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Lameta Formation

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The Lameta Formation, also known as the Infratrappean Beds (not to be confused with the contemporaneous Intertrappean Beds), is a sedimentary geological formation found in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, India, associated with the Deccan Traps.[1] It is of the Maastrichtian age (Late Cretaceous), and is notable for its dinosaur fossils.

Lameta Formation
Stratigraphic range: Maastrichtian
~70–66 Ma
↓
Exposure of the Lameta Formation at its type locality of Lameta
TypeGeological formation
UnderliesIntertrappean Beds, Deccan Traps deposits
OverliesJabalpur Group or Precambrian Basement
Area5,000 km2 (1,900 sq mi)
ThicknessVariable, typically 18–45 m (59–148 ft)
Lithology
PrimaryClaystone, sandstone limestone
OtherConglomerate
Location
Coordinates23°12′N 80°00′E / 23.2°N 80.0°E / 23.2; 80.0
Approximate paleocoordinates24°42′S 63°12′E / 24.7°S 63.2°E / -24.7; 63.2
RegionWestern India
Country India
ExtentMadhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana
Type section
Named forLameta Ghat
Lameta Formation is located in India
Lameta Formation
Lameta Formation (India)

History

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The first fossils found in the Lameta Formation were discovered between 1917 and 1919.[2]

The Lameta Formation was first identified in 1981 by geologists working for the Geological Survey of India (GSI), G. N. Dwivedi and Dhananjay Mahendrakumar Mohabey, after being given limestone structures–later recognised as dinosaur eggs–by workers of the ACC Cement Quarry in the village of Rahioli near the city Balasinor in the Gujarat state of western India.[3]

Lithology

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The formation is underlain by the Lower Cretaceous sedimentary "Upper Gondwana Sequence" also known as the Jabalpur Formation, and is overlain by the Deccan Traps basalt. The Lameta Formation is only exposed at the surface as small isolated outcrops associated with the Satpura Fault. The lithology of the formation, depending on the outcrop, consists of alternating clay, siltstone and sandstone facies, deposited in fluvial and lacustrine conditions. The environment at the time of deposition has alternatively been considered semi-arid, or tropical humid.[4][5]

Fossil content

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Many dubious names have been created for isolated bones, but several genera of dinosaurs from these rocks are well-supported, including the titanosaur sauropods Isisaurus and Jainosaurus and the Abelisaurs Indosaurus, Indosuchus, and Rajasaurus and Noasaurids Laevisuchus.[6] Mammals are also known form the formation, such as the possibly late surviving Avashishta, the possibly youngest know stegosaurian Deltapodus, madtsoiid snakes and other fossils.

Dinosaurs

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Dinosaurs of Lameta Formation in which a group of Rajasaurus (Middle) hunting an Isisaurus (Middle) with an Indosuchus (bottom left) watching it with her chicks and a Laevisuchus (Bottom right) running with two Jainosaurus (Top Left) in the background
Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.

Ornithischians

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Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Ankylosauria? Indeterminate Rahioli Isolated vertebrae, scapulocoracoid, humerus, femur, and several armor fragments such as hollow lateral spikes and solid dorsal scutes.[7] Described as a nodosaurid, but the limb bones are titanosaurian.[8]
Brachypodosaurus B. gravis Chota Simla Hill "Humerus."[9] May not be dinosaurian
Ceratopsia? Indeterminate Kheda Horncore base. Originally described as a ceratopsian horncore,[10] but likely represents a theropod limb element or a dorsal rib of a theropod or a titanosauriform.[11]
Deltapodus[12] sp. Jetholi Solitary footprint. A Late Cretaceous Stegosaur, Like Dravidosaurus.
Hypsilophodontidae?[13] Indeterminate. Vikarabad. Teeth. Hypsilophodontidae is not a natural grouping.
Ornithischia[14] Indeterminate Kheda Braincase. Indeterminate Ornithischian.
Spheroolithus? sp. Polgaon,

Tidkepar

Egg fossils. Questionably assigned to this genus[15]

Sauropods

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Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Isisaurus I. colberti Dongargaon Hill Holotype skeleton consists of cervical, dorsal, sacral, caudal vertebrae, ribs, pelvis, scapula, coracoid, left forelimb, and other bones. Other specimens such as skull, hindlimb, and foot bones are unknown. A titanosaur.
 
