The Sânpetru Formation is an early Maastrichtian geologic formation located in Romania, near Sânpetru village, part of Sântămăria-Orlea commune. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, comprising some of the fauna of Hațeg Island.[1]
Description
The Sânpetru Formation crops out in the central to southern Hațeg Basin along the Bărbat River and comprises sandstones and mudstones deposited in a wet floodplain environment characterized by braided fluvial channels. The formation is correlated with the Densuș-Ciula Formation of the northern section of the same basin, both dating to the Maastrichtian of the Late Cretaceous.[2]
Fossil content
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Color key
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Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.
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Amphibians
Turtles
Squamates
Ornithischians
| Ornithischians of the Sânpetru Formation
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| Genus |
Species |
Location |
Stratigraphic position |
Abundance |
Notes |
Images
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| Struthiosaurus[4]
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S. transylvanicus[4]
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Sânpetru
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A skull and partial skeleton.
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A nodosaur.
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| Telmatosaurus[4][5]
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T. transsylvanicus[4]
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"[Five to ten] fragmentary skulls, some with associated postcrania, mixed age classes."[6]
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A small hadrosauromorph.
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| Zalmoxes[7]
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Z. robustus
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Many remains
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Originally identified as a rhabdodontid ornithopod, but possibly a ceratopsian closely related to Ajkaceratops and Ferenceratops
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| Ferenceratops[8]
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F. shqiperorum[4]
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Sibișel Valley
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Upper
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A left dentary, sacrum, right scapula, right coracoid, partial left ilium, partial right ilium, right ischium, left distal ischium and left femur.
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Originally "Zalmoxes" shqiperorum but subsequently recognized as a distinct ceratopsian taxon closely related to Ajkaceratops
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Sauropods
| Sauropods of the Sânpetru Formation
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| Genus |
Species |
Location |
Stratigraphic position |
Abundance |
Notes |
Images
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| Magyarosaurus[4]
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M. dacus[4]
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A dwarf sauropod.
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| Paludititan[9]
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P. nalatzensis
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A partial skeleton lacking the skull.
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A dwarf sauropod
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| Petrustitan[10]
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P. hungaricus
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Sibișel River Valley.
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Upper
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Partial skeleton composed of caudal vertebrae, right ulna, right radius, right metacarpal, right ilium, and left fibula.
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A dwarf sauropod, originally assigned to the genus Magyarosaurus
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Theropods
Pterosaurs
Mammals
| Mammals from the Sânpetru Formation
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| Genus |
Species |
Location |
Stratigraphic position |
Material |
Notes |
Images
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| Barbatodon
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B. transylvanicus
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Kogaionid
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| Kogaionon
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K. ungureanui
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Kogaionid
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See also
References
- ^ Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution." Pp. 517-607.
- ^ Solomon & Codrea, 2015, p.26
- ^ Solomon & Codrea, 2015, p.28
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "29.3 Judetul Hunedoara, Romania; 1. Sânpetru Formation," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Pages 592-593.
- ^ Solomon & Codrea, 2015, p.30
- ^ "Table 20.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 439.
- ^ Weishampel, Dave; Csiki-Sava, Zoltan; Norman, David (January 2003). "Osteology and phylogeny of Zalmoxes (n. g.), an unusual Euornithopod dinosaur from the latest Cretaceous of Romania". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 1 (2): 65–123. Bibcode:2003JSPal...1...65W. doi:10.1017/S1477201903001032. S2CID 86339025. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
- ^ Maidment, Susannah C. R.; Butler, Richard J.; Brusatte, Stephen L.; Meade, Luke E.; Augustin, Felix J.; Csiki-Sava, Zoltán; Ősi, Attila (2026-10-07). "A hidden diversity of ceratopsian dinosaurs in Late Cretaceous Europe". Nature: 1–7. doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09897-w. ISSN 1476-4687.
- ^ Csiki, Z.; Codrea, V.; Jipa-Murzea, C.; Godefroit, P. (2010). "A partial titanosaur (Sauropoda, Dinosauria) skeleton from the Maastrichtian of Nălaț-Vad, Hațeg Basin, Romania". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen. 258 (3): 297–324. doi:10.1127/0077-7749/2010/0098.
- ^ Díaz, Verónica Díez; Mannion, Philip D.; Csiki-Sava, Zoltán; Upchurch, Paul (20 February 2025). "Revision of Romanian sauropod dinosaurs reveals high titanosaur diversity and body-size disparity on the latest Cretaceous Haţeg Island, with implications for titanosaurian biogeography". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 23 (1). doi:10.1080/14772019.2024.2441516.
- ^ Mayr et al., 2019
- ^ a b "Table 9.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 185.
- ^ Kessler et al., 2005
- ^ a b Listed as "cf. Euronychodon sp." in "29.3 Judetul Hunedoara, Romania; 1. Sânpetru Formation," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Pages 592-593.
- ^ "Table 9.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 186.
- ^ "Table 4.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 78.
Bibliography
- Mayr, Gerald; Codrea, Vlad; Solomon, Alexandru; Bordeianu, Marian; Smith, Thierry (2019), "A well-preserved pelvis from the Maastrichtian of Romania suggests that the enigmatic Gargantuavis is neither an ornithurine bird nor an insular endemic", Cretaceous Research, 106 104271, doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2019.104271
- Solomon, Alexandru; Codrea, Vlad (2015), "Some Maastrichtian vertebrates from fluvial channel fill deposits at Pui (Hațeg Basin)", Muzeul Olteniei Craiova. Oltenia. Studii și comunicări. Științele Naturii, 31: 26–36, ISSN 1454-6914
- Kessler, E.; Grigorescu, D.; Csiki, Z. (2005), "Elopteryx revisited - A new bird-like specimen from the Maastrichtian of the Hațeg Basin (Romania)", Acta Palaeontologica Romaniae, 5: 249–258
- Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; Osmólska, Halszka (2004), The Dinosauria, 2nd edition, Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 1–880, ISBN 0-520-24209-2, retrieved 2019-02-21