The first fossils found in the Lameta Formation were discovered between 1917 and 1919.
The Lameta Formation was first identified in 1981 by geologists working for the Geological Survey of India (GSI), G. N. Dwivedi and Dhananjay Mahendrakumar Mohabey, after being given limestone structures–later recognised as dinosaur eggs–by workers of the ACC Cement Quarry in the village of Rahioli near the city Balasinor in the Gujarat state of western India.
Lithology
Paleoart of the Deccan trap illustrating the paleoenvironment of Lameta formation
The formation is underlain by the Lower Cretaceous sedimentary "Upper Gondwana Sequence" also known as the Jabalpur Formation, and is overlain by the Deccan Trapsbasalt. The Lameta Formation is only exposed at the surface as small isolated outcrops associated with the Satpura Fault. The lithology of the formation, depending on the outcrop, consists of alternating clay, siltstone and sandstonefacies, deposited in fluvial and lacustrine conditions. The environment at the time of deposition has alternatively been considered semi-arid, or tropical humid.
Dinosaurs of Lameta Formation in which a group of Rajasaurus (Middle) hunting an Isisaurus (Middle) with an Indosuchus (bottom left) watching it with her chicks and a Laevisuchus (Bottom right) running with two Jainosaurus (Top Left) in the background
Holotype skeleton consists of cervical, dorsal, sacral, caudal vertebrae, ribs, pelvis, scapula, coracoid, left forelimb, and other bones. Other specimens, such as the skull, hindlimb, and foot bones, are unknown.
Chui Hill, Bara Simla, Nand region, Pavan, Ghorpend, Bagh Caves, Dhar, Indwan, Kadwal, Dholiya Raipuriya village, Akhada village, Jhaba village, Padlya village, Jhabua, Dohad, Jhalod, Garadi, Kheda, Rahioli, Dholi Dungri.
Multiple specimens consist of fossilized egg shells that are covered in volcanic sediments
A partial skeleton consists of maxillae, premaxillae, braincase, and quadrate bone on the skull; and spine, hip bone, legs, and tail in post-cranial remains.
The overall length of the teeths ranges from 0.7 to 6cm, all were originally identified as belonging to Megalosaurus,(beside GSI Type No. 19988 as it was identified as a Majungasaurus tooth). However a specimen(GSI Type No. 19996) may instead represent a troodontid.
Initially described as allosauroid. But the researchers didn't classify it as an abelisaurid, possibly representing a member of a clade outside of abelisauroidea, the preserved height of the vertebra is 16cm.
May instead be a later cretaceous pterosaur, proposed to be either belonging to the Infratrappean or Intertrappean beds, although if it were a pterosaur it would not be Maastrichtian.
