User:John Troodon/Study1

In Crimean penninsula there is an undescribed geological formation. Its strata is from early Oxfordian to Campanian or Maastrichtian. Its paleobiota is much like that of Bissekty Formation than biota of Hateg, which is closer to it.

There are three "parts" of this formation. First dates back to Oxfordian stage of Late Jurassic. Its rocks are usually red coloured and marine. It is called Dvuyakornaya Formation. Strata of second is Turonian stage. Rock colour - grey. And the third is from Campanian. The rocks are also grey.

Dinosaurs
Most Ukrainian books state that dinosaurs didn't live in Ukraine because it was underwater during whole Mesozoic. Howewer some state something totaly different. They say that during more than a half of Mesozoic Ukraine was land.

Cretaceous
The most abundant dinosaur in this geological formation, is Turanoceratops. Material found includes: phalanges, tail vertebrae, tooth and many jaw bones. Tail vertebrae are very strange, because they have small holes in them. These "holes" are identical to those on the tail of Psittacosaurus. Scientists think, that these "holes" housed long and thin spines. If true, it is the first evidence of such "spines" in Ceratopsidae.

Theropods
Theropod remains are very uncommon in this formation. There are only two species: Alectrosaurus and member of Troodontidae. Howewer, strange puncture wounds on a Bissektipelta scute, indicate that here lived another larger predator.

Ankylosaurs
Ankylosaurs were more widespread than theropods. In this formation lived two members of two their families: Polacanthidae and Ankylosauridae.

Other ornithischians
In this undescribed formations, were found very few ornithopod fossils. Only two species existed: Bactrosaurus and Orthomerus.

But there were much more ceratopsians.

Other reptiles
Apart from dinosaurs, in Crimea also lived several species of marine and terestrial reptiles.

Jurassic
Most of the fossils found in Jurassic deposits, south of city Yalta (this place is called "Dvuyakornaya Formation" ), are encased in marble. Remains found there include: ammonites, crocodiles, brachiopods. etc.

Theropods
There was found only a theropod tooth with a full root. It belongs to an early tyrannosauroid - Kileskus. Probably there also lived a Therizinosauridae.

Ornithopods
In this formation was found a rare specimen - a mummified skin of an ornithopod dinosaur.

Triassic
Possibly in Dvuyakornaya Formation also exist Rhaetian - Hettangian sediments, because there was found a tooth of prosauropod, like Massospondylus.

Stratigraphic features
Fossils from Jurassic, in this formation, are usually embeded in red rock, possibly granite or marble.