Grinshill quarries: Anisian, United Kingdom
collected by O. Ward 1838

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Reptilia
Rhynchosauroides sp. Maidwell 1911
Benton and Spencer 1995 23 specimens
23 slabs in SHRBM, MANCH, WARMS, BGS, BuGD collections
Rhynchosaurus articeps n. gen., n. sp. Owen 1842
Owen 1842 17 individuals
recombined as Rhynchosauroides articeps
SHRBM G132/1982 (formerly ShM 1, lectotype). G134/1982 (formerly ShM 2, paralectotype), G133/1982+G151/1982 (formerly ShM 4); SHRBM 3, 5, 6, 7; BMNH R1236 to R1240; BATGM M20a, b; MANCH L7642; SHRCM G3851; 2 unnumbered specimens from Keele University
Reptilia - Chirotheriidae
Isochirotherium sp. Haubold 1971
King et al. 2005
SHRBM G194/1982; LIVCM 45.25.HH?
Chirotherium sp. Kaup 1835
Benton and Spencer 1995 2 specimens
2 slabs, SHRBM, SHRCM collections
see common names

Geography
Country:United Kingdom State/province:England County:Shropshire
Coordinates: 52.8° North, 2.7° West (view map)
Paleocoordinates:15.6° North, 10.5° East
Basis of coordinate:based on nearby landmark
Geographic resolution:local area
Time
Period:Triassic Epoch:Middle Triassic
Stage:Anisian 10 m.y. bin:Triassic 2
Key time interval:Anisian
Age range of interval:247.20000 - 242.00000 m.y. ago
Stratigraphy
Geological group:Mercia Mudstone Formation:Tarporley Siltstone
Stratigraphic resolution:group of beds
Stratigraphy comments: "The Tarporley Siltstone Formation, typically ranging from 20 to 250 m in thickness (Warrington et al. 1980, table 4), is only about 6-10 m thick at Grinshill" (Benton & Spencer 1995). Some Rhynchosaurus remains may also come from the underlying Helsby Sandstone Formation.
Tarporley Siltstone formerly known as "Waterstones"; Helsby Sandstone formerly known as "Ruyton & Grinshill Sandstones" or the "Building Stones"
Palynological data indicates an Anisian age (Benton et al. 1994)
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology:fine,micaceous,gray sandstone
Secondary lithology:coarse,gray,red sandstone
Includes fossils?Y
Includes fossils?Y
Lithology description: The R. articeps specimens occur in two major sediment types, as noted by Owen (1842 b, p. 146): a fine-grained grey sandstone [...] and a coarser pinkish-grey sandstone termed by him' burr-stone' [...]. The fine sandstone is grey to beige in colour and has subrounded sand grains with greenish mud flakes and specks of mica and manganese. The slabs show fine parallel lamination and the horizontal surfaces may show evidence of ripple marks as well as irregular lumps up to 10 mm in diameter." (Benton, 1990)
Environment:paralic indet.
Geology comments: "Thompson (1985) interprets the overall sedimentary regime of these two facies as 'tropical arid belt fluvial and marine marginal hyprsalaine lagoon (salina) deposits '. [...] 'The environment was probably fluvial-intertidal rather than lake marginal. '" (Benton, 1990)
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body,cast,trace
Size of fossils:macrofossils
Spatial orientation:life position
Articulated whole bodies:all
Temporal resolution:snapshot
Spatial resolution:autochthonous
Collection methods and comments
Collection excludes:ichnofossils
Collection methods:selective quarrying,surface (in situ),mechanical,field collection,survey of museum collection
Reason for describing collection:taxonomic analysis
Museum repositories:BMNH
Collectors:O. Ward Collection dates:1838
Collection method comments: SHRBM: Shrewsbury Borough Museum
SCRCM: Shropshire County Museum, Ludlow
MANCH: Manchester Museum
BATGM: Bath Geology Museum
WARMS: Warwickshire Museum, Warwick
BGS: British Geological Survey Museum, Keyworth
Taxonomic list comments:"About 17 individuals of R. articeps have been collected from Grinshill, but some specimens have been missing since the 19th century, and the total could be greater. The minimum number of individuals (MNI), estimated on the basis of the number of skulls, is 7." (Benton, 1990)
Metadata
Also known as:Greensell
Database number:80838
Authorizer:J. Mueller, R. Butler, A. Dunhill Enterer:J. Dummasch, R. Butler, T. Liebrecht, B. Allen
Modifier:M. Carrano Research group:vertebrate
Created:2008-05-14 05:11:24 Last modified:2023-01-05 15:11:21
Access level:the public Released:2008-05-14 05:11:24
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:
81064. O. Ward. 1840. On the foot-prints and ripple-marks of the New Red Sandstone of Grinshill Hill, Shropshire. Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science 8:75-76 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]

