Lower Dharmaram Formation
The Lower Dharmaram Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is one of the formations of the Pranhita–Godavari Basin. It is of latest Norian and Rhaetian ages (Upper Triassic), and is notable for its fossils of early dinosaurs.
| Lower Dharmaram Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Latest Norian–Rhaetian ~ | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Unit of | Gondwana Group |
| Underlies | Upper Dharmaram Formation |
| Overlies | Upper Maleri Formation |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Sandstone, Mudstone |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 19.2°N 79.6°E |
| Approximate paleocoordinates | 32.3°S 36.1°W |
| Region | Andhra Pradesh |
| Country |  India |
| Extent | Pranhita–Godavari Basin |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Dharmaram |
  Lower Dharmaram Formation (India) | |
Vertebrate fauna
cf. Paratypothorax, cf. Nicrosaurus, fragmentary remains of sauropodomorphs (ISI R279, 280, 281) and neotheropods (ISI R283) have also been recovered from it.[1]
Color key
|
Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; |
| Dinosaurs reported from the Lower Dharmaram Formation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images |
| Jaklapallisaurus | J. assymetrica[1] | Andhra Pradesh | "ISI R279, distal end of right femur."[1] | A unaysaurid, also found in the Upper Maleri Formation | ||
| Venkatasuchus | V. armatus[2] | Andhra Pradesh | A typothoracine aetosaur | |||
Correlations
The formation has been correlated with the Lower Elliot Formation (Karoo Basin) and Forest Sandstone of Africa, the Caturrita Formation of the Paraná Basin in Brazil, the Laguna Colorada and Los Colorados Formations (Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin) of Argentina, the Chinle Formation of North America, the Trossingen Formation of the Keuper of Germany, and the Nam Phong Formation of Thailand.[3]
References
- Novas et al., 2011, p.345
- Haldar, A.; Ray, S.; Bandyopadhyay, S. (2023). "A new typothoracine aetosaur (Archosauria, Pseudosuchia) from the Upper Triassic of India with insights on biostratigraphy, diversification, and paleobiogeography". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. e2253292. doi:10.1080/02724634.2023.2253292.
- Novas et al., 2011, p.343
Bibliography
- Novas, Fernando E.; Martín D. Ezcurra; Sankar Chatterjee, and T.S. Kutty. 2011. New dinosaur species from the Upper Triassic Upper Maleri and Lower Dharmaram formations of central India. Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 101(3-4). 333–349. Accessed 2019-04-06.doi:10.1017/S1755691011020093
Further reading
- Weishampel, David B.; Peter Dodson, and Halszka Osmólska (eds.). 2004. The Dinosauria, 2nd edition, 1–880. Berkeley: University of California Press. Accessed 2019-02-21.ISBN 0-520-24209-2