Kallamedu Field Site (Cretaceous of India)

Where: Tamil Nadu, India (11.1° N, 79.1° E: paleocoordinates 34.0° S, 57.0° E)

• coordinate estimated from map

• local area-level geographic resolution

When: Kallamedu Formation (Ariyalur Group), Late/Upper Maastrichtian (70.6 - 66.0 Ma)

• bed-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: pond; red, sandy claystone and sandstone

• Coastal setting with a minor marine influence at the base; Interpreted as a freshwater pond deposit
• Bright red clays overlain by a friable sandstone containing many sandy nodules and interspersed with sandy clays.

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Collected by G. V. R. Prasad, A. Goswami & Dept. of Geology, National College, Tiruchirapalli in 2007, 2009–2010

Collection methods: surface (in situ), sieve,

• DUGF, Delhi University, Geology Department, Fossil Catalogue, Delhi, India

•Surface prospecting was undertaken in a large exposure of the Kallamedu Formation (Fig. 1) during expeditions in 2007, 2009 and 2010, which revealed a large concentration of highly fragmentary large bones that likely represent dinosaur taxa and have been previously identified as titanosaur sauropods. In addition, microsites with concentrations of ganoid fish scales, turtle carapace fragments, and abelisaurid theropod and crocodilian teeth were identified during surface prospecting.

Primary reference: G. V. R. Prasad, O. Verma, J. J. Flynn and A. Goswami. 2013. A new Late Cretaceous vertebrate fauna from the Cauvery Basin, South India: implications for Gondwanan paleobiogeography. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 33(6):1260-1268 [P. Mannion/J. Tennant]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 153666: authorized by Philip Mannion, entered by Jonathan Tennant on 06.01.2014, edited by Matthew Carrano and Philip Mannion

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Amphibia
 Salientia -
Anura indet. Fischer von Waldheim 1813 frog
fragmentary right ilium (DUGF/47)
Reptilia
 Testudines -
Testudines indet. Batsch 1788 turtle
Several fragmentary pieces of carapace and one vertebral element
 Loricata -
Crocodyliformes indet.2 crocodilian
Three isolated teeth (DUGF/49–51) and one osteoderm (DUGF/58).
cf. Simosuchus sp. Buckley et al. 2000 pug-nosed crocodile
One isolated multicuspid tooth
 Theropoda - Troodontidae
Troodontidae indet.1 Gilmore 1924 maniraptoran
One isolated tooth (DUGF/52)
 Theropoda - Abelisauridae
Abelisauridae indet. Bonaparte and Novas 1985 ceratosaur
Five isolated teeth (DUGF/53–57)
Actinopteri
 Lepisosteiformes - Lepisosteidae
Lepisosteidae indet. Cuvier 1825 gar
8 isolated ganoid scales (DUGF/59–66)