Takli Formation

Takli Formation
Takli Formation
Stratigraphic range: Maastrichtian
Type	Geological formation
Lithology
Primary	Claystone, siltstone, marl
Location
Coordinates	21°12′N 79°06′E / 21.2°N 79.1°E
Approximate paleocoordinates	26°12′S 61°30′E / 26.2°S 61.5°E
Region	Maharashtra, Gujarat
Country	India
Type section
Named for	Tákli Plain
	Takli Formation (India)

The Takli Formation is a Maastrichtian geologic formation in India. Dinosaur remains diagnostic to the genus level are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.

Paleobiota

Color key

Taxon	Reclassified taxon	Taxon falsely reported as present	Dubious taxon or junior synonym	Ichnotaxon	Ootaxon	Morphotaxon

Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text
~~crossed out~~ taxa are discredited.

Dinosaurs

Sauropods

Sauropods from the Takli Formation
Genus	Species	Material	Location	Time Period	Notes	Images
Fusioolithus	F. baghensis	eggshell fragments	Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	Sauropod Eggs.
Sauropoda	Indeterminate	tooth	Gujarat	Maastrichtian	A Sauropod.
Titanosauridae	Indeterminate	teeth	Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Titanosaur.

Theropods

Theropods from the Takli Formation
Genus	Species	Material	Location	Time Period	Notes	Images
?Coelurosauria	Indeterminate	teeth	Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	Coelurosauria was a common wastebasket taxon.
?Megalosauridae	Indeterminate	teeth	Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	Megalosauridae was a common wastebasket taxon.
Massospondylus	M. rawesi	Tooth	Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	Previously thought to be a Massospondylus now known to be an indeterminate abelisaurid.
Theropoda	Indeterminate	Teeth.	Gujarat	Maastrichtian	An indeterminate theropod.

Other Archosaurs

Other Archosaurs from the Takli Formation
Genus	Species	Material	Location	Time Period	Notes	Images
Archosauria	Indeterminate	teeth	Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	Either a saurischian or a crocodillan.
Crocodyliformes	Indeterminate		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Crocodyliform.

Lepidosaurs

Lepidosaurs from the Takli Formation
Genus	Species	Material	Location	Time Period	Notes	Images
Gekkonidae	Indeterminate		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Gecko.
Boidae	Indeterminate		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Snake.
Scincomorpha	Indeterminate		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Scincomorph.
?Contogenys	sp.		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Globaurid.
Anguidae	Indeterminate		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Anguid.
Litakis	sp.		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Platynota.
Exostinus	E. estesi E. estesai		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Xenosaurid.
Pristiguana	P. sp.		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	An Iguanid.
Iguanidae	Indeterminate		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	An iguanid.

Amphibians

Amphibians from the Takli Formation
Genus	Species	Material	Location	Time Period	Notes	Images
Anura	Indeterminate		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Frog.
Pelobatidae	Indeterminate		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Spadefoot Toad.

Fish

Fishes from the Takli Formation
Genus	Species	Material	Location	Time Period	Notes	Images
Pycnodus	P. lametae P. bicresta		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Pycnodontid Fish.
Belonostomus	sp.		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	An Aspidorhynchid Fish.
Sphyraena	sp.		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Barracuda.
Enchodus	E. ferox sp.		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	An Enchodontid Fish.
Clupeidae	Indeterminate		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Clupeid Fish.
Apateodus	A. striatus		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	An Ichthyotringid Fish.
Stephanodus	S. lybicus		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	An Eotrigonodontid Fish.
Ostracion	sp.		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	An Ostraciid Fish.
Palaeolabrus	P. dormaalensis		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Palaeolabrid Fish.
Lepisosteus	L. indicus		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Gar.
Lepidotes	sp.		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A possible late surviving lepidotid.
Dasyatis	sp.		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Whiptail stingray.
Igdabatis	I. sigmodon		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	An Eagle ray.
Osteoglossum	O. deccanensis		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A osteoglossid Fish.
Osteichthyes	Indeterminate	Ganoid and Cycloid scales	Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	An Bony fish.

Mammals

Mammals from the Takli Formation
Genus	Species	Material	Location	Time Period	Notes	Images
Symmetrodonta	Indeterminate		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	An Allotherian Mammal.

Molluscas

Molluscas from the Takli Formation
Genus	Species	Material	Location	Time Period	Notes	Images
Bivalvia	Indeterminate		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Clam.
Limnaea	sp.		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Snail.
Valvata	sp.		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Snail.
Paludina	sp.		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Snail.
Physa	P. prinsepii		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Snail.