Jainosaurus J. septentrionalis Bara Simla "Basicranium and partial postcranial skeleton."[16] A titanosaur.
 
Titanosaurus T. blanfordi
  • Panchgaon
  • Pisdura Hill
 Caudal vertebrae.[17] A titanosaur.
 
T. blanfordi holotype distal caudal vertebra
T. indicus Pisdura Hill Teeths, Caudal vertebrae and chevron.[18]
 
T. indicus holotypic distal caudal vertebra
Megaloolithus[19] M. cylindricus Chui Hill, Bara Simla, Nand region, Pavan, Ghorpend, Bagh Caves, Dhar, Indwan, Kadwal, Dholiya Raipuriya village, Akhada village, Jhaba village, Padlya village, Jhabua, Dohad, Jhalod, Garadi, Kheda, Rahioli, Dholi Dungri. Sauropod egg fossils
 
M. dhoridungriensis
M. jabalpurensis
M. khempurensis
M. megadermus
M. problematica
M. walpurensis
M. sp.
Titanosauriform[20] Indeterminate Ukala. Dorsal vertebrae, parts of illia and pelvis and limb bones. A titanosauriform.

Theropods

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Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Compsosuchus C. solus Bara Simla "Vertebrae" Previously considered a Noasaurid now considered an indeterminate Abelisaurid[21]
Indosaurus I. matleyi Bara Simla Partial skeleton, including a partial skull.[22] An abelisaur.
Indosuchus I. raptorius Bara Simla Cranial remains, including two braincases, as well as a nearly complete skeleton.[22] An abelisaurid theropod.
 
Trachoolithus[23] T. faticanus Bara Simla Eggs. Theropod egg fossils.
Ellipsoolithus[24] E. khedaensis Kheda Eggs Theropod egg fossils.
Ornithomimoides O. barasimlensis Bara Simla "Vertebrae."[25] An abelisaurid[26]
O. mobilis Bara Simla "Vertebrae"[25]
Rahiolisaurus R. gujaratensis Rahioli Village Cervical, dorsal, sacral, and caudal vertebrae, portions of pectoral and pelvic girdles, and several hind limb bones of different individuals. An abelisaurid.
 
Rajasaurus R. narmadensis Temple Hill, Rahioli A partial skeleton consists of maxillae, premaxillae, braincase, and quadrate bone on the skull; and spine, hip bone, legs, and tail in post-cranial remains. An abelisaurid.
 
Laevisuchus L. indicus Bara Simla Only vertebrae.[22]
Noasaurinae Indeterminate A partial dentary[26] A noasaurid noasaurine.
Coeluroides C. largus Bara Simla "Isolated vertebrae."[25] A Indeterminate theropod also known from Dabrazhin Formation of Kazakhstan
Dryptosauroides D. grandis Bara Simla "Vertebrae."[25]
Jubbulpuria J. tenuis Bara Simla "Vertebrae."[25] Likely junior synonym of Laevisuchus[26]
Lametasaurus L. indicus Bara Simla "Sacrum, ilia, tibia."[25] "Sacrum, ilia, tibia, spines, armor."[27]
?Megalosaurus Referred to as the 'E' morphotype A solitary tooth.[28] Originally identified as belonging to Megalosaurus, however may instead represent a troodontid.[29]
Orthogoniosaurus O. matleyi Bara Simla "Tooth"[25]

Reptile

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Snakes

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Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Madtsoia M. pisdurensis[30] Pidura Hill Upper A madtsoiid snake.
Sanajeh S. indicus Dholi Dungri A skull, precloaca vertebrae and ribs. A madtsoiid snake.
 
Sanajeh about to attack a titanosaur hatchling

Crocodylomorphs

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Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Dyrosauridae[31][13][32] Indeterminate. Kisalpuri and Vikarabad. Vertebrae, eggs and teeth. Non-Phosphatosaurinae Dyrosaurid Crocodylomorphs.

Turtles

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Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Jainemys J. pisdurensis Pisdura hill A bothremydid side-necked turtle.
Pelomedusidae[33][34] Indeterminate A turtle.

Mammals

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Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Avashishta A. bacharamensis[35] Bacharam A Haramiyida Mammal.

