Timezgadiouine Formation

rdf:langString Timezgadiouine Formation

rdf:langString Timezgadiouine Formation

rdf:langString Tanamert Member , Aglegal Member , Irohalene Member

rdf:langString Triassic,

rdf:langString Carnian

rdf:langString The Timezgadiouine Formation, sometimes spelled as the Timesgadiouine Formation, is a Triassic geological formation in the of Morocco. It is a succession of red bed sediments spanning from the Olenekian to at least the Carnian, encompassing members T3 to T5 of the Argana Group. It is preceded by the Permian and succeeded by the Late Triassic . The formation is split into three members. The Early Triassic Tanamert Member (T3) is a relatively thin band of volcaniclastic conglomerate, likely emplaced by braided rivers. The Middle Triassic Aglegal Member (T4) is a thick sequence of muddy and silty cyclical deposits interspersed with wide sandstone lenses. It would have been deposited within a semi-arid playa, mudflat, and ephemeral lake system cut by meandering streams or sheet floods. The late Carnian (or possibly early Norian) Irohalene Member (T5) comprises bioturbated mudstone complemented by an increasing abundance of sandstone beds. This final member is likely equivalent to a more humid period with large permanent lakes or wide meandering rivers. The formation as a whole was deposited in a wide and tectonically stable basin, in contrast to the narrow rift basins which developed elsewhere along the present-day Central Atlantic margin during the Triassic. The Timezgadiouine Formation is quite fossiliferous; footprints and other trace fossils are found through the entire strata, while skeletal material is common in the Irohalene Member. The fossil content of the Irohalene Member includes phytosaurs, aetosaurs, metoposauroid amphibians, stahleckeriid dicynodonts, early dinosauromorphs, and other typical Carnian to early Norian animals. Several animals are distinctive, such as the large herbivorous archosauromorph Azendohsaurus laaroussii, and massive three-toed footprints (Eubrontes sp.) emplaced by a Tyrannosaurus-sized archosaur.