The Shengjinkou Formation is an

Early Cretaceous The Early Cretaceous (geochronology, geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphy, chronostratigraphic name) is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 143.1 ...

-aged Konservat-Lagerstätte composed of "interbedded red green and yellow variegated

mudstone Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from ''shale'' by its lack of fissility.Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology.'' New York, New York, ...

s and

siltstone Siltstone, also known as aleurolite, is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of silt. It is a form of mudrock with a low clay mineral content, which can be distinguished from shale by its lack of fissility. Although its permeabil ...

s" that is part of the larger

Tugulu Group The Tugulu Group () is a geological Group in Xinjiang, China whose strata date back to the Early Cretaceous The Early Cretaceous (geochronology, geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphy, chronostratigraphic name) is the ...

of China.

Dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

and

pterosaur Pterosaurs are an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 million to 66 million years ago). Pterosaurs are the earli ...

remains have been recovered from the formation. The uppermost layers of the formation have been dated to the

Valanginian In the geologic timescale, the Valanginian is an age or stage of the Early or Lower Cretaceous. It spans between 137.05 ± 0.2 Ma and 132.6 ± 0.2 Ma (million years ago). The Valanginian Stage succeeds the Berriasian Stage of the Lower Cretac ...

age.

History

The Shengjikou Formation was first identified in a 1956 manuscript by Xia Gongjun. The type locality is near Turpan City in the Xinjiang Region of China. The first pterosaur and dinosaur remains from the Shengjinkou Formation were identified by 1973, including several skulls belonging to ''

Dsungaripterus weii ''Dsungaripterus'' is a genus of dsungaripterid pterosaur which lived during the Early Cretaceous in what is now China and possibly South Korea. Its fossils come from the Wuerho Pterosaur Fauna group (WPF) of the Tugulu Group, comprising sect ...

'' and indeterminate

sauropod Sauropoda (), whose members are known as sauropods (; from '' sauro-'' + '' -pod'', 'lizard-footed'), is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads (relative to the rest of their b ...

remains possibly belonging to '' Asiatosaurus mongoliensis''. In 2006 from the

Hami Hami ( zh, c=哈密) or Kumul () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Xinjiang, China. It is well known for sweet Hami melons. In early 2016, the former Hami county-level city merged with Hami Prefecture to form the Hami prefecture-level city ...

region in

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

, the Shengjinkou Formation, a Konservat-Lagerstätte was reported, in this case lake sediments allowing for an exceptional preservation of fossils. The same year, Qiu Zhanxiang and Wang Banyue started official excavations. Part of the finds consisted of dense concentrations of pterosaur bones, associated with soft tissues and eggs. The site represented a nesting colony that storm floods had covered with mud. Dozens of individuals could be secured from a total that in 2014 was estimated to run into the many hundreds. Dinosaur footprints were collected from the formation before 2011 and isolated specimens were collected by the local Moguicheng Dinosaur and Bizarre Stone Museum; more specimens were discovered between 2015 and 2019.

fossils and

footprints were reported again from the formation in 2021 and dinosaur footprints were first reported from the formation in 2023.

Paleofauna

*''

cf. The abbreviation cf. (short for either Latin or , both meaning 'compare') is generally used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. However some sources offer differing or even contr ...

'' '' Asiatosaurus mongoliensis'' *''

'' *'' Noripterus complicidens'' *''

'' '' Eubrontes'' *'' Hamipterus tianshanensis'' *'' Hamititan xinjiangensis'' *'' Pteraichnus wuerhoensis'' *'' Silutitan sinensis'' * Somphospondyli (?) indet. (=

Sauropoda Sauropoda (), whose members are known as sauropods (; from ''wikt:sauro-, sauro-'' + ''wikt:-pod, -pod'', 'lizard-footed'), is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads (relative t ...

indet.) *

Theropoda Theropoda (; from ancient Greek iktionary:θηρίον, , (''therion'') "wild beast"; wiktionary:πούς, , wiktionary:ποδός, (''pous, podos'') "foot" is one of the three major groups (Clade, clades) of Dinosaur, dinosaurs, alon ...

indet. *'' Uighuroniscus sinkiangensis'' *'' Manasichthys tuguluensis'' *'' Manasichthys elongates'' *'' Dsungarichthys bilineatus'' *'' Bogdaichthys fukangensis'' *'' Bogdaichthys serratus''

References

{{reflist Geologic formations of China Lower Cretaceous Series of Asia Cretaceous China Paleontology in Xinjiang