← Geological formations

Elliot

273 occ. 87 taxa (11 genera) 2 countries
Description

The Elliot Formation is a geological formation and forms part of the Stormberg Group, the uppermost geological group that comprises the greater Karoo Supergroup. Outcrops of the Elliot Formation have been found in the northern Eastern Cape, southern Free State, and in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa. Outcrops and exposures are also found in several localities in Lesotho such as Qacha's Neck, Hill Top, Quthing, and near the capital, Maseru. The Elliot Formation is further divided into the lower (LEF) and upper (UEF) Elliot formations to differentiate significant sedimentological differences between these layers. The LEF is mainly Late Triassic (Norian-Rhaetian) in age while the UEF is mainly Early Jurassic and is tentatively regarded to preserve a continental record of the Triassic-Jurassic boundary in southern Africa. This geological formation is named after the town of Elliot in the Eastern Cape, and its stratotype locality is located on the Barkly Pass, 9 km north of the town.

Genera
11 genera
Massospondylus
Dinosaurs
Valid 53 occ. · 237 Ma
Melanorosaurus
Dinosaurs
Valid 6 occ. · 227 Ma
Eubrontes
Dinosaurs
Valid Ichnogenus 4 occ. · 250 Ma
Syntarsus
Dinosaurs
Valid 4 occ. · 206 Ma
Lesothosaurus
Dinosaurs
Valid 3 occ. · 201 Ma
Kayentapus
Dinosaurs
Valid Ichnogenus 3 occ. · 227 Ma
Grallator
Dinosaurs
Valid Ichnogenus 1 occ. · 250 Ma
Plateosaurus
Dinosaurs
Valid 1 occ. · 227 Ma
Anomoepus
Dinosaurs
Valid Ichnogenus 1 occ. · 237 Ma
Otozoum
Dinosaurs
Valid Ichnogenus Formal taxon 1 occ. · 227 Ma
Stormbergia
Dinosaurs
Valid 1 occ. · 201 Ma
Elliot
click to enlarge
Elliot Formation Caves in 'Matalane Valley, Leribe, Lesotho © Paramente Phamotse · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikipedia
Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
Geological group / Member
Stormberg / Upper 183
Stormberg / Lower 87
Stormberg 2
Upper 1
Top countries
🇿🇦 South Africa 174
🇱🇸 Lesotho 99
Depositional environments
Terrestrial indet. 235
Floodplain 14
Fine channel fill 10
Channel 6
dry floodplain 2
Coarse channel fill 2
Fluvial-lacustrine indet. 2
Lacustrine indet. 1
Crevasse splay 1
Top collectors
P. Ellenberger 45
J. W. Kitching 17
Ellenberger 16
C. E. Gow 10
Jacques 7
Ambrose 6
Sciscio et al. 6
J. Kitching 6
J. M. Orpen 5
R. J. N. Orpen 5
K. A. Kermack 5
A. Brown 4
Collection activity by decade
1850s 5
1860s 3
1890s 1
1900s 1
1910s 8
1930s 1
1940s 1
1950s 15
1960s 52
1970s 9
1980s 13
1990s 3
2000s 21
2010s 2