Mollusca

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Genus Species Location Notes
Mollusca Indeterminate
Gastropoda Indeterminate
Viviparus V. normalis
Physa P. sp.
Paludina P. deccanensis
Lymnaea L. subulata
Unio U. sp.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Wilson Mantilla, Gregory P.; Renne, Paul R.; Samant, Bandana; Mohabey, Dhananjay M.; Dhobale, Anup; Tholt, Andrew J.; Tobin, Thomas S.; Widdowson, Mike; Anantharaman, S.; Dassarma, Dilip Chandra; Wilson Mantilla, Jeffrey A. (2022-04-01). "New mammals from the Naskal intertrappean site and the age of India's earliest eutherians". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 591: 110857. Bibcode:2022PPP...59110857W. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2022.110857. ISSN 0031-0182.
  2. ^ F. v. Huene and C. A. Matley, (1933), "The Cretaceous Saurischia and Ornithischia of the Central Provinces of India", Palaeontologica Indica (New Series), Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India 21(1): 1-74
  3. ^ Wilson, J. A.; Sereno, P. C.; Srivastava, S.; Bhatt, D. K.; Khosla, A.; Sahni, A. (2003). "A new abelisaurid (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Lameta Formation (Cretaceous, Maastrichtian) of India" (PDF). Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology University of Michigan. 31 (1): 1–42.
  4. ^ Srivastava, Ashok K.; Mankar, Rupesh S. (January 2015). "Lithofacies architecture and depositional environment of Late Cretaceous Lameta Formation, central India". Arabian Journal of Geosciences. 8 (1): 207–226. Bibcode:2015ArJG....8..207S. doi:10.1007/s12517-013-1192-y. ISSN 1866-7511. S2CID 67851941.
  5. ^ Kumari, Anjali; Singh, Seema; Khosla, Ashu (January 2021). "Palaeosols and palaeoclimate reconstruction of the Maastrichtian Lameta Formation, Central India". Cretaceous Research. 117: 104632. Bibcode:2021CrRes.11704632K. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104632. S2CID 224946979.
  6. ^ Weishampel et al., 2004, pp.517-606
  7. ^ Chatterjee, Sankar (2020), Prasad, Guntupalli V.R.; Patnaik, Rajeev (eds.), "The Age of Dinosaurs in the Land of Gonds", Biological Consequences of Plate Tectonics: New Perspectives on Post-Gondwana Break-up–A Tribute to Ashok Sahni, Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 181–226, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-49753-8_8, ISBN 978-3-030-49753-8
  8. ^ Rozadilla, Sebastián; Agnolín, Federico; Manabe, Makoto; Tsuihiji, Takanobu; Novas, Fernando E. (2021-09-01). "Ornithischian remains from the Chorrillo Formation (Upper Cretaceous), southern Patagonia, Argentina, and their implications on ornithischian paleobiogeography in the Southern Hemisphere". Cretaceous Research. 125: 104881. Bibcode:2021CrRes.12504881R. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104881. ISSN 0195-6671.
  9. ^ "Table 17.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 367.
  10. ^ Dwivedi, G. N.; Ghevariya, Z. G. (1984). "Discovery of Dinosaurian Horncore from the Infra-Trappean Rocks of Kheda District, Gujarat". Current Science. 53 (21): 1148–1150. ISSN 0011-3891. JSTOR 24092279.
  11. ^ Lamanna, Matthew C.; Smith, Joshua B.; Attia, Yousry S.; Dodson, Peter (2004). "From Dinosaurs to Dyrosaurids (Crocodyliformes): Removal of the Post-Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous) Record of Ornithischia from Africa". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 24 (3): 764–768. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2004)024[0764:FDTDCR]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0272-4634. JSTOR 4524765.
  12. ^ Galton, Peter M.; Ayyasami, Krishnan (2017-07-01). "Purported latest bone of a plated dinosaur (Ornithischia: Stegosauria), a "dermal plate" from the Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) of southern India". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen. 285 (1): 91–96. doi:10.1127/njgpa/2017/0671. ISSN 0077-7749.
  13. ^ a b https://www.researchgate.net/publication/291830875_Microvertebrates_from_the_infratrappean_beds_of_Rangareddi_District_Andhra_Pradesh_and_their_biostratigraphic_significance [bare URL]
  14. ^ D. M. Mohabey. 1989. The braincase of a dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Lameta Formation, Kheda District, Gujarat, western India. Indian Journal of Earth Sciences 16(2):132-135.
