Zagaje Formation | |
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Stratigraphic range: Latest Rhaetian-Lower Sinemurian~ [1] | |
Type | Geological formation |
Unit of | Kamienna Group |
Sub-units | Huta Mudstone Member |
Underlies | |
Overlies | Unnamed Rhaetian Beds |
Area | Polish epicontinental basin except of the Mazury region and Czêstochowa region. Reaches also into north Germany |
Thickness | 157.5 m |
Lithology | |
Primary | Sandstone |
Other | Mudstone |
Location | |
Coordinates | 51°06′N20°30′E / 51.1°N 20.5°E |
Approximate paleocoordinates | 43°06′N18°48′E / 43.1°N 18.8°E |
Region | Swietokrzyskie |
Country | |
Type section | |
Named for | The Town of Zagaje near Gromadzice |
Named by | Karaszewski (as an informal unit) [3] |
The Zagaje Formation is a Latest Triassic-Early Jurassic Epoch (Rhaetian-Sinemurian) geologic formation located mostly in Poland with layers also exposed in north Germany. This unit is known for its diverse Ichnofossil assemblages, with traces of invertebrates along vertebrate footprints, as well plants, large coal accumulations, invertebrate remains and ichnofossils. [4] The Zagaje Formation correlates with The lower part of the Höganäs Formation in Scania, as well the Munkerup Member and the Gassum Formation in Denmark. [1]
The Zagaje Formation is particularly visible in the Sołtyków region and is made mostly of Early Jurassic continental mudstone-sandstone deposits linked to the onset of "depositional sequence I". Its age is confirmed as mostly Early Hettangian through stratigraphic and paleontological analyses, including fossil flora and conchostraca findings. Sedimentological studies divide the Sołtyków profile into three parts: ephemeral reservoir deposits, floodplain and lacustrine sediments, and river channel deposits, highlighting dynamic depositional environments influenced by tectonic subsidence and varying hydrological conditions. [1] [5] [6]
Climate wise, the area was located back in the Hettangian around 45°N paleolatitude in Laurasia within a rise of 5–10°C above present, were it experienced significant climatic and environmental change related with sea-level fluctuations, manifested locally with a notorious retrogradational fluvial-lacustrine sedimentation, with evidence of a humid climate interspersed with drier seasons. Some plant fossils like Hirmeriella mark points of aridity on what was mostly a humid swampy alluvial-lacustrine habitat. [7] [8]
The Zagaje Formation’s deposits are know from both outcrops and borehole profiles that consist primarily of sandstones, mudstones, and interspersed coal and siderite layers. It represents a stratigraphic gap with the underlying Upper Triassic formations and is capped by a transgressive contact with the Skłoby Formation. [1] This unit contains freshwater fauna and diverse trace fossils, including vertebrate tracks. [5] [9] The paleoenvironment reflects a dynamic alluvial plain shaped predominantly by high-sinuosity stream processes, transitioning from earlier braided and low-sinuosity stream systems. This evolution is attributed to climatic changes, rising base levels, and decreasing geomorphological gradients. Observations, both from exposures and borehole data, highlight the dominance of avulsion processes, with several depositional subsystems identified. Facies with organic remains are diverse: riverbed biofacies, derived from meandering channels characterized by fining-upward sequences composed of channel lag deposits, point-bar sands, and finer overlying sediments. [6] These deposits exhibit lateral accretion bedding and significant fossil bivalves and large-sized floated plant remains (stems and trunks of large plants) consistent with subaqueous dune migration within the channels; levee deposits derived from successive floods with scarce root traces, while plant remnants are common; Paleosoils with sparse traces of plant roots and remains of floating plants of highly variable size (mainly organic detritus, but also fragments of wood), fragments of bivalve