The Ankarafantsika Formation is a
Late Cretaceous (
Cenomanian
The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the s ...
) geologic
formation
Formation may refer to:
Linguistics
* Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes
* Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes
Mathematics and science
* Cave formation or speleothem, a secondary ...
of the
Mahajanga Basin in the
Boeny
Boeny is a region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interacti ...
region of
Madagascar, Africa. The fine-grained
sandstones of the formation were deposited in a
fluvial
In geography and geology, fluvial processes are associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them. When the stream or rivers are associated with glaciers, ice sheets, or ice caps, the term glaciofluvial or fluviog ...
to
lacustrine environment.
[Southeast of Marovoay]
at Fossilworks
Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database
The Paleobiology Database is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals ...
.org
Fossil content
The following fossils have been reported from the formation:
*
Sauropoda indet.
[Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution" Pp. 517-607. in Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. 861 pp. . " Pp. 517-607.]
See also
* List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
* List of stratigraphic units with indeterminate dinosaur fossils
* List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Madagascar
Several fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Madagascar have provided fossils, most notably the Maastrichtian Maevarano Formation and the Jurassic Isalo III Formation. The oldest fossil-bearing formations date to ages before the break-up o ...
* Geology of Madagascar
References
{{Reflist
Geologic formations of Madagascar
Upper Cretaceous Series of Africa
Cretaceous Madagascar
Cenomanian Stage
Sandstone formations
Fluvial deposits
Lacustrine deposits
Paleontology in Madagascar
Formations