Marshalltown Formation | |
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Stratigraphic range: Middle to Late Campanian, | |
Type | Geological formation |
Unit of | Monmouth Group |
Underlies | Wenonah Formation |
Overlies | Englishtown Formation |
Lithology | |
Primary | Glauconite, sandstone |
Other | Siderite |
Location | |
Region | New Jersey Delaware |
Country | USA |
Type section | |
Named for | Marshalltown, New Jersey |
The Marshalltown Formation is a Late Cretaceous (Campanian)-aged geologic formation in New Jersey and Delaware, US. Dinosaur remains diagnostic to the genus level are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. It contains the most extensive Campanian-aged dinosaur fauna from New Jersey and Delaware. [1] [2]
The famous Ellisdale Fossil Site, a konzentrat-lagerstätten which contains one of the most diverse Cretaceous vertebrate assemblages (likely rapidly buried in a massive flood event) known from eastern North America/former Appalachia, is an exposure of this formation. [3]
The Marshalltown Formation stretches across southern New Jersey to northern Delaware, and is largely composed of marine sediments deposited off the eastern shore of Appalachia, although the Ellisdale site represents a deltaic or estuarine environment reminiscent of the modern Albemarle Sound, and thus has more of a terrestrial influence. [3] [4]
Based on the Paleobiology Database: [5] [6]
Cartilaginous fish of the Marshalltown Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Member | Location | Material | Notes | Images | |
Bony fish of the Marshalltown Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Member | Location | Material | Notes | Images | |
Acipenser | A. sp. | Ellisdale Site | A sturgeon. | ||||
Anomoeodus | A. phaseolus | Ellisdale Site, St. Georges | A pycnodont. | ||||
Atractosteus | A. sp. | Ellisdale Site | A gar. | ||||
Cyclurus | C. cf. fragosus | Ellisdale Site | An amiid related to bowfins. | ||||
cf. Cylindracanthus | C. sp. | St. George's | A fish of uncertain affinities. | ||||
Enchodus | E. ferox | Ellisdale Site, St. Georges | An enchodontid aulopiform. | ||||
E. sp. | St. Georges | ||||||
cf. Lepisosteus | L. sp. | St. Georges | A gar. | ||||
Paralbula | P. casei | Ellisdale Site, St. Georges | A phyllodontid elopomorph. | ||||
cf. " Platacodon " | P. sp. | Ellisdale Site | A sciaenid-like fish. | ||||
Stephanodus | S. sp. | St. Georges | A pycnodont. | ||||
Xiphactinus | X. audax | Ellisdale Site | An ichthyodectid. | ||||
X. sp. | St. Georges |
Amphibians of the Marshalltown Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Member | Location | Material | Notes | Images | |
Albanerpetontidae indet. | Ellisdale Site | An albanerpetontid. | |||||
Alytidae indet. | An alytid frog. | ||||||
cf. Habrosaurus | H. sp. | A sirenid salamander. | |||||
Parrisia | P. neocesariensis | A batrachosauroidid salamander. Type locality of genus and species. [7] | |||||
Pelobatidae indet. | A relative of European spadefoot toads. | ||||||
cf. Proamphiuma | P. sp. | A sirenid salamander. | |||||
cf. Scotiophryne | S. sp. | A frog of uncertain affinities. | |||||
cf. Theatonius | T. sp. | A frog of uncertain affinities. |
Based on Brownstein (2018): [8] [9]
Dinosaurs of the Marshalltown Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Member | Location | Material | Notes | Images | |
" Coelosaurus " | C. antiquus | An ornithomimosaur. | |||||
Coelurosauria indet. | Ellisdale Site | A coelurosaur theropod of uncertain affinities. | |||||
Dromaeosauridae indet. | A dromaeosaurid theropod of uncertain affinities. | ||||||
