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View on city Yalta. There is "Crimean Formation"

In Crimean penninsula there is an undescribed geological formation. Its strata is from early Oxfordian to Campanian or Maastrichtian. Its paleobiota is much like that of Bissekty Formation[1] than biota of Hateg, which is closer to it.

There are three "parts" of this formation. First dates back to Oxfordian stage of Late Jurassic. Its rocks are usually red coloured and marine[2]. It is called Dvuyakornaya Formation[3]. Strata of second is Turonian stage. Rock colour - grey. And the third is from Campanian. The rocks are also grey.

Dinosaurs

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Most Ukrainian books state that dinosaurs didn't live in Ukraine because it was underwater during whole Mesozoic[2]. Howewer some state something totaly different[4]. They say that during more than a half of Mesozoic Ukraine was land.

Cretaceous

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Dinosaur fossils from Cretaceous Crimea

The most abundant dinosaur in this geological formation, is Turanoceratops[5]. Material found includes: phalanges, tail vertebrae, tooth and many jaw bones. Tail vertebrae are very strange, because they have small holes in them. These "holes" are identical to those on the tail of Psittacosaurus. Scientists think, that these "holes" housed long and thin spines. If true, it is the first evidence of such "spines" in Ceratopsidae.

Theropods

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Theropod remains are very uncommon in this formation. There are only two species: Alectrosaurus[5] and member of Troodontidae[6]. Howewer, strange puncture wounds on a Bissektipelta scute, indicate that here lived another larger predator.

Genus Species Material Image
Alectrosaurus[7] Indeterminate Tooth, vertebra
Alectrosaurus
Urbacodon[5] U.itemirensis Tooth, vertebrae

Ankylosaurs

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Ankylosaurs were more widespread than theropods. In this formation lived two members of two their families: Polacanthidae and Ankylosauridae.

Genus Species Material Images
Bissektipelta[5] Indeterminate Scute
Polacanthus sp. Indeterminate Piece of scute, partial skeleton
Nodosaurus Indeterminate A scute

Other ornithischians

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In this undescribed formations, were found very few ornithopod fossils. Only two species existed: Bactrosaurus[8] and Orthomerus[9].

But there were much more ceratopsians.

Genus Species Material Images
Orthomerus O. weberae Piece of mandible
Bactrosaurus[5] B.sp. Tooth
Bactrosaurus skeleton
Turanoceratops T.tardabilis Pieces of mandible, tooth, vertebrae

Other reptiles

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Apart from dinosaurs, in Crimea also lived several species of marine and terestrial reptiles.

Genus Species Material Images
Plesiosaurus Indeterminate Flipper bones
Sphenodontian Indeterminate Vertebra
A typical sphenodontian

Fish

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Genus Material Notes
Mesturus Full skeleton Well preserved 3-4 cm fossil
Macropoma Full skeleton Perhaps from Jurassic deposits

Jurassic

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Most of the fossils found in Jurassic deposits, south of city Yalta (this place is called "Dvuyakornaya Formation"[3]), are encased in marble. Remains found there include: ammonites[2], crocodiles, brachiopods[10]. etc.

Theropods

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There was found only a theropod tooth with a full root. It belongs to an early tyrannosauroid - Kileskus[11]. Probably there also lived a Therizinosauridae.

Genus Species Material Images
Falcarius? Indeterminate Partial skeleton
Genus Species Material Images
Kileskus Indeterminate Tooth
Kileskus

Ornithopods

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In this formation was found a rare specimen - a mummified skin of an ornithopod dinosaur.

Genus Species Material Images
Dryosaurus? Indeterminate Skin

Mammals

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Genus Species Material Images
Ambondro? Indeterminate Jaw

Crocodyloforms

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Genus Species Notes
Metriorhynchus Indeterminate Only teeth were found

Mollusks

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Species Notes
Pecten, or related species 3 cm shell
Rudist 1 cm long

Triassic

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Possibly in Dvuyakornaya Formation also exist Rhaetian - Hettangian sediments, because there was found a tooth of prosauropod, like Massospondylus.

Genus Species Material Images
Massospondylus Indeterminate Tooth
Massospondylus

Stratigraphic features

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Fossils from Jurassic, in this formation, are usually embeded in red rock, possibly granite or marble.

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Redman, C.M. and Leighton, L.R. (2009). "Multivariate faunal analysis of the Turonian Bissekty Formation".{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b c Pylypenko D. [Kyiv Ammonite][Ukrainian]. {{cite book}}: External link in |title= (help)
  3. ^ a b V. V. Arkad’ev, A. A. Fedorova, Yu. N. Savel’eva and E. M. Tesakova. Biostratigraphy of Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary sediments in the Eastern Crimea.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ L.Pasenko; et al. (2010). Dovidnyk: Geographiya[Ukrainian]. "Caska". {{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)
  5. ^ a b c d e Weishampel; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Bissekty Formation).". {{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)
  6. ^ Averianov, A.O. (2007). A new troodontid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Cenomanian of Uzbekistan, with a review of troodontid records from the territories of the former Soviet Union.
  7. ^ Holtz, T.R. (2001). The phylogeny and taxonomy of the Tyrannosauridae.
  8. ^ Peter&Britt; et al. (?). "Bactrosaurus". {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help); Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  9. ^ Riabinin A.N. Dinosaurian remains from the Upper Cretaceous of the Crimea.
  10. ^ T.N.Smirnova, D.I.McKinnon (1995). "Apodosia, an enigmatic genus of micromorphic brachiopods from Cretaceous of Crimea and Jurassic of England".
  11. ^ Averianov, A. O.; et al. (2010). A new basal coelurosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Siberia. {{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)

References

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