Created by Bhatti21
Last edited January 19, 2026


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The Takli Formation is a Maastrichtian geologic formation in India.[1] Dinosaur remains diagnostic to the genus level are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.[2]

Paleobiota[edit | edit source]

Template:Paleobiota-key-compact

Dinosaurs[edit | edit source]

Sauropods
Sauropods from the Takli Formation
Genus Species Material Location Time Period Notes Images
Fusioolithus F. baghensis eggshell fragments Maharashtra Maastrichtian Sauropod Eggs.
Sauropoda[3][4] Indeterminate tooth Gujarat Maastrichtian A Sauropod.
Titanosauridae Indeterminate teeth Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Titanosaur.
Theropods
Theropods from the Takli Formation
Genus Species Material Location Time Period Notes Images
?Coelurosauria[4] Indeterminate teeth Maharashtra Maastrichtian Coelurosauria was a common wastebasket taxon.
?Megalosauridae Indeterminate teeth Maharashtra Maastrichtian Megalosauridae was a common wastebasket taxon.
Massospondylus[5][6] M. rawesi Tooth Maharashtra Maastrichtian Previously thought to be a Massospondylus now known to be an indeterminate abelisaurid.[7]
Theropoda[3] Indeterminate Teeth. Gujarat Maastrichtian An indeterminate theropod.

Other Archosaurs[edit | edit source]

Other Archosaurs from the Takli Formation
Genus Species Material Location Time Period Notes Images
Archosauria[4] Indeterminate teeth Maharashtra Maastrichtian Either a saurischian or a crocodillan.
Crocodyliformes[8] Indeterminate Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Crocodyliform.

Lepidosaurs[edit | edit source]

Lepidosaurs from the Takli Formation
Genus Species Material Location Time Period Notes Images
Gekkonidae[9] Indeterminate Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Gecko.
Boidae[10][11] Indeterminate Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Snake.
Scincomorpha[10][11] Indeterminate Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Scincomorph.
?Contogenys[9] sp. Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Globaurid.
Anguidae[12] Indeterminate Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Anguid.
Litakis[9] sp. Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Platynota.
Exostinus E. estesi[9]

E. estesai

Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Xenosaurid.
Pristiguana P. sp. Maharashtra Maastrichtian An Iguanid.
Iguanidae[9] Indeterminate Maharashtra Maastrichtian An iguanid.

Amphibians[edit | edit source]

Amphibians from the Takli Formation
Genus Species Material Location Time Period Notes Images
Anura[13] Indeterminate Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Frog.
Pelobatidae[11] Indeterminate Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Spadefoot Toad.

Fish[edit | edit source]

Fishes from the Takli Formation
Genus Species Material Location Time Period Notes Images
Pycnodus P. lametae

P. bicresta[14]

Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Pycnodontid Fish.
Belonostomus[10] sp. Maharashtra Maastrichtian An Aspidorhynchid Fish.
Sphyraena[12] sp. Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Barracuda.
Enchodus E. ferox[12]

sp.[10]

Maharashtra Maastrichtian An Enchodontid Fish.
Clupeidae[12] Indeterminate Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Clupeid Fish.
Apateodus[14] A. striatus Maharashtra Maastrichtian An Ichthyotringid Fish.
Stephanodus[14] S. lybicus Maharashtra Maastrichtian An Eotrigonodontid Fish.
Ostracion[12] sp. Maharashtra Maastrichtian An Ostraciid Fish.
Palaeolabrus[14] P. dormaalensis Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Palaeolabrid Fish.
Lepisosteus[12] L. indicus Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Gar.
Lepidotes[10] sp. Maharashtra Maastrichtian A possible late surviving lepidotid.
Dasyatis[10] sp. Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Whiptail stingray.
Igdabatis I. sigmodon Maharashtra Maastrichtian An Eagle ray.
Osteoglossum O. deccanensis Maharashtra Maastrichtian A osteoglossid Fish.
Osteichthyes[13] Indeterminate Ganoid and Cycloid scales Maharashtra Maastrichtian An Bony fish.

Mammals[edit | edit source]

Mammals from the Takli Formation
Genus Species Material Location Time Period Notes Images
Symmetrodonta[12] Indeterminate Maharashtra Maastrichtian An Allotherian Mammal.

Molluscas[edit | edit source]

Molluscas from the Takli Formation
Genus Species Material Location Time Period Notes Images
Bivalvia Indeterminate Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Clam.
Limnaea sp. Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Snail.
Valvata sp. Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Snail.
Paludina sp. Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Snail.
Physa P. prinsepii Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Snail.

Crustaceans[edit | edit source]

Crustaceans from the Takli Formation
Genus Species Material Location Time Period Notes Images
Ostracoda[15] Indeterminate Maharashtra Maastrichtian An Ostracod.

