Dinosaur Beds
| Dinosaur Beds | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Unit of | Lupata Group |
| Sub-units | Lower Member, Upper Member |
| Underlies | Unconformity with Pliocene Chiwondo Beds |
| Overlies | Precambrian metamorphic basement |
| Thickness | Upper member is 210 m (690 ft) thick in vicinity of CD-9 locality |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Sandstone, siltstone, mudstone |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 10°17′S 34°02′E / 10.28°S 34.04°E |
| Region | Northern Region |
| Country | Malawi |
| Extent | Karonga District |
The Dinosaur Beds is a geological formation in Malawi whose strata date back to the Early Cretaceous. The age of the deposit is poorly constrained, but is likely to date from the Barremian to Aptian. Dinosaurs, turtles and crocodylomorphs remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. It is correlated with the Galula Formation in Tanzania. It consists of two members, a lower unfossiliferous member consisting of deep red stained sandstones, and an upper fossiliferous member consisting of white sands and grey to red mudstones and siltstones. The upper member is 210 m thick in the vicinity of the CD-9 locality.