Javelina Formation

Last updated
Javelina Formation
Stratigraphic range: Maastrichtian, 70–66.5  Ma
Ꞓ
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
↓
Javelina Formation by Nick Longrich.jpg
Distinctive mauve and red beds of the Javelina Formation outcropping in Big Bend National Park, Texas
Type Geological formation
Unit of Tornillo Group
Underlies Black Peaks Formation
Overlies Aguja Formation
Lithology
Primary Sandstone
Other Claystone, mudstone, siltstone, conglomerate
Location
Coordinates 29°18′N103°24′W / 29.3°N 103.4°W / 29.3; -103.4
Approximate paleocoordinates 36°00′N82°48′W / 36.0°N 82.8°W / 36.0; -82.8
Region Texas
Country United States
Type section
Named for Javelina
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Lightgreen pog.svg
Javelina Formation (the United States)
Relief map of Texas.png
Lightgreen pog.svg
Javelina Formation (Texas)

The Javelina Formation is a geological formation in Texas. Dating has shown that the strata date to the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous, approximately 70 to 66.5 million years old. [1] The middle part of the formation has been dated to about 69 million years ago plus or minus 1 million years and the top situated near the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary (in the overlying Black Peaks Formation [1] ), dated to 66 Ma ago. [2] Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. [3]

Contents

Age

The typical age range of the Javelina Formation has been difficult to determine. [4] Only one geological site in the Javelina Formation has thus far yielded the correct rock types for radiometric dating. The outcrop, situated in the middle strata of the formation about 90 meters below the K-Pg boundary and within the local range of Alamosaurus fossils and below two sites that have yielded Quetzalcoatlus fossils, was dated to 69.0 plus or minus 0.9 million years old in 2010. [2] Indeterminate chasmosaurinae fossils have also been as well. [5]

Fossil content

Vertebrate paleofauna

Vertebrates of the Javelina Formation
GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
Alamosaurus A. sanjuanensisA titanosaurian sauropod, also from the Ojo Alamo Formation
Alamosaurus-sanjuanensis.jpg
Bravoceratops B. polyphemusA chasmosaurine ceratopsid known from the lowermost part of the Javelina Formation which dates back to the early Maastrichtian. [6]
Bravoceratops NT small.jpg
Dasyatis [7] UnknownA ray
Common stingray tynemouth.jpg
Gryposaurus? [8] G.? alsatei [8] A saurolophine hadrosaurid known from the Two Medicine Formation, the Dinosaur Park Formation, the Kaiparowits Formation, possible remains have also been unearthed in the El Picacho Formation. [9]
Gryposaurus%3F alstasei profile reconstruction.jpg
Kritosaurus [8] [10] [11] [12] K. cf. navajovius [8] [13] [12] [11] A saurolophine handrosaurid, also known from the Kirtland Formation, Aguja Formation, Ojo Alamo Formation and the El Picacho Formation. A possible second species of Kritosaurus might have lived in the Javelina Formation. [8] [12] Fossils have also been unearthed in the Olmos Formation. [14]
Kritosaurus BW.jpg
Quetzalcoatlus Q. northropi and Q. lawsoni [15] An azhdarchid pterosaur
Life restoration of a group of giant azhdarchids, Quetzalcoatlus northropi, foraging on a Cretaceous fern prairie.png
Rhombodus [7] UnknownA ray
Rhombodus NT small.jpg
Saurornitholestes [16] S. cf. langstoniA dromaeosaurid
Saurornitholestes digging Burrows wahweap.jpg
Saurolophinae [8] Indeterminate [8] A saurolophine handrosaurid similar to the genus Saurolophus .
Torosaurus [17] T. cf. utahensis [17] A chasmosaurine ceratopsid whose remains have been found in the Frenchman Formation, Hell Creek Formation, North Horn Formation, McRae Formation, and Lance Formation.
"Torosaurus" utahensis profile reconstruction.jpg
Troodontidae Indeterminate [18] A troodontid
Troodon (cropped).jpg
cf. Tyrannosaurus Indeterminate [19] A tyrannosaurid, originally identified from the Hell Creek Formation. Also found in the Denver, Ferris, Frenchman, Lance, Livingston, North Horn, Scollard, and Willow Creek Formations. [20] Tyrannosaurus-rex-Profile-steveoc86.png
Trionychidae IndeterminateIndeterminate turtle remains
Wellnhopterus [15] W. brevirostrisAn azhdarchid pterosaur.

