Forest Sandstone | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range:
Hettangian-
Sinemurian ~ | |
![]() | |
Type | Geological formation |
Unit of |
Karoo Supergroup Upper Karoo Group |
Underlies | Batoka Formation |
Overlies | Pebbly Arkose Formation |
Lithology | |
Primary | Sandstone |
Location | |
Coordinates | 20°00′S 28°24′E / 20.0°S 28.4°E |
Approximate paleocoordinates | 35°00′S 5°06′E / 35.0°S 5.1°E |
Region | South-central Africa |
Country | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Type section | |
Named for | Forests of Nyamandlovu District, Zimbabwe |
Named by | A.M. MacGregor, Zimbabwe Geological Survey |
The Forest Sandstone is a geological formation in southern Africa, dating to roughly between 200 and 190 million years ago and covering the Hettangian to Sinemurian stages of the Jurassic Period in the Mesozoic Era. [1] As its name suggests, it consists mainly of sandstone.
Fossils of the prosauropod dinosaur Massospondylus and the primitive sauropod Vulcanodon have been recovered from the Forest Sandstone.
The formation is a sedimentary unit, consisting mainly of aeolian sands and silts with interbedded fluvial sediments, [2] laid down during a period of increasing aridity. [3]
The Forest Sandstone is found in Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, in the Mid-Zambezi, Mana Pools, Cabora Bassa and Limpopo Basins, [4] [5] [6] [7] with its greatest thickness in the Cabora Bassa Basin. [8]
The formation is dated at 200 to 190 Ma. [1]
The Forest Sandstone is the penultimate formation in the Upper Karoo Group of the Karoo Supergroup, lying above the Pebbly Arkose Formation and below the Batoka Formation. [7] In the Thuli Basin it is sometimes referred to as the Samkoto Formation. [9]
The Forest Sandstone has been correlated to the Clarens Formation of the Great Karoo Basin in South Africa. [5] [7] [8]
Protosuchia | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
|
indeterminate | Geographically located in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe. |
Sphenodontia of the Forest Sandstone Formation | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
|
indeterminate | Unspecified, Zimbabwe |
Sauropodomorphs of the Forest Sandstone Formation | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
|
Geographically located in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe. [11] | ![]() | ||
|
Geographically located in the Bumi Hills area and the Sibilobilo Islands, in Kariba (District), Mashonaland West, Zimbabwe | Partial skeleton and scapula | ||
|
Geographically located in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe. [11] |
Theropods of the Forest Sandstone Formation | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
|
Geographically located in Nyamandhlovu area, Tsholotsho District, Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe. [11] | Note: Referred to as Syntarsus by Weishampel et al. [11] |
The Forest Sandstone is the major groundwater-bearing unit of the Upper Karoo Group. [14]
Forest Sandstone | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range:
Hettangian-
Sinemurian ~ | |
![]() | |
Type | Geological formation |
Unit of |
Karoo Supergroup Upper Karoo Group |
Underlies | Batoka Formation |
Overlies | Pebbly Arkose Formation |
Lithology | |
Primary | Sandstone |
Location | |
Coordinates | 20°00′S 28°24′E / 20.0°S 28.4°E |
Approximate paleocoordinates | 35°00′S 5°06′E / 35.0°S 5.1°E |
Region | South-central Africa |
Country | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Type section | |
Named for | Forests of Nyamandlovu District, Zimbabwe |
Named by | A.M. MacGregor, Zimbabwe Geological Survey |
The Forest Sandstone is a geological formation in southern Africa, dating to roughly between 200 and 190 million years ago and covering the Hettangian to Sinemurian stages of the Jurassic Period in the Mesozoic Era. [1] As its name suggests, it consists mainly of sandstone.
Fossils of the prosauropod dinosaur Massospondylus and the primitive sauropod Vulcanodon have been recovered from the Forest Sandstone.
The formation is a sedimentary unit, consisting mainly of aeolian sands and silts with interbedded fluvial sediments, [2] laid down during a period of increasing aridity. [3]
The Forest Sandstone is found in Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, in the Mid-Zambezi, Mana Pools, Cabora Bassa and Limpopo Basins, [4] [5] [6] [7] with its greatest thickness in the Cabora Bassa Basin. [8]
The formation is dated at 200 to 190 Ma. [1]
The Forest Sandstone is the penultimate formation in the Upper Karoo Group of the Karoo Supergroup, lying above the Pebbly Arkose Formation and below the Batoka Formation. [7] In the Thuli Basin it is sometimes referred to as the Samkoto Formation. [9]
The Forest Sandstone has been correlated to the Clarens Formation of the Great Karoo Basin in South Africa. [5] [7] [8]
Protosuchia | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
|
indeterminate | Geographically located in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe. |
Sphenodontia of the Forest Sandstone Formation | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
|
indeterminate | Unspecified, Zimbabwe |
Sauropodomorphs of the Forest Sandstone Formation | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
|
Geographically located in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe. [11] | ![]() | ||
|
Geographically located in the Bumi Hills area and the Sibilobilo Islands, in Kariba (District), Mashonaland West, Zimbabwe | Partial skeleton and scapula | ||
|
Geographically located in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe. [11] |
Theropods of the Forest Sandstone Formation | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Notes | Images |
|
Geographically located in Nyamandhlovu area, Tsholotsho District, Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe. [11] | Note: Referred to as Syntarsus by Weishampel et al. [11] |
The Forest Sandstone is the major groundwater-bearing unit of the Upper Karoo Group. [14]