Ferruginous Sands

The Ferruginous Sands is a geologic formation in England. It preserves fossils dating back to the Aptian Stage of the Cretaceous period. It consists of "a number of heavily bioturbated coarsening-upward units each comprising dark grey sandy muds or muddy sands passing up into fine-to medium-grained grey to green glauconitic sands."^[1] The dinosaur Vectaerovenator inopinatus is known from the formation.^[2] Shark teeth are also known from the formation, including those of an indeterminate lamniform shark and Palaeospinax (formerly Synechodus).^[3]

Ferruginous Sands
Stratigraphic range: Early Cretaceous, ~116 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
The Ferruginous Sands at Chale Bay, Isle of Wight
Type	Formation
Unit of	Lower Greensand Group
Sub-units	Member IV, Member V, Member VI, Whale Chine Member, Member VIII, Ladder Chine Member, Member X, Member XI, Old Walpen Chine Member, New Walpen Chine Member, Member XIV and Member XV.
Underlies	Sandrock Formation
Overlies	Atherfield Clay Formation
Thickness	up to 161 metres
Lithology
Primary	Weakly cemented Mudstone and Sandstone
Location
Region	England
Country	United Kingdom
Extent	Isle of Wight, Dorset
Exposure of the Ferruginous Sands on the Isle of Wight, shown in Spring green

See also

• Earth sciences portal
• England portal
• Paleontology portal

• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in England