shells and vertebrate remains (amniote bones, tracks, fish scales); the biofacies of the ephemeral water reservoir with plant remains, mainly horsetails, and fossils of insects, ostracods, and conchostraca; The pedogenic soil biofacies with remains of plant roots with preserved organic matter and rhizomes and stems in a living position; Floodplain biofacies with traces of numerous plant roots and plant macroremains, and remains of sedge stems preserved in a living position; Lake-marsh biofacies, dark, laminated mudstones with plant roots and coal, with few fossil bivalves, a large amount of organic matter in the form of plant detritus, and layers of coal and numerous finds of miospores and megaspores. [5] [6] [8] The local presence of charcoal fragments and high concentrations of PAHs, along with possible burnt plants, provides evidence for wildfires in the region, that likely occurred near the surface with charred wood fragments were subsequently incorporated into sediments by river transport. [10]
The high presence of coprolites has allow also to stablish the tropic chain of the local biota, with a clear full ecosystemical substitution of the older Triassic archosaurs by Dinosaurs. [11] [12]
Several unname Ichnofossils are recovered at Soltyków, including conical domichnia ( Conichnus ?), bivalve straight to winding linear trails, smooth vertical and subvertical branching tunnels, knob-walled tunnels, mace-shaped or irregular ellipsoid chambers, etc. [13] [14]
Genus | Species | Location | Material | Made By |
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| Dwelling structures |
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| Traces |
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| Subcylindrical burrows |
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| Hypichnial trackway |
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| U-Shaped Burrows |
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| Burrows |
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| V-shaped hypichnial marks |
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| Straight or slightly curved burrows |
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| Horizontal burrows |
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| Resting Traces |
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| Moving Traces |
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| Linear slender burrows |
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| Sac/Bottle shaped burrows |
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| Sac/Bottle shaped burrows |
| |
Indeterminate gastropod egg capsules are know, similar to the ones recovered in the extant Neritina . [15] 4 unnamed morphotypes of freshwater bivalves of the family Unionidae are know. [5]
Genus | Species | Location | Material | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anodonta [16] [17] |
|
| Isolated Shells | A freshwater mussel, member of the family Unionidae | |
Calceoformites [13] [14] |
|
| Clog-shaped protrusions | Bivalve estabilization traces | |
Cardinia [15] |
|
| Isolated Shells | A Carditidae Bivalve. Indicator of oligohaline settings and found also on the younger Skłoby Formation | |
Lockeia [1] [13] |
|
| Dwelling traces | Resting traces of Bivalves | |
Ptychoplasma [18] |
|
| Locomotion trace | Gastropod Locomotion traces | |
Scalichnus [1] [13] [14] |
|
| Sac/Bottle shaped burrows | Escape structure of mud-dwelling bivalves | |
Scolicia [1] [13] |
|
| Traces | Locomotion and feeding trace of gastropods | |
Unio [16] [19] |
|
| Isolated Shells | A freshwater mussel, member of the family Unionidae | |
Viviparus [16] [20] |
|
| Isolated Shells | A freshwater snail, member of the family Viviparidae | |
Genus | Species | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images |
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Bulbilimnadia [5] [9] |
|
| Valves | A freshwater Ostracodan of the family Bulbilimnadiidae | |
Darwinula [5] |
|
