The Tendaguru Formation is subdivided into six members; from oldest to youngest Lower Dinosaur Member, the "Nerinella" Member, the Middle Dinosaur Member, "Indotrigonia africana" Member, the Upper Dinosaur Member, and the "Rutitrigonia bornhardti-schwarzi" Member. The succession comprises a sequence of sandstones, shales, siltstones, conglomerates with minor oolitic limestones, deposited in an overall shallow marine to coastal plain environment, characterized by tidal, fluvial and lacustrine influence with a tsunami deposit occurring in the "Indotrigonia africana" Member. The climate of the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous was semi-arid with seasonal rainfall and the eustatic sea level was rising in the Late Jurassic from low levels in the Middle Jurassic. Paleogeographical reconstructions show the Tendaguru area was located in the subtropical southern hemisphere during the Late Jurassic.