Toolebuc Formation
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,[1] pterosaurs, plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, protostegid turtles, sharks, chimaeroids and bony fish remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.
Toolebuc Formation | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: Albian ~ | |
Type | Geological formation |
Unit of | Rolling Downs Group |
Underlies | Allaru Formation |
Overlies | Wallumbilla Formation |
Thickness | Up to 65 m (213 ft) |
Lithology | |
Primary | Limestone, mudstone |
Other | Shale |
Location | |
Coordinates | 20.4°S 144.4°E |
Approximate paleocoordinates | 52.7°S 132.5°E |
Region | Queensland |
Country | ![]() |
Extent | Eromanga Basin |
![]() ![]() Toolebuc Formation (Australia) |
Description
Deposition occurred in a cool to temperate inland sea setting and the present lithology is dominantly made up of limey shales with abundant Inoceramus bivalve shells. Ichthyosaurs and protostegid turtles were the most common marine reptiles at this time in the Eromanga Sea, in contrast to older Aptian deposits such as the Bulldog Shale of South Australia, which show that plesiosaurs were previously more abundant and also more diverse. The Toolebuc Formation is one of the richest known sources of Mesozoic vertebrate fossils in Australia, with notable collecting areas situated around the towns of Richmond, Julia Creek, Hughenden and Boulia.
Fossil content
Possible indeterminate ankylosaurid remains are present in Queensland, Australia.[1] Indeterminate ornithopod remains have also been found in Queensland, Australia.[1]
Animals
Dinosaurs (including birds) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
Kunbarrasaurus | K. ieversi | Queensland | [1] | ![]() |
cf. Kunbarrasaurus sp. | Intermediate | Queensland | [2] | |
Muttaburrasaurus | Indeterminate | Queensland | [1] | ![]() |
Nanantius | N. eos | Queensland | "Tibiotarsi and vertebra"[1][3] | |
Pterosaurs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
Aussiedraco | A. molnari | Queensland | ||
Mythunga | M. camara | Queensland | ||
Thapunngaka | T. shawi | Queensland | [4] | |
Plesiosaurs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
Kronosaurus | K. queenslandicus | Queensland | ||
Eromangasaurus | E. australis | Queensland | ||
Polycotylidae indet. | Undescribed polycotylid (specimen QM F18041, nicknamed Penny)[5] | Queensland | ||
Ichthyosaurs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
Platypterygius | P. australis | Queensland | ![]() | |
Turtles | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
Bouliachelys | B. suteri | Queensland | ||
Cratochelone | C. berneyi | Queensland | ||
Notochelone | N. costata | Queensland | ![]() | |
Fish | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
Australopachycormus | A. hurleyi | "QM F52641 (holotype); partial snout (lacking tip of rostrum) and mandible including dentition and associated cranial/postcranial fragments; SAM P40514 (referred specimen), partial skull with rostrum and incomplete pectoral fin"[6] | Long-rostrum pachycormiform |
See also
- List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
- Paja Formation, Kronosaurus and Platypterygius Lagerstätte in Colombia
- Sierra Madre Formation, contemporaneous fossiliferous formation of Mexico
- Santana Group, contemporaneous Lagerstätte in northeastern Brazil
References
- Weishampel et al., 2004, pp.573-574
- Frauenfelder TG, Bell PR, Brougham T, Bevitt JJ, Bicknell RD, Kear BP, Wroe S, Campione NE (2022). "New Ankylosaurian Cranial Remains From the Lower Cretaceous (Upper Albian) Toolebuc Formation of Queensland, Australia". Frontiers in Earth Science. 10: Article 803505. doi:10.3389/feart.2022.803505.
- "Table 11.1," in Weishampel et al., 2004, p.213
- Richards TM, Stumkat PE, Salisbury SW (2021). "A new species of crested pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea, Anhangueridae) from the Lower Cretaceous (upper Albian) of Richmond, North West Queensland, Australia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 41 (3): e1946068. doi:10.1080/02724634.2021.1946068.
- "Kronosaurus Korner - Penny the Plesiosaur". www.kronosauruskorner.com.au. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
- Kear, Benjamin P. (2007-12-12). "First record of a pachycormid fish (Actinopterygii: Pachycormiformes) from the Lower Cretaceous of Australia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 27 (4): 1033–1038. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2007)27[1033:FROAPF]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0272-4634.
Bibliography
- Cranial osteology of the ankylosaurian dinosaur formerly known as Minmi sp. (Ornithischia: Thyreophora) from the Lower Cretaceous Allaru Mudstone of Richmond, Queensland, Australia. PeerJ 3. e1475. Accessed 2020-03-16. doi:10.7717/peerj.1475 PMID 26664806 ; ; ; , and . 2015.
- The Dinosauria, 2nd edition, 1–880. Berkeley: University of California Press. Accessed 2019-02-21. ISBN 0-520-24209-2 ; , and . 2004.