Beaufort Group

The Beaufort Group is the third of the main subdivisions of the Karoo Supergroup of geological strata in Southern Africa. It follows conformably after the Ecca Group and consists essentially of sandstones and shales, deposited in the Karoo Basin from the Middle Permian to the early part of the Middle Triassic Periods.

Fossils of tetrapods, especially therapsids, are common, and the vertebrate biostratigraphy has been mapped out in detail, beginning with the work of Robert Broom at the start of the 20th century and developed and revised a number of times since. Currently eight faunal zones are recognised, tracing the development of terrestrial life through the Permo-Triassic, and named after a characteristic genus that serves as an index fossil.

From earliest to latest (descending age order) these are:

* "Eodicynodon" Assemblage Zone
* "Tapinocephalus" Assemblage Zone
* "Pristerognathus" Assemblage Zone
* "Tropidostoma" Assemblage Zone
* "Cistecephalus" Assemblage Zone
* "Dicynodon" Assemblage Zone
* "Lystrosaurus" Assemblage Zone
* "Cynognathus" Assemblage Zone

ee also

*Karoo Supergroup

References

* Hancox, PJ & Rubidge, B.S. (1997), The role of fossils in interpreting the development of the Karoo basin. "Palaeontol. Afr." 33: 41-54.