  15. ^ Khosla, Ashu; Lucas, Spencer G. (2020), "Indian Late Cretaceous Dinosaur Nesting Sites and Their Systematic Studies", Late Cretaceous Dinosaur Eggs and Eggshells of Peninsular India, vol. 51, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 117–205, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-56454-4_4, ISBN 978-3-030-56453-7, retrieved 2024-02-13
  16. ^ "Table 13.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 269.
  17. ^ "Table 13.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 270.
  18. ^ "Table 13.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 271.
  19. ^ Khosla, Ashu; Lucas, Spencer G. (2020), "Discussion: Oospecies Diversity, Biomineralization Aspects, Taphonomical, Biostratigraphical, Palaeoenvironmental, Palaeoecological and Palaeobiogeographical Inferences of the Dinosaur-Bearing Lameta Formation of Peninsular India", Late Cretaceous Dinosaur Eggs and Eggshells of Peninsular India, vol. 51, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 207–271, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-56454-4_5, ISBN 978-3-030-56453-7, retrieved 2024-01-21
  20. ^ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263733418_Deccan_Continental_Flood_Basalt_Eruption_Terminated_Indian_Dinosaurs_before_the_Cretaceous-Paleogene_Boundary [bare URL]
  21. ^ Mohabey, D. M.; Samant, B.; Vélez-Rosado, K. I.; Wilson Mantilla, J. A. (2024). "A review of small-bodied theropod dinosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous of India, with description of new cranial remains of a noasaurid (Theropoda: Abelisauria)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. e2288088. doi:10.1080/02724634.2023.2288088.
  22. ^ a b c "Table 3.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 49.
  23. ^ Trachoolithus in the Paleobiology Database
  24. ^ D. M. Mohabey. 1998. Systematics of Indian Upper Cretaceous dinosaur and chelonian eggshells. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 18(2):348-362
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  26. ^ a b c Mohabey, Dhananjay M.; Samant, Bandana; Vélez-Rosado, Kevin I.; Wilson Mantilla, Jeffrey A. (2024-02-07). "A review of small-bodied theropod dinosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous of India, with description of new cranial remains of a noasaurid (Theropoda: Abelisauria)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. doi:10.1080/02724634.2023.2288088. ISSN 0272-4634.
  27. ^ "Table 17.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 368.
  28. ^ Mathur, U. B.; Srivastava, S. (1987-06-01). "Dinosaur Teeth from Lameta Group (Upper Cretaceous) of Kheda District, Gujarat". Geological Society of India. 29 (6): 554–566. ISSN 0974-6889.
  29. ^ "Troodontidae".
  30. ^ Mohabey, D.M.; Head, J.J.; Wilson, J.A. (2011). "A new species of the snake Madtsoia from the Upper Cretaceous of India and its paleobiogeographic implications". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 31 (3): 588–595. Bibcode:2011JVPal..31..588M. doi:10.1080/02724634.2011.560220. S2CID 129792355.
  31. ^ Rana, R. S. 1987. Dyrosaurid crocodile (Mesosuchia) from the infratrap pean beds of Vikarabad, Hyderabad District, Andhra-Pradesh. Cur rent Science 56:532-534
  32. ^ Srivastava, Rahul; Patnaik, Rajeev; Shukla, U. K.; Sahni, Ashok (2015-12-07). "Crocodilian Nest in a Late Cretaceous Sauropod Hatchery from the Type Lameta Ghat Locality, Jabalpur, India". PLOS ONE. 10 (12): e0144369. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1044369S. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0144369. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 4671694. PMID 26641665.
  33. ^ D. M. Mohabey. 1990. Discovery of dinosaur nesting site in Maharashtra. Gondwana Geological Magazine 3:32-34.
  34. ^ S. L. Jain and A. Sahni. 1983. Some Upper Cretaceous vertebrates from central India and their palaeogeographic implications. In H. K. Maheshwari (ed.), Proceedings of the Symposium on "Cretaceous of India: Palaeoecology, Palaeogeography and Time Boundaries", Lucknow. Indian Association of Palynostratigraphers 66-83.
  35. ^ Anantharaman, S.; Wilson, G. P.; Sarma, D. C. Das; Clemens, W. A. (2006). "A Possible Late Cretaceous "Haramiyidan" from India". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 26 (2): 488–490. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2006)26[488:APLCHF]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0272-4634. JSTOR 4524590.

Bibliography

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