Kaladongar Formation
| Kaladongar Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Pliensbachian–Bajocian ~ | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Limestone |
| Location | |
| Region | Gujarat, Kachchh |
| Country | India |
| Extent | Kachchh Basin |
The Kaladongar Formation is the oldest Mesozoic geologic formation of the Kachchh Basin. It is found in Patcham Island, Kachchh, Gujarat, India. It is made up of limestone and sandstone. It was later intruded by an olivine gabbroic intrusion which baked and shattered the overlying limestone.[1] Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.[2]
Fossil content
Color key
|
Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; |
Invertebrates
Ichnofossils
| Ichnogenus | Ichnospecies | Provenance | Material | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arenicolites[3][4] | A. isp. | Kaladongar Hill range, Kuar Bet, Chappar Bet, Dingy Hills, Kuran village, Babia Cliff | Vertical U-shaped burrows | Suspension feeder traces | |
| Asterosoma[3][4] | A. isp. | Kaladongar Hill range, Kuar Bet, Chappar Bet and equivalent sections | Star-shaped burrows | Feeding structures | |
| Beaconites[3][4] | B. isp. | Kaladongar Formation outcrops (Kuar Bet, Dingy Hills) | Meniscate burrows | Mobile deposit feeder traces. | |
| Bergaueria[3][4] | B. isp. | Kaladongar Hill range sections | Plug-shaped or conical traces | Anemone Resting or dwelling traces. | |
| Chondrites[3][4] | C. isp. | Kaladongar Formation (various sections including Chappar Bet) | Dendritic feeding burrows | Deep-tier deposit feeders. | |
| Cochlichnus[3][4] | C. isp. | Kaladongar Hill range | Sinuous trails | Locomotion traces. | |
| Dactylophycus[3][4] | D. isp. | Kaladongar Hill range | Branched traces | Feeding structures. | |
| Daedalus[3][4] | D. isp. | Kaladongar Hill range | Complex spreiten burrows | Feeding traces. | |
| Didymaulichnus[3][4] | D. isp. | Kaladongar Hill range | Bilobate trails | Locomotion traces. | |
| Diplocraterion[3][4] | D. isp. | Kuar Bet, Chappar Bet, Babia Cliff | U-shaped spreiten burrows | Equilibrium traces | |
| Gordia[3][4] | G. isp. | Kaladongar Hill range | Meandering trails | Grazing traces. | |
| Gyrochorte[3][4] | G. isp. | Kaladongar Hill range, Kuar Bet, Dingy Hills | Bilobate meandering traces | Locomotion/feeding. | |
| Gyrolithes[3][4] | G. isp. | Kaladongar Hill range | Helical burrows | Dwelling/escape traces. | |
| Ichnocumulus[3][4] | I. isp. | Kaladongar Hill range | Cumulus-like traces | Feeding structures. | |
| Laevicyclus[3][4] | L. isp. | Kaladongar Hill range | Circular traces | Resting or locomotion traces. | |
| Lockeia[3][4] | L. isp. | Kaladongar Formation (bivalve-rich layers) | Bivalve resting traces | Shallow infaunal activity. | |
| Margaritichnus[3][4] | M. isp. | Kaladongar Formation | Pear-shaped traces | Resting traces. | |
| Monocraterion[3][4] | M. isp. | Kuar Bet, Chappar Bet | Single funnel-shaped burrows | Dwelling traces. | |
| Nereites[3][4] | N. isp. | Kaladongar Hill range | Meandering grazing traces | Deposit feeder activity. | |
| Ophiomorpha[3][4] | O. isp. | Kaladongar Hill range, Kuar Bet and equivalent | Pelleted burrows | Crustacean dwelling. | |
| Palaeophycus[3][4] | P. isp. | Kaladongar Formation sections | Simple horizontal burrows | Dwelling traces. | |
| Phoebichnus[3][4] | P. isp. | Kaladongar Hill range | Radial traces | Feeding structures. | |
| Phycodes[3][4] | P. isp. | Kaladongar Hill range | Bundled feeding burrows | *Phycodes* assemblage. | |
| Pilichnus[3][4] | P. isp. | Kaladongar Hill range | Piliform traces | Feeding traces. | |
| Planolites[3][4] | P. isp. | Widespread in Kaladongar Formation (Kuar Bet to Babia Cliff) | Simple unlined burrows | Deposit feeder traces. | |
| Protovirgularia[3][4] | P. isp. | Kaladongar Hill range | Chevronate locomotion traces | Bivalve or arthropod trails. | |
| Rhizocorallium[3][4] | R. isp. | Kaladongar Hill range, Chappar Bet, Dingy Hills | Spreiten U-burrows | Feeding/dwelling. | |
