Horsethief Sandstone

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Horsethief Sandstone
Stratigraphic range: Cretaceous
Type Geological formation
Location
CountryFlag of the United States.svg  USA

The Horsethief Sandstone is a Mesozoic geologic formation in Montana. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, although none have yet been referred to a specific genus. [1] The southern part of the Two Medicine Formation grades into the brackish water siltstone/sandstone series that compose the Horsethief Formation. [2] To the north the Horsethief Sandstone is equivalent to the Blood Reserve Formation of Alberta, Canada. [3]

The Mesozoic Era is an interval of geological time from about 252 to 66 million years ago. It is also called the Age of Reptiles and the Age of Conifers.

Montana State of the United States of America

Montana is a landlocked state in the Northwestern United States. Montana has several nicknames, although none are official, including "Big Sky Country" and "The Treasure State", and slogans that include "Land of the Shining Mountains" and more recently "The Last Best Place".

Dinosaur Superorder of reptiles (fossil)

Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago, although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is the subject of active research. They became the dominant terrestrial vertebrates after the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event 201 million years ago; their dominance continued through the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Reverse genetic engineering and the fossil record both demonstrate that birds are modern feathered dinosaurs, having evolved from earlier theropods during the late Jurassic Period. As such, birds were the only dinosaur lineage to survive the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event 66 million years ago. Dinosaurs can therefore be divided into avian dinosaurs, or birds; and non-avian dinosaurs, which are all dinosaurs other than birds. This article deals primarily with non-avian dinosaurs.

Contents

The sediments of the Horsethief represent shallower water deposits than those of the Bearpaw Shale, adding further evidence that higher elevation areas existed to the south of the Two Medicine Formation's depositional area. [2]

See also

Footnotes

  1. Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution." Pp. 517-607.
  2. 1 2 "Geological Setting," Trexler (2001); page 302.
  3. Glass, D.J. (editor) 1997. Lexicon of Canadian Stratigraphy, vol. 4, Western Canada including eastern British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba. Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, Calgary, 1423 p. on CD-ROM. ISBN   0-920230-23-7.

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References

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