Eumeralla Formation

The Eumeralla Formation is a geological formation in Victoria, Australia whose strata date back to the Early Cretaceous. It is Aptian to Albian in age. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, particularly from the Dinosaur Cove locality[1] It is partially equivalent to the Wonthaggi Formation.

Eumeralla Formation Stratigraphic range: Aptian–Albian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Type	Geological formation
Unit of	Otway Group
Sub-units	Windermere Sandstone Member, Heathfield Sandstone Member
Underlies	Sherbrook Group
Overlies	Katnook Sandstone, Laira Formation (Crayfish Subgroup)
Thickness	Up to 3,000 m (9,800 ft)
Lithology
Primary	Volcanilithic sandstone, siltstone, mudstone, conglomerate
Location
Coordinates	38.8°S 143.3°E / -38.8; 143.3
Approximate paleocoordinates	74.8°S 115.8°E / -74.8; 115.8
Region	Victoria
Country	Australia
Extent	Otway Basin
Eumeralla Formation (Australia)

Dinosaurs

Dinosaur Cove has moved north over the last hundred million years[2]

Indeterminate dinosaur tracks named as Skolithos sp. and Arenicolites sp.,[3] as well as indeterminate ornithischian tracks are present in Victoria, Australia.[1] Indeterminate euornithopod remains are present in Victoria, Australia.[1] Indeterminate theropod, ornithomimosaur, and possible indeterminate oviraptorosaur and dromaeosaurid remains are present in Victoria, Australia.[1]

Dinosaurs of the Eumeralla Formation
Genus	Species	Presence	Notes	Images
Atlascopcosaurus[1]	A. loadsi[1]	Geographically present in Victoria, Australia.[1]	"Maxilla [and] teeth."[4]	Atlascopcosaurus Diluvicursor Leaellynasaura
Diluvicursor[5]	D. pickeringi[5]	Geographically present in Victoria, Australia.[5]	Partial poscranial skeleton.[5]
Leaellynasaura[1]	L. amicagraphica[1]	Geographically present in Victoria, Australia.[1]	"Skull fragments teeth, [and] isolated postcrania."[6]
Timimus[1]	T. hermani[1]	Geographically present in Victoria, Australia.[1]	Later determined to be indeterminate ornithomimmosaur remains.[1] "Tibiae [and] vertebrae."[7]
Aves indet.[8]	No formal name.	Possibly from a species also found at the Wonthaggi Formation (single furcula).	Footprints belonging to a crane-sized bird, determined to be an ornithurine or enantiornithe.
Megaraptora indet.[9]	No formal name	Known from a hand.	Related to the South American Megaraptor.
?Spinosauridae indet.[10][11]	No formal name	Known from a single cervical vertebra.	Possibly indeterminate megaraptoran remains
Ankylosauria indet.[12]	No formal name	Dinosaur Cove	Dorsal vertebra

Other taxa of the Eumeralla Formation
Genus	Species	Presence	Notes	Images
Ceratodus	C. nargun		A lungfish
Kryoryctes	K. cadburyi	Dinosaur Cove	A monotreme
Otwayemys	O. cunicularius	Dinosaur Cove	A meiolaniform turtle
Pterosauria	Indeterminate	Dinosaur Cove
Plesiosauria	Indeterminate	Dinosaur Cove

See also

• List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
• South Polar region of the Cretaceous

References

1. Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Early Cretaceous, Australasia)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 573-574. ISBN 0-520-24209-2.
2. "Dinosaur Cove, Australia". This Dynamic Earth. USGS. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
3. Milanesia Beach tracksite at Fossilworks.org
4. "Table 18.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 394.
5. Herne, M. C.; Tait, A. M.; Weisbecker, V.; Hall, M.; Nair, J. P.; Cleeland, M.; Salisbury, S. W. (2018-01-11). "A new small-bodied ornithopod (Dinosauria, Ornithischia) from a deep, high-energy Early Cretaceous river of the Australian–Antarctic rift system". PeerJ. 5: e4113. doi:10.7717/peerj.4113. PMC 5767335. PMID 29340228.
6. "Table 18.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 395.
7. "Table 6.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 139.
8. Martin, Anthony J.; Vickers-Rich, Patricia; Rich, Thomas H.; Hall, Michael (2013). "Oldest known avian footprints from Australia: Eumeralla Formation (Albian), Dinosaur Cove, Victoria". Palaeontology. 57: 7–19. doi:10.1111/pala.12082.
9. Owen, James. "New Dinosaur May Link S. American, Aussie Dinos". National Geographic News. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
10. Barrett, Paul (June 21, 2011). "First spinosaurid from Australia and the cosmopolitanism of Cretaceous dinosaur faunas". Biology Letters. 7 (6): 933–936. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2011.0466. PMC 3210678. PMID 21693488.
11. Arden, T. M. S.; Klein, C. G.; Zouhri, S.; Longrich, N. R. (2018). "Aquatic adaptation in the skull of carnivorous dinosaurs (Theropoda: Spinosauridae) and the evolution of aquatic habits in Spinosaurids". Cretaceous Research. 93: 275–284. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2018.06.013.
12. Barrett, Paul M.; Rich, Thomas H.; Vickers-Rich, Patricia; Tumanova, Tat'yana A.; Inglis, Matthew; Pickering, David; Kool, Lesley; Kear, Benjamin P. (September 2010). "Ankylosaurian dinosaur remains from the Lower Cretaceous of southeastern Australia". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 34 (3): 205–217. doi:10.1080/03115511003655430. ISSN 0311-5518.