Eutaw Formation | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: Upper Cretaceous | |
Type | Geological formation |
Sub-units | Tombigbee Sand Member, Ingersoll Shale |
Underlies | Austin Group and Mooreville Chalk Formation |
Overlies | Tuscaloosa Group |
Thickness | 40 m (130 ft) to 120 m (390 ft) |
Lithology | |
Primary | Glauconitic sandstone |
Location | |
Region | Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi |
Country | United States |
Type section | |
Named for | Eutaw, Alabama |
The Eutaw Formation is a geological formation in North America, within the U.S. states of Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi. The strata date from the late Coniacian to the early Santonian stage of the Late Cretaceous. [1] It consists of the upper Tombigbee Sand Member and an unnamed lower member. Dinosaur, mosasaur, and pterosaur remains have been recovered from the Eutaw Formation. [2] [3]
Cartilaginous fish of the Eutaw Formation | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Taxa | Species | State | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
A. kopingensis [4] | A lamniform shark | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||
B. schwimmeri [4] | ||||||
B. mcnultyi [4] | ||||||
B. wichitaensis [4] | ||||||
C. sp. [4] | A lamniform shark | |||||
C. globidens [4] | ||||||
C. decipiens (=C. meyeri or C. saginatus?) [4] | ||||||
C. greeni [4] | ||||||
C. semiplicatus [4] | A lamniform shark | |||||
C. appendiculata [4] | ||||||
C. serrata [4] | ||||||
C. mantelli [4] | A lamniform shark | |||||
E. sp. [4] | A chimaera | |||||
H. sp. [4] | ||||||
H. sp. [4] | ||||||
I. mira [4] | A rajiform | |||||
Lissodus (= Lonchidion?) | L. sp. [4] | |||||
P. angustidens [4] | A lamniform shark | |||||
P. laevis [4] | A lamniform shark | |||||
P. mcnultyi [4] | A rajiform | |||||
P. mortoni [4] | ||||||
P. polygyrus [4] | ||||||
P. rugosus [4] | ||||||
P. triangularis (=P. vermiculata and/or P. chattahoochiensis?) [4] | ||||||
Rajiformes indet. [4] | ||||||
S. raphiodon [4] | Lamniform sharks | |||||
S. texanus [4] | ||||||
S. sp. [4] | A rajiform | |||||
S. falcatus [4] | Lamniform sharks | |||||
S. kaupi [4] | ||||||
S. pristodontus [4] | ||||||
Bony fish of the Eutaw Formation | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Taxa | Species | State | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
A. dunklei [4] | A bonefish | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||
A. phaseolus [4] | ||||||
A. sp.? [4] | A gar | |||||
B. sp. [4] | ||||||
B. sp. [4] | ||||||
E. petrosus [4] | An enchodontid | |||||
H. priscus [4] | ||||||
L. sp. [4] | A gar | |||||
M. sp. [4] | A coelacanthiform fish | |||||
P. puncatatus [4] | ||||||
P. sp. [4] | ||||||
S. apicalis [4] | An aulopiform | |||||
X. audax [4] | ||||||
Turtles of the Eutaw Formation | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Taxa | Species | State | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
C. barberi [4] | ![]() | |||||
P. gigas [4] | ||||||
T. sp. [4] | ||||||
T. sp. [4] | ||||||
Trionychidae indet. [4] | ||||||
Plesiosaurs of the Eutaw Formation | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Taxa | Species | State | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
D. vetustus [4] | An elasmosaurid | ![]() | ||||
Elasmosauridae indet. [4] | ||||||
Mosasaurs of the Eutaw Formation | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Taxa | Species | State | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||||
| ||||||
G. alabamaensis [4] | ||||||
P. sp. [4] | ||||||
T. nepaeolicus [4] | ||||||
T. proriger [4] |
Crocodylians of the Eutaw Formation | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | State | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
B. sp. [4] | An eusuchian | ![]() | ||||
D. rugosus? [4] | An alligatoroid | |||||
L. sp. [4] | An alligatoroid | |||||
Dinosaur feathers have been found in the Ingersoll Shale of Georgia, [6] [7] which is a subunit of the Eutaw Formation. [3] Indeterminate hadrosaurid remains have been found in Mississippi. [8] Ornithomimosaurs of medium-size and large-size have also been unearthed in Mississippi. [9]
Ornithodires of the Eutaw Formation | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | State | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
L. atopus [4] | A hadrosauromorph dinosaur | ![]() ![]() | ||||
Indeterminate | A pteranodontid pterosaur | |||||
A bone bed is any geological stratum or deposit that contains bones of whatever kind. Inevitably, such deposits are sedimentary in nature. Not a formal term, it tends to be used more to describe especially dense collections such as Lagerstätte. It is also applied to brecciated and stalagmitic deposits on the floor of caves, which frequently contain osseous remains.
Enchodus is an extinct genus of aulopiform ray-finned fish related to lancetfish and lizardfish. Species of Enchodus flourished during the Late Cretaceous, where they were a widespread component of marine ecosystems worldwide, and there is some evidence that they may have survived to the Paleocene or Eocene; however, this may just represent reworked Cretaceous material.
Archaeornithomimus is a genus of ornithomimosaurian theropod dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period, around 96 million years ago in the Iren Dabasu Formation.
The Bayan Shireh Formation is a geological formation in Mongolia, that dates to the Cretaceous period. It was first described and established by Vasiliev et al. 1959.
"Coelosaurus" antiquus is a dubious species of theropod dinosaurs. It was named by Joseph Leidy in 1865 for two tibiae found in the Navesink Formation of New Jersey.
