Upper Karroo Sandstone Formation
Encyclopedia
The Upper Karroo Sandstone Formation is a geological formation dating to roughly between 200 to 175 million years ago and covering part of the Early Jurassic
Early Jurassic
The Early Jurassic epoch is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic period...

. The Upper Karroo Sandstone Formation is found in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

 and is a member of the Karroo Group. As its name suggests, it consists partly of sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

. Fossils of the prosauropod dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...

 Massospondylus
Massospondylus
Massospondylus and ) is a genus of prosauropod dinosaur from the early Jurassic Period . It was described by Sir Richard Owen in 1854 from remains found in South Africa, and is thus one of the first dinosaurs to have been named...

have been recovered from the Upper Karroo Sandstone.

Sauropodomorphs

Sauropodomorphs of the Upper Karroo Sandstone Formation
Taxa Presence Notes Images

Genus:
  • Massospondylus
    Massospondylus
    Massospondylus and ) is a genus of prosauropod dinosaur from the early Jurassic Period . It was described by Sir Richard Owen in 1854 from remains found in South Africa, and is thus one of the first dinosaurs to have been named...

  1. M. carinatus
  • Geographically located in Mashonaland West
    Mashonaland West
    Mashonaland West is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 57,441 km² and a population of approximately 1.2 million . Chinhoyi is the capital of the province.Mashonaland West is divided into 6 districts:* Chegutu* Hurungwe* Kadoma* Kariba...

    , Zimbabwe.

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