| Valves | A freshwater Ostracodan of the family Darwinulidae | |
Euestheria [21] [16] [17] |
|
| Valves | A Freshwater Clam shrimp (Phyllopodan) of the family Lioestheriidae. | |
Isopodichnus [1] [13] |
|
| Hypichnial marks | Feeding and moving traces of phyllopod and notostracan crustaceans |
Radial chambers around large tunnels have been recovered, they may be arthropod burrows or traces of roots. [13] [14] Large nest structures with septa, similar to nesting behaviour of insects like Cicadas are know. [14]
Genus | Species | Location | Material | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Artematopodites [22] | A. ssp. |
| MPK 5/36, 39, 40 | A Coleopteran, member of the family Permosynidae | |
Blattodea [22] | Indeterminate |
| MPK 5/54 | Indeterminate Blattodean remains | |
Blattulidae [22] | Indeterminate |
| MPK 5/1 | Indeterminate Cockroach remains | |
Caraboidea [22] | Indeterminate |
| MPK 5/12, 15 | Indeterminate Beetle remains | |
Coleoptera [22] | Indeterminate |
| Isolated Wings | Indeterminate Beetle remains | |
Helminthoidichnites [14] | cf. H. isp. |
| Gnawing traces | surficial gnawing traces made by insects | |
Hydrobiites [22] | H. sp. |
| MPK 5/10, 13, 17, 22, 25, 33 | A Coleopteran, member of the family Permosynidae | |
Linckichnus [14] | L. terebrans |
| Boring Traces | Detritivorous habitation dwellings or oviposition structures of insects in dead wood | |
Memptus [22] | M. sp. |
| MPK 5/44 | A Coleopteran, Incertade sedis | |
Notocupes [22] | N. sp. |
| MPK 5/6 | A Coleopteran, Incertade sedis | |
Odrowazicoris [23] | O. polonicus |
| MPK 5/2 | An Hemipteran, member of the family Belostomatidae | |
Polysitum [22] | P.? sp. |
| MPK 5/14, 29 | A Coleopteran, Incertade sedis | |
Phoroschizidae [22] | Indeterminate |
| MPK 5/4,5, 8, 20, 35 | Indeterminate Beetle remains | |
Xylonichnus [14] | Cf.X. isp. |
| Boring Traces | Borings in the wood made probably by insect larvae |
Unidentified Actinopterygian fish scales and teeth were collected from clayish, organic-rich lake deposits, while some coprolites have been referred to Hybodontiform sharks. [12]
Genus | Species | Location | Material | Notes | Images |
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Semionotus [24] | S. cf. bergeri | Czarniecka Góra | Single specimen | A Semionotiform bony fish of the family Semionotidae | |
Paleoniscidae [12] | Indeterminate | Sołtyków | Scales & Teeth | Indeterminate Palaeonisciformes specimens |
Genus | Species | Location | Material | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chelonipus [12] | C. isp. | Sołtyków | Footprints | Turtle Tracks | |
Testudinata [12] | Indeterminate | Sołtyków | Carapace Fragments | Unidentified Turtle remains, quoted to belong to a large sized taxon |
Genus | Species | Location | Material | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ameghinichnus [5] [6] [12] | Cf.A. isp. | Sołtyków | Footprints | Small Synapsid tracks, likely from Mammaliaformes | |
Brasilichnium [5] [6] | B. isp. | Sołtyków | Footprints | Small Synapsid tracks, likely from Mammaliaformes | |
Dicynodontipus [12] | D. isp. | Sołtyków | Footprints | Tracks referred to Eucynodonts, maybe Tritylodontidae | |
Therapsipus [5] [12] | Cf.T. isp. | Sołtyków | Footprints | Tracks referred to Eucynodonts |
Genus | Species | Location | Material | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rhynchosauroides [5] [12] | R. isp. | Sołtyków | Footprints | Tracks referable to both Sphenodontidae and Lepidosauromorpha |
Genus | Species | Location | Material | Notes | Images |
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Batrachopus [5] [12] | B. isp. | Sołtyków | Footprints | Crocodrylomorph Tracks, likely of terrestrial taxa | |
Crocodylomorpha [12] | Indeterminate | Sołtyków | Bones inside a large bromalite | An Indeterminate Crocodrylomorph, likely preyed on by a large Theropod | |
Crocodylomorpha [5] | Indeterminate | Sołtyków | Footprints | Unnamed 3rd type of Footprint | |
Malutitetrapodiscus [5] [12] | Cf.M. isp. | Sołtyków | Footprints | Probably left by small terrestrial crocodylomorphs |
