Kirkwood Cliffs, Sundays River: Tithonian - Valanginian, South Africa
collected by E. K. Macintosh; Rich et al.; Forster, De Klerk, & Ross -1976, 1978, 1995

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Reptilia - Crocodilia
Crocodilia indet. Owen 1842
Rich et al. 1983 6 specimens
spelled with current rank as Crocodylia
SAM K5244, K5252, K5255a, K5232, K5242, K5244
Reptilia
"Brontosaurus" sp. Marsh 1879
3 specimens
femur in Port Elizabeth Museum
    = Sauropoda indet. Marsh 1878
Rich et al. 1983
+ SAM K523, K5254
aff. Camarasauridae indet. Cope 1877
Rich et al. 1983 1 specimen
SAM K5231
    = Macronaria indet. Sereno 1997
McPhee et al. 2016
aff. Astrodon sp. Johnston 1859
Rich et al. 1983 1 specimen
SAM K6141
    = Titanosauriformes indet. Salgado et al. 1997
McPhee et al. 2016
aff. Pleurocoelus sp. Marsh 1888
Rich et al. 1983 1 specimen
SAM K6137
    = Titanosauriformes indet. Salgado et al. 1997
McPhee et al. 2016
Reptilia - Theropoda
Theropoda indet. Marsh 1881
Rich et al. 1983 2 specimens
SAM K5243, K6140
Reptilia
Tetanurae indet. Gauthier 1986
Forster et al. 2009 1 specimen
AM 6041
    = Allosauroidea indet. Currie and Zhao 1994
Carrano et al. 2012
Reptilia - Ornithischia
? Ornithischia indet. Seeley 1888
Rich et al. 1983 1 specimen
SAM K5250
Reptilia - Sphenodontia
Sphenodontia indet. (Jaekel 1910)
Ross et al. 1999 5 specimens
AM 6002 (right palatine), 6003, 6023, 6024 (dentaries)
Reptilia - Sphenodontidae
? Sphenodontidae indet. Cope 1871
Rich et al. 1983 1 specimen
SAM K5233
Reptilia - Squamata
Squamata indet. Oppel 1811
Ross et al. 1999 1 specimen
AM 6001, braincase
Reptilia - Testudines
Testudines indet. Batsch 1788
Rich et al. 1983 3 specimens
SAM K5240, 5241, 5261
Actinopteri
Teleostei indet. Müller 1846
Rich et al. 1983 1 specimen
SAM K5228
Actinopteri - Lepisosteiformes - Lepisosteidae
Lepisosteidae indet. Cuvier 1825
Rich et al. 1983 2 specimens
SAM K6135, K6139
see common names

Geography
Country:South Africa State/province:Eastern Cape
Coordinates: 33.4° South, 25.5° East (view map)
Paleocoordinates:44.2° South, 12.0° West
Basis of coordinate:estimated from map
Geographic resolution:small collection
Time
Key time interval:Tithonian - Valanginian
Age range of interval:149.20000 - 132.60000 m.y. ago
Stratigraphy
Geological group:Uitenhage Formation:Kirkwood
Stratigraphic resolution:group of beds
Stratigraphy comments: Kirkwood Fm. underlies the Sundays River Fm. which has been dated to Valanginian–Hauterivian based on biostratigraphic data (∼139–131 Ma; McLachlan and McMillan, 1976, Ross et al., 1999, Gomez et al., 2002, McMillan, 2003, Shone, 2006, Walker et al., 2012). Muir et al. 2017 state "Microfossil assemblages from the Bethelsdorp and Colchester Members in the lower part of the Kirkwood Formation of the Algoa Basin are dated as Tithonian (McMillan et al., 1997; McMillan, 2010), whereas the uppermost parts are inferred to be Lower Cretaceous in age based on a probable temporal equivalence with the lower part of the Valanginian – Hauterivian Sundays River Formation (McLachlan and McMillan, 1976; Shone, 1978; McMillan, 2003)."

Lithology and environment
Primary lithology:medium,yellow sandstone
Secondary lithology:lenticular conglomeratic sandstone
Includes fossils?Y
Lithology description: "from a conglomeratic lens at the base of a thick, yellow, medium-grained sandstone found along the bottom of the cliffs"
Environment:fluvial indet.
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body
Degree of concentration:dispersed
Size of fossils:macrofossils,mesofossils
Preservation of anatomical detail:good
Disassociated major elements:all
Fragmentation:frequent
Temporal resolution:snapshot
Spatial resolution:parautochthonous
Collection methods and comments
Collection methods:surface (float),surface (in situ),mechanical,field collection
Reason for describing collection:general faunal/floral analysis
Collectors:E. K. Macintosh; Rich et al.; Forster, De Klerk, & Ross Collection dates:pre-1976, 1978, 1995
Metadata
Also known as:Site 6, Strathsomers Estate, Kirkwood Bridge
Database number:88876
Authorizer:M. Carrano, R. Benson, P. Mannion Enterer:M. Carrano, R. Benson, P. Mannion
Modifier:G. Varnham Research group:vertebrate
Created:2009-04-23 14:24:26 Last modified:2022-02-02 07:57:23
Access level:the public Released:2009-04-23 14:24:26
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:
57283. I. R. McLachlan and I. K. McMillan. 1976. Review and stratigraphic significance of southern Cape Mesozoic palaeontology. Transactions of the Geological Society of South Africa 79(2):197-212 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]

Secondary references:

41617 M. T. Carrano, R. B. J. Benson, and S. D. Sampson. 2012. The phylogeny of Tetanurae (Dinosauria: Theropoda). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 10(2):211-300 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
29798ETE C. A. Forster, A. A. Farke, J. A. McCartney, W. J. De Klerk, and C. F. Ross. 2009. A "basal" tetanuran from the Lower Cretaceous Kirkwood Formation of South Africa. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 29(1):283-285 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
57188 B. W. McPhee, P. D. Mannion, W. J. Klerk and J. N. Choiniere. 2016. High diversity in the sauropod dinosaur fauna of the Lower Cretaceous Kirkwood Formation of South Africa: implications for the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition. Cretaceous Research 59:228-248 [P. Mannion/P. Mannion/M. Carrano]
37979 T. H. V. Rich, R. E. Molnar, and P. V. Rich. 1983. Fossil vertebrates from the Late Jurassic or Early Cretaceous Kirkwood Formation, Algoa Basin, southern Africa. Transactions of the Geological Society of South Africa 86(3):281-291 [R. Benson/R. Benson/M. Carrano]
30647ETE T. H. V. Rich and P. V. Rich. 1985. Search for Gondwana Late Mesozoic mammals and birds. National Geographic Society Research Reports (1977) 18:643-649 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
37978 C. F. Ross, H. -D. Sues, and W. J. Klerk. 1999. Lepidosaurian remains from the Lower Cretaceous Kirkwood Formation of South Africa. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 19(1):21-27 [R. Benson/R. Benson/T. Cleary]