Pebbly Arkose Formation

The Pebbly Arkose Formation is a Late Triassic geologic formation found in southern Africa.

Pebbly Arkose
Stratigraphic range: Carnian ~235–222 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Pebbly arkose outcrop, Ndepa hill, Kariba District, Zimbabwe
Type	Geological formation
Unit of	Upper Karoo Group, Karoo Supergroup
Underlies	Forest Sandstone
Overlies	Escarpment Grit & Angwa Sandstone
Lithology
Primary	Sandstone
Location
Coordinates	16.2°S 30.3°E / -16.2; 30.3
Approximate paleocoordinates	50.8°S 11.9°E / -50.8; 11.9
Region	Mashonaland Central & West
Country	Botswana  Zambia  Zimbabwe
Type section
Named for	Descriptive name
Named by	A.M. MacGregor, Zimbabwe Geological Survey
Pebbly Arkose Formation (Africa) Show map of Africa Pebbly Arkose Formation (Zimbabwe) Show map of Zimbabwe

Geology

Description

The formation comprises mainly coarse, arkosic sandstones.^[1]

Extent

The Pebbly Arkose Formation is found in Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, in the Mid-Zambezi, Mana Pools, Cabora Bassa and Limpopo basins.

Stratigraphy

The Pebbly Arkose Formation is part of the Upper Karoo Group, overlies the Escarpment formation (in the Mid-Zambezi and Limpopo basins)^[2] and the Angwa Sandstone Formation (in the Mana Pools and Cabora Bassa Basins)^[3] and underlies the Forest Sandstone Formation.^[4]

The Pebbly Arkose has been correlated to the Elliot Formation of the Great Karroo Basin, South Africa^[4][5] and the Mpandi Formation of the Thuli Basin in Botswana and Zimbabwe.^[6]

Fossil content

Flora

Pinales of the Pebbly Arkose Formation
Taxa	Presence	Notes	Images
Form genus: Dadoxylon	Widespread in the formation[7]

Vertebrate fauna

Archosaur

Archosaurs of the Pebbly Arkose Formation
Taxon	Species	Presence	Materials	Notes	Images
Mbiresaurus[8]	M. raathi	Dande Communal Land.	A complete partially-articulated skeleton.	An early member of Sauropodomorpha
Musankwa[9]	M. sanyatiensis	Spurwing Island.	An articulated partial right leg.	A basal massopodan sauropodomorph
Massospondylus	M. sp.	Spurwing Island.		A basal sauropodomorph.
Aetosaur[8]	Indeterminate.
Herrerasaurid[8]	Indeterminate	Dande Communal Land.

Reptiles

Rhynchosauria of the Pebbly Arkose Formation
Taxon	Species	Presence	Materials	Notes	Images
Hyperodapedon[10]		Dande, Mbire District, Zimbabwe[10]

Synapsids

Synapsida of the Pebbly Arkose Formation
Taxon	Species	Presence	Materials	Notes	Images
Dicynodontia	Indeterminate.			A possible dicynodont[8]
Gomphodontosuchine[8]				A traversodontid cynodont.

Fish

Fish of the Pebbly Arkose Formation
Taxon	Species	Presence	Materials	Notes	Images
Ferganoceratodus[11]	F. edwardsi			A ceratodontiform lungfish

See also

• List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
  • List of stratigraphic units with indeterminate dinosaur fossils
• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Zimbabwe
• Geology of Zimbabwe
• Molteno Formation