Genus | Species | Location | Material | Notes | Images |
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Pteraichnus [5] [12] | cf. P. isp. | Sołtyków | Footprints | Pterosaur Tracks, the individuals that left them probably had a wingspan of about 30-40 cm |
Some elliptical "post-egg" structures egshells & eggs with embryo remains have been referred to theropods, yet may also belong to Ornithischians. [5]
Genus | Species | Location | Material | Notes | Images |
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Anchisauripus [5] [6] [25] [26] [27] |
| Sołtyków | Footprints | Adscribed to smal slender primitive predatory dinosaurs, related with genera such as Coelophysis | |
Eubrontes [5] [6] [26] [27] |
| Sołtyków | Footprints | Eubrontes is related to the Genus Dilophosaurus , representing a basal Neotheropods | |
Grallator [5] [6] [25] [26] [28] |
| Sołtyków | Footprints | Similar pes with Coelophysidae-alike dinosaurs, related with neotheropods such as Dracoraptor . | |
Kayentapus [5] [6] [25] [26] [27] |
| Sołtyków | Footprints | Assumed to come from Genera similar to Sarcosaurus | |
Megalosauripus [5] [6] [26] [30] | Cf.M. isp. | Sołtyków | Footprints | Large bodied taxa, maybe related with Sinosaurus . Among the largest early Jurassic theropod tracks worldwide. | |
Plesiornis [5] [6] [26] |
| Sołtyków | Footprints | Theropod Tracks from small sized taxa with convergent features with latter Avians | |
Stenonyx [5] [31] |
| Sołtyków | Footprints | Small Theropod tracks, likely from juveniles of larger taxa | |
Theropoda [5] [12] | Indeterminate |
|
| Some coprolites, referred to Theropods include plant material, probably ingested acidentally by drinking water. [11] Others include large bone remains or fish scales. [12] Teeth corroborate the presence of large taxa in the area. [12] |
Genus | Species | Location | Material | Notes | Images |
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Kalosauropus [26] |
| Gromadzice | Footprints | Tracks referred to early quadrupedal or semibipedal sauropodomorphs | |
Megaloolithidae? [32] | Indeterminate | Sołtyków | Eggshells, eggs with embryo remains & spherical "post-egg" structures | Nesting structures & associated eggs referred to sauropods | |
Otozoum [5] [6] [12] | Cf.O. isp. | Sołtyków | Footprints | Tracks referred to early quadrupedal or semibipedal sauropodomorphs | |
Parabrontopodus [5] [6] [12] | P. isp. | Sołtyków | Footprints | Sauropod tracks, usually referred to taxa similar to Vulcanodon | |
Sauropodomorpha [12] | Indeterminate | Hucisko |
| Indeterminate Sauropodomorph bones | |
Tetrasauropus [5] [6] [12] | Cf.T. isp | Sołtyków | Footprints | Tracks referred to early quadrupedal or semibipedal sauropodomorphs |
Genus | Species | Location | Material | Notes | Images |
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Anomoepus [5] [6] [12] |
|
| Footprints | Tracks that resemble the feet of " Stormbergia" and various Genasauria of different sizes | |
Delatorrichnus [5] [6] [12] |
| Sołtyków | Footprints | Tracks usually referred to Heterodontosauridae or similar taxa | |
Moyenisauropus [33] |
| Kontrewers | Footprints | Tracks adscribed to basal Thyreophora, vinculated with genera such as Scelidosaurus |
In Palynology, the Zagaje Formation belongs to the Nathorstisporites hopliticus assemblage (Isoetales), indicating a spike in marshland and lacustrine settings. [34] The Sołtyków outcrop is dominated by Classopollis (Cheirolepidiaceae), Aratrisporites (Cycadidae), Concavisporites (Dipteridaceae) and Cyathidites (Cyatheaceae). [8]
Genus | Species | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images |
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Aciphyllum [11] |
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| Cuticles | Affinities with Pinaceae inside Pinales. The oldest record of a Pinus-like needle in the fossil record | |
Brachyphyllum [11] |
|
| Cuticles | Affinities with Cheirolepidiaceae or Araucariaceae inside Pinales | |
