Lapurr Sandstone

The Lapurr Sandstone, also spelled Lapur Sandstone, previously considered part of the informal "Turkana Grits", is a geological formation in Kenya (Turkana County). It is the oldest unit in the Turkana Basin. The strata date back to the Late Cretaceous, likely Campanian to Maastrichtian, based on palynology and the presence of dyrosaurs and mosasaurs, the upper part of the unit likely extends into the Palaeogene, based on zircon dating.^[1] It predominantly consists of fine-coarse arkosic sandstone, which has been interpreted as either been deposited in fluvial or shallow marine conditions.^[2][1] Dinosaur remains among other vertebrates have been recovered from it around Lokitaung Gorge, though these mostly consist of heavily abraded, isolated bones of robust morphology like sauropod limb bones and caudal vertebrae.^[3][1]

Lapurr Sandstone
Stratigraphic range: Campanian-Paleocene ~72–65 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Type	Geological formation
Underlies	Oligocene basalt
Overlies	Precambrian metamorphic basement
Thickness	400–610 m (1,310–2,000 ft)
Lithology
Primary	Sandstone
Location
Coordinates	4.3°N 35.8°E / 4.3; 35.8
Approximate paleocoordinates	13.8°S 27.8°E / -13.8; 27.8
Region	Rift Valley Province
Country	Kenya
Extent	Turkana Basin, Great Rift Valley, Kenya
Type section
Named for	Lake Turkana
Lapurr Sandstone (Kenya)

Vertebrate paleofauna

Dinosaurs
Taxa	Presence	Notes	Images
Lithostrotia gen. et sp. nov.[4]	Rift Valley Province, Kenya	An unnamed titanosaur
Spinosaurus sp.?[5] (probably Theropoda indet.)[citation needed]	Rift Valley Province, Kenya
Sauropoda indet		Two distinct taxa
Iguanodontia indet		Two distinct taxa
?Ornithopoda indet.[3]	Rift Valley Province, Kenya[3]
Abelisauridae gen. et sp. nov.[6]	Rift Valley Province, Kenya	An unnamed giant abelisaurid, known from partial cranial and post cranial remains
Theropoda indet.		Large taxon

Other reptiles
Taxa	Presence	Notes	Images
Mosasauria indet[1]		Caudal vertebra, initially misidentified as the vertebra of a pterosaur[7][1]
Dyrosauridae[1]		Abundant remains
Testudines[1]

See also

• List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations