Earth:Valtos Sandstone Formation

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Valtos Sandstone Formation
Stratigraphic range: Middle Jurassic Bathonian
Kilt Rock2jpg.jpg
Sandstones of the Valtos Sandstone Formation outcropping between two dolerite sills, the Kilt Rock, Trotternish, Skye
TypeFormation
Unit ofGreat Estuarine Group
UnderliesDuntulm Formation
OverliesLealt Shale Formation
Thicknessup to 120 m
Lithology
Primarysandstone
Otherlimestone, mudstone
Location
RegionScotland
CountryUnited Kingdom
ExtentInner Hebrides
Type section
Named forValtos, Skye
Named byHarris and Hudson
LocationCliffs between Valtos and Mealt Falls
Year defined1980
Thickness at type section95 m

The Valtos Sandstone Formation is a Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) formation found in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. It is the thickest member of the Great Estuarine Group. The lithology consists of sets of approximately 6 metre thick cross bedded sandstone, capped by thin shelly limestones containing bivalves of the genus Neomiodon [1] Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, although none have yet been referred to a specific genus.[2]

Archosaurs of the Valtos Formation[3]
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Abundance Notes Images
Theriosuchus Indeterminate Dentary fragment[4]
Sauropoda Indeterminate Near Valtos Limb bone, rib, caudal vertebra, Tooth
Stegosauria Indeterminate Isle of Eigg Fibula[5]
Theropoda Indeterminate Teeth and caudal vertebra Vertebra likely to belongs to a coelurosaur

See also

  • List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
    • List of stratigraphic units with indeterminate dinosaur fossils
  • List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Scotland

Footnotes

  1. British Geological Survey. "Valtos Sandstone Formation". http://www.bgs.ac.uk/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?pub=VTS. 
  2. Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution." Pp. 517-607.
  3. Clark, Neil D. L. (2018-02-05). "Review of the Dinosaur Remains from the Middle Jurassic of Scotland, UK" (in en). Geosciences 8 (2): 53. doi:10.3390/geosciences8020053. Bibcode2018Geosc...8...53C. 
  4. Young, Mark T.; Tennant, Jonathan P.; Brusatte, Stephen L.; Challands, Thomas J.; Fraser, Nicholas C.; Clark, Neil D. L.; Ross, Dugald A. (February 2016). "The first definitive Middle Jurassic atoposaurid (Crocodylomorpha, Neosuchia), and a discussion on the genus T heriosuchus: Middle Jurassic T heriosuchus From Skye" (in en). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 176 (2): 443–462. doi:10.1111/zoj.12315. PMID 27594716. 
  5. PANCIROLI, Elsa; FUNSTON, Gregory F.; HOLWERDA, Femke; MAIDMENT, Susannah C. R.; FOFFA, Davide; LARKIN, Nigel; CHALLANDS, Tom; DEPOLO, Paige E. et al. (2020-08-27). "First dinosaur from the Isle of Eigg (Valtos Sandstone Formation, Middle Jurassic), Scotland". Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: 1–16. doi:10.1017/s1755691020000080. ISSN 1755-6910. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1755691020000080. 

References