Elliot Formation
Stratigraphic range:Norian-Pliensbachian ~220–190 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Elliot Formation caves in the Matalane Valley, Leribe, Lesotho
Type	Geological formation
Unit of	Stormberg Group
Sub-units	Upper Elliot, Lower Elliot
Underlies	Clarens Formation
Overlies	Molteno Formation
Thickness	up to 500 m (1,600 ft)
Lithology
Primary	Mudstone,sandstone
Other	Siltstone,conglomerate
Location
Coordinates	30°30′S27°24′E / 30.5°S 27.4°E /-30.5; 27.4
Approximate paleocoordinates	44°06′S1°54′W / 44.1°S 1.9°W /-44.1; -1.9
Region	Eastern Cape,Free State,Mafeteng,Maseru,Quthing,Qacha's Nek &Mohale's Hoek
Country	Lesotho  South Africa
Type section
Named for	Elliot, Eastern Cape
Elliot Formation (South Africa)

TheElliot Formation is ageological formation and forms part of theStormberg Group, the uppermost geologicalgroup that comprises the greaterKaroo Supergroup.Outcrops of the Elliot Formation have been found in the northernEastern Cape, southernFree State, and in the easternKwaZulu-Natal provinces ofSouth Africa. Outcrops and exposures are also found in several localities inLesotho such asQacha's Neck, Hill Top,Quthing, and near the capital,Maseru. The Elliot Formation is further divided into the lower (LEF) and upper (UEF) Elliot formations to differentiate significantsedimentological differences between these layers. The LEF is dominantly LateTriassic (Norian-Hettangian) in age while the UEF is mainly EarlyJurassic (Sinemurian-Pliensbachian) and is tentatively regarded to preserve a continental record of theTriassic-Jurassic boundary in southern Africa.^[1] This geological formation is named after the town ofElliot in the Eastern Cape, and itsstratotype locality is located on theBarkly Pass, 9 km north of the town.^[2][3][4]

The Elliot Formationunconformably overlies theMolteno Formation and is conformably overlain by theClarens Formation. Due to the reddish colour of the rocks, the Elliot Formation is colloquially referred to as the “Red Beds” in older geologic literature.

The Elliot Formation is dominated bymudstones andsiltstones that can be finelylaminated. However, the internal structures in themudstones are often not visible due to locally poorlaminations.Calcareousnodules are also found in the mudstone layers and become more frequent up section into the UEF. The mudstones range in colour from greyish purple red in the LEF and turn a more brick red colour with more mature palaeosols in the UEF. Localized intraformationalpebbleconglomerates that comprise intrabasinalclasts that comprise mud chips,quartzite pebbles,pedogenicnodules, andfossil bone fragments only occur in the UEF. The lower and upper Elliot formations both containsandstones but they vary in their internal geometries. The sandstones of the LEF mainly comprise laterallyaccreting channeldeposits that are multi-story and contain trough, low angle, and planar,cross-bedding. Ripple crosslaminations with good horizontal lamination are also present. In the UEF, sandstone beds are single story and mainly reflect downstreamaccretion channel geometries and are more tabular in appearance. Common internalsedimentary structures of UEF sandstones are planar, low angle cross-bedding, horizontal and ripple-crosslaminations.

The LEF was deposited in afluvio-lacustrine environment where rivers were moreperennial and formedmeandering channel geometries, as evidenced by the presence oflateral accretion. However, this depositional environment changed at the onset of the UEF deposits where evidence of shallower river channels, longer periods offloodplainstasis (maturepalaeosols) and flash flood events (pedogenicnoduleconglomerates) shows that the climate became morearid.^[5][6][7][8]

The Elliot Formation is currently considered to correlate chronostratigraphically withgeological formations of theBodibeng Sandstone of theTuli Basin inBotswana, theOmingonde Formation of the Etjo Basin inNamibia, and theChinle Formation of theColorado Plateau inUtah,United States.^{[9][10][11][12][13][14]}

The Elliot Formation is well known for its diversedinosaurfossils. The most common dinosaurspecies is of thesauropodomorph speciesMassospondylus carinatus.^[15][16] Other species includeBlikanasaurus cromptoni,Aardonyx celestae,Euskelosaurus browni,Antetonitrus ingenipes,Pulanesaura eocollum, and the largest sauropodomorph yet found,Ledumahadi mafube.^{[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]} FossilisedMassospondyluseggs, some with the fossilized remains ofembryos intact, have been recovered from UEF deposits in theGolden Gate Highlands National Park.^[25][26]Euskelosaurus fossils are more common in the LEF whileMassospondylus are only found in the UEF. Thebasalornithischian dinosaurs,Heterodontosaurus tucki,Lesothosaurus diagnosticus,Abrictosaurus consors, andLycorhinus angustidens have also been recovered from the UEF.^[27][28] In addition thisformation has yielded variouscrocodylomorph species,^[29] namelyLitargosuchus leptorhynchus,Sphenosuchus acutus andOrthosuchus stormbergi.^{[30][31][32][33]} A large theropod dinosaur,Dracovenator regenti, has been found in the UEF.^[34]Synapsids from the formation include thedicynodontPentasaurus goggai^[35] thetritheledontidcynodontElliotherium kersteni^[36][37] and themammaliaformMegazostrodon rudnerae.^[38] More recentvertebrate fossil finds near the town Qhemegha in theEastern Cape have yielded possible fossil material of apoposauroidpseudosuchian. Themudstones of the LEF sometimes yieldpetrified wood, fossil plant matter,crustaceans,fishes, andturtles while thesandstones of the upper Elliot Formation more often contain varioustrace fossils. These include vertebratetrackways of basal ornithischian dinosaurs found in theLeribe,Mafeteng, andMohales Hoek Districts ofLesotho. Possible trackways of the dicynodontPentasaurus have been found on Morobong Hill in theMohales Hoek District ofLesotho.^{[39][40][41][42]}

