Avon Fissure Fill

Avon Fissure Fill
Stratigraphic range: Norian-Hettangian, 216.5–199.6 Ma
TypeFormation
UnderliesLower Carboniferous limestones
Location
Coordinates51°30′N 2°36′W / 51.5°N 2.6°W / 51.5; -2.6
Approximate paleocoordinates35°54′N 0°48′E / 35.9°N 0.8°E / 35.9; 0.8
RegionSouth West England
Country England
ExtentAvon (now Bristol)
Type section
Named forAvon county
Named byHenry Riley & Samuel Stutchbury
Year defined1836
Avon Fissure Fill is located in England
Avon Fissure Fill
Avon Fissure Fill (England)

The Avon Fissure Fill, also known as the Bristol Fissure Fill or Tytherington Fissure Fill,[1] is a fissure fill in Avon, England (now Bristol) which dates variously from the Norian and Rhaetian stages of the Late Triassic, or possibly as late as the Hettangian stage of the Early Jurassic.[2] The fissure fill at Avon was a sinkhole formed by the dissolution of Lower Carboniferous limestones.[1]

It is paired with the nearby Magnesian Conglomerate; it may have been the same formation as the Magnesian Conglomerate.[1]

Paleofauna

Taxon Species Presence Notes Images
Agnosphitys[2][3] A. cromhallensis[2][3] Geographically present in Avon, England (now Bristol).[2] Its remains include a left ilium (holotype) and a left maxilla, astragalus and humerus (referred specimen).[2]
Agrosaurus[4][2] A. macgillivrayi[4][2] Geographically present in Avon, England (now Bristol). Originally believed to have been found in Cape York Peninsula, Queensland (Australia).[2] A tibia, a claw and some other fragments.[2]
Asylosaurus[2][5] A. yalensis[2][5] Geographically present in Avon, England (now Bristol).[2][6] Dorsal vertebrae, ribs, gastralia, a shoulder girdle, humeri, a partial forearm, and a hand; additional bones from the neck, tail, pelvis, arm and legs that may represent the same individual.[5][2]
Chimaeriformes[7] Indeterminate[7] Geographically present in Bristol.[2] Indeterminate remains.[7]
Clevosaurus[8] C. hudsoni[8] Geographically present in Gloucestershire.[2] Partial cranial and post-cranial skeleton (holotype).[8]
Crinoidea[7] Indeterminate[7] Geographically present in Bristol.[2] Reworked from older Carboniferous sediments (Friars Point Limestone Formation).[9]
Diphydontosaurus[7] D. avonensis[7] Geographically present in Bristol.[2] Complete to near-complete specimens.[7]
Hybodontiformes?[10] Indeterminate[10] Geographically present in Bristol.[2] Indeterminate remains.[10]
Gyrolepis[11] Indeterminate[11] Geographically present in Bristol.[2] Indeterminate remains.[11]
Lissodus[10] L. minimus[10] Geographically present in Bristol.[2] Teeth.[10]
Palaeosaurus[2][5] P. cylindrodon[2][5] Geographically present in Avon, England (now Bristol) and Bristol.[2] Two teeth (one destroyed in 1940).[2]
Planocephalosaurus[12][13] P. robinsonae[12][13] Geographically present in Bristol.[2] Skull (holotype).[12]
Rhomphaiodon[10] R. minor[10] Geographically present in Bristol.[2] Teeth.[10]
Rileyasuchus[2][14][15] R. bristolensis[2][14][15] Geographically present in Bristol.[2] Two vertebrae and a humerus.[2]
Terrestrisuchus?[10][7] Indeterminate[10][7] Geographically present in Bristol and South Wales.[2] Indeterminate remains.[10][7]
Theropoda[2] Indeterminate[2] Geographically present in Avon, England (now Bristol) and Bristol.[2] Indeterminate remains.[2] Possibly similar to Pendraig milnerae.[16]
Thecodontosaurus[2] T. antiquus[2] Geographically present in Avon, England (now Bristol) and Bristol.[2] Partial cranial and postcranial remains (holotype is a lower jaw).[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Magnesian Conglomerate in the Paleobiology Database