Flora

Woody dicots and angiosperms have been unearthed in this formation. [21] [22] Plant fossils indicate that this area was a woodland habitat. [23]

Flora of the Javelina Formation
GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
Javelinoxylon [24] J. multiporosum [25] A dicotyledonous tree

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Woodward, H. N. (2005). Bone histology of the sauropod dinosaur Alamosaurus sanjuanensis from the Javelina Formation, Big Bend National Park, Texas.
  2. 1 2 Lehman, T.M.; McDowell, F.; Connelly, J. (2006). "First isotopic (U-Pb) age for the Late Cretaceous Alamosaurus vertebrate fauna of West Texas, and its significance as a link between two faunal provinces". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 26 (4): 922–928. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2006)26[922:fiuaft]2.0.co;2. S2CID   130280606.
  3. ↑ Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous, North America)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 574-588. ISBN   0-520-24209-2.
  4. ↑ Sullivan, R.M.; Lucas, S.G. (2006). "The Kirtlandian land-vertebrate "age" – faunal composition, temporal position and biostratigraphic correlation in the nonmarine Upper Cretaceous of western North America" (PDF). New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Bulletin. 35: 7–29.[ permanent dead link ]
  5. ↑ Hunt, ReBecca (September 2005). "CERATOPSID DINOSAURS FROM THE JAVELINA FORMATION (MAASTRICHTIAN), BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, TEXAS". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 25 (3): 72A. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  6. ↑ Wick, Steven L.; Lehman, Thomas M. (1 July 2013). "A new ceratopsian dinosaur from the Javelina Formation (Maastrichtian) of West Texas and implications for chasmosaurine phylogeny". Naturwissenschaften. 100 (7): 667–682. Bibcode:2013NW....100..667W. doi:10.1007/s00114-013-1063-0. PMID   23728202. S2CID   16048008 . Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  7. 1 2 Hunt, ReBecca K.; Santucci, Vincent L.; Kenworthy, Jason (2006). "A preliminary inventory of fossil fish from National Park Service units." in S.G. Lucas, J.A. Spielmann, P.M. Hester, J.P. Kenworthy, and V.L. Santucci (ed.s), Fossils from Federal Lands". New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 34: 63–69.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lehman, Thomas M.; Wick, Steven L.; Wagner, Jonathan R. (2016). "Hadrosaurian dinosaurs from the Maastrichtian Javelina Formation, Big Bend National Park, Texas". Journal of Paleontology. 90 (2): 1–24. Bibcode:2016JPal...90..333L. doi:10.1017/jpa.2016.48. S2CID   133329640.
  9. ↑ Osmólska, Halszka; Dobson, Peter; Weishampel, David B. (6 November 2004). The Dinosauria. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. p. 582. ISBN   9780520242098.
  10. ↑ Wagner, Jonathan R. (May 2001). The hadrosaurian dinosaurs (ornithischia: hadrosauria) of Big Bend National Park, Brewster County, Texas, with implications for late Cretaceous paleozoogeography. Doctoral Dissertation, Texas Tech University (Thesis). hdl:2346/11160 . Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  11. 1 2 Davies, Kyle Linton (1983). "Hadrosaurian Dinosaurs of Big Bend National Park, Brewster County, Texas". Austin: University of Texas at Austin: 231.
  12. 1 2 3 Wagner, Jonathan R.; Lehman, Thomas M. (2001). "A new species of Kritosaurus from the Cretaceous of Big Bend National Park, Brewster County, Texas". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 21 (3): 110A –111A.