Caytonia [12] [35] [36] |
|
| Reproductive structure | Affinities with Caytoniaceae in the Caytoniales | |
Czekanowskia [12] |
|
| Branched Shoots | Affinities with the Czekanowskiales inside Ginkgoopsida. This Genus is related with relatively drier-cooler conditions. | |
Desmiophyllum [11] |
|
| Cuticles | A possible Conifer leaf, recent finds of it associated with the cone genera Sphaerostrobus and Ourostrobus points to a coniferophyte affinity, maybe as a member of Palissyaceae. [37] | |
Dictyophyllum [12] [35] [36] |
|
| Pinnae | Affinities with Dipteridaceae inside Gleicheniales. | |
Goepertella [12] [35] [36] |
|
| Pinnae | Affinities with Dipteridaceae inside Gleicheniales | |
Hirmeriella [12] [38] |
|
| Branched Shoots and reproductive cones | Affinities with the Cheirolepidiaceae inside Pinales. | |
Komlopteris [11] |
|
| Cuticles | Affinities Corystospermaceae inside Corystospermales. | |
Matonia [39] |
|
| Pinnae | Affinities with Matoniaceae inside Gleicheniales | |
Neocalamites [12] [35] [36] |
|
| Stems | Affinities with Calamitaceae inside Equisetopsida. A common horsetail on the Liassic of Europe. | |
Nilssonia [11] |
|
| Cuticles | Affinities with Cycadeoidaceae in the Bennettitales or alternatively a member of Nilssoniales | |
Odrolepis [12] [35] [36] |
|
| Complete Plants | Affinities with Lycopodiales | |
Otozamites [12] [35] [36] |
|
| Leaflets | Affinities with Williamsoniaceae in the Bennettitales. | |
Pachypteris [11] [12] [35] [36] |
|
| Pinnae | Affinities Corystospermaceae inside Corystospermales. | |
Paracycas [12] [35] [36] |
|
| Leaflets | Affinities with Cycadales in the Cycadopsida. | |
Piroconites [12] [35] [36] |
|
| Reproductive structure | Affinities with Gnetales, maybe with Welwitschiaceae | |
Phlebopteris [12] [35] [36] |
|
| Cuticles | Affinities with Matoniaceae in the Gleicheniales. | |
Podozamites [11] [12] [35] [36] |
|
| Branched shoots | Affinities with Krassiloviaceae inside Voltziales | |
Pseudotorellia [11] |
|
| Cuticles | Affinities with the Pseudotorelliaceae inside Ginkgoopsida. | |
Pterophyllum [11] [12] [35] [36] |
|
| Leaflets | Affinities with Williamsoniaceae in the Bennettitales. | |
Ptilozamites [11] |
|
| Cuticles | Affinities Corystospermaceae inside Corystospermales. | |
Sagenopteris [12] [35] [36] |
|
| Leaves | Affinities with Caytoniaceae in the Caytoniales | |
Schmeissneria [12] [40] [36] |
|
| Reproductive structure | Affinities with Ginkgoopsida or with Angiosperm-convergent Gimnosperms | |
Swedenborgia [5] [40] |
|
| Branched Shoots | Affinities with Krassiloviaceae inside Voltziales. | |
Thaumatopteris [12] [40] [36] |
|
| Pinnae | Affinities with Dipteridaceae inside Gleicheniales | |
Todites [12] [40] [36] |
|
| Pinnae | Affinities with Osmundaceae in the Osmundales. |
The Ziliujing Formation is a geological formation in China, It is Early Jurassic in age. It is part of the stratigraphy of the Sichuan Basin. The dinosaur Gongxianosaurus and indeterminate theropod material are known from the Dongyuemiao Member of the formation, as well as dinosaur footprints, Zizhongosaurus and indeterminate prosauropods from the Da'anzhai Member. The basal sauropod Sanpasaurus is known from the Maanshan Member. The basal ornithschian Archaeocursor is known from the formation. An possible unnamed stegosaur and the pliosauroid plesiosaur Sinopliosaurus are also known from this formation but they were found an indeterminate member. An unnamed teleosaurid known from a complete skull has also been found in the formation, pending a formal description. The deposition environment during the Da'anzhai Member in the lower Toarcian is thought to have been that of a giant freshwater lake encompassing the whole of the Sichuan basin, around 3 times larger than Lake Superior, coeval with the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event around 183 Ma. The Sinemurian-Pliensbachian boundary event has been recorded on the top of the Dongyuemiao Member, while lower parts of this member are of Earliest Sinemurian age.
