Search Results (3)

The purpose of this paper was to identify the types of stone used in the “Resthouses” along the Northwest Royal Road connecting Angkor in Cambodia and Phimai in Thailand and to determine their sources through magnetic susceptibility measurements and chemical composition analyses. Laterite was the primary building material for the “Resthouses”, except for Pr. Ku Sila Khan in Thailand. Pr. Ku Sila Khan, located at the northernmost point of the Northwest Royal Road, was primarily built with fine-grained red sandstone. Based on the magnetic susceptibility and the V, Sr, and As contents of the laterite, the following pairs of “Resthouses” were likely sourced from the same quarries: Pr. Sampov and Pr. Saman Teng, Pr. Kok Ac Chring and Pr. Kok Mon, Pr. Ta Muan and Pr. Thamo, and Pr. Ban Bu and Pr. Non Kong. Fine-grained red sandstone, white siliceous sandstone, red siliceous sandstone, and gray sandstone were used for the frame material of the openings. The Rb vs. Ti diagram and magnetic susceptibility measurements suggest that the fine-grained red sandstone and siliceous white sandstone used in the “Resthouses” in Thailand were likely sourced from the Khok Kruat Formation and the Phu Phan Formation, respectively. However, the red siliceous sandstone and white siliceous sandstone used in the “Resthouses” in Cambodia are presumed to have been sourced from the Sao Khua Formation and the Phra Wihan Formation, respectively. Gray sandstone from the Phu Kradung Formation was uniquely used in the frame material of the openings of Pr. Sampov and Pr. Kok Mon in Cambodia. In conclusion, the sandstone used in the door and window frames of the “Resthouses” appears to have been determined by the surrounding geology. Laterite was used as the primary building material for the “Resthouses” along the Northwest Royal Road, whereas valuable sandstone was used for those along the East Royal Road. This suggests that the Northwest Royal Road was of lesser importance compared to the East Royal Road. Full article

An exceptional articulated skeleton of a new basal neornithischian dinosaur, Minimocursor phunoiensis gen. et sp. nov., was discovered in the Late Jurassic Phu Kradung Formation at the Phu Noi locality, Kalasin Province, Thailand, a highly productive non-marine fossil vertebrate locality of the Khorat Plateau. It is one of the best-preserved dinosaurs ever found in Southeast Asia. Minimocursor phunoiensis gen. et sp. nov. shows a combination of both plesiomorphic and apomorphic characters resembling those of Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous small-bodied ornithischians from China: a low subtriangular boss is projected laterally on the surface of the jugal, the brevis shelf of the ilium is visible in lateral view along its entire length, a distinct supraacetabular flange is present on the pubic peduncle of the ilium, the prepubis tip extends beyond the distal end of the preacetabular process of the ilium, and the manus digit formula is ?-3-4-3-2. The phylogenetic analysis shows that this dinosaur is among the most basal neornithischians. This study provides a better understanding of the early evolution and taxonomic diversity of ornithischians in Southeast Asia. Full article

Yakemys multiporcata n. g. n. sp. is described on the basis of shell elements from the upper part of the Phu Kradung Formation (basal Cretaceous), Khorat Plateau, NE Thailand and assigned to Macrobaenidae. The new taxon is unusually large for an early macrobaenid (with an estimated carapace length about 70 cm) and is characterized by a large, rounded, low shell, the presence of a midline keel and numerous additional strong ridges on the carapace, the anterolateral margin upturned to form a gutter, posterolateral peripherals mesiolaterally expanded, narrow vertebrals, the vertebral 4 triangular and narrowed posteriorly, a greatly reduced plastron with a short bridge, an oval and elongate entoplastron with reduced ventral exposure, and strip-shaped epiplastra. The discovery of a macrobaenid turtle provides further support for an Early Cretaceous age for the upper part of the Phu Kradung Formation. Full article