Flowerpot Formation (also referred to as the Flower Pot Formation) is a geologic formation in Texas and Oklahoma preserving fossils dated to the Early Permian.
Description The Flowerpot formation is very similar in geology to and was once thought to overlie the San Angelo formation, sometimes only being able to be differentiated by what layer underlie the unit in the area of study, both being mostly made up of red shales. Though unlike San Angelo, the depositional environment of the terrestrial shales of the Flowerpot formation seemed to be immediately adjacent along with the formation of deltas and floodplains being present. Due to this, stream deposits from the formation can directly be traces to the nearby basin. The formation lacks plant fossils, however there are records of carbonaceous streaks.
Paleobiota
Actinopterygii GenusSpeciesNotesImagePalaeoniscidae?There is not much fish material preserved in the formation it is unknown if this is due to the preservation bias or the fact that not many fish lived in the area.
Amphibia GenusSpeciesNotesImageCymatorhizaC. kittsiA large microsaur known from a part of the mandible with tooth rooting similar to what is seen in other genera such as Euryodus.
Eureptilia GenusSpeciesNotesImageKahneriaK. seltinaA large captorhinid common in the Flower Pot formation, the animal's dentition contained a diastema at the pterygoid. It was overall similar to other captorhinids such as Captorhinus.Rothianiscus La faune de vertébrés du Permien supérieur du Nigér IR. multidontaA large captorhinid originally described as the genus Rothia, it had a skull length of around 26 cm. Based on the dentition, it would have been either herbivorous or omnivorous.
Synapsida GenusSpeciesNotesImageAngelosaurusA. dolaniA caseid that lacks the development of the large proximal end of the tibia seen in other members of the family. A. romeri has shorter and wider crowns than what is seen in the other two species.A. greeniA. romeriCaseopsisC. agilisA medium-sized caseid with a light build and long limbs, though the articular surfaces on the limb bones are small for the size of the animal.C. cf. agilisA caseid very similar to C. agilis though due to poor preservation it can't be confidentially attributed to the species. It also has a slightly more robust tibia than what is seen in other specimens of C. agilis.CotylorhynchusC. bransoniA large caseid though the smallest species within the genus.SteppesaurusS. gurleyiA potential sphenacodontid that was originally though to be from the San Angelo formation before some geological revisions. The animal shows a large reduction in its dentition on the maxilla and premaxilla along with a slightly longer face than what is seen in Dimetrodon.
Plants GenusSpeciesNotesImageSphenophyllumS. gilmorei
References