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Qiupa Formation

The Qiupa Formation (Chinese: 秋扒组; pinyin: Qiūpázǔ) is a Late Cretaceous Maastrichtian geologic formation in Henan Province, central China. It is rich in dinosaur eggs and bones, such as those of carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaurs. The Qiupa Formation is considered to be Late Maastrichtian in age, about 72 million and 66 million years ago.[1][2][3]

Geology

The sedimentation is characterized for the presence of calcareous mudstone interbedded with thin fine conglomerates, brownish red thick-bedded siltstone and parallel and cross laminations. This sedimentation indicates habitats composed by large and shallow meanders with braided river deltas.[2][3]

Fossil content

The Qiupa Formation has yielded numerous dinosaur fossils, particularly eggs. The remains of various theropods such as troodontids, dromaeosaurids and oviraptorosaurs have been found. In addition, indeterminate remains of sauropods, ornithopods, ankylosaurs, lizards, turtles and a possible avian bone are reported.[4][2]

Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs of the Qiupa Formation
Genus Species Material Notes Images
Ankylosauridae indet.[5] Indeterminate "A tooth, well-preserved dorsal vertebra, incomplete dorsal rib and ischium." An ankylosaurid
Elongatoolithidae sp.[6] Indeterminate "145 egg shells probably laid by oviraptorids." Oviraptorid eggs
Luanchuanraptor[7] L. henanensis "Teeth, a frontal and fragmented postcrania." A dromaeosaurid
Qiupalong[8] Q. henanensis Partial skeleton preserving the pelvis and the right hindlimb. An ornithomimid
Qiupanykus[3] Q. zhangi Partial skeleton with vertebrae and hindlimbs. An alvarezsaurid
"Tyrannosaurus"[9] T. luanchuanensis Five teeth. A tyrannosaurid
Yulong[10][11] Y. mini Many juvenile specimens and one subadult skeleton. An oviraptorid
Yuornis[12] Y. junchangi Partial skeleton. An enantiornithine bird

Mammals

Mammals of the Qiupa Formation
Genus Species Material Notes Images
Lotheridium[13] L. mengi Nearly complete skull with jaws. A deltatheridiid
Yubaatar[14] Y. zhongyuanensis "Virtually complete crania and fragmented poscrania." A cimolodont

Squamates

Squamates of the Qiupa Formation
Genus Species Material Notes Images
Funiusaurus[15] F. luanchuanensis Partial skull. A polyglyphanodont
Tianyusaurus[16] T. zhengi Skull and shoulder girdle. A polyglyphanodont
Zhongyuanxi[17] Z. jiai Partial skull. A stem-varanid anguimorph
Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.

