Eutaw Formation

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]}

Vertebrate paleofauna

Cartilaginous fish

Cartilaginous fish of the Eutaw Formation
Taxa	Species	State	Stratigraphic position	Abundance	Notes	Images
Archaeolamna	A. kopingensis [4]	Alabama [4]			A lamniform shark	Tooth of Cretoxyrhina mantelli Ischyrhiza mira rostral spines Teeth of Scapanorhynchus texanus Squalicorax falcatus
Borodinopristis	B. schwimmeri [4]	Alabama [4]			A sclerorhynchid
Brachyrhizodus	B. mcnultyi [4]	Alabama [4]			Myliobatids
	B. wichitaensis [4]
Carcharias	C. sp. [4]	Alabama [4]			A lamniform shark
Cantioscyllium	C. globidens [4]	Alabama [4]			Carpet sharks
	C. decipiens (=C. meyeri or C. saginatus?) [4]
Chiloscyllium	C. greeni [4]	Alabama [4]			A hemiscylliid
Cretodus	C. semiplicatus [4]	Alabama [4]			A lamniform shark
Cretalamna	C. appendiculata [4]	Alabama [4]			Otodontids
	C. serrata [4]
Cretoxyrhina	C. mantelli [4]	Alabama [4]			A lamniform shark
Edaphodon	E. sp. [4]	Alabama [4]			A chimaera
Heterodontus?	H. sp. [4]	Alabama [4]			A heterodontiform
Hybodus	H. sp. [4]	Alabama [4]			A hybodontid
Ischyrhiza	I. mira [4]	Alabama [4]			A rajiform
Lissodus (= Lonchidion?)	L. sp. [4]	Alabama [4]			A hybodontid
Paranomotodon	P. angustidens [4]	Alabama [4]			A lamniform shark
Pseudocorax	P. laevis [4]	Alabama [4]			A lamniform shark
Pseudohypolophus (= Brachyrhizodus?)	P. mcnultyi [4]	Alabama [4]			A rajiform
Ptychodus	P. mortoni [4]	Alabama [4]			Ptychodontids
	P. polygyrus [4]
	P. rugosus [4]
Ptychotrygon	P. triangularis (=P. vermiculata and/or P. chattahoochiensis?) [4]	Alabama [4]			A ptychotrygonid
Rajiformes indet. [4]		Alabama [4]
Scapanorhynchus	S. raphiodon [4]	Alabama [4]			Lamniform sharks
	S. texanus [4]
Sclerorhynchus?	S. sp. [4]	Alabama [4]			A rajiform
Squalicorax	S. falcatus [4]	Alabama [4]			Lamniform sharks
	S. kaupi [4]
	S. pristodontus [4]
Squatina	S. hassei [4]	Alabama [4]			A squatinid

Bony fish

Bony fish of the Eutaw Formation
Taxa	Species	State	Stratigraphic position	Abundance	Notes	Images
Albula	A. dunklei [4]	Alabama [4]			A bonefish	Enchodus petrosus Protosphyraena Stratodus Xiphactinus audax
Anomoeodus	A. phaseolus [4]	Alabama [4]			A pycnodontid
Atractosteus	A. sp.? [4]	Alabama [4]			A gar
Bananogmius	B. sp. [4]	Alabama [4]			A plethodid
Belonostomus	B. sp. [4]	Alabama [4]			An aspidorhynchiform
Enchodus	E. petrosus [4]	Alabama [4]			An enchodontid
Hadrodus	H. priscus [4]	Alabama [4]			A pycnodontid
Lepisosteus	L. sp. [4]	Alabama [4]			A gar
Mawsonia	M. sp. [4]	Alabama [4]			A coelacanthiform fish
Phacodus	P. puncatatus [4]	Alabama [4]			A pycnodontiform
Protosphyraena	P. sp. [4]	Alabama [4]			A pachycormiform
Stratodus	S. apicalis [4]	Alabama [4]			An aulopiform
Xiphactinus	X. audax [4]	Alabama [4]			An ichthyodectid

Turtles

Turtles of the Eutaw Formation
Taxa	Species	State	Stratigraphic position	Abundance	Notes	Images
Chedighaii	C. barberi [4]	Alabama [4]			A bothremydid	Protostega gigas
Protostega	P. gigas [4]	Alabama [4]			A protostegid
Thinochelys	T. sp. [4]	Alabama [4]
Toxochelys	T. sp. [4]	Alabama [4]
Trionychidae indet. [4]		Alabama [4]

Plesiosaurs

Plesiosaurs of the Eutaw Formation
Taxa	Species	State	Stratigraphic position	Abundance	Notes	Images
Discosaurus	D. vetustus [4]	Alabama [4]			An elasmosaurid	Vertebrae of D. vestutus
Elasmosauridae indet. [4]		Alabama [4]

