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.
Fossil content The following vertebrate fossils were reported from the formation:Melovatka 3 at Fossilworks.orgPBDB 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 Fish
Chondrichthyes Sharks Sharks reported from the Melovatka Formation Taxon Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes ImagesArchaeolamnaA. cf. kopingensisAnomotodonA. principalisCretolamnaC. appendiculata C. ex gr. borealisCretoxyrhina C. denticulataC. vraconensisБирюков А. В. ЭЛАСМОБРАНХИИ СЕНОМАНА ПОВОЛЖЬЯ: РАЗНООБРАЗИЕ,ПАЛЕОБИОГЕОГРАФИЯ И СТРАТИГРАФИЧЕСКОЕ ЗНАЧЕНИЕ (с.126 - 197) https://www.paleo.ru/upload/medialibrary/fb0/2e8uj17p680gn4xwqfpm0a68u4lchbnd.pdf CantioscylliumC. cf. decipiens CarchariasC? sp. Possible may be teeth of representatives of Odontaspididae CretodusC. sp.https://www.ammonit.ru/tag/9476.htm%7C The material found by Pervush's team in 1999 is considered erroneous by some sources. DwardiusD. woodwardiEostriatolamiaE. subulataGaleorhinusG. glickmaniHybodontiformesindeterminate JohnlongiaJ. allocotodon"Megarhizodon""M. cf. macrorhiza" At present, the genus Megarhizodon is a subjective synonym for Leptostyrax. MeristodonoidesM. sp. ParaorthacodusP. recurvus"Pseudoisurus""P. denticulatus" Possible relative of Dwardius PseudomegachasmaP. casei PseudoscapanorhynchusP. cf. compressidens ProtolamnaP. sokolovi Ptychodus P. decurrensP. mammillaris PolyacrodusP. sp.ScapanorhynchusS. raphiodonSaratov (upper horizon): Cenomanian at Fossilworks.org S. minimusSqualicoraxS. falcatus S. curvatusSquatinaS. sp.SynechodusS. disparOdontaspisO. sp.OrectoloboidesO. parvulusPalaeoanacorax P. obliquus P. volgensisNot considered a valid taxon by some scientists
Other cartilaginous fish
Other cartilaginous fish reported from the Melovatka Formation Taxon Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes ImagesChimaeridae IndeterminateElasmodectesE. kiprijanoffi EdaphodonE. sedgwicki ElasmodusE. sinzovi IschyodusI. latus
Bony fish Osteichthyans reported from the Melovatka Formation Taxon Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes ImagesEnchodontidaeIndeterminateOsteichthyesindeterminate Dinosaurs Dinosaurs reported from the Melovatka Formation Taxon Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images CerebavisC. cenomanica An ornithuranIchthyornithidae Indeterminate Никита Зеленков, 2017. Elementy.ru https://elementy.ru/kartinka_dnya/307/Povolzhskiy_ikhtiornis
Pterosaurs Pterosaurs reported from the Melovatka Formation Taxon Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes ImagesLonchodectesL. sp.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_RegionSaratoviaS. glickmaniOrnithocheiroidea Indeterminate Targaryendraconia indet. Plesiosaurs
Plesiosaurs reported from the Melovatka Formation Taxon Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes ImagesElasmosauridaeindeterminateEvgeniy 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.pdfPlesiosauriaindeterminatePliosauridaeindeterminate Icthyosaurs
Icthyosaurs reported from the Melovatka Formation Taxon Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images PervushovisaurusP. campylodon A partial skull A platypterygiine ichthyosaur, previously named Platypterygius kiprianoffiMesozoic 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.Platypterygius?P. sp.
Turtles Turtles reported from the Melovatka Formation Taxon Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes ImagesChelonioideaindeterminate
See also List of pterosaur-bearing stratigraphic units List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Russia Sekmenevsk Formation
References