Griman Creek Formation

Griman Creek Formation Stratigraphic range: late Albian-early-mid Cenomanian ~106–98 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Type	Geological formation
Unit of	Rolling Downs Group
Sub-units	Coocoran Claystone & Wallangulla Sandstone Members
Underlies	Unconformity with Oligo-Miocene Cumborah Gravel
Overlies	Surat Siltstone, Wallumbilla Formation
Thickness	Up to 345 m (1,132 ft)
Lithology
Primary	Sandstone, siltstone, mudstone
Other	Conglomerate, coal
Location
Coordinates	[ ⚑ ] : 29°24′S 147°42′E / 29.4°S 147.7°E / -29.4; 147.7
Paleocoordinates	[ ⚑ ] 64°24′S 134°54′E / 64.4°S 134.9°E / -64.4; 134.9
Region	Queensland New South Wales
Country	Australia
Extent	Surat Basin
Type section
Named for	Griman Creek
Named by	Reiser
Year defined	1970
Griman Creek Formation (Australia)

The Griman Creek Formation is a geological formation in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland, Australia whose strata date back to the Albian-Cenomanian stages of the mid-Cretaceous.^[1] It is most notable being a major source of opal, found near the town of Lightning Ridge, New South Wales. Alongside the opal opalised fossils are also found, including those of dinosaurs and primitive monotremes.^[2]

As a whole, the formation primarily consists of thinly bedded medium to fine sandstone, siltstone and mudstone, with sporadic coal seams. In the vicinity of Lightning Ridge, it is divided up into two informal members the underlying Wallangulla Sandstone Member which primarily consists of red fine grained sandstone, light siltstone and grey claystone and is up to 30 metres (98 ft) thick while the overlying Coocoran Claystone consists of about 10 metres of claystone. The contact between the two units is sudden and unconformable. Discontinuous clay lens beds within the Wallangulla Sandstone Member near Lightning Ridge, referred to as the Finch Clay Facies, are one of Australia's primary sources of commercial precious opal, with many mines dug in the area. These deposits are also the primary source of fossils within the formation, a large proportion of which are preserved as semi-precious opalized pseudomorphs. The fauna found in lightning ridge indicates that the depositional environment of the Finch Clay Facies was in near-coastal freshwater lagoons.^[1]

Indeterminate avialan, euornithopod, and sauropod remains that were once misidentified as brachiosaurid are present in New South Wales, Australia.^[2] Euornithopod tracks are also present in New South Wales.

Indeterminate ornithopods and iguanodontians are known from the formation.^[1] Indeterminate avetheropods and megaraptorans are known from the formation.^[1]

Two species of titanosauriforms and one species of titanosaur are known from teeth.^[5]

Theropods of the Griman Creek Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Image
Indeterminate			Partial femora
Megaraptora Indet. ("Lightning Claw")[7]	Indeterminate	New South Wales, Autralia		Partial skeleton including parts of the lower arm, claws, lower leg, part of the hip, and pieces of ribs.
Noasauridae Indet.[8]	Indeterminate			Cervical vertebra
Rapator[2][9]	R. ornitholestoides	New South Wales, Australia		"Manual element"	A megaraptoran theropod
Walgettosuchus[2][10][2]	W. woodwardi	New South Wales, Australia		"Vertebra"	An indeterminate theropod

Crocodylomorphs of the Griman Creek Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Image
Isisfordia[11]	I. molnari	Lightning Ridge, New South Whales, Australia		Braincase and referred maxillary fragment	A neosuchian metasuchian

Monotremes of the Griman Creek Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Image
Dharragarra[15]	D. aurora			A partial left mandibular ramus.	A ornithorhynchid monotreme
Kollikodon[15]	K. ritchiei			An opalised dentary fragment, with one premolar and two molars in situ, as well as a referred maxillary fragment containing the last premolar and all four molars	A kollikodontid monotreme
Opalios[15]	O. splendens			A fragmentary left dentary.	A opalionid monotreme
Parvopalus	P. clytiei			A partial left dentary.	A steropodontid monotreme
Steropodon	S. galmani				A steropodontid monotreme
Stirtodon	S. elizabethae			A large isolated premolars.	A teinolophid monotreme

• List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
• South Polar region of the Cretaceous
• Western Interior Seaway
• Cenomanian-Turonian extinction event

• Frauenfelder, Timothy G.; Campione, Nicolás E.; Smith, Elizabeth T.; Bell, Phil R. (July 2021). "Diversity and palaeoecology of Australia's southern-most sauropods, Griman Creek Formation (Cenomanian), New South Wales, Australia". Lethaia 54 (3): 354–367. doi:10.1111/let.12407. Bibcode: 2021Letha..54..354F. 
• Birch, Sienna A.; Smith, Elizabeth T.; Bell, Phil R. (29 January 2020). "Noasaurids are a component of the Australian 'mid'-Cretaceous theropod fauna". Scientific Reports 10 (1): 1428. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-57667-7. PMID 31996712. Bibcode: 2020NatSR..10.1428B. 
• Bell, Phil R.; Fanti, Federico; Hart, Lachlan J.; Milan, Luke A.; Craven, Stephen J.; Birch, Sienna A.; Smith, Elizabeth (January 2019). "Revised geology, age, and vertebrate diversity of the dinosaur-bearing Griman Creek Formation (Cenomanian), Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 514: 655–671. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.11.020. Bibcode: 2019PPP...514..655B. 
• Hart, Lachlan J.; Bell, Phil R.; Smith, Elizabeth T.; Salisbury, Steven W. (21 June 2019). "Isisfordia molnari sp. nov . , a new basal eusuchian from the mid-Cretaceous of Lightning Ridge, Australia". PeerJ 7. doi:10.7717/peerj.7166. PMID 31275756. 
• Bell, Phil R.; Herne, Matthew C.; Brougham, Tom; Smith, Elizabeth T. (4 December 2018). "Ornithopod diversity in the Griman Creek Formation (Cenomanian), New South Wales, Australia". PeerJ 6. doi:10.7717/peerj.6008. PMID 30533306. 
• Bell, Phil R.; Burns, Michael E.; Smith, Elizabeth T. (2 January 2018). "A probable ankylosaurian (Dinosauria, Thyreophora) from the Early Cretaceous of New South Wales, Australia". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology 42 (1): 120–124. doi:10.1080/03115518.2017.1384851. Bibcode: 2018Alch...42..120B. 
• Bell, Phil R.; Cau, Andrea; Fanti, Federico; Smith, Elizabeth T. (August 2016). "A large-clawed theropod (Dinosauria: Tetanurae) from the Lower Cretaceous of Australia and the Gondwanan origin of megaraptorid theropods". Gondwana Research 36: 473–487. doi:10.1016/j.gr.2015.08.004. Bibcode: 2016GondR..36..473B. 
• Smith, Elizabeth T.; Kear, Benjamin P. (2013). "Spoochelys ormondea gen. Et sp. Nov., an Archaic Meiolaniid-Like Turtle from the Early Cretaceous of Lightning Ridge, Australia". Morphology and Evolution of Turtles. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. pp. 121–146. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-4309-0_9. ISBN 978-94-007-4308-3. 
• Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; Osmólska, Halszka, eds (2004). The Dinosauria (2nd ed.). University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-94143-4. 

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