The Missão Velha Formation is a late Jurassic geologic formation in northeastern Brazil's Araripe Basin where the states of Pernambuco, Piauí and Ceará come together. The formation is the middle stratigraphic unit of the Vale do Carirí Group, overlying the Brejo Santo Formation and overlain by the Abaiara Formation.
The formation comprises whitish fine-to-medium quartzose arenites, with subrounded to rounded grains, deposited in an alluvial fan environment during the syn-rift phase of the Araripe Basin.
The Missão Velha Formation has provided macrofossils of various genera of fish and reptiles as snakes, crocodylomorphs and turtles. Ichnofossils of dinosaurs were also discovered in the formation, as well as a tooth from an abelisaurid theropod.
Geology
Fossil content The following fossils were reported from the formation:Missão Velha Formation at Fossilworks.org Fish Parvodus rugianus Planohybodus peterboroughensis Planohybodus marki Mawsonia cf. gigas Acrodus sp. Hybodus sp. Lepidotes sp. Neoceratodus sp. Polyacrodus sp. Vinctifer sp. Lonchidiidae indet. Reptiles Turtles Pelomedusidae indet.Brito et al., 1994 Dinosaurs Sauropoda indet. Theropoda indet. Abelisauridae indet. Loricata Mesosuchia indet. Snakes Lacertilia indet. Amphibians ?Amphibia indet. Ichnofossils Carnosauria indet.Carvalho et al., 1995 Ornithopoda indet. Dinosauria indet. Plants Gymnospermae Agathoxylon mendezii Metapodocarpoxylon brasiliense
See also Crato Formation Romualdo Formation
References
Bibliography Geology
Paleontology