Griman Creek Formation
Griman Creek Formation | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: late Albian-early-mid Cenomanian ~ | |
Type | Geological formation |
Unit of | Rolling Downs Group |
Sub-units | Coocoran Claystone & Wallangulla Sandstone Members |
Underlies | Unconformity with Oligo-Miocene Cumborah Gravel |
Overlies | Surat Siltstone, Wallumbilla Formation |
Thickness | Up to 345 m (1,132 ft) |
Lithology | |
Primary | Sandstone, siltstone, mudstone |
Other | Conglomerate, coal |
Location | |
Coordinates | 29°24′S 147°42′E / 29.4°S 147.7°E |
Approximate paleocoordinates | 64°24′S 134°54′E / 64.4°S 134.9°E |
Region | ![]() ![]() |
Country | ![]() |
Extent | Surat Basin |
Type section | |
Named for | Griman Creek |
Named by | Reiser |
Year defined | 1970 |
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.[1] 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.[2]
Description
[edit]As a whole, the formation primarily consists of thinly bedded medium to fine sandstone, siltstone and mudstone, with sporadic coal seams. In the vicinity of Lightning Ridge, it is divided up into two informal members the underlying Wallangulla Sandstone Member which primarily consists of red fine grained sandstone, light siltstone and grey claystone and is up to 30 metres (98 ft) thick while the overlying Coocoran Claystone consists of about 10 metres of claystone. The contact between the two units is sudden and unconformable. Discontinuous clay lens beds within the Wallangulla Sandstone Member near Lightning Ridge, referred to as the Finch Clay Facies, are one of Australia's primary sources of commercial precious opal, with many mines dug in the area. These deposits are also the primary source of fossils within the formation, a large proportion of which are preserved as semi-precious opalized pseudomorphs. The fauna found in lightning ridge indicates that the depositional environment of the Finch Clay Facies was in near-coastal freshwater lagoons.[1]
Background
[edit]![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Geology_of_Asia_100Ma.jpg/250px-Geology_of_Asia_100Ma.jpg)
GPlates reconstruction for 100 Ma (Albian-Cenomanian and Early and Late Cretaceous boundary)
![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/90_Ma_-_Late_Cretaceous_paleogeography_with_known_distribution_of_Arcellites_disciformis_indicated.jpg/250px-90_Ma_-_Late_Cretaceous_paleogeography_with_known_distribution_of_Arcellites_disciformis_indicated.jpg)
Original map by Ron Blakey
Fossil content
[edit]Indeterminate avialan, euornithopod, and sauropod remains that were once misidentified as brachiosaurid are present in New South Wales, Australia.[2] Euornithopod tracks are also present in New South Wales.[citation needed]
Dipnoi
[edit]Dipnoi of the Griman Creek Formation | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Taxa | Species | Presence | Material | Notes | Images |
Ceratodus[3] | C. diutinus | Isolated tooth plates | |||
Metaceratodus[3] | M. wollastoni | Isolated tooth plates | |||
Neoceratodus[4] | N. potkooroki | Isolated tooth plates |
Actinopterygii
[edit]Actinopterygians of the Griman Creek Formation | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Taxa | Species | Presence | Material | Notes | Images |
Calamopleurus?[4] | sp. | Isolated jaw bones |
Mammals
[edit]Monotremes
[edit]Mammals | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Materials | Notes | Images |
Dharragarra [5] | D. aurora | A partial left mandibular ramus. | A monotreme. | ||
Kollikodon[5] | K. ritchiei | An opalised dentary fragment, with one premolar and two molars in situ, as well as a referred maxillary fragment containing the last premolar and all four molars | A monotreme. | ||
Opalios[5] | O. splendens | A fragmentary left dentary. | A monotreme. | ||
Parvopalus | P. clytiei | A partial left dentary. | A monotreme. | ||
Steropodon | S. galmani | A monotreme | ![]() | ||
Stirtodon | S. elizabethae | A large isolated premolars. | A monotreme |
Crocodyliformes
[edit]Crocodyliformes | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Materials | Notes | Images |
Isisfordia | I. molnari | Lightning Ridge | Braincase and referred maxillary fragment[6] | A crocodyliform. | ![]() |
Dinosaurs
[edit]Indeterminate ornithopods and iguanodontians are known from the formation.[1] Indeterminate avetheropods and megaraptorans are known from the formation.[1] Two species of titanosauriforms and one species of titanosaur are known from teeth.[7]
Dinosaurs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
Fostoria | F. dhimbangunmal | New South Wales | A member of Rhabdodontomorpha. | |
Fulgurotherium | F. australe | New South Wales | [2] | |
Rapator | R. ornitholestoides | New South Wales | A megaraptoran; "Manual element"[2][8] | ![]() |
Walgettosuchus | W. woodwardi | New South Wales | "Vertebra"[2][9] Later determined to be an indeterminate theropod[2] |
![]() |
Weewarrasaurus | W. pobeni | New South Wales | An ornithopod known from an isolated dentary[1] | |
Ankylosauria | Indeterminate | Osteoderm[10] | ||
Enantiornithes | Indeterminate | Partial femora[citation needed] | ||
Megaraptora ("Lightning Claw") | Indeterminate | New South Wales | Partial skeleton including parts of the lower arm, claws, lower leg, part of the hip, and pieces of ribs.[11] | |
Noasauridae | Indeterminate | Cervical vertebra[12] | ||
Sauropoda | Indeterminate | A tooth |
Pterosaurs
[edit]Pterosaurs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
Anhangueria | Indeterminate | "two isolated tooth crowns", possible limb elements[citation needed] |
Testudines
[edit]Turtles | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
Spoochelys | S. ormondea | Perichelydian stem-turtle[13][14] | ||
Chelidae | Indeterminate[15] |
See also
[edit]- List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
- South Polar region of the Cretaceous
- Western Interior Seaway
- Cenomanian-Turonian extinction event
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Bell et al. 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f Weishampel, Dodson & Osmólska 2004, pp. 573–574.
