Eastover Formation

Eastover Formation
Stratigraphic range: Late Miocene (Messinian) PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Type	Formation
Unit of	Chesapeake Group
Sub-units	Claremont Manor Member, Cobham Bay Member
Underlies	Yorktown Formation
Overlies	St. Marys Formation
Location
Country	United States
Extent	Virginia and North Carolina

The Eastover Formation ^[1] is a geologic formation in Virginia, and North Carolina. It preserves fossils dating back to the Messinian stage of the Late Miocene Epoch, between 7 to 6 million years ago. ^[2]

Fossils

Marine mammals

The fossil iniid dolphins Meherrinia and Isoninia are both likely from the Eastover Formation (although they may potentially date to the overlying Yorktown Formation) ^{[3] [4]} , as well as the earless seals Terranectes and Virginiaphoca . ^{[5] [6]}

Fossil plants

The flora of the Eastover Formation consists mostly of lignitized plant remains and a documented palynoflora record. The terrestrial palynoflora represented in the Eastover Formation consisted primarily of temperate -warm temperate taxa. ^[7]

Known taxa

• Quercus (Oak)
• Alnus (Alder)
• Pinus (Pine)
• Betula (Birch)
• Taxodium (Cypress)
• Ulmus (Elm)
• Liquidambar (Sweetgum)
• Poaceae (Grasses)
• Cyperaceae (sedges)
• Amaranthaceae
• Asteraceae

References

1. Stratigraphic revision of upper Miocene and lower Pliocene beds of the Chesapeake Group, middle Atlantic Coastal Plain (Report). US Geological Survey. 1980.
2. Godfrey, Stephen J., ed. (2018-09-25). "The Geology and Vertebrate Paleontology of Calvert Cliffs, Maryland, USA". Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology (100): 2–274. doi: 10.5479/si.1943-6688.100 . ISSN   1943-6688.
3. Geisler, Jonathan H.; Godfrey, Stephen J.; Lambert, Olivier (2012). "A new genus and species of late Miocene inioid (Cetacea, Odontoceti) from the Meherrin River, North Carolina, U.S.A." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (1): 198–211. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.629016. ISSN   0272-4634.
4. Godfrey, Stephen J.; Gutstein, Carolina S.; Morgan III, Donald J. (2021-09-02). "A new odontocete (Inioidea, Odontoceti) from the late Neogene of North Carolina, USA". Fossil Record. 24 (2): 275–285. Bibcode:2021FossR..24..275G. doi: 10.5194/fr-24-275-2021 . ISSN   2193-0066.
5. S.J. Rahmat; I.A. Koretsky; J.E. Osborne; A.A. Alford (2017). "New Miocene Monachinae from the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay (Maryland, USA)". Vestnik Zoologii. 51 (3): 221–242. doi: 10.1515/vzoo-2017-0029 (inactive 4 July 2025). S2CID   90197324.
6. Dewaele, Leonard; Peredo, Carlos Mauricio; Meyvisch, Pjotr; Louwye, Stephen (2018). "Diversity of late Neogene Monachinae (Carnivora, Phocidae) from the North Atlantic, with the description of two new species". Royal Society Open Science. 5 (3): 172437. doi:10.1098/rsos.172437. ISSN   2054-5703. PMC   5882749 . PMID   29657825.
7. Weems, Robert E.; Edwards, Lucy E.; Landacre, Bryan, "Geology and biostratigraphy of the Potomac River cliffs at Stratford Hall, Westmoreland County, Virginia", Field Guides, Geological Society of America, pp. 125–152, retrieved 2024-08-15

• Various Contributors to the Paleobiology Database. "Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database". Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2021.