Bukobaja appears to be a valid genus similar to, yet distinct from, Mastodonsaurus. Despite appearing to possess several unique features, Bukobaja is still known from very few remains. This has led to difficulties in determining its relations more precisely than "Mastodonsauridae incertae sedis". It has also been compared to trematosaurids.
Energosuchus is an extinct genus of rauisuchian. Fossils are present from the upper Karyomayol and lower Synya Formations outcropping along the banks of the Bolshaya Synya river in the Timan-North Urals region in northern European Russia, as well as from the Bukobay Formation in the southern part of Bashkortostan in the southern Urals of European Russia. Both localities date back to the Ladinian stage of the Middle Triassic.
Tsylmosuchus is an extinct genus of potentially dubious basal archosauriform reptile known from Western Russia. Fossils referred to Tsylmosuchus occurred over a wide area in sediments corresponding to the Induan and Olenekian stages of the Early Triassic. Most of these fossils are fragmentary neck vertebrae which were originally reported as sharing similarities with crocodile-line archosaurs (pseudosuchians) such as Mandasuchus. As a result, Tsylmosuchus was first described as part of the family Rauisuchidae, making it supposedly one of the oldest known archosaurs. However, its fragmentary remains do not show any of the distinguishing features of rauisuchids or even pseudosuchians in general, so Tsylmosuchus has more recently been interpreted as an indeterminate archosauriform. Although three species of Tsylmosuchus have been named, they lack diagnostic traits and are probably not distinct from each other.
Vjushkovisaurus is an extinct genus of Middle Triassic archosauriform. It is known from the Anisian-aged Donguz Gorizont in Sol-Iletsk, Orenburg Oblast, Russia. The genus was named in 1982, with the type species being V. berdjanensis. Material has been collected in the Berdyanka II locality from a fossil assemblage called the Eryosuchus Fauna along the Berdyanka River, specifically in a sand-carbonate concretion in the upper part of the main river channel. Vjushkovisaurus is known only from the holotype PIN 2865/62, a partial postcranial skeleton which consists of 12 presacral vertebrae, left humerus, ribs, a fragment of the coracoid and a fragment of the fibula.
Vritramimosaurus is an extinct genus of large early archosauromorph. Although originally placed in the family Prolacertidae, recent studies on archosauromorph relationships doubt the validity of the family, at least in its broadest sense. Fossils have been found from Early Triassic deposits of the Rassypnaya locality in Orenburg Oblast, Russia. Rassypnaya is located on the Obshchy Syrt, a plateau in the European part of Russia that extends southwest of the Urals toward the Volga River. Vritramimosaurus is similar to the later genus Malutinisuchus, also from Rassypnaya but present in Middle Triassic deposits.
Malutinisuchus is an extinct genus of Archosauromorph. The genus was named in 1986 with the description of the type species M. gratus. Malutinisuchus is known from Ladinian-age Middle Triassic deposits in the Bukobay and Rassypnaya localities in Orenburg Oblast, Russia. In Russia, deposits of this age are referred to the Bukobay Gorizont.
Axitectum is an extinct genus of bystrowianid reptiliomorph from lower Triassic deposits of Nizhni Novgorod and Kirov Regions, Russia. It was a rather large animal judging by the size of its vertebrae. The back was covered in bands of highly ornamented osteoderm plates, similar to those found in modern crocodiles. The bands overlapped with the next band at the posterior end.
Dromotectum is an extinct genus of bystrowianid reptiliomorph from the Late Permian of China and Early Triassic of Russia. Two species have been named: the type species D. spinosum and the species D. largum. D. spinosum, the first species to be named, comes from Lower Triassic deposits in the Samara Region of European Russia and is known from the holotype PIN 2424/23, which consists of armor scutes, and from PIN 2424/65, 4495/14 and 2252/397. It was found in the Staritskaya Formation of the Rybinskin Horizon and named by I.V. Novikov and M.A. Shishkin in 2000. The generic name means “corridor with hipped vault” + “roof” (tecton), and the specific name means “spinous”. A second species, D. largum, was named by Liu Jun, Xu Li, Jia Song-Hai, Pu Han-Yong, and Liu Xiao-Ling in 2014 from the Shangshihezi Formation near Jiyuan in Henan province, China on the basis of specimen IVPP V 4013.1, a large scute.
Vonhuenia is an extinct genus of basal archosauriform from the Early Triassic of Russia. Fossils have been found in the Vokhminskaya Formation, along the Vetluga River that are Induan in age, making Vonhuenia one of the earliest archosauriforms.
Blomosuchus is an extinct genus of archosauriform from the Early Triassic of Russia. The type species was named in 1992 as Blomia georgii. However, the name Blomia was preoccupied by a genus of mites in the family Glycyphagidae (Blomia), so the genus was renamed Blomosuchus in 1997. Fossils of Blomosuchus have been found along the Vetluga River besides fossils of another problematic archosauriform, Vonhuenia.
