Toolebuc Formation

The Toolebuc Formation is a geological formation that extends from Queensland across South Australia and the Northern Territory in Australia, whose strata date back to the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous. Dinosaurs,^[1] pterosaurs, plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, protostegid turtles, sharks, chimaeroids and bony fish remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.

Toolebuc Formation
Stratigraphic range: Albian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Type	Geological formation
Unit of	Rolling Downs Group
Underlies	Allaru Formation
Overlies	Wallumbilla Formation
Thickness	Up to 65 m (213 ft)
Lithology
Primary	Limestone, mudstone
Other	Shale
Location
Coordinates	20.4°S 144.4°E / -20.4; 144.4
Approximate paleocoordinates	52.7°S 132.5°E / -52.7; 132.5
Region	Queensland
Country	Australia
Extent	Eromanga Basin
Toolebuc Formation (Australia)

Description

Deposition occurred in a cool to temperate inland sea setting and the present lithology is dominantly made up of limey shales with abundant Inoceramus bivalve shells. Ichthyosaurs and protostegid turtles were the most common marine reptiles at this time in the Eromanga Sea, in contrast to older Aptian deposits such as the Bulldog Shale of South Australia, which show that plesiosaurs were previously more abundant and also more diverse. The Toolebuc Formation is one of the richest known sources of Mesozoic vertebrate fossils in Australia, with notable collecting areas situated around the towns of Richmond, Julia Creek, Hughenden and Boulia.

Fossil content

Possible indeterminate ankylosaurid remains are present in Queensland, Australia.^[1] Indeterminate ornithopod remains have also been found in Queensland, Australia.^[1]

Animals

Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs of the Toolebuc formation
Genus	Species	Presence	Materials	Notes	Images
Kunbarrasaurus	K. ieversi	Queensland	A preserved skeleton	A parankylosaur. [1] [2]
	K. sp	Queensland	A partial skull
Muttaburrasaurus	M. sp.	Queensland	Fossil remains.	An iguanodontian ornithopod.
Nanantius	N. eos	Queensland	"Tibiotarsi and vertebra"[1][3]	An enantiornithean avialan.

Pterosaur

Pterosaurs of the Toolebuc Formation
Genus	Species	Presence	Materials	Notes	Images
Anhangueria indet.	Indeterminate	Queensland		[4]
Aussiedraco	A. molnari	Queensland	An anterior portion of the skull including partial premaxillary and partial skeleton consists of phalanx and vertebras.	A targaryendraconian pterodactyloid.
Haliskia	H. peterseni	Queensland	A partial skeleton with a skull.	An anhanguerian pteranodontoid.[5]
Mythunga	M. camara	Queensland	A preserved mandible.	An anhanguerid.
Thapunngaka	T. shawi	Queensland	A partial mandible without dentition.	An anhanguerid. [6]

Plesiosaurs

Plesiosaurs of the Toolebuc formation
Genus	Species	Presence	Materials	Notes	Images
Kronosaurus	K. queenslandicus	Queensland		A pliosaur.
Eromangasaurus	E. australis	Queensland		An elasmosaur.
Polycotylidae indet.	Undescribed polycotylid (specimen QM F18041, nicknamed Penny)[7]	Queensland		An indeterminate polycotylid.

Icthyosaurs

Ichthyosaurs of the Toolebuc formation
Genus	Species	Presence	Materials	Notes	Images
Platypterygius	P. australis	Queensland		A platypterygiine ichthyosaur.

Turtles

Turtles of the Toolebuc formation
Genus	Species	Presence	Materials	Notes	Images
Bouliachelys	B. suteri	"Around Boulia in Western Queensland"[8]		A Protostegidae sea turtle. [8]
Cratochelone	C. berneyi	Queensland		A Protostegidae sea turtle.
Notochelone	N. costata	Queensland		A Protostegidae sea turtle.

Fish

Fish of the Toolebuc formation
Genus	Species	Presence	Material	Notes	Images
Australopachycormus	A. hurleyi		"QM F52641 (holotype); partial snout (lacking tip of rostrum) and mandible including dentition and associated cranial/postcranial fragments; SAM P40514 (referred specimen), partial skull with rostrum and incomplete pectoral fin"[9]	Long-rostrum pachycormiform
Canaryichthys	C. rozefeldsi		A fossil specimen which is "undistorted and preserved in 3-dimensions but lacks all but the cranial vault."[10]	A halecomorph, possibly an ionoscopiform.[10]
Cardabiodontidae	Undescribed genus and species[11]		Associated teeth and vertebrae suggesting an individual 8 to 9 meters long[12][11][13]	Closely related to Cardabiodon[11]
Cooyoo	C. australis			An ichthyodectiform also present in the Allaru Formation[14]
Dugaldia	D. emmilta			[14]
Euroka	E. dunravenensis			An elopiform[15]
Flindersichthys	F. denmeadi			[16]
Marathonichthys	M. coyleorum			An albuliforme[17]
Pachyrhizodus	P. grawi			Two species known from both this and the Allaru Formation[18][19]
	P. marathonensis
Pristiophorus	Indeterminate			Known from rostral teeth that are tentatively referred to P. tumidens.[20] Adnet and Cappetta (2001) considered that these remains are teeth and jaw fragments of teleostean instead.[21]
?Pseudocorax			Partially disarticulated vertebrae	Probable anacoracid remains[22]
Ptykoptychion	P. tayyo			[23]
Richmondichthys	R. sweeti			An aspidorhynchid also found in the Allaru Formation[24]
Stewartichthys	S. leichhardti			An albuliforme[17]