References

  1. ^ Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources of Henan Province (1989). Regional Geology of Henan Province. Beijing: Geological Publishing House. pp. 1−772.
  2. ^ a b c Jiang, X.-J.; Liu, Y.-Q.; Ji, S.-A.; Zhang, X.-L.; Xu, L.; Jia, S.-H.; Lü, J.-C.; Yuan, C.-X.; Li, M. (2011). "Dinosaur-bearing strata and K/T boundary in the Luanchuan-Tantou Basin of western Henan Province, China". Science China Earth Sciences. 54 (1149): 1149–1155. Bibcode:2011ScChD..54.1149J. doi:10.1007/s11430-011-4186-1.
  3. ^ a b c Lü, J. C.; Xu, L.; Chang, H. L.; Jia, S. H.; Zhang, J. M.; Gao, D. S.; Zhang, Y. Y.; Zhang, C. J.; Ding, F. (2018). "A new alvarezsaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Qiupa Formation of Luanchuan, Henan Province, central China". China Geology. 1 (1): 28–35. Bibcode:2018CGeo....1...28L. doi:10.31035/cg2018005.
  4. ^ Kobayashi, Y.; Lü, J.; Lee, Y.-N.; Xu, L.; Zhang, X. (2008). "A new basal ornithomimid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Late Cretaceous in Henan Province of China" (PDF). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 28 (supp. 3): 101A. doi:10.1080/02724634.2008.10010459.
  5. ^ Jia, S.-H.; Lü, J.-C.; Xu, L.; Hu, W.-Y.; Li, J.-H.; Zhang, J.-M. (2010). "Discovery and significance of ankylosaur specimens from the Late Cretaceous Qiupa Formation in Luanchuan, Henan, China". Geological Bulletin of China. 29 (4): 483–487.
  6. ^ Tanaka, K.; Lü, J.-C.; Kobayashi, Y.; Zelenitsky, D. K.; Xu, L.; Jia, S.; Qin, S.; Tang, M. (2011). "Description and Phylogenetic Position of Dinosaur Eggshells from the Luanchuan Area of Western Henan Province, China". Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition). 85 (1): 66–74. Bibcode:2011AcGlS..85...66K. doi:10.1111/j.1755-6724.2011.00379.x.
  7. ^ Lü, J.-C.; Xu, L.; Zhang, X.-L.; Ji, Q.; Jia, S.-H.; Hu, W.-Y.; Zhang, J.-M.; Wu, Y.-H. (2007). "New dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Qiupa Formation of Luanchuan area, western Henan, China". Geological Bulletin of China. 26 (7): 777–786. S2CID 130054772.
  8. ^ Xu, L.; Kobayashi, Y.; Lü, J.-C.; Lee, Y. N.; Liu, Y.; Tanaka, K.; Zhang, X.; Jia, S.; Zhang, J. (2011). "A new ornithomimid dinosaur with North American affinities from the Late Cretaceous Qiupa Formation in Henan Province of China". Cretaceous Research. 32 (2): 213–222. Bibcode:2011CrRes..32..213X. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2010.12.004.
  9. ^ Dong, Zhiming (1979). "Dinosaurs from the Cretaceous of South China". Mesozoic and Cenozoic red beds of South China (in Chinese). Beijing: Science Press. pp. 342–350. doi:10.5281/zenodo.162178.
  10. ^ Lü, J.-C.; Currie, P. J.; Xu, L.; Zhang, X.; Pu, H.; Jia, S. (2013). "Chicken-sized oviraptorid dinosaurs from central China and their ontogenetic implications". Naturwissenschaften. 100 (2): 165–175. Bibcode:2013NW....100..165L. doi:10.1007/s00114-012-1007-0. PMID 23314810.
  11. ^ Wei, X.; Kundrát, M.; Xu, L.; Ma, W.; Wu, Y.; Chang, H.; Zhang, J.; Zhou, X. (2022). "A new subadult specimen of oviraptorid Yulong mini (Theropoda: Oviraptorosauria) from the Upper Cretaceous Qiupa Formation of Luanchuan, central China". Cretaceous Research. 138 (105261). Bibcode:2022CrRes.13805261W. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2022.105261. S2CID 248977151.
  12. ^ Xu, Li; Buffetaut, Eric; O’Connor, Jingmai; Zhang, Xingliao; Jia, Songhai; Zhang, Jiming; Chang, Huali; Tong, Haiyan (2021). "A new, remarkably preserved, enantiornithine bird from the Upper Cretaceous Qiupa Formation of Henan (central China) and convergent evolution between enantiornithines and modern birds". Geological Magazine. 158 (11): 2087–2094. doi:10.1017/S0016756821000807. ISSN 0016-7568.
  13. ^ Bi, S.; Jin, X.; Li, S.; Du, T. (2015). "A new Cretaceous Metatherian mammal from Henan, China". PeerJ. 3: e896. doi:10.7717/peerj.896. PMC 4400878. PMID 25893149.
  14. ^ Xu, L.; Zhang, X.; Pu, H.; Jia, S.; Zhang, J.; Lü, J.-C.; Meng, J. (2015). "Largest known Mesozoic multituberculate from Eurasia and implications for multituberculate evolution and biology". Scientific Reports. 5 (1495): 14950. Bibcode:2015NatSR...514950X. doi:10.1038/srep14950. PMC 4615031. PMID 26492455.
  15. ^ Xu, L.; Lü, J.-C.; Jia, S.; Zhang, J.; Pu, H.; Zhang, X. (2014). "A New Lizard (Lepidosauria: Squamata) from the Upper Cretaceous of Henan, China". Acta Geologica Sinica. 88 (4): 1041–1050. Bibcode:2014AcGlS..88.1041X. doi:10.1111/1755-6724.12271.
  16. ^ Lü, J.-C.; Ji, S.; Dong, Z.; Wu, X.-C. (2008). "An Upper Cretaceous lizard with a lower temporal arcade". Naturwissenschaften. 95 (7): 663–669. Bibcode:2008NW.....95..663L. doi:10.1007/s00114-008-0364-1. PMID 18338150.
  17. ^ Xu, L.; Dong, L.; Gao, D.; Li, Y.; Wu, Y.; Chang, F.; Li, J.; Evans, S. (2025). "A new anguimorph lizard from the Upper Cretaceous of Henan Province, China". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 23 (1). 2470790. doi:10.1080/14772019.2025.2470790.