Type Geological formation Thickness 870-2900 meters Country China Primary Slate | Underlies Zhangjiakou Formation Other Sandstone Region Asia Overlies Tiaojishan Formation | |
The Tuchengzi Formation (simplified Chinese: 土城子组; traditional Chinese: 土城子組; pinyin: Tǔchéngzǐ Zǔ) is a geological formation in China whose strata spans the Tithonian (Late Jurassic) to Berriasian (Early Cretaceous) ages. Dinosaur fossils, particularly footprints, have been found from the formation.
Vertebrate paleofauna
The Tuchengzi Formation was deposited during a time of transition between the Daohugou Biota and the Jehol biota. The Tuchengzi represents a poorer, more arid climate that appears to have caused much of the Daohugou fauna to become extinct. They would later be replaced by the Jehol biota when conditions became more favorable to a diversity of terrestrial animal life.
Indeterminate sauropod remains formerly attributed to the Mamenchisauridae and Brachiosauridae have been found in Liaoning, China. Theropod tracks, including those made by avialans, have been found in Liaoning, China.