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This is a list of stratigraphic units from which dinosaur body fossils have been recovered. Although Dinosauria is a clade which includes modern birds, this article covers only Mesozoic stratigraphic units. Units listed are all either formation rank or higher (e.g. group).
Bone beds and mass graves
| Name | Age | Location | Part of | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry | Jurassic | Morrison Formation | Bonebed containing at least 44 Allosaurus as well as remains from Camarasaurus, Stegosaurus, Camptosaurus, Marshosaurus, and many other genera | |
| Ghost Ranch Quarry | Late Triassic | Chinle Formation | Bonebed preserving hundreds of Coelophysis skeletons of all ages as well as remains of many other contemporary animals | |
| Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park | Early Maastrichtian | Horseshoe Canyon Formation | Bonebed containing several Albertosaurus specimens of various ages | |
| Egg Mountain | Campanian | Two Medicine Formation | Bonebed preserving several nesting Maiasaura as well as other taxa | |
| Hilda mega-bonebed | Campanian | Dinosaur Park Formation | Group of several bonebeds containing numerous Centrosaurus | |
| Shishugou Death Pits | Middle or Late Jurassic | Shishugou Formation | Believed to have been formed in the footprints of large sauropods and preserve mired specimens of Limusaurus, Guanlong, and other small animals |
Lagerstätten
| Name | Age | Location | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Late Aptian |
Preserves birds like Cratoavis alongside the compsognathid “Ubirajara jubatus” | ||
| Part of the La Huérguina Formation | |||
|
Early Albian |
Known primarily for well-preserved pterosaur fossils, but also preserves dinosaurs like Irritator | ||
| Origin of all specimens of Archaeopteryx; includes the Torleite Formation and the Painten Formation | |||
| Smoky Hill Chalk | Santonian | Birds are known from this unit, but no non-avian dinosaurs have been found; part of the Niobrara Formation | |
|
Tanis site |
Very end of the Maastrichtian | Part of the Hell Creek Formation, is believed to have been deposited at the moment the shockwave from the Chicxulub impactor reached North America | |
Other productive localities
| Name | Age | Location | Part of | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Big Al Quarry |
Late Jurassic | Morrison Formation | ||
|
Brown Hills |
Campanian | Djadochta Formation | Also called "Ukhaa Tolgod" | |
| Campanian | Djadochta Formation | Also called "Bayn Dzak" |
Here the units are sorted by the number of genera that have been reported as being represented in their respective fossil yields. Since the creation or synonymy of genera can be subjective, the sorting of the units can only roughly approximate their known paleobiodiversities.
> 10
| Name | Age | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aguja Formation | Campanian[5] | Divided into lower and upper shale members[5] | |
| Allen Formation | Campanian | ||
| Bajo de la Carpa Formation | Late Santonian | ||
| Barun Goyot Formation[6] | Middle Campanian (?)[6] | sometimes spelled "Baruungoyot Formation"; has been argued to be either contemporaneous with the Nemegt Formation or immediately preceding it | |
| Bayan Mandahu Formation | Campanian | ||
| Bayan Shireh Formation[7] | Cenomanian to Santonian[7] | ||
| Bissekty Formation[8] | Late Turonian to Coniacian[8] | ||
| Cañadón Asfalto Formation | Toarcian | paleobiota list here | |
| Candeleros Formation | Cenomanian | ||
| Cedar Mountain Formation[9] | Barremian to basal Cenomanian | Composed of several members (in ascending order of age): Buckhorn Conglomerate, Yellow Cat, Poison Strip Sandstone, Ruby Ranch, and Mussentuchit members | |
| Cerro del Pueblo Formation | Campanian[5] | ||
| Dinosaur Park Formation | Late Campanian[5] | subdivided into the lower Sandy Zone and the upper Muddy Zone as well as the uppermost Lethbridge Coal Zone[5] | |
| Djadochta Formation[10] | Middle Campanian[10] | sometimes spelled "Djadokhta", "Djadokata", or "Dzhadokhtskaya Formation" | |
| Elliot Formation[11] | Norian to Sinemurian | Lower Elliot is Late Triassic in age, Upper Elliot is Early Jurassic in age | |
| Foremost Formation[5] | Campanian | ||
| Grès à Reptiles[12] | Early Maastrichtian[12] | ||
| Hell Creek Formation[5] | Late Maastrichtian[5] | See paleobiota list here | |
| Horseshoe Canyon Formation | Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian[5] | Divided into several members (in ascending order of age): the Drumheller, Horsethief, Morrin, Tolman, Carbon, and Whitemud members[5] | |
| Huincul Formation | Late Cenomanian to early Turonian | ||
| Iren Dabasu Formation[13] | Uncertain (some time in the Late Cretaceous)[13] | ||
| Jiufotang Formation[1] | Aptian[1] | ||
