Black Peaks Formation

Black Peaks Formation
Stratigraphic range: Maastrichtian-Danian (Tiffanian) ~66.5–60  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Type	Geological formation
Unit of	Tornillo Group
Overlies	Javelina Formation
Lithology
Primary	Mudstone
Other	Limestone
Location
Coordinates	29°18′N103°24′W / 29.3°N 103.4°W / 29.3; -103.4
Approximate paleocoordinates	36°00′N82°48′W / 36.0°N 82.8°W / 36.0; -82.8
Region	Texas
Country	United States
Black Peaks Formation (the United States) Show map of the United States Black Peaks Formation (Texas) Show map of Texas

The Black Peaks Formation is a geological formation in Texas whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous. ^[1] Though some of its strata date back to the Paleocene and Eocene. ^{[2] [3]} Dinosaur remains (from the sauropod Alamosaurus ) and the pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus northropi ^[4] have been among the fossils reported from the formation. ^{[5] [6]} The boundary with the underlying Javelina Formation has been estimated at 66.5 million years old. ^[7] The formation preserves the rays Rhombodus and Dasyatis , as well as many gar scales. ^[8] Cenozoic aged fossils unearthed here consist of mammals like multituberculates, barylambdids, and insectivores, as well as alligatorids like Bottosaurus . ^{[9] [10]} Turtle fossils have also been unearthed here too. ^[11]

See also

• List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
• List of pterosaur-bearing stratigraphic units

References

1. Vines, Carol Marie McNally (May 2000). Mineralogy and geochemistry of paleosols in the Javelina and Black Peaks formations (late Cretaceous-Paleocene), Big Bend National Park, Texas (Thesis). Texas Tech University.
2. Rapp, Stephen D.; MacFadden, Bruce J.; Schiebout, Judith A. (September 1983). "Magnetic Polarity Stratigraphy of the Early Tertiary Black Peaks Formation, Big Bend National Park, Texas" . The Journal of Geology. 91 (5): 555–572. doi:10.1086/628804. ISSN   0022-1376.
3. Straight, William H. (May 1996). Stratigraphy and paleontology of the cretaceous-tertiary boundary, Big Bend National Park, Texas (Thesis). Texas Tech University.
4. Andres, Brian; Langston, Wann (2021-12-14). "Morphology and taxonomy of Quetzalcoatlus Lawson 1975 (Pterodactyloidea: Azhdarchoidea)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 41 (sup1): 46–202. Bibcode:2021JVPal..41S..46A. doi: 10.1080/02724634.2021.1907587 . ISSN   0272-4634.
5. Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous, North America)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 574-588. ISBN   0-520-24209-2.
6. Lehman, T. M. and A. B. Coulson. 2002. A juvenile specimen of the sauropod dinosaur Alamosaurus sanjuanensis from the Upper Cretaceous of Big Bend National Park,Texas. Journal of Paleontology 76(1): 156-172.
7. Woodward, H. N. (2005). Bone histology of the sauropod dinosaur Alamosaurus sanjuanensis from the Javelina Formation, Big Bend National Park, Texas.
8. Hunt, ReBecca K., Vincent L. Santucci and Jason Kenworthy. 2006. "A preliminary inventory of fossil fish from National Park Service units." in S.G. Lucas, J.A. Spielmann, P.M. Hester, J.P. Kenworthy, and V.L. Santucci (ed.s), Fossils from Federal Lands. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 34, pp. 63-69.
9. Schiebout, Judith Ann (August 1974). Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoecology of Paleocene Black Peaks Formation, Big Bend National Park, Texas (Report). Texas Memorial Museum, The University of Texas at Austin.
10. Cossette, Adam P (2021-01-01). "A new species of Bottosaurus (Alligatoroidea: Caimaninae) from the Black Peaks Formation (Palaeocene) of Texas indicates an early radiation of North American caimanines" . Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 191 (1): 276–301. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz178. ISSN   0024-4082.
11. Tomlinson, Susan L. (May 1997). "Late Cretaceous and early Tertiary turtles from the Big Bend Region, Brewster County, Texas".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

Further reading

• J. A. Fronimos and T. M. Lehman. 2014. New specimens of a titanosaur sauropod from the Maastrichtian of Big Bend National Park, Texas. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 34(4):883-899
• T. M. Lehman and K. Barnes. 2010. Champsosaurus (Diapsida: Choristodera) from the Paleocene of West Texas: Paleoclimatic Implications. Journal of Paleontology 84(2):341-345
• J. A. Schiebout. 1974. Vertebrate paleontology and paleoecology of Paleocene Black Peaks Formation, Big Bend National Park, Texas. Texas Memorial Museum Bulletin 24:1-88
• J. A. Wilson. 1967. Early Tertiary mammals. In R. A. Maxwell, J. T. Lonsdale, R. T. Hazzard, & J. A. Wilson (eds.), Geology of Big Bend National Park, Brewster County, Texas. The University of Texas Publication 6711:157-169