The Batylykh Formation is a
geological formation
A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics (lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock expo ...
in
Yakutia
Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia),, is the largest republic of Russia, located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of roughly 1 million. Sakha comprises half of the area of its governing Far ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
. It is of an uncertain
Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous (geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous ( chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma.
Geology
Pr ...
age, probably dating between the
Berriasian
In the geological timescale, the Berriasian is an age/ stage of the Early/Lower Cretaceous. It is the oldest subdivision in the entire Cretaceous. It has been taken to span the time between 145.0 ± 4.0 Ma and 139.8 ± 3.0 Ma (million years a ...
and the
Barremian
The Barremian is an age in the geologic timescale (or a chronostratigraphic stage) between 129.4 ± 1.5 Ma ( million years ago) and 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma). It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous Epoch (or Lower Cretaceous Series). It is pre ...
. It is the oldest unit of the thick
Sangar Series within the Vilyuy
syneclise. The
mudstones,
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
s and
shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especia ...
s 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 fluv ...
to
lacustrine
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...
environment
Environment most often refers to:
__NOTOC__
* Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally
* Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...
.
Fossil content
The formation is best known for the Teete locality, which has revealed remains of numerous vertebrates, including sauropods,
[Averianov et al., 2019] and other dinosaur teeth as well as numerous species of mammal, including ''
Sangarotherium'', ''
Khorotherium
''Khorotherium'' is a genus of extinct mammaliaforms. The type and only species, ''Khorotherium yakutensis'', is known from the Lower Cretaceous Batylykh Formation in Western Yakutia, Russia. It belongs to the family Tegotheriidae from the or ...
''
[Averianov et al., 2018] and
tritylodontid
Tritylodontidae ("three-knob teeth", named after the shape of their cheek teeth) is an extinct family of small to medium-sized, highly specialized mammal-like cynodonts, bearing several mammalian traits like erect limbs, endothermy and details ...
''
Xenocretosuchus
''Xenocretosuchus'' is an extinct genus of tritylodont therapsids from the Aptian (Early Cretaceous) Ilek Formation of Siberia, in the Russian Federation. The type species, ''X. sibiricus'', is known only from dental elements, as is ''X. kolosso ...
[Lopatin & Agadjanian, 2008]''. as well as
choristodere
Choristodera (from the Greek χωριστός ''chōristos'' + δέρη ''dérē'', 'separated neck') is an extinct order of semiaquatic diapsid reptiles that ranged from the Middle Jurassic, or possibly Triassic, to the late Miocene (168 to ...
''
Khurendukhosaurus
''Khurendukhosaurus'' is a genus of choristodere, a type of amphibious reptile. It is known from Lower Cretaceous rocks of Mongolia and Russia. Two species have been named. The type species, ''K. orlovi'', was named in 1984 by Sigogneau–Rus ...
''.
[Kolosov et al., 2009]
Other fossils recovered from the formation are:
[Batylykh Formation]
at Fossilworks
Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database, a large relational database assembled by hundreds of paleontologists from around the world.
History
Fossilworks was cre ...
.org
;Mammals
* ''
Cryoharamiya tarda''
[Averianov et al., 2020]
* ''
cf. Sineleutherus sp.''
*
Docodonta indet.
;Reptiles
*
Ankylosauria indet.
*
Coelurosauria indet.
*
Lacertilia indet.
*
Macronaria indet.
*
Mesochelydia indet.[Skutschas et al., 2020]
*
Stegosauria indet.
*
Theropoda indet.
;Amphibians
* ''
Kulgeriherpeton ultimus''
[Skutschas et al., 2018]
*
Anura indet.
*
Caudata indet.
;Fish
*
Chondrostei indet.
*
Palaeoniscidae indet.
;Insects
* ''
Crenoptychoptera gronskayae''
[Lukashevich, 1995]
* ''
Zhiganka comitans''
[
;Bivalves
* Bivalvia indet.
;Gastropods
* Gastropoda indet.
;Flora
* '' Podocarpus multesima''
* '' Selaginella velata''
* '' Stereisporites compactus''
* '' S. congregatus''
* '' Tripartina variabilis''
* '' Ginkgocycadophytus sp.''
* '' Klukisporites sp.''
* '' Leiotriletes sp.''
* '' Ophyoglossum sp.''
* '' Piceapollenites sp.''
* '' Picea sp.''
* '' Pinus sp.''
* '' Selaginella sp.''
* '' Stereisporites sp.''
* Pinaceae indet.
]
Gallery
Journal.pone.0199983.g002.png, Dinosaur teeth
Kulgeriherpeton ultimum - Teete locality - Batylykh Formation - dorsal (A) and ventral (B) views.jpg, '' Kulgeriherpeton ultimum''
See also
*
* Bukachacha Formation, contemporaneous fossiliferous formation of Zabaykalsky Krai
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* {{cite LSA , first=E.D , last=Lukashevich , year=1995 , title=First pupae of the Eoptychopteridae and Ptychopteridae from the Mesozoic of Siberia (Insecta: Diptera) , journal=Paleontological Journal
''Paleontological Journal'' (Russian: ''Paleontologicheskii Zhurnal'') is a monthly peer-reviewed Russian journal of paleontology established in 1959. It focuses on the paleontology and the fossil records of Eastern Europe and Asia. Articles are ...
, volume=29 , pages=164-171
Further reading
* I. P. Tolmachoff. 1904. Neue Funde zur Geologie Sibiriens ew discoveries about the geology of Siberia Centralblatt für Mineralogie, Geologie und Paläontologie 1904(1):233-234
Geologic formations of Russia
Lower Cretaceous Series of Asia
Cretaceous Russia
Barremian Stage
Hauterivian Stage
Valanginian Stage
Shale formations
Sandstone formations
Siltstone formations
Fluvial deposits
Lacustrine deposits
Fossiliferous stratigraphic units of Asia
Paleontology in Russia
Formations