| Judith River Formation | Late Campanian[5] | Composed of the lower McClelland Ferry and upper Coal Ridge members[5] | |
| Kaiparowits Formation | Campanian[5] | Divided into three members (lower, middle, and upper)[5] | |
| Kimmeridge Clay[14] | Kimmeridgian to Late Tithonian[14] | ||
| Kirtland Formation | Late Campanian[5] | Divided into three members (in ascending order of age): the Hunter Wash, Farmington, and De-na-zin members[5] | |
| Lameta Formation[15] | Late Maastrichtian | ||
| Lance Formation | Late Maastrichtian[5] | ||
| Lopez de Bertodano Formation | Maastrichtian-Danian | ||
| Lourinhã Formation | Late Kimmeridgian-earliest Berriasian | ||
| Lufeng Formation[16] | Hettangian to Pliensbachian | ||
| Morrison Formation[17] | Kimmeridgian to early Tithonian | See paleobiota list here and list of dinosaurs here | |
| Nanxiong Formation | Maastrichtian | ||
| Nemegt Formation[18] | Early Maastrichtian[18] | ||
| Oldman Formation | Late Campanian[5] | Comprised of a lower and upper member which are non-conforming[5] | |
| Oxford Clay[19] | Callovian[19] | ||
| Portezuelo Formation | Late Turonian to early Coniacian | ||
| Prince Creek Formation | Late Campanian to Maastrichtian[5] | ||
| Rio Colorado Formation[20] | Campanian | ||
| Scollard Formation | Late Maastrichtian[5] | Only the lower Scollard Formation was deposited during the Mesozoic[5] | |
| Shaximiao Formation[21] | Bathonian to basal Oxfordian | Subdivided into the lower (Shangshaximiao) and upper (Xiashaximiao) sections; these roughly correspond to the Shunosaurus-Omeisaurus assemblage and Mamenchisaurus assemblage respectively | |
| Shishugou Formation | Callovian-Oxfordian | ||
| Tendaguru Formation[22] | Kimmeridgian[22] | ||
| Tremp Formation | Maastrichtian-Thanetian | ||
| Trossingen Formation | Norian-Rhaetian | ||
| Two Medicine Formation | Campanian[23] | Divided into several members (in ascending order of age): the Rock City, Shields Crossing, Hagans Crossing, "lacustrine interval", and Flag Butte members[23] | |
| Wahweap Formation | Middle Campanian | ||
| Wangshi Group[24] | Campanian to early Maastrichtian | Consists of the Linjiazhuang, Jiangjunding, Xingezhuang, Hongtuya, Jingangkou, and Shijiatun formations | |
| Wessex Formation[25] | Barremian[25] | ||
| Xiagou Formation | Aptian | ||
| Xinminbao Group[26] | Barremian to Albian[26] | Composed of the Chijinbao, Digou, and Zhonggou formations | |
| Yixian Formation[4] | Barremian[4] | See list of paleobiota here | |
5-10
| Name | Age | Location | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Late Cretaceous [28][29] |
|||
|
Kimmeridgian[30] |
Also known as "Camadas de Guimarota" | ||
|
Cenomanian to Coniacian[35] |
|||
|
Sinemurian[37] |
|||
| Cloverly Formation[38] | Late Aptian[38] | ||
|
Late Aptian[40] |
|||
| Late Maastrichtian[42] | |||
| Frenchman Formation[43] | Late Maastrichtian[43] | ||
|
Carnian[44] |
|||
|
Sinemurian to Pliensbachian |
|||
|
Late Maastrichtian[47] |
|||
|
Norian[49] |
|||
|
Campanian[50] |
|||
|
Early Campanian[51] |
|||
|
Late Maastrichtian[54] |
|||
|
Hauterivian to Valanginian[55] |
|||
| Udurchukan Formation | Maastrichtian | ||
| Villar del Arzobispo Formation | |||
| Wapiti Formation | Early Campanian to Late Maastrichtian | ||
|
Barremian[56] |
|||
< 5
| Name | Age | Location | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Late Cretaceous[57] | |||
| Aurisina Formation | Campanian[65] | ||
|
Norian[75] |
|||
| Cerro Barcino Formation | Aptian-Cenomanian | ||
| Charmouth Mudstone Formation | Early Jurassic | ||
|
Middle Campanian[83] |
|||
| Dorotea Formation | Late Cretaceous | ||
| Eutaw Formation | |||
|
Rhaetian to ?Sinemurian[87] |
|||
|
Hettangian to Sinemurian[88] |
|||
|
uncertain, Cretaceous |
|||
|
Campanian[90] |
|||
| Hall Lake Formation | |||
|
Late Sinemurian to Early Pliensbachian |
|||
| Itat Formation | |||
|
Hettangian to Pliensbachian[92] |
|||
|
Barremian[93] |
|||
|
Maastrichtian |
|||
|
?Norian[95] |
|||
|
Barremian[96] |
|||
|
Norian[98] |
|||
|
Late Norian |
|||
| Marnes Rouges Inferieures | |||
|
Early Maastrichtian[101] |
|||
|
Late Norian to Rhaetian[103] |
|||
|
Pliensbachian to Toarcian[104] |
|||
|
Pliensbachian to Toarcian[106] |
|||
|
Norian[107] |
|||
| Saltrio Formation | Sinemurian | ||
| Santa Marta Formation | |||
|
| |||
|
Kimmeridgian[3] |
|||
| Toqui Formation | |||
|
Tithonian[108] |
|||
|
Turonian |
|||
|
Rhaetian[110] |
|||
|
Cenomanian[111] |
|||
|
Valanginian to Aptian[112] |
|||
| Zhoutian Formation[113] | Turonian–early Coniacian |
Indeterminate
This list includes stratigraphic units that have produced dinosaur remains, although none of these remains have been referred to a specific genus.
| Name | Location | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Khooldzin Svita | ||
| Monti Prenestini Carbonatic Platform | ||
| Mugher Mudstone | ||
| Tujingzi Formation | ||
| Unit S3U1 | ||
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