Manda Formation

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Manda Formation
Stratigraphic range: Anisian? - Carnian?
TypeGeological formation
Unit of
Sub-unitsKingori Sandstone Member, Lifua Member
UnderliesNone
OverliesUsili Formation
Lithology
PrimarySandstone
OtherMudstone, siltstone, marl
Location
Coordinates10°18′S 35°12′E / 10.3°S 35.2°E / -10.3; 35.2Coordinates: 10°18′S 35°12′E / 10.3°S 35.2°E / -10.3; 35.2
Approximate paleocoordinates53°42′S 23°00′E / 53.7°S 23.0°E / -53.7; 23.0
RegionIringa & Ruvuma Regions
Country Tanzania
Extent
Lifua Member of the Manda beds.png
Map of the outcropping Manda Formation

The Manda Formation (also known as the Manda Beds) is a Middle Triassic (Anisian?) or possibly Late Triassic (Carnian?) geologic formation in Tanzania. It preserves fossils of many terrestrial vertebrates from the Triassic, including some of the earliest dinosauromorph archosaurs.[1] The formation is often considered to be Anisian in age according to general tetrapod biochronology hypotheses and correlations to the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone of South Africa.[2] However, some recent studies cast doubt to this age, suggesting that parts deposits may actually be younger (Carnian) in age.[3][4][5]

History of study[]

One of the first to study rocks of the Manda Formation was British geologist G. M. Stockley. In 1932, Stockley explored the geology of the Ruhuhu Basin in Tanzania. He called a series of layers dating from the Late Carboniferous to the Middle Triassic the Songea Series and divided it into eight units labelled K1-K8. Stockley was also the first to describe fossils from these rocks, naming an older layer the "Lower Bone Bed" and a younger layer the "Upper Bone Bed".

In 1957, paleontologist Alan J. Charig described many more fossils from the bone beds in his Ph.D. thesis for the University of Cambridge.[6][7] Charig renamed the youngest of Stockley's units in 1963, calling unit K6 the Kawinga Formation, K7 the Kingori Sandstones, and K8 the Manda Formation. Fossils were identified in many strata, invalidating Stockley's division into two distinct bone beds. Since Charig's description, the Kawinga Formation has been renamed the Usili Formation, the Kingori Sandstones have become the Kingori Sandstone Member of the Manda Formation, and Charig's original Manda Formation has become a subunit of the formation called the Lifua Member.[1] Six formations and one informal unit are currently recognized in the Songea Group (Ruhuhu basin) rocks range in age from Pennsylvanian to Anisian, including the (K1), (K2), (K3), (K4), (K5), and Usili (K6) formations and the informal Manda Beds, which include the Kingori Sandstone (K7) and Lifua Member (K8).[8]

Paleobiota[]

Tetrapods[]

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.

Temnospondyls[]

Taxon Member Material Notes Images
Stanocephalosaurus pronus[9] Lifua Remains of a temnospondyl amphibian previously referred either to Parotosaurus or Eryosuchus[10]

Parareptiles[]

Taxon Member Material Notes Images
Ruhuhuaria reiszi[11] Lifua CAMZM T997, poorly preserved but complete skull and mandible An owenettid

Archosauromorphs[]

Taxon Member Material Notes Images
Asperoris mnyama Lifua NHMUK PV R36615, incomplete skull A non-crurotarsan archosauriform of uncertain phylogenetic placement Asperoris.png
[12] Lifua Member SAM 11754, right humerus An indeterminate archosauromorph; possibly a rhynchosaur
Stenaulorhynchus stockleyi Lifua A rhynchosaur
Unnamed[9] Lifua NHMUK PV R36619, incomplete skull and partial postcranial skeleton A non-archosaurian archosauriform
Archosaurs[]
Taxon Member Material Notes Images
Asilisaurus kongwe Lifua A silesaurid dinosauriform Asilisaurus.jpg
Hypselorhachis mirabilis Lifua NHMUK R16586, a complete dorsal vertebra A sail-backed archosaur possibly belonging to the family Ctenosauriscidae
Mambawakale ruhuhu[13] Lifua Member NHMUK R36620, partial skull and some postcranial fragments A paracrocodylomorph; previously informally known as "Pallisteria angustimentum".
Mambawakale dorsal.gif
Mandasuchus tanyauchen[14] Lifua Member NHMUK R6792, partial mandible and postcranial skeletons A paracrocodylomorph
Nundasuchus songeaensis[9][15] Lifua NMT RB48, partial skeleton and skull An archosaur, possibly suchian 
Nundasuchus Songeaensis.png
Nyasasaurus parringtoni[2] Lifua NHMUK R6856, a right humerus, three partial presacral vertebrae and three sacral vertebrae. SAM-PK-K10654 is also potentially referable - see "Thecodontosaurus" alophos below. A theropod or an ornithischian or the most advanced non-dinosaurian dinosauriform. Possibly the oldest dinosaur.[2]
Teleocrater rhadinus Lifua NHMUK R6795, vertebrae, limb bones and other elements. Additional material referred from two other individuals. An early avemetatarsalian[16] 
Teleocrater v1.png
"Thecodontosaurus" alophos[2] Lifua Member SAM-PK-K10654, three neck vertebrae and two rear presacral vertebrae A probable subjective senior synonym of Nyasasaurus, first identified as a sauropodomorph dinosaur.[2]
Unnamed[17] Lifua Nearly complete skull and partial skeleton A stem-aetosaur

