Speeton Clay Formation

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Speeton Clay Formation
Stratigraphic range: Berriasian-Albian 145–100  Ma
Speeton Clay at Reighton Sands.JPG
Speeton Clay Formation at Reighton Sands, North Yorkshire
Type Geological formation
Unit of Cromer Knoll Group
Sub-unitsMembers A to D
Underlies Hunstanton Formation
Overlies Kimmeridge Clay Formation
Thickness100 m (330 ft) in outcrop
Lithology
Primary Claystone
Other Glauconite
Location
Coordinates 54°12′N0°12′W / 54.2°N 0.2°W / 54.2; -0.2
Approximate paleocoordinates 41°00′S9°18′E / 41.0°S 9.3°E / -41.0; 9.3
Region Yorkshire
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Extent North Sea Graben, eastern England
Type section
Named for Speeton
United Kingdom relief location map.jpg
Green pog.svg
Location of the formation
Meyeria ornata, a lobster from the Speeton Clay Meyeria ornata Speeton.jpg
Meyeria ornata, a lobster from the Speeton Clay

The Speeton Clay Formation (SpC) [1] is a Lower Cretaceous geological formation in Yorkshire, northern England. Unlike the contemporaneous terrestrial Wealden Group to the south, the Speeton Clay was deposited in marine conditions. The most common fossils in the unit are belemnites, followed by ammonites and the lobster Meyeria ornata. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, although none have yet been referred to a specific genus. [2]

Contents

The formation is named after the village of Speeton in North Yorkshire.

Fossil content

The following fossils have been reported from the formation: [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<i>Athabascasaurus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

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<i>Acamptonectes</i> Extinct genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur known from England and Germany

Acamptonectes is a genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaurs, a type of dolphin-like marine reptiles, that lived during the Early Cretaceous around 130 million years ago. The first specimen, a partial adult skeleton, was discovered in Speeton, England, in 1958, but was not formally described until 2012 by Valentin Fischer and colleagues. They also recognised a partial subadult skeleton belonging to the genus from Cremlingen, Germany, and specimens from other localities in England. The genus contains the single species Acamptonectes densus; the generic name means "rigid swimmer" and the specific name means "compact" or "tightly packed".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Platypterygiinae</span> Extinct subfamily of reptiles

Platypterygiinae is an extinct subfamily of ophthalmosaurid thunnosaur ichthyosaurs from the early Late Jurassic to the early Late Cretaceous of Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America. Currently, the oldest known platypterygiine is Brachypterygius. Platypterygiines were characterized by square tooth roots in cross-section, an extremely reduced extracondylar area of the basioccipital, prominent dorsal and ventral trochanters on humerus and ischiopubis lacking an obturator foramen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ophthalmosaurinae</span> Extinct subfamily of reptiles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agardhfjellet Formation</span> Geological formation in Svalbard, Norway

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<i>Keilhauia</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Keilhauia is a genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur, a type of dolphin-like, large-eyed marine reptile, from the Early Cretaceous shallow marine Slottsmøya Member of the Agardhfjellet Formation in Svalbard, Norway. The genus contains a single species, K. nui, known from a single specimen discovered in 2010 and described by Delsett et al. in 2017. In life, Keilhauia probably measured approximately 4 metres (13 ft) in length; it can be distinguished by other ophthalmosaurids by the wide top end of its ilium and the relatively short ischiopubis compared to the femur. Although it was placed in a basal position within the Ophthalmosauridae by phylogenetic analysis, this placement is probably incorrect.

References

  1. Speeton Clay Formation - BGS
  2. Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution." pp. 517–607.
  3. Speeton Clay Formation at Fossilworks.org
  4. Fischer et al., 2012b
  5. Fischer et al., 2012a
  6. Norman & Barrett, 2002
  7. Mulder & Fraaije, 2016
  8. Benson & Druckenmiller, 2014
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Underwood et al., 1999
  10. Gale, 2019

Bibliography

Further reading