Bostobe Formation

The Bostobe Formation (Kazakh: Boztóbe svıtasy) is a geological formation in Qaraghandy & Qyzylorda, Kazakhastan whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous (Santonian to early Campanian stages, approximately 85 Ma).

Bostobe Formation Stratigraphic range: Santonian-early Campanian ~85 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Type	Geological formation
Underlies	Akzhar Formation
Overlies	Zhirkindek Formation
Thickness	About 45 m (148 ft)
Lithology
Primary	Sandstone
Other	Claystone
Location
Coordinates	45.9°N 64.7°E
Approximate paleocoordinates	38.7°N 58.0°E
Region	Qaraghandy & Qyzylorda
Country	Kazakhstan
Type section
Named for	Bostobe River
Bostobe Formation (Kazakhstan)

The sandstones and claystones of the formation were deposited in estuarine, fluvial-lacustrine and fluvial-deltaic environments.

Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.[1] The formation is about 45 metres (148 ft) thick and consists primarily of clay with interbeds of sand, representing an estuarine environment.[2]

Fossil content

Khunnuchelys lophorhothon, a trionychid turtle recovered from the formation, was initially thought to belong to a hadrosaurid dinosaur and classified as cf. Lophorhothon sp.[3]

Mammals

• Beleutinus orlovi
• Zhalmouzia bazhanovi[4]
• Parazhelestes sp.[5]

Ankylosaurs

• Ankylosauridae indet.

Ornithopods

• Aralosaurus tuberiferus
• Arstanosaurus akkurganensis
• Batyrosaurus rozhdestvenskyi

Sauropods

• Titanosauridae indet.
• Sauropoda indet.

Theropods

• Caenagnathidae indet.
• Troodontidae indet.[6]
• Therizinosauria indet.[6]
• Ornithomimidae indet.[6]
• Tyrannosauroidea indet.

Pterosaurs

• Aralazhdarcho bostobensis[7]
• Samrukia nessovi

Turtles

• Adocus foveatus
• Anatolemys maximus
• Khunnuchelys lophorhothon[3]
• Lindholmemys gravis
• Shachemys baibolatica
• Trionyx kansaiensis, T. onomatoplokos, T. riabinini

Other reptiles

• Bishara backa
• Eoscapherpeton sp.

Amphibians

• Anura indet.

Fish

• Gobiates sp.

Flora

• Ulmaceae indet.

See also

• List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Kazakhstan
• Bissekty Formation
• Madygen Formation
• Karabastau Formation
• Kugitang Svita

References

1. Weishampel et al. , 2004, pp.593-600
2. Kordikova et al., 2001
3. Danilov et al., 2014
4. Averianov et al., 2014b
5. Averianov et al., 2014a
6. Averianov, 2016
7. Averianov, 2004

Bibliography

• Averianov, A. 2016. Frontal bones of non-avian theropod dinosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous (Santonian-?Campanian) Bostobe Formation of the northeastern Aral Sea region, Kazakhstan. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 53. 168–175. Accessed 2020-03-23.
• Danilov, Igor G.; Natasha S. Vitek; Alexander O. Averianov, and Vadim N. Glinskiy. 2015. A new softshelled trionychid turtle of the genus Khunnuchelys from the Upper Cretaceous Bostobe Formation of Kazakhstan. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 60. 155–161. Accessed 2020-03-23. doi:10.4202/app.2013.0045
• Averianov, A.O.; J.D. Archibald; P.P. Skutschas, and G.J. Dyke. 2014a. New mammal remains from the Late Cretaceous Bostobe Formation (northeast Aral Sea Region, Kazakhstan). Palaeoworld 23. 314–320. Accessed 2020-03-23.
• Averianov, A.; J.D. Archibald, and G.J. Dyke. 2014b. A new eutherian mammal from the Late Cretaceous of Kazakhstan. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 59. 537–542. Accessed 2020-03-23.
• Averianov, A.O. 2004. New Data on Cretaceous Flying Reptiles (Pterosauria) of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Paleontological Journal 38. 426–436.
• Weishampel, David B.; Peter Dodson, and Halszka Osmólska (eds.). 2004. The Dinosauria, 2nd edition, 1–880. Berkeley: University of California Press. Accessed 2019-02-21. ISBN 0-520-24209-2
• Kordikova, E.G.; P.D. Polly; V.A. Alifanov; Z. Roček; G.F. Gunnell, and A.O. Averianov. 2001. Small vertebrates from the late Cretaceous and early Tertiary of the northeastern Aral Sea region, Kazakhstan. Journal of Paleontology 75. 390–400. doi:10.1017/S0022336000018187 ISSN 0022-3360

Further reading

• A. O. Averianov. 2007. Theropod dinosaurs from Late Cretaceous deposits in the northeastern Aral Sea region, Kazakhstan. Cretaceous Research 28:532-544
• E. G. Kordikova, S. M. Kurzanov, and G. F. Gunnell. 1997. Unusual dinosaur claw phalanxes from the Upper Cretaceous of the northeastern Aral Sea region, Kazakhstan. Journal of Morphology 232(3):278
• L. A. Nessov. 1995. Dinozavri severnoi Yevrazii: Novye dannye o sostave kompleksov, ekologii i paleobiogeografii [Dinosaurs of northern Eurasia: new data about assemblages, ecology, and paleobiogeography]. Institute for Scientific Research on the Earth's Crust, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg 1-156
• L. A. Nessov. 1988. Late Mesozoic amphibians and lizards of Soviet Middle Asia. Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia 31(14):475-486
• L. A. Nessov. 1984. Data on late Mesozoic turtles from the USSR. Studia Geologica Salamanticensia, vol. especial 1 (Studia Palaeocheloniologica I) 1:215-223
• L. A. Nessov. 1981. Amfibii i reptilii v ekosistemakh Mela sredney Azii [Amphibia and reptiles in Cretaceous ecosystems of central Asia]. In I. V. Darevsky (ed.), The Problems of Herpetology. Fifth Herpetological Conference. Abstracts 91-92
• A. K. Rozhdestvensky. 1964. Novye dannye o mestonakhozhdeniyakh dinozavrov na territorii Kazakhstana i Srednei Azii [New data on occurrences of dinosaurs in Kazakhstan and Central Asia]. Tashkentskii Gosudarstvennyi Universitet, Nauchnye Trudy: Geologiya [Tashkent State University, Scientific Publications: Geology] 234:227-241