Prince Creek Formation

Last updated
Prince Creek Formation
Stratigraphic range: Early Maastrichtian
70.6–69.1  Ma
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
Nanuqsaurus distribution map.png
General location of the Prince Creek Formation, in red
Type Geological formation
Unit of Colville Group
Sub-unitsKikak-Tegoseak Quarry, Kogosukruk Tongue, Ocean Point, Coleville River Bluff
Underlies Sagavanirktok Formation
Overlies Schrader Bluff Formation
Lithology
Primary Sandstone, mudstone [1]
Other siltstone, carbonaceous shale, ash-fall [1]
Location
Coordinates 70°00′N151°30′W / 70.0°N 151.5°W / 70.0; -151.5
Approximate paleocoordinates 83°12′N115°54′W / 83.2°N 115.9°W / 83.2; -115.9
RegionFlag of Alaska.svg  Alaska
CountryFlag of the United States.svg  USA

The Prince Creek Formation is a geological formation in Alaska with strata dating to the Early Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. [2]

Contents

Age

The Prince Creek Formation aged from 80 to 61.7 million years ago. The Kikak-Tegoseak Quarry, where almost all of the dinosaur fossil are from, is located near the middle of the formation, and is about 70.6 to 69.1 million years ago. [3] [4] A lower section, the Kogosukruk Tongue, ages from 72 to 71 million years ago, in the latest Campanian. [5] The youngest part of the formation is Ocean Point, which extends into the Paleogene, at the end of the Danian, based on the age of ostracods and mollusks. [6] In the middle of the formation is the Coleville River Bluff, which extends from the Late Campanian to the Middle/Late Maastrichtian, in which pollen spores are common. [7]

Habitat

Hadrosaurids of the Liscomb Bonebed in their habitat Liscomb Bonebed hadrosaurids.png
Hadrosaurids of the Liscomb Bonebed in their habitat

During the time when the Prince Creek Formation was deposited, Earth was going through a greenhouse phase. The rocks in it are alluvial, and were, at the time of burial, on a muddy coastal plain. Leafy plants, roots and pollen are known from the formation, and they show that trampling by dinosaurs was common. It can be proven that during the Maastrichtian the Prince Creek Formation bordered a large body of water by the presence of gypsum and pyrite in nearby rock. Large amounts of plants material are represented by peridonoid dinocysts, algae, fungal hyphae, fern and moss spores, projectates, Wodehouseia edmontonicola , hinterland bisaccate pollen, and pollen from trees, shrubs, and herbs. Based on the large amounts of dinosaur and plant remains, the Prince Creek Formation was deduced to be largely an ice-free woodland with an understory of angiosperm dominated by dinosaurs. The mean temperature was 5 to 6 °C (41 to 43 °F), with the mean temperature during the cold months being 2 to 4 °C (36 to 39 °F) and the mean temperature during the warm months being 10 to 12 °C (50 to 54 °F). Mean annual precipitation was 500 to 1,500 millimetres (20 to 59 in)/year. [1] The paleolatitude of the formation at the time of deposition was around 80°–85°N, high in the Arctic Circle, and would have likely experienced 120 days of winter darkness. [8]

Vertebrate paleofauna

Dinosaurs

Theropods

Indeterminate tyrannosaurid remains are present, mostly in the form of teeth. The teeth are from the Kikak-Tegoseak Quarry, Liscomb Quarry, and Byers Bed, totaling 8 teeth. [9]

Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxonTaxon falsely reported as presentDubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.
Theropods
GenusSpeciesLocationAbundanceNotesImages

Dromaeosaurus [9] [10]

D. cf albertensis [9] [10]

Liscomb Quarry [9]

Kikak-Tegoseak Quarry [9]

Byers Bed [9]

Fossilized teeth [9]

A dromaeosaur.

Dromaeosaurus Restoration.png

Gruipeda [11]

G. vegrandiunis [11]

Denali Park [11]

Footprints from a small bird. [11]

Ornithomimosauria indet. [12] Indeterminate [12] Old Bone BeachDistal metatarsal IVPossibly an ornithomimid.

Saurornitholestinae indet. [13]

Indeterminate

Pediomys Point - Liscomb Quarry [13]

Small dentary tip from a juvenile. [13]

A new species of dromaeosaurid closely related to Saurornitholestes . [13]

Prince Creek Formation fauna.png

Nanuqsaurus [3]

N. hoglundi [3]

Kikak-Tegoseak Quarry [3]

One partial skull including a bone near the front of the maxilla and the front of the lower jaw. [3]

Nanuqsaurus is a tyrannosaurid closely related to Lythronax , Tyrannosaurus , and Tarbosaurus . [3]

Nanuqsaurus.png

Saurornitholestes [9] [10]

S. cf. langstoni [9] [10]

Old Bone Beach [9]

Teeth [9]

A dromaeosaur.