Asiatoceratodus is an extinct genus of lungfish which lived during the Middle-Late Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods in what is now Asia (Kyrgyzstan), Africa and South America.
The Blue Lias is a geological formation in southern, eastern and western England and parts of South Wales, part of the Lias Group. The Blue Lias consists of a sequence of limestone and shale layers, laid down in latest Triassic and early Jurassic times, between 195 and 200 million years ago. The Blue Lias is famous for its fossils, especially ammonites.
Ptychoceratodus is an extinct genus of lungfish living from Early Triassic to Middle Jurassic. It was established by Otto Jaekel for one species, transferred from Ceratodus genus. Type species is P. serratus from the Middle Triassic of Switzerland and Germany. Ptychoceratodus had two pairs of massive dental plates, bearing 4-6 acute ridges. Its skull roof was composed from massive, plate-like bones. In the central part of skull roof was localized an unossified fenestra. Most of the Ptychoceratodus findings are isolated dental plates, some associated with jaws. Other parts of skull or postcranial skeleton are relatively rarely found as fossils. The anatomy of skull is the best recognized in P. serratus, whereas less complete cranial material is available also for P. concinuus, P. phillipsi, and P. rectangulus. Although Ptychoceratodus is known exclusively from the Triassic and Jurassic, there were also Cretaceous specimens referred to this genus. However, they are more often regarded as representants of Metaceratodus. Ptychoceratodus is the only member of the family Ptychoceratodontidae. The first named species is P. phillipsi by Louis Agassiz in 1837 as a species of Ceratodus and later moved to the genus Ptychoceratodus. Occurrences of Ptychoceratodus come mainly from Europe. However, occurrences from other continents suggest it was dispersed globally during the Triassic. After 2010, the new fossil material behind the Europe was reported from South America, India, and Greenland
The Höganäs Formation is a Late Triassic to Early Jurassic geologic formation in Skåne, Sweden. The formation is mostly known for its incredible flora collection from the Bjuv member, composed of over 110 species, and also includes several vertebrate remains, such as fishes, amphibians and dinosaur tracks & remains, although none have yet been referred to a specific genus. It´s regional equivalent is the Zagaje Formation in Poland.
Stegomosuchus is an extinct genus of small protosuchian crocodyliform. It is known from a single incomplete specimen discovered in the late 19th century in Lower Jurassic rocks of south-central Massachusetts, United States. It was originally thought to be a species of Stegomus, an aetosaur, but was eventually shown to be related to Protosuchus and thus closer to the ancestry of crocodilians. Stegomosuchus is also regarded as a candidate for the maker of at least some of the tracks named Batrachopus in the Connecticut River Valley.
Carmelopodus is an ichnogenus of theropod dinosaur footprint. They are suggested to belong to basal ceratosaurs, due to their similarities with abelisaurid footprints. In 2016, a large footprint from the Early Jurassic Aganane Formation of Morocco belonging to Carmelopodus sp. was estimated to belong to an 8 m (26 ft) long and 1.65 t heavy individual. Another footprint from the Middle Jurassic of the USA that belongs to Carmelopodus untermannorum, the type species, has a size of 4 cm (0.13 ft) and was made by an individual that was 68 cm (2.2 ft) in length and 1 kg (2.2 lbs).
The Przysucha Formation is a geologic formation in Poland. Ichnofossils attributed to dinosaurs have been found in the formation.
Matonia is a genus of fern, named for English botanist William George Maton. It is native to Thailand, Malesia and New Guinea.
The Sunrise Formation is a geologic formation in Nevada. It preserves fossils dating back to the Hettangian to Sinemurian stages of the Early Jurassic period.