| Scolicia[3][4] | S. isp. | Kaladongar Hill range | Meniscate bilobate trails | Deposit feeder locomotion. | |
| Skolithos[3][4] | S. isp. | Kuar Bet, Chappar Bet, Babia Cliff and other high-energy sections | Vertical cylindrical burrows | Suspension feeder traces. | |
| Taenidium[3][4] | T. isp. | Kaladongar Hill range | Meniscate burrows | Mobile deposit feeders. | |
| Teichichnus[3][4] | T. isp. | Kaladongar Hill range | Spreiten burrows | Deposit feeder traces. | |
| Thalassinoides[3][4] | T. isp. | Kaladongar Hill range and equivalent localities | Branching boxwork burrows | Crustacean dwelling. | |
| Walcottia[3][4] | W. isp. | Kaladongar Hill range | Complex traces | Feeding or locomotion traces. |
Dinosaurs
Sauropodomorphs
| Genus | Species | Provenance | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camarasauromorpha[5][6] | Indeterminate | Kachchh | Fragmentary remains belonging to an animal 20 metres in length. | A large indeterminate camarasauromorph | ||
| Ceratocaudia[5] | C. antiqua | Kachchh | Pliensbachian to Bajocian | IITBR 3-59, partial skeleton consisting of several cervical and caudal vertebrae, an isolated chevron, and elements of the appendicular skeleton including an interclavicle, an ulna, metacarpals, femora, tibiae, fibulae, and a metatarsal. | A macronarian sauropod |  |
| Sauropoda indet.[6] | Indeterminate | Kachchh | Aalenian to Bajocian | A partial skeleton, consisting of 12 vertebrae, several limb bones and 80 other elements reported by 2000. The fossil were deposited at Border Security force HQ. | An indeterminate sauropod |
Fish
Cartilaginous Fish
| Genus | Species | Provenance | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strophodus[7] | S. atlasensis | Kachchh | Bajocian to Bathonian | Teeth | A durophagous acrodontid hybodont | |
| S. magnus | ||||||
| S. sp. |
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Patel, Satish J.; Joseph, Jaquilin K.; Bhatt, Nishith Y. (2013-07-01). "Facies Controlled Synaeresis Cracks in Mixed Siliciclastic-Carbonate Sediments of Middle Jurassic of Patcham Island, Kachchh, Western India". Journal of the Geological Society of India. 82 (1): 9–14. doi:10.1007/s12594-013-0116-5. ISSN 0016-7622.
- ↑ Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution." Pp. 517-607.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Joseph, Jaquilin K.; Patel, Satish J.; Bhatt, Nishith Y. (2012-08-01). "Trace Fossil Assemblages in Mixed Siliciclastic-Carbonate Sediments of the Kaladongar Formation (Middle Jurassic), Patcham Island, Kachchh, Western India". Journal of the Geological Society of India. 80 (2): 189–214. doi:10.1007/s12594-012-0131-y. ISSN 0016-7622.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Joseph, J. K.; Patel, S. J. (2015). "Ichnology of mixed siliciclastic-carbonate sedimentary cycles and their sequence stratigraphic context: Kaladongar Formation (Middle Jurassic) of Kachchh, western India". Volumina Jurassica. 13 (2): 81–99.
- 1 2 Natarajan, A.; Bhosale, S.; Rakshit, N.; Dasgupta, S. (2026). "A new diminutive Jurassic neosauropod from the Kaladongar Formation (Khadir Uplift) of the Kachchh Basin, western India". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology e2677749. doi:10.1080/02724634.2026.2677749.
- 1 2 Moser, Markus; Mathur, Umesh B.; Fürsich, Franz T.; Pandey, Dhirendra K.; Mathur, Neera (2006-03-01). "Oldest camarasauromorph sauropod (Dinosauria) discovered in the Middle Jurassic (Bajocian) of the Khadir Island, Kachchh, western India". Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 80 (1): 35. doi:10.1007/BF02988396. ISSN 0031-0220.
- ↑ Bhosale, Suraj; Rakshit, Nibedita; Natarajan, Abhishek; Chauhan, Gaurav; Thakkar, Mahesh (2025-03-04). "The oldest Gondwanan record of durophagous shark Strophodus Agassiz, 1838 (Hybodontiformes) from the Kachchh Basin, western India". Historical Biology. 37 (3): 650–662. doi:10.1080/08912963.2024.2324430. ISSN 0891-2963.
References
- Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. 861 pp. ISBN 0-520-24209-2.