The Lower Maleri Formation is a

sedimentary Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic matter, organic particles at Earth#Surface, Earth's surface, followed by cementation (geology), cementation. Sedimentati ...

rock formation A rock formation is an isolated, scenic, or spectacular surface rock outcrop. Rock formations are usually the result of weathering and erosion sculpting the existing rock. The term ''rock formation'' can also refer to specific sediment ...

found in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

and

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is the lowermost member of the

Pranhita–Godavari Basin The Pranhita–Godavari Basin is a northwest–southeast striking geological structural basin (rift basin) in eastern India. The basin contains up to 7 kilometres of sedimentary strata of late Carboniferous/Early Permian to Cretaceous age. The b ...

. It is of late

Carnian The Carnian (less commonly, Karnian) is the lowermost stage of the Upper Triassic Series (or earliest age of the Late Triassic Epoch). It lasted from 237 to 227 million years ago (Ma). The Carnian is preceded by the Ladinian and is followed by t ...

to early

Norian The Norian is a division of the Triassic Period. It has the rank of an age (geochronology) or stage (chronostratigraphy). It lasted from ~227 to million years ago. It was preceded by the Carnian and succeeded by the Rhaetian. Stratigraphic defi ...

age (

Upper Triassic The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch of the Triassic Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch and followed by the Early Jurassic Epoch. Th ...

), and is notable for its

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s of early

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

s, including the basal

saurischian Saurischia ( , meaning "reptile-hipped" from the Greek ' () meaning 'lizard' and ' () meaning 'hip joint') is one of the two basic divisions of dinosaurs (the other being Ornithischia), classified by their hip structure. Saurischia and Ornithis ...

(possible

theropod Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally c ...

) ''

Alwalkeria ''Alwalkeria'' (; "for Alick Walker") is a genus partly based on basal saurischian dinosaur remains from the Late Triassic, living in India. A thighbone found indicates a small bipedal form. It has been seen as a chimera. Etymology This taxon w ...

''.Weishampel et al., 2004, pp.525–527

Vertebrate fauna

cf. ''

Angistorhinus ''Angistorhinus'' (meaning "narrow snout" or "hook snout") is an extinct genus of phytosaur known from the Late Triassic period of Texas and Wyoming, United States. It was first named by Mehl in 1913 and the type species is ''Angistorhinus grand ...

'' and cf. ''

Typothorax ''Typothorax'' is an extinct genus of typothoracine aetosaur that lived in the Late Triassic. Its remains have been found in North America. Two species are known: ''T. coccinarum'', the type species, and ''T. antiquum''. Description ''Typothor ...

'' have also been recovered from it.Novas et al, 2011Kutty et al., 2007

Correlations

The formation has been correlated with the

Molteno Formation The Molteno Formation is a geological formation found in several localities in Lesotho and South Africa. It lies mainly south of Maseru, near Burgersdorp, Aliwal North, Dordrecht, Molteno, and Elliot. It extends as far north as Matatiele in the ...

(

Karoo Basin The Karoo Supergroup is the most widespread stratigraphy, stratigraphic unit in Africa south of the Kalahari Desert. The group (stratigraphy), supergroup consists of a sequence of units, mostly of nonmarine origin, deposited between the Pennsylvan ...

) and

Pebbly Arkose Formation The Pebbly Arkose Formation is a Late Triassic geologic formation found in southern Africa. Geology Description The formation comprises mainly coarse, arkosic sandstones. Extent The Pebbly Arkose Formation is found in Botswana, Zambia and ...

of Africa, the

Santa Maria Formation The Santa Maria Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is primarily Carnian in age (Late Triassic), and is notable for its fossils of cynodonts, "rauisuchian" pseudosuchians, and early dinosaurs and oth ...

of the

Paraná Basin The Paraná Basin ( pt, Bacia do Paraná, es, Cuenca del Paraná) is a large cratonic sedimentary basin situated in the central-eastern part of South America. About 75% of its areal distribution occurs in Brazil, from Mato Grosso to Rio Grande d ...

in Brazil, the

Ischigualasto Formation The Ischigualasto Formation is a Late Triassic fossiliferous formation and Lagerstätte in the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin of the southwestern La Rioja Province and northeastern San Juan Province in northwestern Argentina. The formation da ...

of the

Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin The Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin ( es, Cuenca de Ischigualasto-Villa Unión) is a small sedimentary basin located in the Argentine Northwest, Argentina. It is located in the southwestern part of La Rioja Province and the northeastern part of ...

of Argentina and the lowermost

Chinle Formation The Chinle Formation is an Upper Triassic continental geological formation of fluvial, lacustrine, and palustrine to eolian deposits spread across the U.S. states of Nevada, Utah, northern Arizona, western New Mexico, and western Colorado. In Ne ...

of North America.Novas et al., 2011, p.343

References

Bibliography

* * * {{ISBN, 0-520-24209-2 Geologic formations of India Triassic System of Asia Norian Stage Carnian Stage Fossiliferous stratigraphic units of Asia Paleontology in India Geology of Andhra Pradesh Formations

Vertebrate fauna

Correlations

See also

References

Bibliography