Eumeralla Formation
Geological formation in Victoria, Australia
title: "Eumeralla Formation" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["geologic-formations-of-australia", "cretaceous-system-of-australia", "early-cretaceous-australia", "albian-stage", "aptian-stage", "sandstone-formations", "siltstone-formations", "mudstone-formations", "conglomerate-formations", "fluvial-deposits", "fossiliferous-stratigraphic-units-of-oceania", "paleontology-in-victoria-(state)", "geology-of-victoria-(state)"] description: "Geological formation in Victoria, Australia" topic_path: "philosophy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eumeralla_Formation" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Geological formation in Victoria, Australia ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox rockunit"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Eumeralla Formation |
| type | Geological formation |
| period | Albian |
| age | |
| prilithology | Volcanilithic sandstone, siltstone, mudstone, conglomerate |
| region | Victoria |
| country | Australia |
| coordinates | |
| paleocoordinates | |
| unitof | Otway Group |
| subunits | Windermere Sandstone Member, Heathfield Sandstone Member |
| underlies | Sherbrook Group |
| overlies | Katnook Sandstone, Laira Formation (Crayfish Subgroup) |
| thickness | Up to 3000 m |
| extent | Otway Basin |
| map | {{Location map+ |
| relief | 1 |
| width | 250 |
| float | center |
| lat_deg | -38.8 |
| lon_deg | 143.3 |
| mark | Green pog.svg |
| marksize | 12 |
| image | ETRW vertebrate deposit.jpg |
| caption | Eric the Red West fossil locality, with AS and ES representing Anchor Sandstone and ETRW Sandstone, respectively |
| year_ts | 1971 |
| namedby | Reynolds, M.A |
| namedfor | Eumeralla River |
| :: |
| name = Eumeralla Formation | type = Geological formation | period = Albian | age = | prilithology = Volcanilithic sandstone, siltstone, mudstone, conglomerate | region = Victoria | country = Australia | coordinates = | paleocoordinates = | unitof = Otway Group | subunits = Windermere Sandstone Member, Heathfield Sandstone Member | underlies = Sherbrook Group | overlies = Katnook Sandstone, Laira Formation (Crayfish Subgroup) | thickness = Up to 3000 m | extent = Otway Basin | map = {{Location map+ | Australia | relief = 1 | width = 250 | float = center | places = | lat_deg = -38.8 | lon_deg = 143.3 | mark = Green pog.svg | marksize = 12 |image=ETRW vertebrate deposit.jpg |caption=Eric the Red West fossil locality, with AS and ES representing Anchor Sandstone and ETRW Sandstone, respectively |map_caption= |year_ts=1971 |namedby=Reynolds, M.A |namedfor=Eumeralla River
The Eumeralla Formation is a geological formation in Victoria, Australia whose strata date back to the Early Cretaceous. It is Aptian to Albian in age. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, particularly from the Dinosaur Cove locality.
Geology
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Eumeralla_and_Wonthaggi_locations.jpeg" caption="Exposure of the Eumeralla Formation in green at the bottom-left"] ::
The Eumeralla Formation was deposited within the Otway Basin, which at the time of deposition was part of an extensional rift valley system formed between Australia and Antarctica. The lithology primarily consists of fluvially deposited siliciclastics derived from volcanic material. The strata of the Eumeralla Formation are folded as a result of northwest–southeast crustal compression during the Neogene, which also reactivated some Cretaceous aged normal faults. It is one of three major fossiliferous deposits in Victoria dating to the Early Cretaceous, including the older Wonthaggi Formation and the Koonwarra fossil bed (which some authors have considered part of the Eumeralla Formation).
Paleoclimate
Paleosol facies in the Eumeralla Formation record climate fluctuations between warm and cool intervals. Warm, temperate periods are represented by Ultisols while cooler intervals at the Cape Paton locality record associated thin, gleyed Inceptisols and Entisols, which are characteristic of modern boreal forests.
Paleobiota
Invertebrate traces named as Skolithos sp. and Arenicolites sp., as well as indeterminate ornithischian tracks are present in Victoria, Australia. Indeterminate ornithopod remains are present at Eric the Red West locality and Elliot River, including material that possibly belongs to a new taxon. Indeterminate theropod and possible indeterminate dromaeosaurid remains are present in Victoria, Australia. An indeterminate unenlagiine is known from the formation.
