Judith River Formation | |
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Stratigraphic range: Campanian, | |
Type | Geological formation |
Unit of | Judith River Group |
Sub-units | Parkman Sandstone Member, McClelland Ferry Member, Coal Ridge Member, Woodhawk Member |
Underlies | Bearpaw Formation |
Overlies | Claggett Formation, Pakowki Formation |
Thickness | max 360 meters (1,180 ft) [1] |
Lithology | |
Primary | Mudstone and sandstone |
Location | |
Region | Montana |
Country | United States |
Type section | |
Named for | Judith River near the confluence with the Missouri River |
Named by | F.V. Hayden, 1871; [2] F.B. Meek, 1876. [3] |
The Judith River Formation is a fossil-bearing geologic formation in Montana, and is part of the Judith River Group. It dates to the Late Cretaceous, between 79 and 75.3 million years ago, [4] corresponding to the "Judithian" land vertebrate age. It was laid down during the same time period as portions of the Two Medicine Formation of Montana [5] and the Oldman Formation of Alberta. [6] It is an historically important formation, explored by early American paleontologists such as Edward Drinker Cope, who named several dinosaurs from scrappy remains found here on his 1876 expedition (such as Monoclonius ). Modern work has found nearly complete skeletons of the hadrosaurid Brachylophosaurus .
The Judith River Formation is composed of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone. [1] Coal beds, bentonite and coquinas are also observed.
The Judith River Formation conformably overlies the Claggett Formation and Pakowki Formation. It is overlain by the Bearpaw Formation. [1] It is equivalent to the Belly River Formation in the southern Canadian Rockies foothills, the Lea Park Formation in central Alberta and the Wapiti Formation in the northwestern plains.
The Judith River Formation is divided into four members, the Parkman Sandstone Member, the McClelland Ferry Member, the Coal Ridge member, and the Woodhawk Member. [7] The McClelland Ferry Member (78.7-76.3 Ma) is believed to be equivalent to the Oldman Formation, with the Coal Ridge Member (76.3-75.3 Ma) equivalent to the Dinosaur Park Formation. [4]
Faunal list follows a review published by Ashok Sahni in 1972 unless otherwise noted. [8]
Color key
| Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; |
There are three potential species of discoglossid frogs. Hip bones, possibly representing a North American member of the European spadefoot toad family are also known from the formation.
Amphibians of the Judith River Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images | |
H. dilatus | A siren. | ||||||
L. bairdi | |||||||
O. kayi | A possible lungless salamander. | ||||||
P. copei | |||||||
S. tectum | A scapherpetonid salamander. | ||||||
Bony fishes of the Judith River Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images | |
Belonostomus | Belonostomus longirostris | An aspidorhynchiform. | |||||
Cyclurus | C. fragosus | A bowfin. [9] | |||||
Lepisosteus | L. occidentalis | Scales [10] | A gar. | ||||
? Paralbula | ?P. sp. | A bonefish. | |||||
Priscosturion | P. longipinnis | McClelland Ferry [11] | Upper Campanian [11] | A sturgeon. | |||
Psammorhynchus | P. longipinnis | McClelland Ferry [11] | Upper Campanian [11] | Preoccupied name, renamed Priscosturion . [12] | |||
Polyodontidae | Indeterminate | A paddlefish. Known remains exceeded size of Chinese paddlefish, total length would exceed 2 metres (6.6 ft). [13] | |||||
Cartilaginous fishes of the Judith River Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images | |
M. bipartitus | A stingray. | ||||||
Cretalamna | C. sp | Montana | An Otodontid shark | ||||
Carcharias | Carcharias sp | A sand tiger shark | |||||
Squalicorax | S.kaupi | An Anacoracid shark |
Plesiosaurs of the Judith River Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images | |
Plesiosauria indet. | |||||||
Pterosaurs of the Judith River Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images | |
Azhdarchidae indet. | |||||||
Choristoderes of the Judith River Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images | |