  13. ↑ Wagner, Jonathan R. (May 2001). The hadrosaurian dinosaurs (ornithischia: hadrosauria) of Big Bend National Park, Brewster County, Texas, with implications for late Cretaceous paleozoogeography. Doctoral Dissertation, Texas Tech University (Thesis). hdl:2346/11160 . Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  14. ↑ Lucas, Spencer G.; Sullivan, Robert M. (2006). Late Cretaceous Vertebrates from the Western Interior: Bulletin 35. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. p. 273.
  15. 1 2 Andres, B.; Langston, W. Jr. (2021). "Morphology and taxonomy of Quetzalcoatlus Lawson 1975 (Pterodactyloidea: Azhdarchoidea)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 41 (sup1): 142. Bibcode:2021JVPal..41S..46A. doi: 10.1080/02724634.2021.1907587 . ISSN   0272-4634. S2CID   245125409.
  16. ↑ Sankey, J. T.; Standhardt, B. R.; Schiebout, J. A. (2005). "Theropod teeth from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian), Big Bed National Park, Texas". In Carpenter, K. (ed.). The Carnivorous Dinosaurs. Indiana University Press, Bloomington. pp. 127–152. ISBN   978-0-253-34539-4.
  17. 1 2 Hunt, ReBecca K.; Lehman, Thomas M. (2008). "Attributes of the ceratopsian dinosaur Torosaurus, and new material from the Javelina Formation (Maastrichtian) of Texas". Journal of Paleontology. 82 (6): 1127–1138. Bibcode:2008JPal...82.1127H. doi:10.1666/06-107.1. S2CID   129385183.
  18. ↑ Tweet, J.S.; Santucci, V.L. (2018). "An Inventory of Non-Avian Dinosaurs from National Park Service Areas" (PDF). New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 79: 703–730.
  19. ↑ Dalman, Sebastian G.; Loewen, Mark A.; Pyron, R. Alexander; Jasinski, Steven E.; Malinzak, D. Edward; Lucas, Spencer G.; Fiorillo, Anthony R.; Currie, Philip J.; Longrich, Nicholas R. (January 11, 2024). "A giant tyrannosaur from the Campanian–Maastrichtian of southern North America and the evolution of tyrannosaurid gigantism". Scientific Reports. 13 (1): 22124. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-47011-0 . ISSN   2045-2322. PMC   10784284 . PMID   38212342.
  20. ↑ Wick, Steven L. (July 2014). "New evidence for the possible occurrence of Tyrannosaurus in West Texas, and discussion of Maastrichtian tyrannosaurid dinosaurs from Big Bend National Park" . Cretaceous Research. 50: 52–58. Bibcode:2014CrRes..50...52W. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2014.03.010 . Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  21. ↑ Wheeler, Elisabeth A.; Lehman, Thomas M. (1 January 2000). "Late Cretaceous woody dicots from the Aguja and Javelina Formations, BiBend National Park, Texas, USA". IAWA Journal. 21 (1): 83–120. doi: 10.1163/22941932-90000239 . S2CID   84528074 . Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  22. ↑ Lehman, Thomas M.; Shiller II, Thomas A. (2020). "An angiosperm woodland in the Javelina Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Big Bend National Park, Texas, U.S.A." . Cretaceous Research. 115: 104569. Bibcode:2020CrRes.11504569L. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104569. S2CID   225616237 . Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  23. ↑ Lehman, Thomas M.; Shiller II, Thomas A. (2020). "An angiosperm woodland in the Javelina Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Big Bend National Park, Texas, U.S.A." . Cretaceous Research. 115: 104569. Bibcode:2020CrRes.11504569L. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104569. S2CID   225616237 . Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  24. ↑ Jacobs, L. 1995. Lone Star Dinosaurs. Texas A&M University Press. p.102
  25. ↑ Wheeler, E. A.; Lehman, T. M.; Gasson, P. E. (1994). "Javelinoxylon, an Upper Cretaceous dicotyledonous tree from Big Bend National Park, Texas, with presumed Malvalean affinities". American Journal of Botany . 81 (6): 703–710. doi:10.1002/j.1537-2197.1994.tb15504.x.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.