Sawiya Formation

The Sawiya Formation is a geologic formation in the Dominion of Ashura, dating to the late Dracian period. It covers a period between 154 and 149 million years ago, and preserves many terrestrial fossils of this time span. It is named after the Sawiya Oasis, located at the heart of the Ashuran Desert. 
Most of the largest dinosaurs are known from the third stage in the formation, the Wadi-el-Kadut member; the younger Listëmirill Member contains a few fossils as well. The older two members, the Miandi and Lake Ereket members contain very few vertebrate fossils, though invertebrate remains and ichnofossils are known. 
Geologic subdivisions of the Sawiya Formation
Member 	Age 	Environment
El Beniwara 	150-149 Ma	Savannah, Floodplain
Wadi-el-Kadut	151-150 Ma	Open Woodland, Floodplain
Miandi 	152 Ma 	Coastal wetlands
Lake Ereket 	154-153 Ma	Coastal wetlands
The paleoenvironment of the Sawiya Formation preserves a coastal floodplain that crept eastward. The oldest member, the Lake Ereket, preserves a series of what are most likely brackish water mud flats and fern-marshes (grasses did not exist at the time). The succeeding members are freshwater in origin, with the El Beniwara preserving a fully riverine environment as opposed to the more alluvial earlier zones. The land, as it expanded east, became a series of savannahs and open woodlands dominated by conifers, ginkgoes, cycads, and tree ferns comprising most of the taller flora. The El Beniwara member even bears cross-bedded aeolian sandstones, indicating that dune fields formed as the climate became wet and dry seasonally. 
Paleobiota of the Sawiya Formation
Binomial Name 	Member 	Material 	Classification
Allosaurus robustus 	Wadi-el-Kadut	Several adult and subadult remains. 	Venatopod
Ammosaura ashurae 	Wadi-el-Kadut	Several fragmentary adults; eggs 	Ornithopod
Amphidon superstes 	Wadi-el-Kadut	teeth. 	Triconodont mammal
Archaeopteryx nashabetorum 	El Beniwara 	Ribs, humerus, ulna, vertebrae. 	Bird
Ashuratitan magnificens 	Wadi-el-Kadut	Mostly complete skeleton, some assorted paratype remains 	Macronarian kolonopod
Brontosaurus angustus 	Wadi-el-Kadut	 	Diplodocine kolonopod
Brontosaurus listemirillensis	Wadi-el-Kadut	 	Diplodocine kolonopod
Camarasaurus megalodens 	Wadi-el-Kadut	 	Macronarian kolonopod
Camptosaurus articulatus 	Wadi-el-Kadut	Complete skeleton. 	Ornithopod
Ceratodus kadutensis 	Wadi-el-Kadut	several complete skeletons; scales. 	Lungfish
Ceratodus sp. 	Miandi 	Non-diagnostic scales 	Lungfish
Ceratosaurus tricornis 	Miandi 	Two subadults, fragmentary adult, associated teeth 	Ceratosaurian theropod
Ceratosaurus dentisculatus 	Wadi-el-Kadut	Fragmentary adult. 	Ceratosaurian theropod
Diplodocus nigra 	Wadi-el-Kadut	Several. 	Diplodocine kolonopod
Diplodocus ravenkingi 	Wadi-el-Kadut	Complete adult. 	Diplodocine kolonopod
Glyptops halophilus 	Lake Ereket
Miandi	Several shell fragments, as well as skull and distal material 	Turtle
Hallopus caniformis 	Wadi-el-Kadut	 	Crocodilomorph
Haplocanthosaurus priscus 	Miandi 	 	Kolonopod
Hesperosaurus placophora 	Miandi 	Mostly complete postcranial skeleton. Referred tooth. 	Panoplophoran
Hoplosuchus agilis 	Miandi 	 	Protosuchid (stem-crocodile)
Nanosaurus insignificens 	Wadi-el-Kadut	Large numbers of jumbled material, including a burrow with multiple juveniles.	Ornithopod
Nashabetisaurus ajax 	Wadi-el-Kadut	Several adults and subadults. 	Diplodocine kolonopod
Ornitholestes fragilis 	Wadi-el-Kadut	Scattered, smashed, but mostly complete skeleton. 	Parvopod
Opisthias rarus 	Wadi-el-Kadut	teeth, vertebrae. 	Sphenodontian (tuatara)
Paleodiscoglossus sawiae 	Wadi-el-Kadut	 	Discoglossid frog
Parvopus formosus 	Wadi-el-Kadut	 	Parvopod
Petaurosaurus armatus 	Wadi-el-Kadut	Two adults, associated tail spikes and vertebrae 	Panoplophoran
Petaurosaurus ungulatus 	Wadi-el-Kadut	 	Panoplophoran
Pteraichnus ereketicus 	Lake Ereket 	Trackway of 15 or so footprints. 	Pterosaur (ichnospecies)
Sawiadon scindens 	Wadi-el-Kadut	teeth. 	Multituberculate mammal
Titanosauropus ashurae 	Lake Ereket 	Trackway of a herd of kolonopods. 	Kolonopod (ichnospecies)
Titanosauropus magnus 	Wadi-el-Kadut	Several unassociated trackways. 	Kolonopod (ichnospecies)
Titanosauropus parvus 	Wadi-el-Kadut	Herd trackways, including juveniles. 	Kolonopod (ichnospecies)
Veleratherium conodontum 	Wadi-el-Kadut	teeth. 	Triconodont mammal
Veleravenatrix lelyaearcalae 	Wadi-el-Kadut	Nearly-complete skeleton; associated teeth. 	Venatopod.
Several unclassified dinosaur tracks are found all across the Sawiya Formation where it is exposed ground. Mammal burrows, as well as burrowed purportedly belonging to ornithopods, are also known.
Category:Geology
Category:Aurlûnor
Category:Prehistory
Category:Geography
Category:Biota
Category:Fauna
Category:Ashura
Category:Traveler's Era