Arthropod

Arthropods of the Toolebuc formation
Genus	Species	Presence	Notes	Images
Brunnaega	B. tomhurleyi		An isopod, over 130 fossil individuals found infesting a Pachyrhizodus marathonensis carcass.[19]

Molluscs

Molluscs of the Toolebuc formation
Genus	Species	Presence	Notes	Images
Beudanticeras	B. flindersi		[25]
Enchoteuthis	E. tonii		[26]
Inoceramus	I. sutherlandi	"Siphon Paddock, Dunluce Street, near Hughendon, North Queensland, Australia"[27]	[27]
Trachyteuthis	T. willisi		[25]

See also

• List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
• Paja Formation, Kronosaurus and Platypterygius Lagerstätte in Colombia
• Sierra Madre Formation, contemporaneous fossiliferous formation of Mexico
• Santana Group, contemporaneous Lagerstätte in northeastern Brazil
  • Crato Formation
  • Romualdo Formation

References

1. Weishampel et al., 2004, pp.573-574
2. Frauenfelder TG, Bell PR, Brougham T, Bevitt JJ, Bicknell RD, Kear BP, Wroe S, Campione NE (2022). "New Ankylosaurian Cranial Remains From the Lower Cretaceous (Upper Albian) Toolebuc Formation of Queensland, Australia". Frontiers in Earth Science. 10: Article 803505. doi:10.3389/feart.2022.803505.
3. "Table 11.1," in Weishampel et al., 2004, p.213
4. Pentland, Adele H.; Poropat, Stephen F.; White, Matt A.; Rigby, Samantha L.; Bevitt, Joseph J.; Duncan, Ruairidh J.; Sloan, Trish; Elliott, Robert A.; Elliott, Harry A.; Elliott, Judy A.; Elliott, David A. (2022-03-28). "The osteology of Ferrodraco lentoni, an anhanguerid pterosaur from the mid-Cretaceous of Australia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 41 (5). doi:10.1080/02724634.2021.2038182. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 247814094.
5. Pentland, A.H., Poropat, S.F., Duncan, R.J. et al. Haliskia peterseni, a new anhanguerian pterosaur from the late Early Cretaceous of Australia. Sci Rep 14, 11789 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-60889-8
6. Richards TM, Stumkat PE, Salisbury SW (2021). "A new species of crested pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea, Anhangueridae) from the Lower Cretaceous (upper Albian) of Richmond, North West Queensland, Australia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 41 (3): e1946068. Bibcode:2021JVPal..41E6068R. doi:10.1080/02724634.2021.1946068.
7. "Kronosaurus Korner - Penny the Plesiosaur". www.kronosauruskorner.com.au. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
8. Kear, Benjamin P. (2011). Dinosaurs in Australia: Mesozoic life from the Southern Continent. Robert J. Hamilton-Bruce, CSIRO Publishing. Collingwood, Vic.: CSIRO Pub. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-643-10169-2. OCLC 692219338.
9. Kear, Benjamin P. (2007-12-12). "First record of a pachycormid fish (Actinopterygii: Pachycormiformes) from the Lower Cretaceous of Australia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 27 (4): 1033–1038. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2007)27[1033:FROAPF]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 89193950.
10. Museum, c=AU; co=Queensland Government; ou=Queensland. "An Early Cretaceous (late Albian) halecomorph (? Ionoscopiformes) fish from the Toolebuc Formation of the Eromanga Basin, Queensland". www.qm.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 2022-08-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
11. Berrell, Rodney W.; Boisvert, Catherine; Trinajstic, Kate; Siversson, Mikael; Alvarado-Ortega, Jesús; Cavin, Lionel; Salisbury, Steven W.; Kemp, Anne (2020-04-02). "A review of Australia's Mesozoic fishes". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 44 (2): 286–311. Bibcode:2020Alch...44..286B. doi:10.1080/03115518.2019.1701078. ISSN 0311-5518.
12. Mikael Siverson (2012). Lamniform Sharks: 110 Million Years of Ocean Supremacy. Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology. Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15.
13. Bazzi, Mohamad; Kear, Benjamin P.; Siversson, Mikael (2022-03-01). "Southern higher-latitude lamniform sharks track mid-Cretaceous environmental change". Gondwana Research. 103: 362–370. Bibcode:2022GondR.103..362B. doi:10.1016/j.gr.2021.10.012. ISSN 1342-937X. S2CID 240267171.