Exilisuchus is an extinct genus of archosauromorph reptile from the Early Triassic of Russia. The type species E. tubercularis was named in 1979. Fossils are known from two Russian assemblages, the Benthosuchus - Thoosuchus assemblage and the Angusaurus assemblage. Both are Olenekian in age. Although initially believed to be a proterosuchid archosauriform, a 2016 analysis found that it also shared features with tanystropheids, and thus is currently classified as Archosauromorpha incertae sedis. Due to the small amount of preserved material, this genus is sometimes considered a nomen dubium.
In geology, a horizon is either a bedding surface where there is marked change in the lithology within a sequence of sedimentary or volcanic rocks, or a distinctive layer or thin bed with a characteristic lithology or fossil content within a sequence. Examples of the former can include things such as volcanic eruptions as well as things such as meteorite impacts and tsunamis. Examples of the latter include things such as ice ages and other large climate events, as well as large but temporary geological features and changes such as inland oceans. In the interpretation of seismic reflection data, horizons are the reflectors picked on individual profiles. These reflectors represent a change in rock properties across a boundary between two layers of rock, particularly seismic velocity and density. It can also represent changes in the density of the material and the composition of it and the pressure under which it was produced. Thus, not only do the properties change but so too do the conditions of formation and other differences in the rock. The horizons can sometimes be very prominent, such as visible changes in cliff sides, to extremely subtle chemical differences.
The Donguz Formation, Donguz Svita, or Donguz Rocks is a Middle Triassic geological formation that crops out on the right bank of Donguz River in Orenburg Oblast, Russia, across the settlement of Pervomaisky. The formation is equivalent to a biostratigraphic unit, the Donguz Gorizont. It is famous for its rich collection of the fossils of Middle Triassic tetrapods.
Uralosaurus is an extinct genus of erythrosuchid archosauriform known from the Middle Triassic Donguz Formation of southeastern European Russia. It contains a single species, Uralosaurus magnus. It was named by Vitalii Georgievich Ochev in 1980 as a species of Erythrosuchus otherwise known from the Triassic of Africa and reassigned to its own genus by Andrey G. Sennikov in 1995.
Boreopricea is an extinct genus of archosauromorph reptile from the Early Triassic of arctic Russia. It is known from a fairly complete skeleton discovered in a borehole on Kolguyev Island, though damage to the specimen and loss of certain bones has complicated study of the genus. Boreopricea shared many similarities with various other archosauromorphs, making its classification controversial. Various studies have considered it a close relative of Prolacerta, tanystropheids, both, or neither. Boreopricea is unique among early archosauromorphs due to possessing contact between the jugal and squamosal bones at the rear half of the skull.
The Bukobay Svita is a Middle Triassic geological unit in Russia. It is composed primarily of red or grey lacustrine sediments, reconstructing a humid and marshy depositional environment. Bukobay is the youngest section of a Triassic terrestrial succession exposed south of the Ural Mountains. It is equivalent to a biostratigraphic unit, the Bukobay Gorizont, which is also called the "Bukobay Horizon" or "Mastodonsaurus" fauna).
The Ustmylian Gorizont is a Lower Triassic biostratigraphic unit in Western Russia. The Ustmylian Gorizont is the youngest subunit of the Vetlugian Supergorizont, lying above the Sludkian Gorizont and below the Yarenskian Gorizont. It corresponds to the later part of the early Olenekian stage. Along with the Sludkian Gorizont, the Ustmylian Gorizont is encompassed by the "Wetlugasaurus fauna", named after a capitosaur amphibian index fossil. While the Sludkian is characterized by Wetlugasaurus angustifrons, the Ustmylian is characterized by Wetlugasaurus malachovi.
The Sludkian Gorizont is a Lower Triassic biostratigraphic unit in Western Russia. The Sludkian Gorizont is a part of the Vetlugian Supergorizont and corresponds to the middle part of the early Olenekian stage, lying above the Rybinskian Gorizont and below the Ustmylian Gorizont. The Sludkian and Ustmylian Gorizonts are together encompassed by the "Wetlugasaurus fauna", named after a capitosaur amphibian index fossil. The Sludkian is characterized by Wetlugasaurus angustifrons, while the Ustmylian is characterized by Wetlugasaurus malachovi.
The Rybinskian Gorizont is a Lower Triassic biostratigraphic unit in Western Russia. It is a part of the Vetlugian Supergorizont and corresponds to the earliest part of the Olenekian stage, lying above the late Induan-age Zaplavnian Horizon and below the Sludkian Gorizont. The Rybinskian Gorizont is sometimes known as the Benthosuchus fauna, due to abundant fossils of Benthosuchus, a temnospondyl amphibian index fossil. Related amphibians such as Thoosuchus also increase in abundance, and the interval additionally hosts the oldest fossils of procolophonines and putative true archosaurs in the region.