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am Langer, 2004. Basal Saurischia. In Weishampel, Dodson and Osmolska. The Dinosauria Second Edition. University of California Press. 861 pp.
  3. ^ a b Nicholas C. Fraser, Kevin Padian, Gordon M. Walkden and A. L. M. Davis, 2002. Basal dinosauriform remains from Britain and the diagnosis of the Dinosauria. Palaeontology. 45(1), 79-95.
  4. ^ a b H. G. Seeley. (1891). On Agrosaurus macgillivrayi (Seeley), a saurischian reptile from the N.E. coast of Australia. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 47:164-165
  5. ^ a b c d e Galton, Peter (2007). "Notes on the remains of archosaurian reptiles, mostly basal sauropodomorph dinosaurs, from the 1834 fissure fill (Rhaetian, Upper Triassic) at Clifton in Bristol, southwest England". Revue de Paléobiologie. 26 (2): 505–591.
  6. ^ Riley H and Stutchbury S (1836a) "A description of various remains of three distinct saurian animals discovered in the autumn of 1834, in the Magnesian Conglomerate on Durdham Down, near Bristol". Geological Society of London, Proceedings, 2 (45): 397-399.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Mussini, G.; Whiteside, D. I.; Hildebrandt, C.; Benton, M. J. (2020). "Anatomy of a Late Triassic Bristol fissure: Tytherington fissure 2". Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. 131 (1): 73–93. Bibcode:2020PrGA..131...73M. doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2019.12.001.
  8. ^ a b c W. E. Swinton. (1939). A new Triassic rhynchocephalian from Gloucestershire. ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History: Zoology, Botany, and Geology'' '''4''':591-59
  9. ^ Keeble, Emily; Whitestide, David I.; Benton, Michael J. (2018). "The terrestrial fauna of the Late Triassic Pant-y-ffynnon Quarry fissures, South Wales, UK and a new species of Clevosaurus (Lepidosauria: Rhynchocephalia)" (PDF). Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. 129 (2): 99–119. Bibcode:2018PrGA..129...99K. doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2017.11.001. hdl:1983/5afdc677-3ea0-4519-813d-6052ef8370ec.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Foffa, D.; Whiteside, D. I.; Viegas, P. A.; Benton, M. J. (2014), "Vertebrates from the Late Triassic Thecodontosaurus-bearing rocks of Durdham Down, Clifton (Bristol, UK)", Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 125 (3): 317–332, Bibcode:2014PrGA..125..317F, doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2014.02.002
  11. ^ a b c Romano, Carlo; Koot, Martha B.; Kogan, Ilja; Brayard, Arnaud; Minikh, Alla V.; Brinkmann, Winand; Bucher, Hugo; Kriwet, Jürgen (February 2016). "Permian-Triassic Osteichthyes (bony fishes): diversity dynamics and body size evolution". Biological Reviews. 91 (1): 106–147. doi:10.1111/brv.12161. PMID 25431138. S2CID 5332637.
  12. ^ a b c Fraser, N.C. (November 1982). "A New Rhynchocephalian from the British Upper Trias" (PDF). Palaeontology. 25 (4): 709–725.
  13. ^ a b Fraser, N.C.; Walkden, G.M. (August 1984). "The postcranial skeleton of the Upper Triassic sphenodontid Planocephalosaurus robinsonae" (PDF). Palaeontology. 27 (3): 575–595.
  14. ^ a b von Huene, F. (1902). Überischt über die Reptilien der Trias. Geologische und Paläontologie Abhandlungen, Neu Folge 8:97-156. [German]
  15. ^ a b Kuhn, O. (1961). Die Familien der rezenten und fossilen Amphibien und Reptilien. Meisenbach:Bamberg, 79 p.
  16. ^ Spiekman SN, Ezcurra MD, Butler RJ, Fraser NC, Maidment SC (2021). "Pendraig milnerae, a new small-sized coelophysoid theropod from the Late Triassic of Wales". Royal Society Open Science. 8 (10): Article ID 210915. Bibcode:2021RSOS....810915S. doi:10.1098/rsos.210915. PMC 8493203. PMID 34754500.