Slippery Rock, Dinosaur Cove: Early/Lower Albian, Australia
collected by Rich & Vickers-Rich 1985–1994

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Reptilia - Plesiosauria
Plesiosauria indet. de Blainville 1835
13 specimens
13 teeth (NMV P177934, P185855, P185986, P186030, P186031, P186032, P186131, P186133, P186411, P186416, P202607, P202613, P208102)
    = Pliosauroidea indet. Welles 1943
Kear 2006
    = Plesiosauria informal smaller taxon
Benson et al. 2013
13 teeth (NMV P177934, P185855, P185986, P186030, P186031, P186032, P186131, P186133, P186411, P186416, P202607, P202613, P208102)
Reptilia - Dinosauria
Dinosauria indet. Owen 1842
Reptilia
Hypsilophodontidae informal indet. C Dollo 1882
femur type 1
    = Ornithopoda indet. Marsh 1881
Agnolin et al. 2010
Ornithopoda indet. (Marsh 1881)
Kitchener et al. 2019 4 specimens
NMV P177935, P186004, P186326, P198900; neonate femora
Fulgurotherium australe Huene 1932
Rich and Vickers-Rich 1999 1 specimen
NMV P186102
    = Iguanodontia indet. Baur 1891
Agnolin et al. 2010
Hypsilophodontidae informal indet. B Dollo 1882
4 specimens
    = Atlascopcosaurus loadsi Rich and Vickers-Rich 1989
Rich and Vickers-Rich 1989
Hypsilophodontidae informal indet. A Dollo 1882
9 specimens
    = Leaellynasaura amicagraphica n. gen., n. sp. Rich and Vickers-Rich 1989
Rich and Vickers-Rich 1989
NMV P185990-185993, P186352
Theropoda indet. (Marsh 1881)
Benson et al. 2012 1 specimen
NMV P199783 (distal caudal vertebra)
cf. Megaraptor sp. Novas 1998
Smith et al. 2008 1 specimen
NMV P186076 (ulna)
    = Neovenatoridae indet. Benson et al. 2010
Benson et al. 2010
    = Megaraptora indet. Benson et al. 2010
Agnolin et al. 2010
Reptilia - Megaraptoridae
Tyrannosauroidea indet. Walker 1964
Benson et al. 2010 1 specimen
NMV P186046 (prox. pubis)
    = Neotetanurae indet.
Herne et al. 2010
    = Megaraptoridae indet. Novas et al. 2013
Novas et al. 2013
Reptilia - Pterosauria
? Pterosauria indet. Kaup 1834
Reptilia
Testudines indet. Batsch 1788
10 specimens
    = Otwayemys cunicularius n. gen., n. sp. Gaffney et al. 1998
Gaffney et al. 1998
NMV P186116 (holotype shell); NMV P186234 (right first costal); NMV P186048 (entoplastron); NMV P186108 (right quadrate); NMV P186124 (right and left dentaries); NMV P186223 (right ramus dentary); NMV P186109 (right ramus dentary); NMV P186121 (first thoracic vertebra); NMV P186024 (posterior caudal vertebra); NMV P186222 (pelvic fragments)
Mammalia
Mammalia indet. Linnaeus 1758
Piper et al. 2006 1 specimen
Mammalia - Monotremata
Kryoryctes cadburyi n. gen., n. sp. Pridmore et al. 2005
Pridmore et al. 2005 1 specimen
NMV P20894
Dipnoi - Ceratodontidae
Ceratodontidae indet. Gill 1872
Pisces
Pisces indet. Linnaeus 1758
synonym of Osteichthyes
see common names