Secondary references:

53922 H. C. Beasley. 1902. Inaugural address on the fauna indicated in the Lower Keuper Sandstone of the neighbourhood of Liverpool. Proceedings and Transactions of the Liverpool Biological Society 16:3-26 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
53921 H. C. Beasley. 1904. Report on footprints from the Trias—Part I. Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science 73:219-230 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
28945 M. J. Benton. 1990. The species of Rhynchosaurus, a rhynchosaur (Reptilia, Diapsida) from the Middle Triassic of England. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B 328:213-306 [J. Mueller/T. Liebrecht/R. Butler]
15587ETE M. J. Benton and P. S. Spencer. 1995. Fossil Reptiles of Great Britain. Chapman & Hall, London 1-386 [M. Carrano/K. Maguire/J. Tennant]
24929ETE M. J. Benton, G. Warrington, A. J. Newell and P. S. Spencer. 1994. A review of the British Middle Triassic tetrapod assemblages. In N. C. Fraser & H.-D. Sues (eds.), In the Shadow of the Dinosaurs: Early Mesozoic Tetrapods. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 131-160 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
67305 M. J. King, W. A. S. Sarjeant, D. B. Thompson and G. Tresise. 2005. A Revised Systematic Ichnotaxonomy and Review of the Vertebrate Footprint Ichnofamily Chirotheriidae from the British Triassic. Ichnos 12(4):241-299 [A. Dunhill/B. Allen]
63762 G. A. Mantell. 1854. The Medals of Creation; or, First Lessions in Geology, and the Study of Organic Remains 2:447-930 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
14071ETE R. Owen. 1842. Report on British fossil reptiles, part II. Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science 11:60-204 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
32199 R. Owen. 1842. Description of an Extinct Lacertilian Reptile, Rhynchosaurus articeps, Owen, of which the Bones and Foot-prints characterize the Upper New Red Sandstone at Grinshill, near Shrewsbury. Transactions of the Cambridge Philosophical Society 7(3):355-369 [J. Mueller/T. Liebrecht]
82858 W. A. S. Sarjeant. 1974. A history and bibliography of the study of fossil vertebrate footprints in the British Isles. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 16:265-378 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
65100 W. E. Swinton. 1934. A Guide to the Fossil Birds, Reptiles, and Amphibians in the Department of Geology and Paleontology in the British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, London, S.W. 7 xii-87 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
83580 D. B. Thompson. 1995. A Guide to the History and Geology of Quarrying at Localities Along the Natural History Trail in Corbet Wood, Grinshill, North Shropshire 1-55 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
70885 G. Tresise. 2003. George Morton, Henry Beasley and Triassic footprint classification. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association 114(2):129-138 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
44946 A. D. Walker. 1969. The reptile fauna of the 'Lower Keuper' Sandstone. Geological Magazine 106(5):470-476 [P. Mannion/J. Tennant/J. Tennant]
68227 T. C. Winkler. 1886. Histoire de l’Ichnologie. Étude Ichnologique sur les Empreintes de Pas d’Animaux Fossiles, Suivie de la Description des Plaques à Impressions d’Animaux qui se Trouvent au Musée Teyler [History of Ichnology. Ichnological Study of Fossil Animal Footprints, Followed by the Description of Slabs with Animal Impressions found in Teyler’s Museum] iv-200 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]