Turtles[edit | edit source]

Turtles from the Takli Formation
Genus Species Material Location Time Period Notes Images
Pelomedusidae[12] Indeterminate Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Pelomedusid Turtle.
Testudinata Indeterminate Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Turtle.

Insects[edit | edit source]

Insects from the Takli Formation
Genus Species Material Location Time Period Notes Images
?Buprestidae[16] Indeterminate Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Jewel beetle.
Lomatus[16][17] L. hislopi Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Jewel beetle.
?Curculionidae Indeterminate Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Snout beetle.
Meristos[16] M. hunteri Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Snout beetle.
Palaeotanymecides[16] P. hislopi Maharashtra Maastrichtian A Snout beetle.

Flora[edit | edit source]

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Tákli Plain, northwest of Nagpur at Fossilworks.org
  2. Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution." Pp. 517-607.
  3. 3.0 3.1 A. Sahni and S. Bajpai. 1988. Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary events: the fossil vertebrate, palaeomagnetic and radiometric evidence from Peninsualr India. Journal of the Geological Society of India 32(5):382-395
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Vianey-Liaud, Monique; Jain, Sohan L.; Sahni, Ashok (1988-01-22). "Dinosaur eggshells (Saurischia) from the Late Cretaceous Intertrappean and Lameta formations (Deccan, India)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 7 (4): 408–424. Bibcode:1988JVPal...7..408V. doi:10.1080/02724634.1988.10011673. ISSN 0272-4634.
  5. R. Lydekker. 1890. Note on certain vertebrate remains from the Nagpur district. Records of the Geological Survey of India 23(1):21-24
  6. Weishampel, David B. (1990). "Dinosaur distribution". In David B. Weishampel; Peter Dodson; Halszka Osmólska (eds.). The Dinosauria (1st ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 63–139. ISBN 978-0-520-06727-1.
  7. Hendrickx, C.; Soto Núñez, M.; Araújo, R.; Meso, J. G.; Maganuco, S.; Ben-Salahuddin, A. (2025). "Isolated abelisaurid teeth from Gondwana and dental evolution in Abelisauridae". Ameghiniana. doi:10.5710/AMGH.17.09.2025.3654.
  8. Rio, Jonathan P.; Mannion, Philip D. (2021-09-06). "Phylogenetic analysis of a new morphological dataset elucidates the evolutionary history of Crocodylia and resolves the long-standing gharial problem". PeerJ. 9 e12094. Bibcode:2021PeerJ...912094R. doi:10.7717/peerj.12094. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 8428266. PMID 34567843.
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Kapur, Vivesh V.; Khosla, Ashu (2018-12-03). "Faunal elements from the Deccan volcano-sedimentary sequences of India: A reappraisal of biostratigraphic, palaeoecologic, and palaeobiogeographic aspects". Geological Journal. 54 (5): 2797–2828. doi:10.1002/gj.3379. ISSN 0072-1050.
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 S. L. Jain. 1989. Recent dinosaur discoveries in India, including eggshells, nests and coprolites. In D. D. Gillette & M. G. Lockley (ed.), Dinosaur Tracks and Traces 99-108
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 Rage, Jean-Claude; Prasad, Guntupalli V. R.; Verma, Omkar; Khosla, Ashu; Parmar, Varun (2020), Prasad, Guntupalli V.R.; Patnaik, Rajeev (eds.), "Anuran Lissamphibian and Squamate Reptiles from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Deccan Intertrappean Sites in Central India, with a Review of Lissamphibian and Squamate Diversity in the Northward Drifting Indian Plate", Biological Consequences of Plate Tectonics: New Perspectives on Post-Gondwana Break-up–A Tribute to Ashok Sahni, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 99–121, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-49753-8_6, ISBN 978-3-030-49753-8, retrieved 2024-08-18{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 "Palaeontology and palaeoecology of the intertrappean (Cretaceous-Tertiary transition) beds of the peninsular India" (PDF). palaeontologicalsociety.in.
  13. 13.0 13.1 S. Hislop. 1861. Remarks on the geology of Nágpur. Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 6:194-204
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 "Vertebrate Fauna From the Infra- and Inter-trappean Beds of Andhra Pradesh: Age Implications".
  15. "New Evidence for Paleobiogeographic Intercontinental Gondwana Relationships Based on Late Cretaceous-Earliest Paleocene Coastal Faunas from Peninsular India".
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 A. Murray. 1860. Notes on some fossil insects from Nagpur. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society 16:182-186
  17. Bellamy, C. L. (2013). "Fossil Buprestidae". A Checklist of World Buprestoidea. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 7 Sep 2021.

Bibliography[edit | edit source]