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Albian is a stage of the Cretaceous period.

Albian is a term proposed in 1842 by A. d'Orbigny for that stage of the Cretaceous system which comes above (later) the Aptian and below (before) the Cenomanian (Pal. France. Cret. ii.). Approximate time range is 113 to 100.5 Ma (million years ago).

The following representatives of the Albian stage are worthy of notice: the gaize and phosphatic beds of Argonne and Bray in France; the Flammenmergel of North Germany; the lignites of Iltrillas in Spain; the Upper Sandstones of Nubia, and the Fredericksburg beds of North America.

Vertebrate Fauna[]

Ankylosaurs[]

Ankylosaurs of the Albian
Taxa
Presence
Location
Description
Images
Sauropelta jconway

Sauropelta

Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah, USA
Aptian to ?Albian Ulansuhai Formation, Inner Mongolia, China
Aptian to Albian Cloverly Formation, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, USA A medium-sized nodosaurid, measuring about 5 meters (16.5 ft) long, Sauropelta had a distinctively long tail which made up about half of its body length. Its neck and back were protected by an extensive bony body armor including characteristically large spines
Mongolia
Dakota Formation, Kansas, USA A nodosaurid estimated to have been approximately four meters in length (13 ft). Besides the usual rounded and polygonal osteoderms, Silvisaurus may have also sported bony spines on its shoulders and tail
  • Stegopelta
Late Albian to early Cenomanian Frontier Formation, Wyoming, USA A poorly known genus of nodosaurid
  • Texasetes
Paw Paw Formation, Texas, USA Poorly known, probably a nodosaurid

Birds[]

Birds of the Albian
Taxa
Presence
Location
Description
Images

Bony Fish[]

Bony Fish of the Albian
Taxa
Presence
Location
Description
Images

Cartilaginous Fish[]

Cartilaginous fish of the Albian
Taxa
Presence
Location
Description
Images

Ceratopsia[]

Ceratopsia of the Albian
Taxa
Presence
Location
Description
Images
Gobi Desert, Mongolia Had an intermediate phylogenetic position between Liaoceratops and Archaeoceratops within Neoceratopia

Crocodylomorphs[]

Crocodylomorphs of the Albian
Taxa
Presence
Location
Description
Images

Ichthyosaurs[]

Ichthyosaurs of the Albian
Taxa
Presence
Location
Description
Images

Mammalia[]

Mammals of the Hauterivian
Taxa
Presence
Location
Description
Images
several species from Hauterivian to Albian Spain, Mongolia
  • Kollikodon
Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia
Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia

Ornithopods[]

Ornithopods of the Albian
Taxa
Presence
Location
Description
Images
Khukhtek Formation, Dornogovi Province, Mongolia An advanced iguanodontian, just basal to the family Hadrosauridae
Qantassaurus sketch1

Qantassaurus

Aptian/Albian Dinosaur Cove, Victoria, Australia 2-3 meters long hypsilophodont
  • Eolambia
Albian-Cenomanian Utah, USA An iguanodont
China
Mongolia
China An early hadrosauroid iguanodont, about 17 - 20 feet (5 - 6 metres) in length. It had a narrow snout, an elongated lower jaw and double rows of flattened cheek teeth. It was a possible ancestor of the duck-billed dinosaurs.
  • Siluosaurus
Barremian to Albian
  • Theiophytalia
Aptian to Albian Purgatoire Formation, Colorado, USA An iguanodont described as intermediate in derivation between Camptosaurus and Iguanodon
Aptian to Albian Cloverly Formation, Montana, USA Hypsilophodont

Plesiosaurs[]

Plesiosauria of the Albian
Taxa
Presence
Location
Description
Images
  • Kronosaurus queenslandicus
Aptian to Albian Hughenden district, Queensland, Australia Among the largest pliosaurs, body-length estimates put the total length of Kronosaurus at 9–10 meters
Kronosaurus

Kronosaurus

Pterosauria[]

Pterosaurs of the Albian
Taxa
Presence
Location
Description
Images
  • Amblydectes
Cambridge Greensand, United Kingdom
Morocco; Santana Formation, Brazil; Paw Paw Formation, Texas, USA
Kent and Sussex, England, United Kingdom
Lianmuxin Formation, Xinjiang, China
Valanginian to Albian Lagarcito Formation, Argentina
Aptian or Albian Santana Formation, Brazil
Aptian to early Albian Santan do Cariri, Brazil; St Gallen, Switzerland
Albian or Cenomanian Santana Formation, Brazil
? Zhejiang, China

Sauropods[]

Sauropods of the Albian
Taxa
Presence
Location
Description
Images
Argentinosaurus BW

Argentinosaurus

? Brachiosaurus nougaredi Wargla, Algeria
Aptian or Albian

Theropods[]

Theropods of the Albian
Taxa
Presence
Location
Description
Images
USA (Maryland, Oklahoma, Texas), and Ethiopia
Asia
Niger
North America
  • Erectopus
Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Kenya

Invertebrate Fauna[]

Ammonites[]

Ammonitida[]

  • Moffitites
Originating in Lower Albian Strata[]

The following is a list of Ammonite genera whose fossils are geochronologically found first in lower Albian strata. These genera may survive into later portions of the Ablian stage, or even into later geological stages. This list should not be thought of in terms of the lifespan of the genera included.

Originating in Middle Albian Strata[]

The following is a list of Ammonite genera whose fossils are geochronologically found first in middle Albian strata. These genera may survive into later portions of the Ablian stage, or even into later geological stages. This list should not be thought of in terms of the lifespan of the genera included.

Originating in Upper Albian Strata[]

The following is a list of Ammonite genera whose fossils are geochronologically found first in upper Albian strata. These genera may survive into later portions of the Ablian stage, or even into later geological stages. This list should not be thought of in terms of the lifespan of the genera included.

Schloenbachia varians

Schloenbachia

SmallScaphites

Scaphites

Belemnites[]

Belemnites of the Albian
Taxa
Presence
Location
Description
Images
  • Belospirula
BelemniteDB2

Belemnites

  • Dimitobelus

Nautiloids[]

Nautiloids of the Albian
Taxa
Presence
Location
Description
Images
  • Deltoidonautilus
Cameroceras trentonese

An illustration of a variety of fossil nautiloids.

Phylloceratida[]

See also[]

References[]

External links[]

Cretaceous period
Lower/Early Cretaceous
Upper/Late Cretaceous
Berriasian | Valanginian | Hauterivian
Barremian | Aptian | Albian
Cenomanian | Turonian | Coniacian
Santonian | Campanian | Maastrichtian
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