Malhada Vermelha Formation

Malhada Vermelha Formation Stratigraphic range: Valanginian-Hauterivian ~138–130 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Type	Geological formation
Unit of
Underlies
Overlies
Thickness	500–800 m (1,600–2,600 ft)
Lithology
Primary	Sandstone
Other	Siltstone
Location
Coordinates	6°18′S 39°06′W / 6.3°S 39.1°W / -6.3; -39.1Coordinates: 6°18′S 39°06′W / 6.3°S 39.1°W / -6.3; -39.1
Approximate paleocoordinates	4°30′S 6°12′W / 4.5°S 6.2°W / -4.5; -6.2
Region	Ceará
Country	Brazil
Extent	&
Malhada Vermelha Formation (Brazil)

The Malhada Vermelha Formation is an Early Cretaceous (Valanginian to Hauterivian) geologic formation in Ceará, northeastern Brazil. The formation preserves reptile, fish and ichnofossils.

Description[]

The formation is characterized by a cyclic sequence of siltstones that are intercalated with fine to medium sandstones with the presence of festoon cross-stratification and climbing ripples, deposited in an alluvial environment in a hot semiarid paleoclimate.^[1]

The formation crops out in two minibasins, the and eponymous . The 500 to 800 metres (1,600 to 2,600 ft) thick formation overlies the and is overlain by the .^[2]

Fossil content[]

The following fossils were reported from the formation:^[1]

• Fish
  • ^[3]
  • Hybodontidae indet.^[3]
• Reptiles
  • Crocodylomorpha indet.^[3]
• Ichnofossils
  • ^[4]
  • Carnosauria indet.^[5]

See also[]

• Crato Formation
• Romualdo Formation
• Missão Velha Formation

References[]

Bibliography[]

• Paula Moreira, João Victor; Francisco Danilo Sales Paula; Maria Somália Sales Viana; Arquimedes Pompeu de Paulo Chaves, and Ana Emilia Quezado de Figueiredo. 2018. Taenidium barretti Bradshaw, 1981 na Formação Malhada Vermelha (Cretáceo Inferior), Bacia de Malhada Vermelha, Ceará, Brasil - Taenidium barretti Bradshaw, 1981 in the Malhada Vermelha Formation (Lower Cretaceous), Malhada Vermelha Basin, Ceará, Brazil. 41. 104-112. Accessed 2020-06-18.
• Pinheiro, F.; A. E. Q. de Figueiredo; P. C. Dentzien-Dias; D. C. Fortier; C. I. Schultz, and M. S. S. Viana. 2013. Planohybodus marki sp. nov., a new fresh-water hybodontid shark from the Early Cretaceous of northeastern Brazil. Cretaceous Research 41. 210-216.
• Leonardi, G. 1989. Inventory and statistics of the South American dinosaurian ichnofauna and its paleobiological interpretation, 165-178. D. D. Gillette & M. G. Lockley (ed.), Dinosaur Tracks and Traces.