Ornithischians of the Elliot Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphy	Notes	Images
Abrictosaurus	A. consors		Upper Elliot	Aheterodontosaurid, formerly species ofLycorhinus
Eocursor	E. parvus		Upper Elliot	A basalornithischian
Fabrosaurus	F. australis		Upper Elliot	A basal ornithischian,nomen dubium
Heterodontosaurus	H. tucki		Upper Elliot	A heterodontosaurid
Lesothosaurus	L. diagnosticus		Upper Elliot	A basalneornithischian orthyreophoran, formerly species ofFabrosaurus
Lycorhinus	L. angustidens		Upper Elliot	A heterodontosaurid
Pegomastax	P. africana		Upper Elliot	A heterodontosaurid
Thyreophora	Thyreophora indet		Upper Elliot	Known from scutes[43]

Sauropodomorphs of the Elliot Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphy	Notes	Images
Aardonyx	A. celestae		Upper Elliot	A derivedsauropodomorph
Antetonitrus	A. ingenipes		Upper Elliot	A derived sauropodomorph or basalsauropod
Arcusaurus	A. pereirabdalorum	Spion Kop Heelbo	Upper Elliot	A basal sauropodomorph, known from juveniles
Blikanasaurus	B. cromptoni	Blikana Mountain	Lower Elliot	A derived sauropodomorph or basal sauropod
Eucnemesaurus	E. fortis		Lower Elliot	A possibleriojasaurid
	E. entaxonis
Euskelosaurus	E. browni		Lower Elliot	Aplateosaurid, potentially dubious
Gryponyx	G. africanus		Upper Elliot	Amassospondylid, potentially dubious
Ignavusaurus	I. rachelis		Upper Elliot	A massospondylid, known from a juvenile, potential synonym ofMassospondylus
Kholumolumo	K. ellenbergerorum		Lower Elliot	A basal sauropodiform
Ledumahadi	L. mafube			A derived sauropodomorph or basal sauropod, largest in the formation
Massospondylus	M. carinatus		Upper Elliot	A massospondylid, most common fossil found
	M. kaalae		Upper Elliot	A massospondylid, differs fromM. carinatus in cranial features
Melanorosaurus	M. readi	Thaba 'Nyama	Lower Elliot	A derived sauropodomorph
Meroktenos	M. thabanensis	Thabana Morena	Lower Elliot	A derived sauropodomorph, formerly a species ofMelanorosaurus
Plateosauravus	P. cullingworthi		Lower Elliot	A basal sauropodomorph, formerly specimens ofEuskelosaurus
Pulanesaura	P. eocollum		Upper Elliot	A derived sauropodomorph or basal sauropod
Sefapanosaurus	S. zastronensis		Upper or Lower Elliot	A derived sauropodomorph

Theropods of the Elliot Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphy	Notes	Images
Dracovenator	D. regenti	Upper Drumbo Farm	Upper Elliot	Adilophosaurid
Megapnosaurus	M. rhodesiensis	Syntarsus site.	Upper Elliot	Acoelophysid

Crocodylomorphs of the Elliot Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphy	Notes	Images
Basutodon	B. ferox		Lower Elliot	A dubioussuchian
Litargosuchus	L. leptorhynchus	Eagles Crag Farm	Upper Elliot	A basalcrocodylomorph
Orthosuchus	O. stormbergi		Upper Elliot	A possibleprotosuchid
Rauisuchian			Lower Elliot	A indeterminate large "Rauisuchian"
Sphenosuchus	S. acutus		Upper Elliot	A large basal crocodylomorph

Synapsids of the Elliot Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphy	Notes	Images
Elliotherium	E. kersteni		Lower Elliot	Atritheledontidcynodont
Megazostrodon	M. rudnerae		Upper Elliot	Amegazostrodontid cynodont
Pentasaurus	P. goggai		Lower Elliot	Astahleckeriiddicynodont
Scalenodontoides	S. macrodontes		Lower Elliot	A very largetraversodontid cynodont

• Geologic formations of Lesotho
• Geologic formations of South Africa
• Stormberg Group
• Jurassic System of Africa
• Early Jurassic Africa
• Triassic System of Africa
• Late Triassic Africa
• Jurassic South Africa
• Triassic South Africa
• Norian Stage
• Rhaetian Stage
• Hettangian Stage
• Limestone formations
• Sandstone formations
• Mudstone formations
• Paleontology in Lesotho
• Paleontology in South Africa
• Karoo
• Geography of the Eastern Cape
• Geography of the Free State (province)
• Mafeteng District
• Maseru District
• Quthing District

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