Upper Dharmaram Formation


The Upper Dharmaram Formation is an Early Jurassic geologic formation found in Telangana, India. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.

Age

The Upper Dharmaram Formation overlies the Lower Dharmaram Formation, which dates to the Late Triassic, and conformably underlies the Kota Formation, the age of which is uncertain. Typical Triassic fauna, such as phytosaurs and aetosaurs, are absent from the Upper Dharmaram Formation, suggesting that it is Jurassic in age and that the boundary between the Lower and Upper Dharmaram Formation may correspond to the Triassic-Jurassic boundary. A Sinemurian age has been suggested based on faunal similarities to the Upper Elliot and Clarens Formations of southern Africa, the Kayenta Formation of North America, and the Lower Lufeng Formation of China. A Hettangian age has also been suggested.

Fossil organisms

Dinosaurs

TaxonLocationStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
Lamplughsaura dharmaramensisPartial skeletons of four individualsPossible basal Sauropod.

Pradhania gracilis
Partial skeleton including a few skull bones, three vertebrae, and partial manusA non-sauropod sauropodomorph, possibly a massospondylid.
Sauropodomorpha indet.Incomplete femurA probable third sauropodomorph taxon, distinct from both Lamplughsaura and Pradhania