Crustaceans

Crustaceans from the Takli Formation
Genus	Species	Material	Location	Time Period	Notes	Images
Ostracoda	Indeterminate		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	An Ostracod.

Turtles

Turtles from the Takli Formation
Genus	Species	Material	Location	Time Period	Notes	Images
Pelomedusidae	Indeterminate		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Pelomedusid Turtle.
Testudinata	Indeterminate		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Turtle.

Insects

Insects from the Takli Formation
Genus	Species	Material	Location	Time Period	Notes	Images
?Buprestidae	Indeterminate		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Jewel beetle.
Lomatus	L. hislopi		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Jewel beetle.
?Curculionidae	Indeterminate		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Snout beetle.
Meristos	M. hunteri		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Snout beetle.
Palaeotanymecides	P. hislopi		Maharashtra	Maastrichtian	A Snout beetle.

Flora

References

↑ Tákli Plain, northwest of Nagpur at Fossilworks.org
↑ Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution." Pp. 517-607.
1 2 A. Sahni and S. Bajpai. 1988. Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary events: the fossil vertebrate, palaeomagnetic and radiometric evidence from Peninsualr India. Journal of the Geological Society of India 32(5):382-395
1 2 3 Vianey-Liaud, Monique; Jain, Sohan L.; Sahni, Ashok (1988-01-22). "Dinosaur eggshells (Saurischia) from the Late Cretaceous Intertrappean and Lameta formations (Deccan, India)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 7 (4): 408–424. Bibcode:1988JVPal...7..408V. doi:10.1080/02724634.1988.10011673. ISSN 0272-4634.
↑ R. Lydekker. 1890. Note on certain vertebrate remains from the Nagpur district. Records of the Geological Survey of India 23(1):21-24
↑ Weishampel, David B. (1990). "Dinosaur distribution". In David B. Weishampel; Peter Dodson; Halszka Osmólska (eds.). The Dinosauria (1st ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 63–139. ISBN 978-0-520-06727-1.
↑ Hendrickx, C.; Soto Núñez, M.; Araújo, R.; Meso, J. G.; Maganuco, S.; Ben-Salahuddin, A. (2025). "Isolated abelisaurid teeth from Gondwana and dental evolution in Abelisauridae". Ameghiniana. doi:10.5710/AMGH.17.09.2025.3654.
↑ Rio, Jonathan P.; Mannion, Philip D. (2021-09-06). "Phylogenetic analysis of a new morphological dataset elucidates the evolutionary history of Crocodylia and resolves the long-standing gharial problem". PeerJ. 9 e12094. Bibcode:2021PeerJ...912094R. doi:10.7717/peerj.12094. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 8428266. PMID 34567843.
1 2 3 4 5 Kapur, Vivesh V.; Khosla, Ashu (2018-12-03). "Faunal elements from the Deccan volcano-sedimentary sequences of India: A reappraisal of biostratigraphic, palaeoecologic, and palaeobiogeographic aspects". Geological Journal. 54 (5): 2797–2828. doi:10.1002/gj.3379. ISSN 0072-1050.
1 2 3 4 5 6 S. L. Jain. 1989. Recent dinosaur discoveries in India, including eggshells, nests and coprolites. In D. D. Gillette & M. G. Lockley (ed.), Dinosaur Tracks and Traces 99-108
1 2 3 Rage, Jean-Claude; Prasad, Guntupalli V. R.; Verma, Omkar; Khosla, Ashu; Parmar, Varun (2020), "Anuran Lissamphibian and Squamate Reptiles from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Deccan Intertrappean Sites in Central India, with a Review of Lissamphibian and Squamate Diversity in the Northward Drifting Indian Plate", in Prasad, Guntupalli V.R.; Patnaik, Rajeev (eds.), Biological Consequences of Plate Tectonics: New Perspectives on Post-Gondwana Break-up–A Tribute to Ashok Sahni, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 99–121, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-49753-8_6, ISBN 978-3-030-49753-8, retrieved 2024-08-18
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Palaeontology and palaeoecology of the intertrappean (Cretaceous-Tertiary transition) beds of the peninsular India" (PDF). palaeontologicalsociety.in.
1 2 S. Hislop. 1861. Remarks on the geology of Nágpur. Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 6:194-204
1 2 3 4 "Vertebrate Fauna From the Infra- and Inter-trappean Beds of Andhra Pradesh: Age Implications".
↑ "New Evidence for Paleobiogeographic Intercontinental Gondwana Relationships Based on Late Cretaceous-Earliest Paleocene Coastal Faunas from Peninsular India".
1 2 3 4 A. Murray. 1860. Notes on some fossil insects from Nagpur. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society 16:182-186
↑ Bellamy, C. L. (2013). "Fossil Buprestidae". A Checklist of World Buprestoidea. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 7 Sep 2021.