Mosasaurs

Mosasaurs of the Eutaw Formation
Taxa	Species	State	Stratigraphic position	Abundance	Notes	Images
Clidastes	Clidastes sp. [2] [4]	Alabama [2] [4]			A mosasaurine	Eonatator sternbergii Platecarpus tympaniticus Tylosaurus proriger skull
Eonatator	E. sternbergii [2] [5]	Alabama [2]			A halisaurine E. sternbergii was formerly classified as Halisaurus sternbergii
Globidens	G. alabamaensis [4]	Alabama [4]			A mosasaurine
Platecarpus	P. tympaniticus [2] [4]	Alabama [2] [4]			A plioplatecarpine
Plioplatecarpus	P. sp. [4]	Alabama [4]			A plioplatecarpine
Selmasaurus	S. russelli [2] [4]	Alabama [2] [4]			A plioplatecarpine
Tylosaurus	T. nepaeolicus [4]	Alabama [4]			Tylosaurines
	T. proriger [4]

Crocodylians

Crocodylians of the Eutaw Formation
Genus	Species	State	Stratigraphic position	Abundance	Notes	Images
Borealosuchus	B. sp. [4]	Alabama [4]			An eusuchian	A skull of Deinosuchus
Deinosuchus	D. rugosus? [4]	Alabama [4]			An alligatoroid
Leidyosuchus	L. sp. [4]	Alabama [4]			An alligatoroid

Ornithodires

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
Lophorhothon	L. atopus [4]	Alabama [4]			A hadrosauromorph dinosaur	Illustration of a fossil of Lophorhothon Pteranodon sp.
Pteranodon	Indeterminate	Georgia [3]			A pteranodontid pterosaur

See also

• Paleontology portal

• List of fossil sites

References

1. Liu, Kaiyu. "Facies Changes of the Eutaw Formation (Coniacian-Santonian), Onshore to Offshore, Northeastern Gulf of Mexico Area". Department of Geological Sciences. University of Alabama. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
2. Kiernan, Caitlin R. (2002). "Stratigraphic distribution and habitat segregation of mosasaurs in the Upper Cretaceous of western and central Alabama, with an historical review of Alabama mosasaur discoveries". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 22 (1): 91–103. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2002)022[0091:SDAHSO]2.0.CO;2. S2CID   130280406.
3. "Coastal Plain Geologic Province". The New Georgia Encyclopedia. Georgia Humanities Council and the University of Georgia Press. 2007-08-30. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
4. Kejiri, T.; Ebersole, J.A.; Blewitt, H.L.; Ebersole, S.M. (2013). "An Overview of Late Cretaceous Vertebrates from Alabama". Bulletin of the Alabama Museum of Natural History. 31 (1): 46–71.
5. Bardet N, Suberbiola P, Iarochene M, Bouyahyaoui F, Bouya B, Amaghzaz M (2002). "A new species of Halisaurus from the Late Cretaceous phosphates of Morocco, and the phylogenetical relationships of the Halisaurinae (Squamata: Mosasauridae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 143 (3): 447–472. doi: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2005.00152.x .
6. KNIGHT, T. K.; BINGHAM, P. S.; LEWIS, R. D.; SAVRDA, C. E. (2011-06-01). "FEATHERS OF THE INGERSOLL SHALE, EUTAW FORMATION (UPPER CRETACEOUS), EASTERN ALABAMA: THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF FEATHERS FROM NORTH AMERICAN MESOZOIC ROCKS" . PALAIOS. 26 (6): 364–376. doi:10.2110/palo.2010.p10-091r. ISSN   0883-1351.
7. Bingham, P. Sean; Savrda, Charles E.; Knight, Terrell K.; Lewis, Ronald D. (2008). "Character and Genesis of the Ingersoll Shale, a Compact Continental Fossil-Lagerstätte, Upper Cretaceous Eutaw Formation, Eastern Alabama". PALAIOS. 23 (5/6): 391–401. ISSN   0883-1351.
8. Kaye, John M.; Russell, Dale A. (January 1973). "The Oldest Record of Hadrosaurian Dinosaurs in North America". Journal of Paleontology. 47 (1): 91–93. JSTOR   1302869.
9. Chinzorig, Tsogtbaatar; Cullen, Thomas; Phillips, George; Rolke, Richard; Zanno, Lindsay E. (2022-03-25). "Large-bodied ornithomimosaurs inhabited Appalachia during the Late Cretaceous of North America": 2022.03.25.485782. doi:10.1101/2022.03.25.485782. S2CID   247749395.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)