Eonatator is an extinct genus of marine lizard belonging to the mosasaur family. It is a close relative of Halisaurus, and part of the same subfamily, the Halisaurinae. It is known from the Late Cretaceous of North America, Colombia and Sweden. Originally, this taxon was included within Halisaurus, but was placed in its own genus, which also led to the subfamily Halisaurinae being created for the two genera.
The Bearpaw Formation, also called the Bearpaw Shale, is a geologic formation of Late Cretaceous (Campanian) age. It outcrops in the U.S. state of Montana, as well as the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and was named for the Bear Paw Mountains in Montana. It includes a wide range of marine fossils, as well as the remains of a few dinosaurs. It is known for its fossil ammonites, some of which are mined in Alberta to produce the organic gemstone ammolite.
Apateodus is a genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish which was described by Woodward in 1901. It was a relative of modern lizardfish and lancetfish in the order Aulopiformes, and one of a number of prominent nektonic aulopiforms of Cretaceous marine ecosystems.
The Milk River Formation is a sandstone-dominated stratigraphic unit of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in southern Alberta, Canada. It was deposited in near-shore to coastal environments during Late Cretaceous time. Based on uranium-lead dating, palynology and stratigraphic relationships, deposition occurred between ~84.1 and 83.6 Ma.
The Mooreville Chalk is a geological formation in North America, within the U.S. states of Alabama and Mississippi, which were part of the subcontinent of Appalachia. The strata date back to the early Santonian to the early Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous. The chalk was formed by pelagic sediments deposited along the eastern edge of the Mississippi embayment. It is a unit of the Selma Group and consists of the upper Arcola Limestone Member and an unnamed lower member. Dinosaur, mosasaur, and primitive bird remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the Mooreville Chalk Formation.
The Demopolis Chalk is a geological formation in North America, within the U.S. states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The chalk was formed by pelagic sediments deposited along the eastern edge of the Mississippi embayment during the middle Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous. It is a unit of the Selma Group and consists of the upper Bluffport Marl Member and a lower unnamed member. Dinosaur and mosasaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the Demopolis Chalk.
The Selma Group is a geological formation in North America, within the U.S. states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The strata date from the Santonian to the Maastrichtian stages of the Late Cretaceous. The group is composed of, in ascending order, the Mooreville Chalk Formation, Demopolis Chalk Formation, Ripley Formation, and Prairie Bluff Chalk Formation. Dinosaur and mosasaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the Selma Group.
The Ripley Formation is a geological formation in North America found in the U.S. states of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. The lithology is consistent throughout the layer. It consists mainly of glauconitic sandstone. It was formed by sediments deposited during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous. It is a unit of the Selma Group and consists of the Cusseta Sand Member, McNairy Sand Member and an unnamed lower member. It has not been extensively studied by vertebrate paleontologists, due to a lack of accessible exposures. However, fossils have been unearthed including crocodile, hadrosaur, nodosaur, tyrannosaur, ornithomimid, dromaeosaur, and mosasaur remains have been recovered from the Ripley Formation.
The Navesink Formation is a 66 to 70 mya greensand glauconitic marl and sand geological formation in New Jersey. It is known for its Cretaceous period fossil shell beds and dinosaur bones.
During the time of the deposition of the Niobrara Chalk, much life inhabited the seas of the Western Interior Seaway. By this time in the Late Cretaceous many new lifeforms appeared such as mosasaurs, which were to be some of the last of the aquatic lifeforms to evolve before the end of the Mesozoic. Life of the Niobrara Chalk is comparable to that of the Dakota Formation, although the Dakota Formation, which was deposited during the Cenomanian, predates the chalk by about 10 million years.
The Tamayama Formation is a Coniacian-Santonian geologic formation in Japan. Dinosaur remains not referrable to the genus level are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. The lower and middle part of the formation consists of braided river sandstone, while the upper portion consists of upper shoreface to inner shelf sandstone. Vertebrate taxa from the formation include Futabasaurus and Cretalamna, along with titanosauriform teeth and neosuchian remains. Seeds of the nymphaeales plant Symphaenale futabensis are also known from this formation.
During most of the Late Cretaceous the eastern half of North America formed Appalachia, an island land mass separated from Laramidia to the west by the Western Interior Seaway. This seaway had split North America into two massive landmasses due to a multitude of factors such as tectonism and sea-level fluctuations for nearly 40 million years. The seaway eventually expanded, divided across the Dakotas, and by the end of the Cretaceous, it retreated towards the Gulf of Mexico and the Hudson Bay.
The Ingersoll Shale is a Late Cretaceous (Santonian) informal geological unit in eastern Alabama. Fourteen theropod feathers assigned to birds and possibly dromaeosaurids have been recovered from the unit.
Eotrachodon orientalis is a species of hadrosaurid that was described in 2016. The holotype was found in the Mooreville Chalk Formation in Alabama in 2007 and includes a well-preserved skull and partial skeleton, making it a rare find among dinosaurs of Appalachia. Another primitive hadrosaur, Lophorhothon, is also known from the same formation, although Eotrachodon lived a few million years prior. A phylogenetic study has found Eotrachodon to be the sister taxon to the hadrosaurid subfamilies Lambeosaurinae and Saurolophinae. This, along with the other Appalachian hadrosaur Hadrosaurus and possibly Lophorhothon, Claosaurus and both species of Hypsibema, suggests that Appalachia was the ancestral area of Hadrosauridae.
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