Geography
Country:Australia State/province:Victoria
Coordinates: 36.7° South, 143.4° East (view map)
Paleocoordinates:72.0° South, 120.5° East
Basis of coordinate:stated in text
Geographic resolution:outcrop
Time
Period:Cretaceous Epoch:Early/Lower Cretaceous
Stage:Albian 10 m.y. bin:Cretaceous 4
Key time interval:Early/Lower Albian Pollen zone: Crybelosporites striatus
Age range of interval:112.03000 - 109.00000 m.y. ago
Stratigraphy
Geological group:Otway Formation:Eumeralla
Stratigraphic resolution:group of beds
Stratigraphy comments: stratigraphically below Dinosaur Cove East
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology:planar lamination lithified sandstone
Secondary lithology:planar lamination lithified conglomeratic mudstone
Includes fossils?Y
Environment:crevasse splay Tectonic setting:rift
Geology comments: includes both floodplain and paleochannel deposits; The Wonthaggi Formation (Strzelecki Group) and middle Eumeralla Formation (Otway Group) comprise finely laminated sandstones and mudstones with locally abundant horizontally stratified fossiliferous claystone/mudstone conglomerates. These were laid down by meandering to braided river systems in a mid-Cretaceous rift valley flood plain formed
as a result of the onset of rifting between Australia and Antarctica. Specific site interpreted as stream avulsion.
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body
Size of fossils:macrofossils,mesofossils
Spatial orientation:random
Preservation of anatomical detail:medium
Articulated whole bodies:none
Associated major elements:some
Disassociated major elements:some
Disassociated minor elements:some
Fragmentation:frequent
Spatial resolution:parautochthonous
Collection methods and comments
Collection methods:selective quarrying,mechanical,field collection
Reason for describing collection:general faunal/floral analysis
Collectors:Rich & Vickers-Rich Collection dates:1985–1994
Metadata
Also known as:Slippery Rocks
Database number:38542
Authorizer:M. Carrano, R. Benson, M. Uhen Enterer:M. Carrano, H. Street, M. Uhen, R. Benson
Modifier:M. Carrano Research group:vertebrate
Created:2004-04-23 12:43:44 Last modified:2023-01-24 10:57:14
Access level:the public Released:2004-04-23 12:43:44
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:

19908.ETE P. V. Rich, T. R. Rich, B. E. Wagstaff, J. M. Mason, C. B. Douthitt, R. T. Gregory, and E. A. Felton. 1988. Evidence for low temperatures and biologic diversity in Cretaceous high latitudes of Australia. Science 242(4884):1403-1406 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]

Secondary references:

32702ETE F. L. Agnolin, M. D. Ezcurra, D. F. Pais and S. W. Salisbury. 2010. A reappraisal of the Cretaceous non-avian dinosaur faunas from Australia and New Zealand: evidence for their Gondwanan affinities. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 8(2):257-300 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
32337 R. B. J. Benson, P. M. Barrett, T. H. Rich and P. Vickers-Rich. 2010. A southern tyrant reptile. Science 327:1613 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/M. Carrano]
31459ETE R. B. J. Benson, M. T. Carrano, and S. L. Brusatte. 2010. A new clade of archaic large-bodied predatory dinosaurs (Theropoda: Allosauroidea) that survived to the latest Mesozoic. Naturwissenschaften 97:71-78 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
46098 R. B. J. Benson, E. M. G. Fitzgerald, T. H. Rich and P. Vickers Rich. 2013. Large freshwater plesiosaurian from the Cretaceous (Aptian) of Australia. Alcheringa [R. Benson/R. Benson/O. Alfaro]
41603 R. B. J. Benson, T. H. Rich, P. Vickers Rich and M. Hall. 2012. Theropod fauna from southern Australia indicates high polar diversity and climate-driven dinosaur provinciality. PLoS ONE 7(5):e37122 [R. Benson/R. Benson/O. Alfaro]
63348 M. Cleeland. 2002. Prospecting for Cretaceous vertebrates 2002. Dinosaur Draming: Flat Rocks Field Report 2002 23-24 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
82345 R. J. Duncan, A. R. Evans, P. Vickers-Rich, T. H. Rich, and S. F. Poropat. 2021. Ornithopod jaws from the Lower Cretaceous Eumeralla Formation, Victoria, Australia, and their implications for polar neornithischian dinosaur diversity. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 41(3):e1946551:1-25 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
41668 E. S. Gaffney, L. Kool, D. B. Brinkman, T. H. Rich, and P. Vickers-Rich. 1998. Otwayemys, a new cryptodiran turtle from the Early Cretaceous of Australia. American Museum Novitates 3233:1-28 [R. Benson/R. Benson/P. Holroyd]
49313 M. C. Herne, J. P. Nair, and S. W. Salisbury. 2010. Comment on "A southern tyrant reptile". Science 329:1013-c [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
75855 M. C. Herne, J. P. Nair, A. R. Evans and A. M. Tait. 2019. New small-bodied ornithopods (Dinosauria, Neornithischia) from the Early Cretaceous Wonthaggi Formation (Strzelecki Group) of the Australian-Antarctic rift system, with revision of Qantassaurus intrepidus Rich and Vickers-Rich, 1999. Journal of Paleontology 93(3):543-584 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
66139 M. C. Herne, A. M. Tait, V. Weisbecker, M. Hall, J. P. Nair, M. Cleeland, and S. W. Salisbury. 2018. A new small-bodied ornithopod (Dinosauria, Ornithischia) from a deep, high-energy Early Cretaceous river of the Australian-Antarctic rift system. PeerJ 5:e4113:1-77 [G. Lloyd/G. Lloyd/M. Carrano]
33413 B. P. Kear. 2006. Plesiosaur remains from Cretaceous high-latitude non-marine deposits in southeastern Australia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26(1):196-199 [M. Carrano/H. Street]
82487 J. L. Kitchener, N. E. Campione, E. T. Smith and P. R. Bell. 2019. High-latitude neonate and perinate ornithopods from the mid-Cretaceous of southeastern Australia. Scientific Reports 9(1):19600:1-14 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
63257 L. Kool, N. A. Van Klaveren, T. H. Rich, D. Seegets-Villiers, K. Bacheller, A. Fraser, and L. Fletcher. 2000. Dinosaur Dreaming 2000 annual report. Dinosaur Dreaming: Flat Rocks Site Report, 2000 1-29 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
79677 F. E. Novas, F. L. Agnolín, M. D. Ezcurra, J. Porfiri, and J. I. Canale. 2013. Evolution of the carnivorous dinosaurs during the Cretaceous: The evidence from Patagonia. Cretaceous Research 45:174-215 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
23682 K. J. Piper, E. M. G. Fitzgerald, and T. H. Rich. 2006. Mesozoic to early Quaternary mammal faunas of Victoria, South-East Australia. Palaeontology 49(6):1237-1262 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen]
76422 S. F. Poropat. 2019. Final report. Winston Churchill Memorial Trust of Australia 1-56 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
32246ETE P. A. Pridmore, T. H. Rich, P. Vickers-Rich and P. P. Gambaryan. 2005. A tachyglossid-like humerus from the Early Cretaceous of south-eastern Australia. Journal of Mammalian Evolution 12(3/4):359-378 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
40663 T. H. Rich, P. M. Galton, and P. Vickers-Rich. 2010. The holotype individual of the ornithopod dinosaur Leaellynasaura amicagraphica Rich & Rich, 1989 (late Early Cretaceous, Victoria, Australia). Alcheringa 34:385-396 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
34284ETE T. H. Rich, P. V. Rich, B. E. Wagstaff, J. R. C. M. Mason, T. F. Flannery, M. Archer, R. E. Molnar and J. A. Long. 1992. Two possible chronological anomalies in the Early Cretaceous tetrapod assemblages of southeastern Australia. In N. J. Mateer & P.-J. Chen (ed.), Aspects of Nonmarine Cretaceous Geology. China Ocean Press, Beijing 165-176 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/O. Alfaro]
10342 T. H. Rich and P. Vickers-Rich. 1989. Polar dinosaurs and biotas of the Early Cretaceous of southeastern Australia. National Geographic Research 5(1):15-53 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
13869ETE T. H. Rich and P. Vickers-Rich. 1999. The Hypsilophodontidae from southeastern Australia. In Y. Tomida, T. H. Rich, and P. Vickers-Rich (eds.), Proceedings of the Second Gondwanan Dinosaur Symposium, National Science Museum Monographs 15:167-180 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
18059ETE T. H. Rich and P. Vickers-Rich. 2003. A Century of Australian Dinosaurs. Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery and Monash Science Centre, Monash University 1-124 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
83736 T. H. Rich and P. Vickers-Rich. 2020. Dinosaurs of Darkness (second edition) 1-310 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
62321 S. W. Salisbury, A. Romilio, M. C. Herne, R. T. Tucker, and J. P. Nair. 2016. The Dinosaurian Ichnofauna of the Lower Cretaceous (Valanginian–Barremian) Broome Sandstone of the Walmadany Area (James Price Point), Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Memoir 16. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 36(6, suppl.):1-152 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
27957ETE N. D. Smith, P. J. Makovicky, F. L. Agnolín, M. D. Ezcurra, D. F. Pais and S. W. Salisbury. 2008. A Megaraptor-like theropod (Dinosauria: Tetanurae) in Australia: support for faunal exchange across eastern and western Gondwana in the mid-Cretaceous. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 275:2085-2093 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
63329 N. A. Van Klaveren. 2001. Excavation report. Dinosaur Draming: Flat Rocks Site Report 2001 9-12 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
82448 H. N. Woodward, T. H. Rich, and P. Vickers-Rich. 2018. The bone microstructure of polar "hypsilophodontid" dinosaurs from Victoria, Australia. Scientific Reports 8(1):1162:1-14 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]