Therapsids[]

Dicynodonts[]
Taxon Member Material Notes Images
Angonisaurus cruickshanki Lifua A kannemeyeriiform
Kannemeyeria simocephalus Lifua A kannemeyeriid kannemeyeriiform Kannemeyeria NT small.jpg
Sangusaurus parringtonii Lifua A stahleckeriid kannemeyeriiform
?Shansiodon Lifua Skull A shansiodontid kannemeyeriiform
Tetragonias njalilus Lifua A shansiodontid kannemeyeriiform Tetragonias njalilus 01.jpg
Cynodonts[]
Taxon Member Material Notes Images
Aleodon brachyrhamphus Lifua A possible chiniquodontid
Cricodon metabolus Lifua A trirachodontid
Cynognathus crateronotus[18] Lifua A cynognathid Cynognathus NT small.jpg
Diademodon tetragonas Lifua A diademodontid Diademodon.jpg
Scalenodon angustifrons Lifua A traversodontid
"Scalenodon" attridgei Lifua A traversodontid; may fall outside the genus Scalenodon and may be a synonym of "Scalenodon" charigi
"Scalenodon" charigi Lifua A traversodontid; may fall outside the genus Scalenodon
Mandagomphodon hirschoni Lifua A traversodontid; originally classified in the genus Scalenodon; named after the Manda Beds