The Gabbs Formation is a geologic formation in Nevada. It preserves fossils dating back to the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic periods, and is one of the few formations in the United States known to include the Triassic-Jurassic boundary. In 2007, an exposure of the Gabbs Formation at New York Canyon was proposed a candidate GSSP for the Hettangian stage, the first stage of the Jurassic. However, the New York Canyon section was ultimately not selected as Hettangian GSSP, which instead went to the Kuhjoch section of Austria in 2010.
Corystosperms are a group of extinct seed plants belonging to the family Corystospermaceae assigned to the order Corystospermales or Umkomasiales. They were first described based on fossils collected by Hamshaw Thomas from the Burnera Waterfall locality near the Umkomaas River of South Africa. Corystosperms are typified by a group of plants that bore forked Dicroidium leaves, Umkomasia cupulate ovulate structures and Pteruchus pollen organs, which grew as trees that were widespread over Gondwana during the Middle and Late Triassic. Other fossil Mesozoic seed plants with similar leaf and/or reproductive structures have also sometimes been included within the "corystosperm" concept sensu lato, such as the "doyleoids" from the Early Cretaceous of North America and Asia. A potential corystosperm sensu lato, the leaf genus Komlopteris, is known from the Eocene of Tasmania, around 53-50 million years old, over 10 million years after the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.
The Drzewica Formation is a geologic formation in Szydłowiec, Poland. It is Pliensbachian in age. Vertebrate fossils have been uncovered from this formation, including dinosaur tracks. The Drzewica Formation is part of the Depositional sequence IV-VII of the late lower Jurassic Polish Basin, with the IV showing the presence of local Alluvial deposits, with possible meandriform deposition origin, dominated in Jagodne and Szydłowiec, while delta system occurred through the zone of the modern Budki. The sequence V shows a reduction of the erosion in the Zychorzyn borehole of the Drzewica Formation, showing changes on the extension of the marine facies, where upper deposits change from Alluvial to Deltaic-Seashore depositional settings. VI-VII facies were recovered on the Brody-Lubienia borehole, with a lower part exposed on the village of Śmiłów that shows a small fall of the Sea level. The stathigraphic setting of the dinosaur tracks reported from the formation suggest a Seashore or Deltaic barrier. Body fossils reported include bivalves, palynology, fossil trunks, roots. Trunks of coniferous wood, especially Cheirolepidiaceae and Araucariaceae trees show the occurrence of vast coniferous forests around the tracksite. The association of forests and dinosaur megafauna on the Pliensbachian suggests also a colder and specially dry ecosystem. Drzewica deposits where in part to be a gigantic shore barrel, setting at the time where the Polish basin sea was at its lowest point. Other related units are Fjerritslev or Gassum Formation, Hasle & Sorthat Formation (Bornholm), upper Neringa Formation (Lithuania) and abandoned informal units in other regions of Poland: upper Sawêcin beds, Wieluñ series or Bronów series.
This article records new taxa of trace fossils of every kind that are scheduled to be described during the year 2019, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to trace fossil paleontology that are scheduled to occur in the year 2019.
The Ciechocinek Formation, known in Germany as the Green Series/Grimmen Formation is a Jurassic geologic formation that extends across the Baltic coast, from Grimmen, Germany, to Lithuania, with its major sequence in Poland and a few boreholes in Kaliningrad. It represents the largest continental area defined as deltaic in the fossil record, estimated to cover ~7.1 × 100,000 km2 (39,000 sq mi) only in the Polish realm. It is mostly known for its diverse entomofauna, composed of more than 150 species of different groups of insects, as well as its marine vertebrate fossils, including remains of sharks, actinopterygians and marine reptiles, along with terrestrial remains of dinosaurs, including the early thyreophoran Emausaurus and others not yet assigned to a definite genus. Its exposures are mostly derived from active clay mining of a dislocated glacial raft with exposed Upper Pliensbachian to late Toarcian shallow-marine sediments. Starting with coarse and fine sand deposits with concretions, the pure clay of the Ciechocinek Formation, after the falciferum zone, was deposited in a restricted basin south of the Fennoscandian mainland. It hosts a layer full of carbonate concretions, where a great entomofauna is recovered.