Bibliography

Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; Osmólska, Halszka, eds. (2004). The Dinosauria (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 1–880. ISBN 0-520-24209-2. Retrieved 2019-02-21.

[1] Tákli Plain, northwest of Nagpur at Fossilworks.org

[dinosaurdistribution-2] Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution." Pp. 517-607.

[auto-3] 1 2 A. Sahni and S. Bajpai. 1988. Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary events: the fossil vertebrate, palaeomagnetic and radiometric evidence from Peninsualr India. Journal of the Geological Society of India 32(5):382-395

[:2-4] 1 2 3 Vianey-Liaud, Monique; Jain, Sohan L.; Sahni, Ashok (1988-01-22). "Dinosaur eggshells (Saurischia) from the Late Cretaceous Intertrappean and Lameta formations (Deccan, India)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 7 (4): 408–424. Bibcode:1988JVPal...7..408V. doi:10.1080/02724634.1988.10011673. ISSN 0272-4634.

[5] R. Lydekker. 1890. Note on certain vertebrate remains from the Nagpur district. Records of the Geological Survey of India 23(1):21-24

[DBW90-6] Weishampel, David B. (1990). "Dinosaur distribution". In David B. Weishampel; Peter Dodson; Halszka Osmólska (eds.). The Dinosauria (1st ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 63–139. ISBN 978-0-520-06727-1.

[7] Hendrickx, C.; Soto Núñez, M.; Araújo, R.; Meso, J. G.; Maganuco, S.; Ben-Salahuddin, A. (2025). "Isolated abelisaurid teeth from Gondwana and dental evolution in Abelisauridae". Ameghiniana. doi:10.5710/AMGH.17.09.2025.3654.

[8] Rio, Jonathan P.; Mannion, Philip D. (2021-09-06). "Phylogenetic analysis of a new morphological dataset elucidates the evolutionary history of Crocodylia and resolves the long-standing gharial problem". PeerJ. 9 e12094. Bibcode:2021PeerJ...912094R. doi:10.7717/peerj.12094. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 8428266. PMID 34567843.

[:3-9] 1 2 3 4 5 Kapur, Vivesh V.; Khosla, Ashu (2018-12-03). "Faunal elements from the Deccan volcano-sedimentary sequences of India: A reappraisal of biostratigraphic, palaeoecologic, and palaeobiogeographic aspects". Geological Journal. 54 (5): 2797–2828. doi:10.1002/gj.3379. ISSN 0072-1050.

[:4-10] 1 2 3 4 5 6 S. L. Jain. 1989. Recent dinosaur discoveries in India, including eggshells, nests and coprolites. In D. D. Gillette & M. G. Lockley (ed.), Dinosaur Tracks and Traces 99-108

[:5-11] 1 2 3 Rage, Jean-Claude; Prasad, Guntupalli V. R.; Verma, Omkar; Khosla, Ashu; Parmar, Varun (2020), "Anuran Lissamphibian and Squamate Reptiles from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Deccan Intertrappean Sites in Central India, with a Review of Lissamphibian and Squamate Diversity in the Northward Drifting Indian Plate", in Prasad, Guntupalli V.R.; Patnaik, Rajeev (eds.), Biological Consequences of Plate Tectonics: New Perspectives on Post-Gondwana Break-up–A Tribute to Ashok Sahni, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 99–121, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-49753-8_6, ISBN 978-3-030-49753-8, retrieved 2024-08-18

[:6-12] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Palaeontology and palaeoecology of the intertrappean (Cretaceous-Tertiary transition) beds of the peninsular India" (PDF). palaeontologicalsociety.in.

[:0-13] 1 2 S. Hislop. 1861. Remarks on the geology of Nágpur. Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 6:194-204

[:7-14] 1 2 3 4 "Vertebrate Fauna From the Infra- and Inter-trappean Beds of Andhra Pradesh: Age Implications".

[15] "New Evidence for Paleobiogeographic Intercontinental Gondwana Relationships Based on Late Cretaceous-Earliest Paleocene Coastal Faunas from Peninsular India".

[:1-16] 1 2 3 4 A. Murray. 1860. Notes on some fossil insects from Nagpur. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society 16:182-186

[17] Bellamy, C. L. (2013). "Fossil Buprestidae". A Checklist of World Buprestoidea. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 7 Sep 2021.