Upper Maleri Formation

Upper Maleri Formation
Stratigraphic range: Late Triassic (Norian)
~220–211 Ma
Artistic reconstruction of the Upper Maleri Formation paleoenvironment
TypeGeological formation
Unit ofGondwana Group
UnderliesLower Dharmaram Formation
OverliesLower Maleri Formation
Location
Coordinates19°18′N 79°30′E / 19.3°N 79.5°E / 19.3; 79.5
Approximate paleocoordinates33°06′S 36°24′E / 33.1°S 36.4°E / -33.1; 36.4
RegionTelangana
CountryIndia
ExtentPranhita–Godavari Basin
Upper Maleri Formation is located in India
Upper Maleri Formation
Upper Maleri Formation (India)

The Upper Maleri Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in Telangana, India. It is one of the formations of the Pranhita–Godavari Basin. It is of late Norian and possibly earliest Rhaetian ages (Late Triassic), and is notable for its fossils of early dinosaurs.

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.

Dinosauriformes

Dinosauriforms of the Upper Maleri Formation
Genus Species Location Material Clade Image
Jaklapallisaurus J. assymetrica Telangana ISI R274, postcranial material. Sauropodomorpha,

Unaysauridae
Nambalia N. roychowdhurii Telangana ISI R273, including partial postcrania of at least three individuals of different sizes found closely associated. Sauropodomorpha,

Bagualosauria
Maleriraptor(Formerly Dinosauriformes sp. indet. A) M. kuttyi Pranhita-Godavari Valley ISI R282, partial sacral ribs, vertebrae, and pelvic girdle. Saurischia,

Herrerasauria
Dinosauriformes indet. sp. indet. B Pranhita-Godavari Valley ISI R284, right ilium Dinosauriformes,

incertae sedis
Guaibasauridae indet. sp. indet. Pranhita-Godavari Valley ISI R277/1–5 & 7–8, vertebrae, hip, and hindlimb material, specimens. Sauropodomorpha,

Guaibasauridae

Other amniotes

Phytosaur fossils are known from the formation, including forms similar to Angistorhinus and Leptosuchus. Indeterminate aetosaurs and dicynodonts have also been reported.

Non-dinosaur Amniotes of the Upper Maleri Formation
Genus Species Location Material Clade Image
Ischigualastia cf. I. sp. Kannemeyeriiformes,

Stahleckeriidae
Kranosaura K. kuttyi ISIR 269, a partial skull Protopyknosia,

incertae sedis
Primisuchus P. gillettei Parasuchidae,

Leptosuchomorpha
Aetosauria indet. sp. indet. Aetosauria,

incertae sedis

Temnospondyli

Temnospondyls of the Upper Maleri Formation
Genus Species Location Material Clade Image
Compsocerops C. cosgriffi Brachyopoidea,

Chigutisauridae
Kuttycephalus K. triangularis Brachyopoidea,

Chigutisauridae

Fish

Fishes of the Upper Maleri Formation
Genus Species Location Material Clade Image
Xenacanthus X. indicus Xenacanthiformes,

Xenacanthidae
Ferganoceratodus F. hislopianus Ceratodontiformes,

incertae sedis

Correlations

The formation has been correlated with the Forest Sandstone of Africa, the lower Caturrita Formation of the Paraná Basin in Brazil, the upper Ischigualasto Formation and lower Los Colorados Formation of the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin of Argentina, and the Chinle Formation of North America.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Novas, Fernando E.; Ezcurra, Martin D.; Chatterjee, Sankar; Kutty, T. S. (2011). "New dinosaur species from the Upper Triassic Upper Maleri and Lower Dharmaram formations of Central India". Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 101 (3–4): 333–349. doi:10.1017/S1755691011020093. ISSN 1755-6910. S2CID 128620874.
  2. ↑ Ezcurra, Martín D.; Garcia, Maurício Silva; Novas, Fernando E.; Müller, Rodrigo Temp; Agnolín, Federico L.; Chatterjee, Sankar (7 May 2025). "A new herrerasaurian dinosaur from the Upper Triassic Upper Maleri Formation of south-central India". Royal Society Open Science. 12 (5). doi:10.1098/rsos.250081. ISSN 2054-5703. PMC 12077243.
  3. 1 2 3 Nesbitt, S. J.; Stocker, M. R.; Chatterjee, S.; Horner, J. R.; Goodwin, M. B. (2021). "A remarkable group of thick-headed Triassic Period archosauromorphs with a wide, possibly Pangean distribution". Journal of Anatomy. 239 (1): 184–206. doi:10.1111/joa.13414. PMC 8197959. PMID 33660262.
  4. ↑ Datta, D.; Sen, S.; Mukherjee, D.; Ray, S.; Bandyopadhyay, S. (2026). "First leptosuchomorph phytosaur (Diapsida, Archosauria) from the Upper Triassic of India reveals new insights on biostratigraphy and palaeobiogeography". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 208 (1) zlag143. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlag143.
  5. 1 2 Sengupta, Dhurjati P. (1995). "Chigutisaurid temnospondyls from the Late Triassic of India and a review of the Family Chigutisauridae" (PDF). Palaeontology. 38 (2): 313–339.
  6. 1 2 Teschner, Elżbieta M.; Chakravorti, Sanjukta; Sengupta, Dhurjati P.; Konietzko-Meier, Dorota (8 September 2020). "Climatic influence on the growth pattern of Panthasaurus maleriensis from the Late Triassic of India deduced from paleohistology". PeerJ. 8 e9868. doi:10.7717/peerj.9868. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 7485487. PMID 33194360.
  7. ↑ Jain, S. L. (1980). "Freshwater Xenacanthid (=Pleuracanth) Shark Fossils from the Upper Triassic Maleri Formation, India". Journal of Geological Society of India. 21 (1): 39–47.
  8. ↑ Oldham, 1859
  9. ↑ Challands, Tom J.; Cavin, Lionel; Zondo, Michel; Munyikwa, Darlington; Choiniere, Jonah N.; Barrett, Paul M. (2 November 2023). "A new lungfish from the Upper Triassic of the Mid-Zambezi Basin, Zimbabwe". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 43 (6). Taylor & Francis: e2365391. doi:10.1080/02724634.2024.2365391. ISSN 0272-4634.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link)

Further reading