The Melovatka or Melovatsskaya Formation is a Cenomanian geologic formation in Russia. Pterosaur fossils have been recovered from the formation.
Description
The two phosphorite horizons are separated in places by a yellowish sand interbed up to 1 m thick; however, they sometimes merge into a single horizon. The lower interbed or part of the integrated phosphorite horizon shows in places straight diagonal bedding, which is manifested in the orientation of almost flat pellets, pebbles, and pseudomorphs on bivalve shells. The phosphate concretions are irregular aggregates and rounded pebbles, ranging in size from several millimeters to 5–10 cm. They are dark brown or nearly black.[1]
Fossil content
The following vertebrate fossils were reported from the formation:[1][2]
Fish
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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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Chondrichthyes
Sharks
Other cartilaginous fish
| Other cartilaginous fishs reported from the Melovatka Formation
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| Taxon
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Species
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Location
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Stratigraphic position
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Material
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Notes
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Images
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| Chimaeridae
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Indeterminate
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| Elasmodectes
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E. kiprijanoffi
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| Edaphodon
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E. sedgwicki
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| Elasmodus
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E. sinzovi
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| Ischyodus
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I. latus
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Bony fish
| Osteichthyans reported from the Melovatka Formation
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| Taxon
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Species
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Location
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Stratigraphic position
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Material
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Notes
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Images
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| Enchodontidae
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Indeterminate
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| Osteichthyes
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indeterminate
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Dinosaurs
| Dinosaurs reported from the Melovatka Formation
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| Taxon
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Species
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Location
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Stratigraphic position
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Material
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Notes
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Images
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| Cerebavis
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C. cenomanica[8]
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An ornithuran
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| Ichthyornithidae
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Indeterminate [9][10]
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Pterosaurs
Plesiosaurs
Icthyosaurs
Turtles
| Turtles reported from the Melovatka Formation
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| Taxon
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Species
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Location
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Stratigraphic position
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Material
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Notes
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Images
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| Chelonioidea
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indeterminate
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See also
- List of pterosaur-bearing stratigraphic units
- List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Russia
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Melovatka 3 at Fossilworks.org
- ↑ PBDB collection. https://paleobiodb.org/classic/displayCollResults?taxon_no=81365&max_interval=Cretaceous&country=Russian%20Federation&is_real_user=1&basic=yes&type=view&match_subgenera=1
- ↑ Бирюков А. В. ЭЛАСМОБРАНХИИ СЕНОМАНА ПОВОЛЖЬЯ: РАЗНООБРАЗИЕ,ПАЛЕОБИОГЕОГРАФИЯ И СТРАТИГРАФИЧЕСКОЕ ЗНАЧЕНИЕ (с.126 - 197) https://www.paleo.ru/upload/medialibrary/fb0/2e8uj17p680gn4xwqfpm0a68u4lchbnd.pdf
- ↑ https://www.ammonit.ru/tag/9476.htm%7C[full citation needed]
- ↑ "Бирюков А.В. ЭЛАСМОБРАНХИИ СЕНОМАНА ПОВОЛЖЬЯ: РАЗНООБРАЗИЕ, ПАЛЕОБИОГЕОГРАФИЯ И СТРАТИГРАФИЧЕСКОЕ ЗНАЧЕНИЕ" (in ru). https://www.paleo.ru/upload/medialibrary/7f1/ie9a2gnkcuvdof0qpafxmj9xkckh96i1.pdf.
- ↑ Saratov (upper horizon): Cenomanian at Fossilworks.org
- ↑ Kurochkin, E. N.; Saveliev, S. V.; Postnov, A. A.; Pervushov, E. M.; Popov, E. V. (December 2006). "On the brain of a primitive bird from the upper Cretaceous of European Russia". Paleontological Journal 40 (6): 655–667. doi:10.1134/S0031030106060086.
- ↑ Walsh, Stig A.; Milner, Angela C.; Bourdon, Estelle (August 2016). "A reappraisal of Cerebavis cenomanica (Aves, Ornithurae), from Melovatka, Russia". Journal of Anatomy 229 (2): 215–227. doi:10.1111/joa.12406. PMID 26553244.
- ↑ Zelenkov, Nikita V.; Averianov, Alexander O.; Popov, Evgeny V. (July 2017). "An Ichthyornis-like bird from the earliest Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of European Russia". Cretaceous Research 75: 94–100. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2017.03.011.
- ↑ Никита Зеленков, 2017. Elementy.ru https://elementy.ru/kartinka_dnya/307/Povolzhskiy_ikhtiornis
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Averianov, Alexander O.; Kurochkin, Evgeny N.; Pervushov, Evgeny M.; Ivanov, Alexei V. (2005). "Two bone fragments of ornithocheiroid pterosaurs from the Cenomanian of Volgograd Region, southern Russia". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 50 (2): 289–294. https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app50-289.html.
- ↑ Alexander Averianov, E. N. Kurochkin, 2010.
A new pterosaurian record from the Cenomanian of the Volga Region https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226217045_A_new_pterosaurian_record_from_the_Cenomanian_of_the_Volga_Region
- ↑ Averianov, A. O. (2025). "A new ornithocheiran pterosaur from the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of Saratov, Russia". Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 97 (Suppl. 1). doi:10.1590/0001-3765202520241063. PMID 40298668.
- ↑ Averianov, A. O.; Gubarev, D. I. (2026). "A pterosaur cervical vertebra from the Cenomanian of Russia: first diagnostic postcranial material for Targaryendraconia". Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology: 1–7. doi:10.1080/08912963.2026.2619532.
- ↑ Evgeniy Pervushov, Maxim Savvich Arkhangelsky, Ivanov A.V., 1999. https://undor-muz.ru/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Pervushov.et_.alii_.1999.Katalog.mestonahozhdenij.morskih.reptilij.J-K.Povolzhja.pdf
- ↑ Mesozoic marine reptiles of Russia and other former Soviet Republics". The Age of Dinosaurs in Russia and Mongolia. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 2000. pp. 187–210.Template:Isbn?
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