C. sp. | |||||||
Crocodilians of the Judith River Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images | |
B. montana | An alligatorid. | ||||||
L. canadensis | An alligatoroid. | ||||||
Deinosuchus | D. hatcheri [16] | Two giant dorsal vertebrae and a number of osteoderms. | An enormous alligatoroid. | ||||
Lizards of the Judith River Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images | |
C. segnis | A whiptail. | ||||||
E. lancensis | |||||||
L. denticulatus | A whiptail. | ||||||
P. bogerti | A parasaniwid. | ||||||
P. wyomingensis | A parasaniwid. | ||||||
Ankylosaurs reported from the Judith River Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Location | Member | Material | Notes | Images | |
Edmontonia | E. longiceps | Isolated teeth [17] | A nodosaurid. | ||||
Zuul | Z. crurivastator | middle Coal Ridge | Cranial and postcranial skeletal remains and soft tissue, type specimen | An ankylosaurid |
Hadrosaurs reported from the Judith River Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Location | Member | Material | Notes | Images | |
B. canadensis | middle McClelland Ferry | A hadrosaurid which was one of the more common dinosaurs in the area. [18] | |||||
Corythosaurus | C. sp. [19] | middle Coal Ridge | two partial skeletons | A lambeosaurine hadrosaurid | |||
D. calamarius | "Teeth." [20] | Nomen dubium | |||||
D. pentagonius | "Fragmentary dentary with teeth," [20] type specimen | A dubious hadrosaurid | |||||
D. perengulatus | "Teeth." [20] | Nomen dubium | |||||
H. paucidens | Reclassified as Lambeosaurus? paucidens | ||||||
?" Kritosaurus " | ?"K." breviceps | A dubious hadrosaurid | |||||
?L. paucidens | "Squamosal, maxilla." [20] | Nomendubium. An indeterminate lambeosaurine. [21] | |||||
P. costatus | "Tooth," [10] type specimen | A dubious ankylosaur | |||||
P. bergei | lower McClelland Ferry | A brachylophosaurin hadrosaur | |||||
P. grallipes | "Skeleton lacking skull." [22] | A dubious hadrosaurid | |||||
T. mirabilis | Isolated teeth, type specimen [10] | A dubious hadrosaurid | |||||
Ceratopsians reported from the Judith River Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Location | Member | Material | Notes | Images | |
A. nesmoi [23] | Reclassified as Medusaceratops lokii | ||||||
A. lammersi [23] | lower McClelland Ferry | "[Two] partial skulls, skeleton, juvenile," [24] type specimen | A ceratopsid | ||||
C. montanus | "occipital condyle, paired horn cores," [25] type specimen | A dubious ceratopsid | |||||
D. bicarinatus | "Isolated teeth." [25] | Nomen dubium | |||||
D. encaustus | "Single tooth and [five] tooth fragments." [20] "Isolated teeth." [25] | Nomen dubium | |||||
D. haydenianus | "Isolated teeth." [25] | Nomen dubium | |||||
D. peiganus | "Tooth." [25] | Nomen dubium | |||||
Furcatoceratops | F. elucidans | Fergus County, Montana [26] | Upper Coal Ridge [26] | Nearly complete subadult skeleton. [26] | A ceratopsid | ||
J. tigris [27] | lower McClelland Ferry | A ceratopsid | |||||
L. rangiformis [28] | Kennedy Coulee | lower McClelland Ferry | Disarticulated, associated skeleton including most of the skull and fragmentary postcrania [28] | A ceratopsid | |||
M. lokii [29] | lower McClelland Ferry | Bonebed [29] | A ceratopsid | ||||
M. gemini [30] | lower Coal Ridge | "one apomorphic squamosal" [30] | A ceratopsid | ||||
M. crassus [23] | lower Coal Ridge | "[Five] skulls, [one] complete." [24] Type specimen | A dubious ceratopsid | ||||
Spiclypeus | S. shipporum | McClelland Ferry [31] | Partial skull, vertebrae, ribs, humerus, ilium, femur, tibia, and fibula. | A ceratopsid | |||
Pachycephalosaurs reported from the Judith River Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Location | Member | Material | Notes | Images | |
Colepiocephale | C. lambei [32] | Kennedy Coulee | lower McClelland Ferry | "nearly complete frontoparietal dome" | A pachycephalosaurid closely related to Stegoceras. | ||
Hanssuesia | H. sternbergi | A pachycephalosaurid. Also present in the Dinosaur Park and Oldman Formations. Possible synonym of Stegoceras . |
