| Lower Dharmaram Formation | |
| Type: | Geological formation |
| Age: | Latest Norian–Rhaetian ~ |
| Period: | Rhaetian |
| Prilithology: | Sandstone, Mudstone |
| Namedfor: | Dharmaram |
| Region: | Telangana |
| Coordinates: | 19.2°N 79.6°W |
| Paleocoordinates: | -32.3°N 36.1°W |
| Unitof: | Gondwana Group |
| Underlies: | Upper Dharmaram Formation |
| Overlies: | Upper Maleri Formation |
| Extent: | Pranhita–Godavari Basin |
The Lower Dharmaram Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is one of the formations of the Pranhita–Godavari Basin. It is of latest Norian and Rhaetian ages (Upper Triassic), and is notable for its fossils of early dinosaurs.
cf. Paratypothorax, cf. Nicrosaurus, fragmentary remains of sauropodomorphs (ISI R279, 280, 281) and neotheropods (ISI R283) have also been recovered from it.[1]
| Dinosaurs reported from the Lower Dharmaram Formation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images |
| Jaklapallisaurus | J. assymetrica | Telangana | "ISI R279, distal end of right femur." | A unaysaurid, also found in the Upper Maleri Formation | ||
| Sauropodomorpha | Indeterminate | Telangana | "ISIR 280, astragalus." | An Indeterminate Sauropodomorpha | ||
| Neotheropoda | Indeterminate | Telangana | "ISIR 283." | An Indeterminate Neotheropod | ||
| Pseudosuchians reported from the Lower Dharmaram Formation | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images | |
| Venkatasuchus | V. armatus[2] | Telangana | A typothoracine aetosaur | ||||
| cf. Paratypothorax | sp. | Telangana | |||||
| cf. Nicrosaurus | sp. | Telangana | |||||
| Desmatosuchinae indet. | Telangana | ||||||
The formation has been correlated with the Lower Elliot Formation (Karoo Basin) and Forest Sandstone of Africa, the Caturrita Formation of the Paraná Basin in Brazil, the Laguna Colorada and Los Colorados Formations (Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin) of Argentina, the Chinle Formation of North America, the Trossingen Formation of the Keuper of Germany, and the Nam Phong Formation of Thailand.[3]