14. Lionel Cavin; Rodney Berrell (May 2019). "Revision of Dugaldia emmilta (Teleostei, Ichthyodectiformes) from the Toolebuc Formation, Albian of Australia, with comments on the jaw mechanics". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 39 (1): e1576049. Bibcode:2019JVPal..39E6049C. doi:10.1080/02724634.2019.1576049. S2CID 190880286.
15. Bartholomai, Alan.; Bartholomai, Alan (2010). "A new Albian teleost, Euroka dunravenensis gen. et sp. nov. and a new family, Eurokidae, from the Eromanga Basin of Queensland". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. 55 (1): 69–85. ISSN 0079-8835.
16. Bartholomai, A. (2010). "Revision of Flindersichthys denmeadi Longman 1932, a marine teleost from the Lower Cretaceous of the Great Artesian Basin, Queensland". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. S2CID 189970876.
17. Museum, c=AU; co=Queensland Government; ou=Queensland. "New Teleosts (Elopomorpha: Albuliformes) from the Lower Cretaceous (Late Albian) of the Eromanga Basin, Queensland, Australia". mtq.qm.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 2022-08-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
18. Bartholomai, A. (17 February 2012). "The pachyrhizodontid teleosts from the marine Lower Cretaceous (latest mid to late Albian) sediments of the Eromanga Basin, Queensland, Australia". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum – Nature. 56 (1): 119–148.
19. Wilson, George D. F.; Paterson, John R.; Kear, Benjamin P. (2011). "Fossil isopods associated with a fish skeleton from the Lower Cretaceous of Queensland, Australia - direct evidence of a scavenging lifestyle in Mesozoic Cymothoida". Palaeontology. 54 (5): 1053–1068. Bibcode:2011Palgy..54.1053W. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2011.01095.x. S2CID 82989831.
20. Vickers-Rich, Patricia; Vickers-Rich, Patricia; University, Monash (1991). Vertebrate palaeontology of Australasia. Lilydale, Vic: Pioneer Design Studio in cooperation with the Monash University Publications Committee, Melbourne. ISBN 978-0-909674-36-6.
21. Adnet, Sylvain; Cappetta, Henri (2001). "A palaeontological and phylogenetical analysis of squaliform sharks (Chondrichthyes: Squaliformes) based on dental characters". Lethaia. 34 (3): 234–248. Bibcode:2001Letha..34..234A. doi:10.1111/j.1502-3931.2001.tb00052.x. ISSN 0024-1164.
22. Rozefelds, Andrew C. (27 November 2008). "Lower Cretaceous Anacoracidae? (Lamniformes: Neoselachii); vertebrae and associated dermal scales from Australia". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 17 (3): 199–210. doi:10.1080/03115519308619604.
23. Benjamin P Kear; Robert J Hamilton-Bruce (2011). Dinosaurs in Australia: Mesozoic Life from the Southern Continent. Collingwood Australia: CSIRO PUBLISHING. p. 87. ISBN 978-0643100459.
24. Bartholomai, A. (2004). "The large aspidorhynchid fish, Richmondichthys sweeti (Etheridge Jnr and Smith Woodward, 1891) from Albian Marine deposits of Queensland, Australia". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. S2CID 195531265.
25. Kear, Benjamin P. (2011). Dinosaurs in Australia: Mesozoic life from the Southern Continent. Robert J. Hamilton-Bruce, CSIRO Publishing. Collingwood, Vic.: CSIRO Pub. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-643-10169-2. OCLC 692219338.
26. Fuchs, Dirk; Iba, Yasuhiro; Heyng, Alexander; Iijima, Masaya; Klug, Christian; Larson, Neal L.; Schweigert, Günter (2020). Brayard, Arnaud (ed.). "The Muensterelloidea: phylogeny and character evolution of Mesozoic stem octopods". Papers in Palaeontology. 6 (1): 31–92. Bibcode:2020PPal....6...31F. doi:10.1002/spp2.1254. ISSN 2056-2799.
27. Robin I. Knight; Noel J. Morris; Jonathan A. Todd; Lauren E. Howard; Alexander D. Ball (13 May 2013). "Exceptional preservation of a novel gill grade in large Cretaceous inoceramids: systematic and palaeobiological implications". Palaeontology. 57 (1): 37–54. doi:10.1111/pala.12046.

Bibliography

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