- ^ a b Kemp, A. (1997). "Four species of Metaceratodus (Osteichthyes: Dipnoi, Family Ceratodontidae) from Australian Mesozoic and Cenozoic deposits". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 17 (1): 26–33. doi:10.1080/02724634.1997.10010949. ISSN 0272-4634. Wikidata Q104114935.
- ^ a b Berrell, Rodney W.; Cavin, Lionel; Trinajstic, Kate; Boisvert, Catherine; Smith, Elizabeth T. (August 2023). "The first record of amiid fishes (Halecomorphi, Amiiformes, Amiidae, Calamopleurini?) from Eastern Gondwana". Cretaceous Research. 148: 105538. Bibcode:2023CrRes.14805538B. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105538.
- ^ a b c Flannery, Timothy F.; McCurry, Matthew R.; Rich, Thomas H.; Vickers-Rich, Patricia; Smith, Elizabeth T.; Helgen, Kristofer M. (2024-05-26). "A diverse assemblage of monotremes (Monotremata) from the Cenomanian Lightning Ridge fauna of New South Wales, Australia". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology: 1–19. doi:10.1080/03115518.2024.2348753. ISSN 0311-5518.
- ^ Hart et al. 2019.
- ^ Frauenfelder et al. 2021.
- ^ "Table 4.1," in Weishampel, Dodson & Osmólska 2004, p. 74
- ^ "Table 4.1," in Weishampel, Dodson & Osmólska 2004, p. 78
- ^ Bell, Burns & Smith 2018.
- ^ Bell et al. 2016.
- ^ Birch, Smith & Bell 2020.
- ^ T-Bone Extension, Coocoran Opal Fields at Fossilworks.org
- ^ Smith & Kear 2013.
- ^ Smith, Elizabeth T. (September 2010). "Early Cretaceous chelids from Lightning Ridge, New South Wales". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 34 (3): 375–384. Bibcode:2010Alch...34..375S. doi:10.1080/03115518.2010.488117. S2CID 129726482.
Bibliography
[edit]- Frauenfelder, Timothy G.; Campione, Nicolás E.; Smith, Elizabeth T.; Bell, Phil R. (July 2021). "Diversity and palaeoecology of Australia's southern-most sauropods, Griman Creek Formation (Cenomanian), New South Wales, Australia". Lethaia. 54 (3): 354–367. Bibcode:2021Letha..54..354F. doi:10.1111/let.12407.
- Birch, Sienna A.; Smith, Elizabeth T.; Bell, Phil R. (29 January 2020). "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. PMC 6989633. PMID 31996712.
- Bell, Phil R.; Fanti, Federico; Hart, Lachlan J.; Milan, Luke A.; Craven, Stephen J.; Birch, Sienna A.; Smith, Elizabeth (January 2019). "Revised geology, age, and vertebrate diversity of the dinosaur-bearing Griman Creek Formation (Cenomanian), Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 514: 655–671. Bibcode:2019PPP...514..655B. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.11.020. hdl:11585/651841.
- Hart, Lachlan J.; Bell, Phil R.; Smith, Elizabeth T.; Salisbury, Steven W. (21 June 2019). "Isisfordia molnari sp. nov . , a new basal eusuchian from the mid-Cretaceous of Lightning Ridge, Australia". PeerJ. 7: e7166. doi:10.7717/peerj.7166. PMC 6590469. PMID 31275756.
- Bell, Phil R.; Herne, Matthew C.; Brougham, Tom; Smith, Elizabeth T. (4 December 2018). "Ornithopod diversity in the Griman Creek Formation (Cenomanian), New South Wales, Australia". PeerJ. 6: e6008. doi:10.7717/peerj.6008. PMC 6284429. PMID 30533306.
- Bell, Phil R.; Burns, Michael E.; Smith, Elizabeth T. (2 January 2018). "A probable ankylosaurian (Dinosauria, Thyreophora) from the Early Cretaceous of New South Wales, Australia". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 42 (1): 120–124. Bibcode:2018Alch...42..120B. doi:10.1080/03115518.2017.1384851.
- Bell, Phil R.; Cau, Andrea; Fanti, Federico; Smith, Elizabeth T. (August 2016). "A large-clawed theropod (Dinosauria: Tetanurae) from the Lower Cretaceous of Australia and the Gondwanan origin of megaraptorid theropods". Gondwana Research. 36: 473–487. Bibcode:2016GondR..36..473B. doi:10.1016/j.gr.2015.08.004.
- Smith, Elizabeth T.; Kear, Benjamin P. (2013). "Spoochelys ormondea gen. Et sp. Nov., an Archaic Meiolaniid-Like Turtle from the Early Cretaceous of Lightning Ridge, Australia". Morphology and Evolution of Turtles. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. pp. 121–146. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-4309-0_9. ISBN 978-94-007-4308-3.
- Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; Osmólska, Halszka, eds. (2004). The Dinosauria (2nd ed.). University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-94143-4.
- Cretaceous System of Australia
- Early Cretaceous Australia
- Cenomanian Stage
- Sandstone formations
- Siltstone formations
- Mudstone formations
- Fluvial deposits
- Ichnofossiliferous formations
- Fossiliferous stratigraphic units of Oceania
- Paleontology in New South Wales
- Paleontology in Queensland
- Geology of New South Wales
- Geology of Queensland