Dromeosaurs reported from the Judith River Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images | |
D. albertensis | Ox Hill Quarry, Careless Creek Quarry, Hidden Valley Quarry & Blackbird Ridge Quarry. [33] | lower McClelland Ferry | Teeth [33] | A dromaeosaurid, also found in the Dinosaur Park Formation | |||
D. explanatus | "Tooth." [34] | Possible relative of Saurornitholestes | |||||
D. laevifrons | "Tooth." [34] | Possible relative of Saurornitholestes | |||||
Saurornitholestes | S. langstoni | Careless Creek, Emily's Ankle, Top Cat, Hidden Valley & Blackbird Ridge quarries. [33] | Lower McClelland Ferry | Numerous teeth [33] | A dromaeosaurid | ||
Z. abradens | "Teeth," [34] type specimen | ||||||
Troodonts reported from the Judith River Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images | |
Theropod "A" | Antelope Head, Careless Creek, Emily's Ankle, Top Cat, Hidden Valley, Blackbird Ridge & Jensen Ranch quarries. [33] | 28 teeth [33] | Teeth of a large theropod distinct from those of tyrannosaurids | ||||
T. formosus | Antelope Head, Careless Creek, Emily's Ankle, Top Cat & Hidden Valley quarries. [33] | Teeth (type specimen), [10] [33] egg | A troodontid, possibly dubious. | ||||
Tyrannosaurs reported from the Judith River Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images | |
A. lateralis | "Isolated teeth," [36] [37] type specimen | Junior synonym of Deinodon horridus [8] | |||||
A. mirandus | Teeth, type specimen | Possible junior synonym of Deinodon horridus [8] | |||||
Daspletosaurus | D. torosus | Coal Ridge | Maxilla [38] | A large tyrannosaurid. | |||
D. wilsoni [39] | Jack’s B2 | lower Coal Ridge [40] | Partial skull, cervical, sacral, and caudal vertebrae, and a rib, chevron, and first metatarsal | Originally considered to be a transitional species between D. torosus and D. horneri, though the validity of this claim has been questioned [41] | |||
D. sp. | Coal Ridge [41] | Partial skeleton [42] | Not referrable to D. torosus [40] | ||||
D. falculus | Teeth | Isolated tyrannosaur teeth classified in the dubious genus Deinodon | |||||
D. hazenianus | Teeth | Junior synonym of Deinodon horridus [8] | |||||
D. horridus | "Teeth," [10] type specimen | Isolated tyrannosaur teeth that formed the basis of the dubious genus Deinodon | |||||
D. incrassatus | Teeth | Junior synonym of Deinodon horridus [8] | |||||
D. lateralis | Junior synonym of Deinodon horridus [8] | ||||||
Gorgosaurus | G. libratus | Postorbital [38] | A large tyrannosaurid, also found in the Dinosaur Park Formation and possibly the Two Medicine Formation. | ||||
? Tyrannosaurus | T. sp. | Fergus County | A Lacrimal | found alongside a specimen of Deinosuchus, [43] but may not be from the Judith River Formation [44] | |||
Theropods reported from the Judith River Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images | |
H. altus | Partial tibiotarsus | One of the only known freshwater occurrences of a hesperornithid. [45] | |||||
O. tenuis | "Fragmentary metatarsal." [46] | A possible troodontid or juvenile tyrannosaurid | |||||
P. lacustris | Teeth, type specimen | An indeterminate maniraptoran, also found in the Dinosaur Park, Milk River, and Kirtland Formations | |||||
Richardoestesia | R. gilmorei | Careless Creek, Emily's Ankle, Hidden Valley & Blackbird Ridge quarries. [33] | 12 teeth [33] | A coelurosaur | |||
Turtles of the Judith River Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images | |
Adocus | A. sp. | ||||||
B. sp. |
Albertosaurus is a genus of large tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in northwestern North America during the early to middle Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous period, about 71 million years ago. The type species, A. sarcophagus, was apparently restricted in range to the modern-day Canadian province of Alberta, after which the genus is named, although an indeterminate species has been discovered in the Corral de Enmedio and Packard Formations of Mexico. Scientists disagree on the content of the genus and some recognize Gorgosaurus libratus as a second species.
