Hornerstown Formation

Last updated
Hornerstown Formation
Stratigraphic range: latest Maastrichtian-early Danian [1]
66.5–65.5  Ma
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S
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C
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K
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Type Geological formation
Underlies Vincentown Formation
Overlies New Egypt Formation, Navesink Formation and Tinton Formation
Location
Region New Jersey
Country USA

The Hornerstown Formation is a latest Cretaceous to earliest Paleocene-aged geologic formation in New Jersey. It preserves a variety of fossil remains, including those of dinosaurs, and contains direct evidence of the mass mortality that occurred at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. [2] [3]

Contents

Outcrops of the Hornerstown Formation are known from sites such as Edelman Fossil Park. [4]

Age & significance

The age of the Hornerstown deposits have been controversial. While most fossils are of animal taxa known from the earliest Cenozoic era, several fossils of otherwise exclusively Cretaceous age have been found. These include remains of the shark Squalicorax , several types of non-avian dinosaurs, the teleost fish Enchodus , several species of ammonite, and marine lizards referred to the genus Mosasaurus . Some of these remains show signs of severe abrasion and erosion, however, implying that they may be re-worked from older deposits. Most of these fossils are restricted to the lowest point in the formation, one rich in fossils and known as the Main Fossiliferous Layer, or MFL. Other explanations for the out-of-place fossils in the MFL is that they represent a time-averaged assemblage that built up and remained unburied during a time of low sediment deposition, or that they were stirred up from deeper in the sediment and deposited together during a tsunami. [5] Biochemical analyses done on mosasaur bones from the Hornerstown Formation and the underlying, purely Cretaceous New Egypt Formation have found differing chemical signatures in the content of rare earth elements depending on whether the bones derive from the New Egypt or the Hornerstown Formation. This provides evidence against the idea that the presence of these remains in the Hornerstown is just the result of reworking, and supports the Hornerstown Formation including Cretaceous strata. [6]

To account for these Cretaceous fossils, the Hornerstown Formation is generally treated as including the last portion of the Maastrichtian shortly before the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, and is thus divided into three sections: the section below the MFL (entirely Maastrichtian), the MFL itself (at the K-Pg boundary), and the section above the MFL (entirely Danian). However, other studies continue to treat the Hornerstown Formation as a Paleocene formation that saw significant reworking of Cretaceous fossils into itself. [7] In addition, recent studies have found evidence of high iridium concentration and shocked quartz within the MFL, suggesting that the MFL represents a thanatocoenosis formed from an ecosystem collapse during the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. This makes the Hornerstown Formation one of the few geological formations to contain direct evidence of the immediate impact of the extinction event. The Hornerstown Formation is important paleontologically, as it shows the impact of the K-Pg extinction on the coastal waters of eastern Appalachia, contains many of the last known records of taxa that went extinct at the K-Pg boundary, while also providing evidence of survivorship for the taxa that managed to survive the extinction event. [3]

Vertebrate paleofauna

Ray-finned fishes

Actinopterygii of the Hornerstown Formation
GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionAbundanceMaterialNotesImages
Acipenser A. cf. albertensis Maastrichtian A sturgeon. [3] Acipenser oxyrhynchus.jpg
Anomoeodus A. phaseolusMaastrichtian, potentiallyDanian 8 teethA pycnodont. One tooth is known from the Danian section of the formation, which would be the latest record of this genus and prove its occurrence in the Cenozoic; however, it may have been reworked from lower layers. [3] Anomoeodus subclavatus.jpg
Atractosteus A. sp. Maastrichtian & Danian 11 teethA gar. First record of gars from eastern North America during the Paleocene. [3] Alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula) I.jpg
cf. Bananogmius cf. B. sp.MaastrichtianA plethodid tselfatiiform. [3] Pentanogmius Bananogmius1DB.jpg
Dercetidae indet.Maastrichtian & Danian27 flank scalesA dercetid aulopiform. The first evidence in eastern North America of the Dercetidae surviving the K-Pg extinction event. [3]
Enchodus E. feroxMaastrichtianAn enchodontid aulopiform. The E. gladiolus remains are the first record of the species in eastern North America. [3] Enchodus petrosus.png
E. gladiolus8 teeth
Iridopristis I. parrisi Sewell, New Jersey Danian3 partial articulated specimens, including a near-complete skull. [7] A stem-lineage member of Holocentridae. The earliest known definitive holocentrid. [7]
Paralbula P. marylandicaMaastrichtian & Danian23 teethA phyllodontid elopomorph. First evidence of P. marylandica existing during the Cretaceous, indicating that it survived the extinction event. [3]
Phyllodus P. paulkatoiMaastrichtian1 tooth plateA phyllodontid elopomorph. First known occurrence in eastern North America. [3]
Saurocephalus S. lanciformisDanian1 toothA saurodontid ichthyodectiform. First known occurrence in eastern North America and first known occurrence of ichthyodectiforms as a whole in the Paleocene and Cenozoic. [3] Saurocephalus lanciformis.JPG

Reptiles

Birds

Birds of the Hornerstown Formation
GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionAbundanceNotes

Anatalavis [8]

A. rex. [8]

Graculavus [8]

G. velox [8]

Laornis [8]

L. edwardsianus [8]

Palaeotringa [8]

P. littoralis [8]

P. vagans [8]

Telmatornis [8]

T. priscus [8]

Tytthostonyx [8]

T. glauconiticus [8]

Non-avian dinosaurs

Dinosaurs of the Hornerstown Formation
GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionAbundanceNotes
Hadrosauridae indet.MaastrichtianA hadrosaurid ornithischian. [3]

The tyrannosauroid Dryptosaurus is sometimes referred to this formation, as its remains were found in the New Egypt Formation, which is sometimes considered a part of the Hornerstown. [9]

Crocodylomorphs

Crocodylomorphs of the Hornerstown Formation
GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionAbundanceNotes

Bottosaurus [10]

B. harlani

Hyposaurus [11] H. rogersii

Turtles

Testudines of the Hornerstown Formation
GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionAbundanceNotes

Osteopygis [1]

O. emarginatus

Maastrichtian-Danian
Euclastes E. wielandifound as a separate genus from the cranial material of Osteopygis

Mosasaurs

Mosasaurs of the Hornerstown Formation
GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionAbundanceMaterialNotesImages
Mosasaurus M. hoffmanniMaastrichtianPterygoid, teeth, vertebrae [3] [6] A mosasaurine. This formation contains some of the last known remains, comprising individuals killed during the mass mortality event that formed the MFL. [3] A very large specimen is known. [6] Mosasaurus 21copy.jpg
Plioplatecarpus P. sp.MaastrichtianA plioplatecarpine.

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

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Bibliography