Bostobe Formation

The Bostobe Formation (Kazakh: Boztóbe svıtasy) is a geological formation in Qaraghandy & Qyzylorda, Kazakhastan whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous (Santonian to early Campanian stages, approximately 85 Ma).

Bostobe Formation
Stratigraphic range: Santonian-early Campanian ~85 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Type	Geological formation
Underlies	Akzhar Formation
Overlies	Zhirkindek Formation
Thickness	About 45 m (148 ft)
Lithology
Primary	Sandstone
Other	Claystone
Location
Coordinates	45.9°N 64.7°E / 45.9; 64.7
Approximate paleocoordinates	38.7°N 58.0°E / 38.7; 58.0
Region	Qaraghandy & Qyzylorda
Country	Kazakhstan
Type section
Named for	Bostobe River
Bostobe Formation (Kazakhstan)

The sandstones and claystones of the formation were deposited in estuarine, fluvial-lacustrine and fluvial-deltaic environments.

Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.^[1] The formation is about 45 metres (148 ft) thick and consists primarily of clay with interbeds of sand, representing an estuarine environment.^[2]

Fossil content

Khunnuchelys lophorhothon, a trionychid turtle recovered from the formation, was initially thought to belong to a hadrosaurid dinosaur and classified as cf. Lophorhothon sp.^[3]

Mammals

• Beleutinus orlovi
• Zhalmouzia bazhanovi^[4]
• Parazhelestes sp.^[5]

Ankylosaurs

• Ankylosauridae indet.

Ornithopods

• Aralosaurus tuberiferus
• Arstanosaurus akkurganensis
• Batyrosaurus rozhdestvenskyi

Sauropods

• Opisthocoelicaudiinae Indet.
• Titanosauridae indet.
• Sauropoda indet.

Theropods

• Caenagnathidae indet.
• Troodontidae indet.^[6]
• Therizinosauria indet.^[6]
• Ornithomimidae indet.^[6]
• Tyrannosauroidea indet.

Pterosaurs

• Aralazhdarcho bostobensis^[7]
• Samrukia nessovi

Turtles

• Adocus foveatus
• Anatolemys maximus
• Khunnuchelys lophorhothon^[3]
• Lindholmemys gravis
• Shachemys baibolatica
• Trionyx kansaiensis, T. onomatoplokos, T. riabinini

Other reptiles

• Bishara backa

Amphibians

• Anura indet.
• Eoscapherpeton

Fish

• Gobiates sp.

Flora

• Ulmaceae indet.

See also

• List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Kazakhstan
• Bissekty Formation
• Madygen Formation
• Karabastau Formation
• Kugitang Svita

References

1. Weishampel et al. , 2004, pp.593-600
2. Kordikova et al., 2001
3. Danilov et al., 2014
4. Averianov et al., 2014b
5. Averianov et al., 2014a
6. Averianov, 2016
7. Averianov, 2004

Bibliography

• Averianov, A (2016), "Frontal bones of non-avian theropod dinosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous (Santonian-?Campanian) Bostobe Formation of the northeastern Aral Sea region, Kazakhstan", Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 53 (2): 168–175, Bibcode:2016CaJES..53..168A, doi:10.1139/cjes-2015-0099, retrieved 2020-03-23
• Danilov, Igor G.; Vitek, Natasha S.; Averianov, Alexander O.; Glinskiy, Vadim N. (2015), "A new softshelled trionychid turtle of the genus Khunnuchelys from the Upper Cretaceous Bostobe Formation of Kazakhstan", Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 60: 155–161, doi:10.4202/app.2013.0045, retrieved 2020-03-23
• Averianov, A.O.; Archibald, J.D.; Skutschas, P.P.; Dyke, G.J. (2014a), "New mammal remains from the Late Cretaceous Bostobe Formation (northeast Aral Sea Region, Kazakhstan)" (PDF), Palaeoworld, 23 (3–4): 314–320, doi:10.1016/j.palwor.2014.10.009, retrieved 2020-03-23
• Averianov, A.; Archibald, J.D.; Dyke, G.J. (2014b), "A new eutherian mammal from the Late Cretaceous of Kazakhstan", Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 59: 537–542, retrieved 2020-03-23
• Averianov, A.O (2004), "New Data on Cretaceous Flying Reptiles (Pterosauria) of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan", Paleontological Journal, 38: 426–436
• Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; Osmólska, Halszka (2004), The Dinosauria, 2nd edition, Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 1–880, ISBN 0-520-24209-2, retrieved 2019-02-21
• Kordikova, E.G.; Polly, P.D.; Alifanov, V.A.; Roček, Z.; Gunnell, G.F.; Averianov, A.O. (2001), "Small vertebrates from the late Cretaceous and early Tertiary of the northeastern Aral Sea region, Kazakhstan" (PDF), Journal of Paleontology, 75 (2): 390–400, doi:10.1017/S0022336000018187, ISSN 0022-3360

Further reading

• A. O. Averianov. 2007. Theropod dinosaurs from Late Cretaceous deposits in the northeastern Aral Sea region, Kazakhstan. Cretaceous Research 28:532-544
• E. G. Kordikova, S. M. Kurzanov, and G. F. Gunnell. 1997. Unusual dinosaur claw phalanxes from the Upper Cretaceous of the northeastern Aral Sea region, Kazakhstan. Journal of Morphology 232(3):278
• L. A. Nessov. 1995. Dinozavri severnoi Yevrazii: Novye dannye o sostave kompleksov, ekologii i paleobiogeografii [Dinosaurs of northern Eurasia: new data about assemblages, ecology, and paleobiogeography]. Institute for Scientific Research on the Earth's Crust, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg 1–156
• L. A. Nessov. 1988. Late Mesozoic amphibians and lizards of Soviet Middle Asia. Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia 31(14):475-486
• L. A. Nessov. 1984. Data on late Mesozoic turtles from the USSR. Studia Geologica Salamanticensia, vol. especial 1 (Studia Palaeocheloniologica I) 1:215-223
• L. A. Nessov. 1981. Amfibii i reptilii v ekosistemakh Mela sredney Azii [Amphibia and reptiles in Cretaceous ecosystems of central Asia]. In I. V. Darevsky (ed.), The Problems of Herpetology. Fifth Herpetological Conference. Abstracts 91–92
• A. K. Rozhdestvensky. 1964. Novye dannye o mestonakhozhdeniyakh dinozavrov na territorii Kazakhstana i Srednei Azii [New data on occurrences of dinosaurs in Kazakhstan and Central Asia]. Tashkentskii Gosudarstvennyi Universitet, Nauchnye Trudy: Geologiya [Tashkent State University, Scientific Publications: Geology] 234:227-241