Findrassie Quarries, 1 km east Findrassie House: Carnian - Norian, United Kingdom

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Reptilia
Dasygnathus longidens n. gen., n. sp. Huxley 1877
Benton and Spencer 1995 1 individual
nomen dubium belonging to Pseudosuchia
ELGNM 1R, maxilla with teeth, ELGNM 15R, right pterygoid. Both specimens probably belong to a single individual
Stagonolepis robertsoni Agassiz 1844
3 individuals
2 large individuals (NMS, ELGNM, AUGD specimens); 1 small individual (ELGNM specimen)
see common names

Geography
Country:United Kingdom State/province:Scotland County:Moray
Coordinates: 57.7° North, 3.3° West (view map)
Paleocoordinates:34.0° North, 0.9° West
Basis of coordinate:stated in text
Geographic resolution:outcrop
Time
Period:Triassic Epoch:Late/Upper Triassic
Key time interval:Carnian - Norian
Age range of interval:237.00000 - 208.50000 m.y. ago
Stratigraphy
Formation:Lossiemouth Sandstone
Stratigraphic resolution:group of beds
Stratigraphy comments: Age of the Lossiemouth Sandstone Formation is based upon vertebrate biostratigraphy, with comparisons made to the faunal assemblages from the lower part of the Maleri Formation (India), the upper part of the Santa Maria Formation (Brazil) and the Ischigualasto Formation (Argentina). This is suggestive of a late Carnian to early Norian age (Benton & Walker 2011).
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology:"cross stratification",medium lithified sandstone
Includes fossils?Y
Lithology description: "The Lossiemouth Sandstones are white, buff, yellow, or pinkish. Grain size is usually uniform with grains well-rounded. The rock is composed of quartz, feldspar, and rare brownish chert and quartzite. Cements are usually overgrowths of secondary quartz and feldspar, but calcite and fluorspar may also occur. The sandstones may be finely laminated, but more usually they show large-scale cross-beds on well-weathered surfaces. These features, as well as the absence of pebbles, the rarity of micas and heavy minerals, strongly suggest aeolian deposition".
Environment:dune
Geology comments: "Foreset analysis indicates a prevailing south-westerly wind forming barchan dunes. Dunes up to 20 m high migrated across the flood plain during arid intervals"
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body,mold/impression
Size of fossils:macrofossils
Preservation of anatomical detail:good
Associated major elements:some
Disassociated major elements:some
Fragmentation:occasional
Spatial resolution:parautochthonous
Collection methods and comments
Collection methods:survey of museum collection
Reason for describing collection:general faunal/floral analysis
Metadata
Database number:89005
Authorizer:R. Butler Enterer:R. Butler
Modifier:M. Carrano Research group:vertebrate
Created:2009-04-28 03:59:24 Last modified:2015-06-29 11:35:59
Access level:the public Released:2009-04-28 03:59:24
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:

55639. R. L. Paton. 1975. A Catalogue of Fossil Vertebrates in the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh. Part Four / Amphibia & Reptilia. Royal Scottish Museum Information Series. Geology 5 1-38 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]

Secondary references:

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]
29840 M. J. Benton and A. D. Walker. 1985. Palaeoecology, taphonomy, and dating of Permo-Triassic reptiles from Elgin, north-east Scotland. Palaeontology 28:207-234 [R. Butler/R. Butler]
29841 T. H. Huxley. 1859. On the Stagonolepis robertsoni (Agassiz) of the Elgin Sandstones; and on the recently discovered footmarks in the sandstones of Cummingstone. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 15:440-460 [R. Butler/R. Butler]
29842 T. H. Huxley. 1877. The crocodilian remains found in the Elgin Sandstones, with remarks on the ichnites of Cummingstone. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of the United Kingdom, Monograph 3:1-52 [R. Butler/R. Butler]
29839 A. D. Walker. 1961. Triassic reptiles from the Elgin area: Stagonolepis, Dasygnathus and their allies. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B 244:103-204 [R. Butler/R. Butler]
13771ETE A. D. Walker. 1964. Triassic reptiles from the Elgin area: Ornithosuchus and the origin of carnosaurs. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B, Biological Sciences 248:53-134 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Carrano]