Dryptosaurus | D. aquilunguis | A tyrannosauroid theropod. | |||||
Hadrosauridae indet. | A hadrosaurid ornithopod. | ||||||
?Hadrosauroidea indet. | A hadrosauroid ornithopod. | ||||||
Hadrosaurus | H. foulkii | A hadrosaurid ornithopod. | |||||
?H. sp. | |||||||
Hypsibema | H. crassicauda | A hadrosauroid ornithopod. | |||||
Nodosauridae indet. | A nodosaurid ankyosaur. | ||||||
Ornithopoda indet. | An ornithopod of uncertain affinities. |
Crocodilians of the Marshalltown Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Member | Location | Material | Notes | Images | |
cf. " Allognathosuchus " | "A". sp. | Ellisdale Site | An alligatorid. | ||||
cf. Brachychampsa | B. sp. | Ellisdale Site | An alligatorid. | ||||
Deinosuchus | D. rugosus | Ellisdale Site | An alligatoroid, one of the largest known crocodilians. Remains of both juveniles and adults known. [10] | ||||
" Diplocynodon " | "D". sp. | Ellisdale Site | An alligatorid. | ||||
" Leidyosuchus " | "L". sp. | Cambridge Crossing Executive Park | An alligatorid. [11] |
Turtles of the Marshalltown Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Member | Location | Material | Notes | Images | |
Adocus | A. beatus | Ellisdale Site | An adocid. | ||||
Chedighaii | C. barberi | Ellisdale Site | A bothremydid side-necked turtle. | ||||
Corsochelys | C. sp. | Ellisdale Site | A dermochelyid sea turtle. | ||||
Trionychidae indet. | Ellisdale Site, St. Georges | A softshell turtle of uncertain affinities. |
Plesiosaurs of the Marshalltown Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Member | Location | Material | Notes | Images | |
" Elasmosaurus " | "E." orientalis | Swedesboro | Two back vertebrae | An elasmosaurid, species name is a nomen dubium due to fragmentary nature. [12] |
Squamates of the Marshalltown Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Member | Location | Material | Notes | Images | |
Clidastes | C. iguanavus | Swedesboro | A mosasaurine mosasaur. Type locality of species. [12] | ||||
cf. C. sp. | St. Georges | ||||||
? Contogenys | C. sp. | Ellisdale Site | A globaurid lizard. | ||||
cf. Globidens | G. sp. | St. Georges | A globidensine mosasaur. | ||||
Glyptosaurinae indet. | Ellisdale Site | An anguid lizard. | |||||
cf. Halisaurus | H. sp. | Ellisdale Site | A halisaurine mosasaur. | ||||
Haptosphenus | H. sp. | Ellisdale Site | A chamopsid lizard. | ||||
cf. Odaxosaurus | O. sp. | Ellisdale Site | An anguid lizard. | ||||
cf. Machaerosaurus | M. sp. | Ellisdale Site | An anguid lizard. | ||||
Prototeius | P. stageri | Ellisdale Site | A chamopsid lizard. Type locality of genus and species. [13] |
Choristoderes of the Marshalltown Formation | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Member | Location | Material | Notes | Images | |
Neochoristodera indet. | Ellisdale Site | 1 vertebra | A neochoristodere, one of the very few records of this group from eastern North America. [14] |
Based on Grandstaff et al (1992): [15]
Mammals of the Marshalltown Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | Member | Location | Material | Notes | Images | |
Cimolodontidae indet. | Ellisdale Site | A cimolodontid multituberculate. | |||||
Cimolomys | C. cf. clarki | A cimolomyid multiberculate. | |||||
cf. Didelphodon | D. sp. | A stagodontid metatherian. | |||||
Protalphadon | P. lulli | A metatherian. |
Cimolomys is a mammal genus from the Upper Cretaceous of North America. It was a member of the extinct order Multituberculata within the suborder Cimolodonta and family Cimolomyidae.