Dinosaurs
Ornithischians
::data[format=table]
| Ornithischians of the Eumeralla Formation | Genus | Species | Presence | Material | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ankylosauria | Indeterminate | Dinosaur Cove | Dorsal vertebra | |||
| Elasmarian ornithopod | [[File:Atlascopcosaurus loadsi.JPG | center | ||||
| D. pickeringi | Eric the Red West locality | Partial postcranial skeleton. | Elasmarian ornithopod | [[File:Diluvicursor life restoration.png | center | |
| cf.Galleonosaurus | G. dorisae | Eric the Red West locality | Maxillae | Elasmarian ornithopod | ||
| Leaellynasaura | L. amicagraphica | Skull fragments, teeth, maxillae. Postcranial remains associated with the taxon cannot be confidently referred to it | Elasmarian ornithopod | [[File:Leaellynasaura BW.jpg | center | |
| :: |
Theropods
::data[format=table]
| Dinosaurs of the Eumeralla Formation | Genus | Species | Presence | Material | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| last1=Poropat | first1=Stephen F. | last2=White | first2=Matt A. | last3=Vickers-Rich | first3=Patricia | last4=Rich |
| Indeterminate | Footprints belonging to a crane-sized bird, determined to be an ornithurine or enantiornithe. | Possibly from a species also found at the Wonthaggi Formation (single furcula). | ||||
| Carcharodontosauria | Indeterminate | "Isolated, distal end of a right tibia" | First probable record of carcharodontosaurian theropod in Australia | |||
| Elaphrosaurinae | Indeterminate | Eric the Red West locality | Single cervical vertebra | |||
| Indeterminate | Dinosaur Cove | Probably a megaraptorid. Previously referred to Megaraptor. | ||||
| Megaraptoridae | Eric the Red West locality | Known from a single cervical vertebra. | Previously thought to be a Baryonyx-related spinosaurid. | [[File:Australian_Spinosaurid.png | center | |
| Timimus | T. hermani | Dinosaur Cove | Femur | Possible tyrannosauroid theropod | ||
| Unenlagiinae | Indeterminate | Proximal portion of right femur | Probable record of unenlagiine theropod in Australia | |||
| :: |
Fish
::data[format=table]
| Fish of the Eumeralla Formation | Genus | Species | Presence | Material | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceratodus | C. nargun | A lungfish | ||||
| :: |
Mammals
::data[format=table]
| Mammals of the Eumeralla Formation | Genus | Species | Presence | Material | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kryoryctes | K. cadburyi | Dinosaur Cove | A monotreme | |||
| Sundrius | S. ziegleri | A monotreme | ||||
| :: |
Reptiles
::data[format=table]
| Reptiles of the Eumeralla Formation | Genus | Species | Presence | Material | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otwayemys | O. cunicularius | Dinosaur Cove | A meiolaniform turtle | |||
| Pterosauria | Indeterminate | Dinosaur Cove | ||||
| Plesiosauria | Indeterminate | Dinosaur Cove | ||||
| Mesoeucrocodylia | Indeterminate | Dinosaur Cove | Distinct from other known Australian crocodilians | |||
| :: |
References
References
- Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Early Cretaceous, Australasia)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 573-574. {{ISBN. 0-520-24209-2.
- (February 2019). "Plant mobility in the Mesozoic: Disseminule dispersal strategies of Chinese and Australian Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous plants". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.
- Retallack, G. J.. (2023-08-18). "Dinosaur and tree-line invasion of southeastern Australia during Cretaceous greenhouse spikes". Australian Journal of Earth Sciences.
- [https://paleobiodb.org/classic/displayCollResults?collection_no=185865 Milanesia Beach tracksite] at [[Fossilworks]].org
- (2012-05-16). "Theropod Fauna from Southern Australia Indicates High Polar Diversity and Climate-Driven Dinosaur Provinciality". PLOS ONE.
- (September 2010). "Ankylosaurian dinosaur remains from the Lower Cretaceous of southeastern Australia". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology.
- (2021-05-04). "Ornithopod jaws from the Lower Cretaceous Eumeralla Formation, Victoria, Australia, and their implications for polar neornithischian dinosaur diversity". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
- "Table 18.1," in Weishampel, ''et al.'' (2004). Page 394.
- (2018-01-11). "A new small-bodied ornithopod (Dinosauria, Ornithischia) from a deep, high-energy Early Cretaceous river of the Australian–Antarctic rift system". PeerJ.
- (2019-07-04). "New megaraptorid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) remains from the Lower Cretaceous Eumeralla Formation of Cape Otway, Victoria, Australia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
- (2013). "Oldest known avian footprints from Australia: Eumeralla Formation (Albian), Dinosaur Cove, Victoria". Palaeontology.
- (2025). "Evolutionary and paleobiogeographic implications of new carcharodontosaurian, megaraptorid, and unenlagiine theropod remains from the upper Lower Cretaceous of Victoria, southeast Australia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
- (2020-08-01). "First elaphrosaurine theropod dinosaur (Ceratosauria: Noasauridae) from Australia — A cervical vertebra from the Early Cretaceous of Victoria". Gondwana Research.
- (2008-06-10). "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 B: Biological Sciences.
- (2009-10-14). "A new clade of archaic large-bodied predatory dinosaurs (Theropoda: Allosauroidea) that survived to the latest Mesozoic". Naturwissenschaften.
- (2008-09-22). "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 B: Biological Sciences.
- (2023). "Migrations, diversifications and extinctions: the evolutionary history of crocodyliforms in Australasia". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology.
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