Daspletosaurus is a genus of tyrannosaurid dinosaur that lived in Laramidia between about 78 and 74.4 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous Period. The genus Daspletosaurus contains three named species. Fossils of the earlier type species, D. torosus, have been found in Alberta, while fossils of a later species, D. horneri, have been found only in Montana. D. wilsoni has been suggested as an intermediate species between D. torosus and D. horneri that evolved through anagenesis, though further research may be required to definitively support the theory.
Gorgosaurus is a genus of tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in western North America during the Late Cretaceous Period (Campanian), between about 76.5 and 75 million years ago. Fossil remains have been found in the Canadian province of Alberta and the U.S. state of Montana. Paleontologists recognize only the type species, G. libratus, although other species have been erroneously referred to the genus.
Maiasaura is a large herbivorous saurolophine hadrosaurid ("duck-billed") dinosaur genus that lived in the area currently covered by the state of Montana and the Canadian province of Alberta. in the Upper Cretaceous Period, from 86.3 to 70.6 million years ago. Maiasaura peeblesorum is the state fossil of Montana.
Aublysodon is a genus of carnivorous dinosaurs known only from the Judith River Formation in Montana, which has been dated to the late Campanian age of the late Cretaceous period. The only currently recognized species, Aublysodon mirandus, was named by paleontologist Joseph Leidy in 1868. It is sometimes considered dubious now, because the type specimen consists only of an isolated premaxillary (front) tooth. Although this specimen is now lost, similar teeth have been found in many US states, western Canada, and Asia. These teeth almost certainly belong to juvenile tyrannosaurine tyrannosaurids, but most have not been identified to species level. However, it is likely that the type tooth belongs to one of the species in the genus Daspletosaurus, which was present in contemporary formations, and which matches specific details of the original tooth. The synapomorphies alleged to distinguish the Aublysodontinae, especially lack of serrations on premaxillary teeth could have been caused by tooth wear in life, postmortem abrasion, or digestion. Most other "aublysodontine"-type teeth may be from ontogenetic stages or sexual morphs of other tyrannosaurids.
Montanoceratops is an extinct genus of small ceratopsian dinosaur that lived approximately 70 million years ago during the latter part of the Cretaceous Period in what is now Montana and Alberta. Montanoceratops was a small sized, moderately-built, ground-dwelling, quadrupedal herbivore, that could grow up to an estimated 2.5 m (8.2 ft) in length and 170 kg (370 lb) in body mass.
The Dinosaur Park Formation is the uppermost member of the Belly River Group, a major geologic unit in southern Alberta. It was deposited during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, between about 76.5 and 74.4 million years ago. It was deposited in alluvial and coastal plain environments, and it is bounded by the nonmarine Oldman Formation below it and the marine Bearpaw Formation above it.
The Oldman Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Late Cretaceous age that underlies much of southern Alberta, Canada. It consists primarily of sandstones that were deposited in fluvial channel and floodplain environments. It was named for exposures along the Oldman River between its confluence with the St. Mary River and the city of Lethbridge, and it is known primarily for its dinosaur remains and other fossils.
Prenoceratops, is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period. It was a relatively small dinosaur, reaching 1.3 m (4.3 ft) in length and 20 kg (44 lb) in body mass. Its fossils have been found in the upper Two Medicine Formation in the present-day U.S. state of Montana, in Campanian age rock layers that have been dated to 74.3 million years ago. Fossils were also found in the Oldman Formation in the modern day Canadian province of Alberta, dating to around 77 million years ago.