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Butler, R. J.; Barrett, P. M.; Abel, R. L.; Gower, D. J. (2009). "A possible ctenosauriscid archosaur from the Middle Triassic Manda Beds of Tanzania". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 29 (4): 1022–1031. doi:10.1671/039.029.0404. S2CID 86267617.
  2. ^ a b c d e Nesbitt, S. J.; Barrett, P. M.; Werning, S.; Sidor, C. A.; Charig, A. J. (2013). "The oldest dinosaur? A Middle Triassic dinosauriform from Tanzania". Biol. Lett. 9 (1): 20120949. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2012.0949. PMC 3565515. PMID 23221875.
  3. ^ Nesbitt, S; Butler, R; Ezcurra, M; Charig, A; Barrett, P (2020-07-08). "The anatomy of Teleocrater rhadinus, an early avemetatarsalian from the lower portion of the Lifua Member of the Manda Beds (Middle Triassic) (project)". MorphoBank datasets. Retrieved 2021-11-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ Marsicano, Claudia A.; Irmis, Randall B.; Mancuso, Adriana C.; Mundil, Roland; Chemale, Farid (2015-12-07). "The precise temporal calibration of dinosaur origins". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 113 (3): 509–513. doi:10.1073/pnas.1512541112. ISSN 0027-8424.
  5. ^ Ottone, Eduardo G.; Monti, Mariana; Marsicano, Claudia A.; de la Fuente, Marcelo S.; Naipauer, Maximiliano; Armstrong, Richard; Mancuso, Adriana C. (December 2014). "A new Late Triassic age for the Puesto Viejo Group (San Rafael depocenter, Argentina): SHRIMP U–Pb zircon dating and biostratigraphic correlations across southern Gondwana". Journal of South American Earth Sciences. 56: 186–199. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2014.08.008. ISSN 0895-9811.
  6. ^ Charig, A. J. (1957). New Triassic archosaurs from Tanganyika, including Mandasuchus and Teleocrater: Dissertation Abstracts. Cambridge University.
  7. ^ Nesbitt, S. J.; Butler, R. J. (2012). "Redescription of the archosaur Parringtonia gracilis from the Middle Triassic Manda beds of Tanzania, and the antiquity of Erpetosuchidae". Geological Magazine. 150 (2): 225–238. doi:10.1017/S0016756812000362. S2CID 129115107.
  8. ^ Sidor, C. A.; Angielczyk, K. D.; Weide †, D. M.; Smith, R. M. H.; Nesbitt, S. J.; Tsuji, L. A. (2010). "Tetrapod fauna of the lowermost Usili Formation (Songea Group, Ruhuhu Basin) of southern Tanzania, with a new burnetiid record". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 30 (3): 696–703. doi:10.1080/02724631003758086. S2CID 55397720.
  9. ^ a b c Sidor, C. A.; Vilhena, D. A.; Angielczyk, K. D.; Huttenlocker, A. K.; Nesbitt, S. J.; Peecook, B. R.; Steyer, J. S.; Smith, R. M. H.; Tsuji, L. A. (2013). "Provincialization of terrestrial faunas following the end-Permian mass extinction". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 110 (20): 8129–8133. doi:10.1073/pnas.1302323110. PMC 3657826. PMID 23630295.
  10. ^ Sues, H.-D.; Fraser, N.C. (2010). "Early and early Middle Triassic in Gondwana". Triassic Life on Land: The Great Transition. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 19–36. ISBN 9780231135221. ISBN 0-231-13522-X
  11. ^ Tsuji, L. A.; Sobral, G.; Müller, J. (2013). "Ruhuhuaria reiszi, a new procolophonoid reptile from the Triassic Ruhuhu Basin of Tanzania". Comptes Rendus Palevol. 12 (7–8): 487–494. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2013.08.002.
  12. ^ Lautenschlager, S.; Desojo, J. B. (2011). "Reassessment of the Middle Triassic rauisuchian archosaurs Ticinosuchus ferox and Stagonosuchus nyassicus". Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 85 (4): 357–381. doi:10.1007/s12542-011-0105-1. S2CID 86671911.
  13. ^ Butler, R.J.; Fernandez, V.; Nesbitt, N.J.; Leite, J.V.; Gower, D.J. (2022). "A new pseudosuchian archosaur, Mambawakale ruhuhu gen. et sp. nov., from the Middle Triassic Manda Beds of Tanzania". The Royal Society. 9 (2). doi:10.1098/rsos.211622.
  14. ^ Richard J. Butler; Sterling J. Nesbitt; Alan J. Charig; David J. Gower; Paul M. Barrett (2018). "Mandasuchus tanyauchen, gen. et sp. nov., a pseudosuchian archosaur from the Manda Beds (?Middle Triassic) of Tanzania" (PDF). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 37 (Supplement to No. 6): 96–121. doi:10.1080/02724634.2017.1343728. S2CID 90164051.
  15. ^ Nesbitt, Sterling J.; Sidor, Christian A.; Angielczyk, Kenneth D.; Smith, Roger M. H.; Tsuji, Linda A. (November 2014). "A new archosaur from the Manda beds (Anisian, Middle Triassic) of southern Tanzania and its implications for character state optimizations at Archosauria and Pseudosuchia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 34 (6): 1357–1382. doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.859622. S2CID 129558756.
  16. ^ Nesbitt, Sterling J.; Butler, Richard J.; Ezcurra, Martín D.; Barrett, Paul M.; Stocker, Michelle R.; Angielczyk, Kenneth D.; Smith, Roger M. H.; Sidor, Christian A.; Niedźwiedzki, Grzegorz; Sennikov, Andrey G.; Charig, Alan J. (2017). "The earliest bird-line archosaurs and the assembly of the dinosaur body plan" (PDF). Nature. 544 (7651): 484–487. doi:10.1038/nature22037. PMID 28405026.
  17. ^ Nesbitt, S.J.; Sidor, C.A.; Angielczyk, K.D.; Smith, R.M.; Parker, W. (2012). "Derivation of the aetosaur osteoderm carapace: evidence from a new, exceptionally preserved "stem aetosaur" from the Middle Triassic (Anisian) Manda Beds of southwestern Tanzania". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (Supp. 1): 149. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.10635175. S2CID 220409377.
  18. ^ Brenen M. Wynd; Brandon R. Peecook; Megan R. Whitney; Christian A. Sidor (2018). "The first occurrence of Cynognathus crateronotus (Cynodontia: Cynognathia) in Tanzania and Zambia, with implications for the age and biostratigraphic correlation of Triassic strata in southern Pangea". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 37 (Supplement to No. 6): 228–239. doi:10.1080/02724634.2017.1421548. S2CID 89972431.
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