The Ciechocinek Formation is a Jurassic geologic formation which extends across the Baltic coast from Grimmen, Germany, to Nida, Lithuania, with its major sequence in Poland and boreholes in Kaliningrad. Dinosaur species uncovered here, including Emausaurus and other unclassified genus.
The Blanowice Formation is a geologic formation in Częstochowa, Poland. It is late Pliensbachian-Lowermost Toarcian age. Plant fossils have been recovered from this formation. Along with the Drzewica Formation is part of the Depositional sequence IV-VII of the late lower Jurassic Polish Basin. Deposits of sequences IV, V, VI and VII make up the Blanowice Formation, being all four sequences are of Pliensbachian age, documented by megaspores (Horstisporites). On the upper strata, “sub-coal beds" cover the sequence VII-lower VIII, while the uppermost part of VIII is identified with the Ciechocinek Formation. The Blanowice Formation has been known for decades thanks to the abundant plant fossils and plant roots, but mostly due to the Blanowice Brown Coals, where the oldest Biomolecules found worldwide have been recovered. The Mrzygłód mine dinocyst assemblage is taxonomically undiversified, containing specimens that are good age indicators allowing relatively precise suggestion of its age. Luehndea spinosa, with a single recovered specimen spans between the Late Pliensbachian (Margaritaus) to the Lowermost Toarcian (Tenuicostatum). Other ocal dinocysts such as Mendicodinium range Late Pliensbachian–Aalenian, a wider stratigraphic range. The lower part of the formation is coeval in age with the Gielniów Formation and Drzewica Formation, Lobez Formation and Komorowo Formation (Pomerania), Olsztyn Formation, the lower part of the Rydeback Member of the Rya Formation, lower Fjerritslev or Gassum Formation, lower and middle Sorthat Formation (Bornholm), Neringa Formation (Lithuania). The upper part is coeval with the lowermost upper Rydeback Member, upper Gassum Formation and lower Lava Formation (Lithuania).
The Borucice Formation, also known in older literature as the Borucice Series, is a Jurassic geologic formation that extends to nearly whole of Poland. This formation represents the last sequence of the lower Jurassic in Poland, recovering the depositional sequences IX and X, and may even recover lowermost parts of the first Middle Jurassic sequence. It represents mostly a series of alluvial depositional systems with subordinate intervals of deltaic deposits. Dinosaur Tracks are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. Most of the sediments of the Polish realm come from deltaic, fluvial and marine deposits. It mainly consists of light whitish-grey, fine grained sandstones interbedded by clay containing plant detritus and minute fragments of coal. It also has dark grey mudstones with marine lamellibranches and an Upper Lias microfauna. Its main equivalents are the Jurensismergel Formation of Germany, upper part of the Rya Formation and the uppermost Sorthat Formation (Bornholm). There are also coeval abandoned informal units in Poland: Upper Lisiec beds, or the Kamień Beds.
The Höör Sandstone is a geologic formation in Skåne County, southern Sweden. It is Early Jurassic (Hettangian-Pliensbachian) in age. This unit outcrops in central Skane on a few isolated exposures, being traditionally subdivided into the lower “millstone” (“kvarnstenen”) and the upper “buildingstone”. The lowermost layers where also claimed to host Rhaetian strata, however latter works suggested that the layers devolved as red beds, were part of the new Hörby Formation, thus delimitating the Höör sandstone to the lower Jurassic. It has been assumed to be limited to Hettangian-Sinemurian layers, yet recent palynological analysis suggest the uppermost section is of Pliensbachian age, underlying and maybe interacting with the younger volcanic deposits. The Höör sandstone represents a mostly fluvial unit with a rich collection of fossil plants, yet also includes brackish bivalves in some layers, pointing to marine ingressions locally.
Komlopteris is an extinct genus of "seed fern" with possible corystosperm affinities. Fossils have been found across both hemispheres, dating from the latest Triassic to the early Eocene (Ypresian), making it the youngest "seed fern" in the fossil record.