The Two Medicine Formation is a geological formation, or rock body, in northwestern Montana and southern Alberta that was deposited between 82.4 Ma and 74.4 Ma, during Campanian time. It crops out to the east of the Rocky Mountain Overthrust Belt, and the western portion of this formation is folded and faulted while the eastern part, which thins out into the Sweetgrass Arch, is mostly undeformed plains. Below the formation are the nearshore deposits of the Virgelle Sandstone, and above it is the marine Bearpaw Shale. Throughout the Campanian, the Two Medicine Formation was deposited between the western shoreline of the Late Cretaceous Interior Seaway and the eastward advancing margin of the Cordilleran Overthrust Belt. The Two Medicine Formation is mostly sandstone, deposited by rivers and deltas.
The Horseshoe Canyon Formation is a stratigraphic unit of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in southwestern Alberta. It takes its name from Horseshoe Canyon, an area of badlands near Drumheller.
Tyrannosaurinae is one of the two extinct subfamilies of Tyrannosauridae, a family of coelurosaurian theropods that consists of at least three tribes and several genera. All fossils of these genera have been found in the Late Cretaceous deposits of western North America and east Asia. Compared to the related subfamily Albertosaurinae, tyrannosaurines overall are more robust and larger though the alioramins were gracile by comparison. This subfamily also includes Lythronax, one of the oldest known tyrannosaurid genera, as well as the youngest and most famous member of the group, Tyrannosaurus rex.
Albertosaurines, or dinosaurs of the subfamily Albertosaurinae, lived in the Late Cretaceous of United States and Canada. The subfamily was first used by Philip J. Currie, Jørn H. Hurum, and Karol Sabath as a group of tyrannosaurid dinosaurs. It was originally defined as "(Albertosaurus + Gorgosaurus)", including only the two genera. The group is the sister clade to Tyrannosaurinae. In 2007, it was found that the group also contained Maleevosaurus, often synonymized with Tarbosaurus. However, this classification has not been accepted and Maleevosaurus is still considered a juvenile Tarbosaurus or Tyrannosaurus.
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.
The Kaiparowits Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in the Kaiparowits Plateau in Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, in the southern part of Utah in the western United States. It is over 2800 feet thick, and is Campanian in age. This Upper Cretaceous formation was formed from alluvial floodplains of large rivers in coastal southern Laramidia; sandstone beds are the deposit of rivers, and mudstone beds represent floodplain deposits. It is fossiliferous, with most specimens from the lower half of the formation, but exploration is only comparatively recent, with most work being done since 1982. It has been estimated that less than 10% of the Kaiparowits formation has been explored for fossils. The Natural History Museum of Utah has conducted most fieldwork.
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.
Teratophoneus is a genus of tyrannosaurine theropod dinosaur that lived during the late Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous period, in what is now Utah. It contains a single known species, T. curriei. It is known from an incomplete skull and postcranial skeleton recovered from the Kaiparowits Formation and was specifically named T. curriei in honor of famed paleontologist Philip J. Currie.
Daspletosaurini is an extinct clade (tribe) of tyrannosaurine dinosaurs that lived in Laramidia during the Late Cretaceous period. It consists of two genera: Daspletosaurus and Thanatotheristes. Four species have been described in the two genera, namely Daspletosaurus torosus, Daspletosaurus horneri, Daspletosaurus wilsoni, and Thanatotheristes degrootorum. At one point all of them were assigned as specimens of D. torosus, but several papers since 2017 have found them to represent distinct species. Some researchers found anagenesis in the group, whether contained in a daspletosaurin clade or paraphyletic in respect to the lineage of tyrannosaurines leading up to Tyrannosaurus, but a 2023 study refuted this theory on the basis of morphological and stratigraphical data.
Furcatoceratops is a genus of centrosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Judith River Formation of Montana. The type species is Furcatoceratops elucidans.