Dryptosaurus is a genus of eutyrannosaurian theropod dinosaur that lived on the island continent of Appalachia approximately 67.6 million years ago during the end of the Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous period. Dryptosaurus was a large, bipedal, ground-dwelling carnivore that could grow up to 7.5 metres (25 ft) long and weigh up to 756–1,500 kilograms (1,667–3,307 lb). Although it is now largely unknown outside of academic circles, the famous 1897 painting of the genus by Charles R. Knight made Dryptosaurus one of the more widely known dinosaurs of its time, in spite of its poor fossil record. First described by Edward Drinker Cope in 1866 and later renamed by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1877, Dryptosaurus is among the first theropod dinosaurs ever known to science.
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, 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 and the Oldman Formation of Alberta. 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. Modern work has found nearly complete skeletons of the hadrosaurid Brachylophosaurus.
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 Lameta Formation, also known as the Infratrappean Beds, is a sedimentary geological formation found in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, India, associated with the Deccan Traps. It is of the Maastrichtian age, and is notable for its dinosaur fossils.
The Arundel Formation, also known as the Arundel Clay, is a clay-rich sedimentary rock formation, within the Potomac Group, found in Maryland of the United States of America. It dates to the Early Cretaceous, and is of late Aptian or early Albian age. This rock unit had been economically important as a source of iron ore, but is now more notable for its dinosaur fossils. It is named for Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
Coriops is an extinct genus of freshwater osteoglossomorph fish, possibly a hiodontiform, with a single species known from the Late Cretaceous of western North America.
The Aguja Formation is a geological formation in North America, exposed in Texas, United States and Chihuahua and Coahuila in Mexico, whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. Fossil palms have also been unearthed here.
The Mooreville Chalk is a geological formation in North America, within the U.S. states of Alabama and Mississippi, which were part of the subcontinent of Appalachia. The strata date back to the early Santonian to the early Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous. The chalk was formed by pelagic sediments deposited along the eastern edge of the Mississippi embayment. It is a unit of the Selma Group and consists of the upper Arcola Limestone Member and an unnamed lower member. Dinosaur, mosasaur, and primitive bird remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the Mooreville Chalk Formation.
The Demopolis Chalk is a geological formation in North America, within the U.S. states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The chalk was formed by pelagic sediments deposited along the eastern edge of the Mississippi embayment during the middle Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous. It is a unit of the Selma Group and consists of the upper Bluffport Marl Member and a lower unnamed member. Dinosaur and mosasaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the Demopolis Chalk.
The Navesink Formation is a 66 to 70 mya greensand glauconitic marl and sand geological formation in New Jersey. It is known for its Cretaceous period fossil shell beds and dinosaur bones.
The Hornerstown Formation is a latest Cretaceous to early 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.
During most of the Late Cretaceous the eastern half of North America formed Appalachia, an island land mass separated from Laramidia to the west by the Western Interior Seaway. This seaway had split North America into two massive landmasses due to a multitude of factors such as tectonism and sea-level fluctuations for nearly 40 million years. The seaway eventually expanded, divided across the Dakotas, and by the end of the Cretaceous, it retreated towards the Gulf of Mexico and the Hudson Bay.
The Ellisdale Fossil Site is located near Ellisdale in the valley of the Crosswicks Creek, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The site has produced the largest and most diverse fauna of Late Cretaceous terrestrial animals from eastern North America, including the type specimens of the teiid lizard Prototeius stageri and the batrachosauroidid salamander Parrisia neocesariensis. The site occurs within the basal portion of the Marshalltown Formation, and dates from the Campanian Stage of the Late Cretaceous. The site is classified as a Konzentrat-Lagerstätten resulting from a prehistoric coastal storm.
The New Egypt Formation is a Late Cretaceous geologic formation of the Monmouth Group in New Jersey, United States.
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The Bladen Formation is a geologic formation from the Late Cretaceous of North Carolina and South Carolina, USA. It is known for a plethora of terrestrial and aquatic vertebrate fossils, including dinosaurs and mosasaurs. It appears to be roughly concurrent with the Tuscaloosa Formation of Alabama.