Shengjinkou Formation

Shengjinkou Formation
Stratigraphic range: Early Cretaceous,
~120 Ma
↓
Two outcrops of the Shengjinkou Formation where the footprints of Pteraichnus wuerhoensis have been discovered. Photographed before 2021.
TypeGeological formation
Unit ofTugulu Group
UnderliesLianmuqin Formation
OverliesKalaza Formation
Lithology
PrimaryMudstone, siltstone
Location
Coordinates46°00′N 85°48′E / 46.0°N 85.8°E / 46.0; 85.8
Approximate paleocoordinates45°00′N 81°54′E / 45.0°N 81.9°E / 45.0; 81.9
RegionXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
Country China
ExtentJunggar Basin
Type section
Named byXia Gongjun
Year defined1956
Shengjinkou Formation is located in Dzungaria
Shengjinkou Formation
Shengjinkou Formation (Dzungaria)

The Shengjinkou Formation is an Early Cretaceous (Aptian)-aged Konservat-Lagerstätte composed of "interbedded red green and yellow variegated mudstones and siltstones" that is part of the larger Tugulu Group of China.[1][2] Dinosaur[3] and pterosaur remains have been recovered from the formation.[4][5]

History

The Shengjikou Formation was first identified in a 1956 manuscript by Xia Gongjun.[6] The type locality is near Turpan City in the Xinjiang Region of China.[5] The first pterosaur and dinosaur remains from the Shengjinkou Formation were identified by 1973, including several skulls belonging to Dsungaripterus weii[7] and indeterminate sauropod remains possibly belonging to Asiatosaurus mongoliensis.[8]

In 2006 from the Hami region in Xinjiang, 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.[4]

Dinosaur footprints were collected from the formation before 2011 and isolated specimens were collected by the local Moguicheng Dinosaur and Bizarre Stone Museum;[9][10] more specimens were discovered between 2015 and 2019.[8]

Dinosaur fossils and pterosaur footprints were reported again from the formation in 2021[3][11] and dinosaur footprints were first reported from the formation in 2023.[12]

Paleofauna

Size comparison of fauna from the Shengjinkou Formation that were named between 2014 and 2021

References

  1. ^ Lucas, Spencer G (2001). Chinese Fossil vertebrates. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 158–159. ISBN 0-231-08483-8.
  2. ^ Lucas, S.G. (2001). Chinese Fossil Vertebrates. Columbia University Press. p. 158. ISBN 9780231084833. Retrieved 2015-01-05.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Wang X, Bandeira KL, Qiu R, Jiang S, Cheng X, Ma Y, Kellner AW (2021). "The first dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous Hami Pterosaur Fauna, China". Scientific Reports. 11 (1): Article number 14962. Bibcode:2021NatSR..1114962W. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-94273-7. PMC 8361124. PMID 34385481.
  4. ^ a b c Wang X, Kellner AW, Jiang S, Wang Q, Ma Y, Paidoula Y, et al. (June 2014). "Sexually dimorphic tridimensionally preserved pterosaurs and their eggs from China". Current Biology. 24 (12): 1323–1330. Bibcode:2014CBio...24.1323W. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2014.04.054. PMID 24909325.
  5. ^ a b Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; Osmólska, Halszka, eds. (2004). The Dinosauria (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 1–880. ISBN 0-520-24209-2. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  6. ^ Shen, Y.-b.; Mateer, N. J. (1992). "An outline of the Cretaceous System in northern Xinjiang, western China". In N. J. Mateer; P.-j. Chen (eds.). Aspects of Nonmarine Cretaceous Geology. Beijing: China Ocean Press. pp. 50–77.
  7. ^ a b c Dong, ZM (1973). "Cretaceous stratigraphy of Wuerho District, Dsungar (Zunggar) Basin". Reports of Paleontological Expedition to Sinkiang (II): Pterosaurian Fauna from Wuerho, Sinkiang. Memoirs of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology Academia Sinica. Vol. 11. pp. 1–7.
  8. ^ a b c d Xing, Lida; Lockley, Martin G.; Jia, Chengkai; Klein, Hendrik; Niu, Kecheng; Zhang, Lijun; Qi, Liqi; Chou, Chunyong; Romilio, Anthony; Wang, Donghao; Zhang, Yu; Persons, W Scott; Wang, Miaoyan (2021-05-28). "Lower cretaceous avian-dominated, theropod, thyreophoran, pterosaur and turtle track assemblages from the Tugulu Group, Xinjiang, China: ichnotaxonomy and palaeoecology". PeerJ. 9: e11476. doi:10.7717/peerj.11476. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 8166242. PMID 34123592.
  9. ^ Xing, Li-Da; Harris, Jerald D.; Jia, Cheng-Kai; Luo, Zheng-Jiang; Wang, Shen-Na; An, Jian-Fu (2011). "Early cretaceous bird-dominated and dinosaur footprint assemblages from the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin, Xinjiang, China". Palaeoworld. 20 (4): 308–321. doi:10.1016/j.palwor.2011.01.001.
  10. ^ Xing, Lida; Lockley, Martin G.; McCrea, Richard T.; Gierliński, Gerard D.; Buckley, Lisa G.; Zhang, Jianping; Qi, Liqi; Jia, Chengkai (2013). "First record of Deltapodus tracks from the Early Cretaceous of China". Cretaceous Research. 42: 55–65. Bibcode:2013CrRes..42...55X. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2013.01.006. ISSN 0195-6671.
  11. ^ a b Li, Yang; Wang, Xiaolin; Jiang, Shunxing (2021-06-01). "A new pterosaur tracksite from the Lower Cretaceous of Wuerho, Junggar Basin, China: inferring the first putative pterosaur trackmaker". PeerJ. 9: e11361. doi:10.7717/peerj.11361. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 8176908. PMID 34131515.
  12. ^ a b Li, Yang; Jiang, Shunxing; Yan, Feng; Ma, Yingxia; Wang, Xiaolin (2023-09-26). "The first record of Lower Cretaceous theropod tracks in Turpan-Hami Basin, Xinjiang, northwestern China". Historical Biology: 1–6. doi:10.1080/08912963.2023.2259419. ISSN 0891-2963.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Zheng, Daran; Chang, Su-Chin; Ramezani, Jahandar; Xu, Xing; Xu, Honghe; Wang, He; Pei, Rui; Fang, Yanan; Wang, Jun; Wang, Bo; Zhang, Haichun (2023-05-10). "Calibrating the Early Cretaceous Urho Pterosaur Fauna in Junggar Basin and implications for the evolution of the Jehol Biota". Geological Society of America Bulletin. doi:10.1130/B36795.1. ISSN 0016-7606.
  14. ^ Wang, Xuri; Tan, Kai; Lu, Liwu; Li, Tao; Cai, Qingqing (2018). "A New Genus of Paleonisciformes from the Early Cretaceous Longjiang Formation in Heilongjiang Province, China". Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition. 92 (3): 889–896. Bibcode:2018AcGlS..92..889W. doi:10.1111/1755-6724.13580. ISSN 1000-9515.