Saurornitholestes digging Burrows wahweap.jpg

Troodon [3]

T. sp [3]

Kikak-Tegoseak Quarry [3]

Liscomb Quarry [9]

Byers Bed [9]

Magical Mystery Bar [14]

Dental remains, [3] including teeth. [9] Braincases have also been found. [14]

Remains of T. sp. are approximately 50% larger than specimens from Alberta and Montana. [3] Remains were previously assigned to T. formosus. [10] The most abundant theropod. [14] As of 2011, a dubious genus. [15]

Alaskan troodont.jpg

Ornithischians

Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxonTaxon falsely reported as presentDubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.
Ornithischians of the Prince Creek Formation
GenusSpeciesLocationAbundanceNotesImages

Alaskacephale [16]

A. gangloffi [16]

Kogosukruk Tongue [17]

A squamosal, and the back of the dome. [5]

The first pachycephalosaurine from Alaska discovered. [5]

Alaskacephale gangloffi copia.jpg

Pachyrhinosaurus [4] [18]

P. perotorum [4] [18]

Kikak-Tegoseak Quarry [4]

An abundance of skeletal remains, [4] including an immature juvenile. [18]

The youngest of the Pachyrhinosaurus species, found in one of the highest latitudes of centrosaurine discoveries. [4] A discovery in the Kikak-Tegoseak Quarry was identified in 2013 as a juvenile of Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum. This discovery shows that the crest started to develop in the front of the snout, then extending farther back until it reaches the eye. [18]

Pachyrhinosaurus Perotorum Alaska copyright web.jpg

Thescelosaurinae indet. [19]

Indeterminate

Teeth [19]

Remains previously attributed to Thescelosaurus. [19]

Parksosaurus Steveoc86.jpg

Leptoceratopsidae [8] IndeterminateRemains of adult and juvenile individuals [8]

Edmontosaurus [20]

E. cf. regalis [21]

Liscomb Bonebed [20]
Kikak-Tegoseak Quarry [4]

Disassociated parts from multiple juveniles

Originally identified as a distinct genus (Ugrunaaluk), recent studies have found it ontogenetically indistinguishable from Edmontosaurus. [20] [21]

Edmontosaurus Perot Museum.jpg

Lambeosaurinae indet. [22] IndeterminateLiscomb BonebedA supraoccipitalThe first confirmed lambeosaurine in the Prince Creek Formation.

Liscomb Bonebed Lambeosaurine.png

Ornithopoda indet. [19]

Indeterminate [19]

One tooth [19]

A single "hypsilophodontid" cheek tooth not attributable to Parksosaurus or Thescelosaurus. [19]

Mammals

Mammals of the Prince Creek Formation
GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionAbundanceNotesImages
Cimolodon [23] C. cf. nitidusLower MaastrichtianIsolated teethA small multituberculate.
Gypsonictops [23] G. sp.Lower MaastrichtianIsolated teethA small eutherian.
Multituberculata indet. [23] IndeterminateLower MaastrichtianIsolated teeth
Marsupialia indet. [23] IndeterminateLower MaastrichtianMost common in the Prince Creek Formation
Sikuomys [24] S. mikrosLower Colville River.Upper CampanianA tiny eutherian.
Unnuakomys [25] U. hutchisoniPediomys PointLower MaastrichtianOver 60 specimensA small metatherian.

Plants

Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxonTaxon falsely reported as presentDubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.
Plants of the Prince Creek Formation [7]
GenusSpeciesLocationAbundanceNotesImages

Parataxodium [17]

P. wigginsii [17]

Kogosukruk Tongue [17]

A conifer, one of two from the region. [17] It dominated the forest community of the Kogosukruk Tongue.

Hollickia [17]

H. quercifolia [17]

Kogosukruk Tongue [17]

Leaves [17]

An angiosperm, known from leaves. [17]

Quereuxia [17]

Q. angulata [17]

Kogosukruk Tongue [17]

An aquatic angiosperm. [17]

Equisetites [17]

E. sp. [17]

Kogosukruk Tongue [17]

A sphenophyte. [17]

Pulcheripollenites

P. krempii

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen spores

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

cf. Proteacidites

cf. P. sp.

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen spores

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

cf. Polycingulatisporites

cf. P. reduncus

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen spores

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Podocarpidites

P. sp.

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen spores

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Ovoidites

O.? sp.

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen spores

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

O. sp.

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen spores

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

O. parvus

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen spores

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

O. arcticus

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen spores

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Osmundacidites

O. wellmanii

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen remains

Common in the Early Maastrichtian. Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Mantonisporites

M. sp. indet

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen remains

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Mancicorpus

M. pseudosenonicus

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen remains

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Lycopodiacidites

L. sp.

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen remains

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Lunatadinium

L. dissolutum

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen remains

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Indeterminate

Indeterminate

Coleville River Bluff

Septate fungal hypha.

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Leosphaeridia

L. "stellata"

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen remains

Common in the Early Maastrichtian. Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Lairidordites

L. magnus

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen remains

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Laegivatosporites

L. spp.

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen remains

Indeterminate remains abundant in the Early Maastrichtian, and still numerous in the Late Maastrichtian. Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

L. sp.

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen remains

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Kurtzipites

K. trispissatus

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen remains

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Integricorpus

I. sp.

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen remains

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Ischyosporites

I. sp.

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen remains

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Ischyosporites

I. sp.

Coleville River Bluff

Samples of distinct pollen

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Inundatisporis

I. tappaniae

Coleville River Bluff

Samples of distinct pollen

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Impardecispora

I. marylandensis

Coleville River Bluff

Samples of distinct pollen

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Hannisporis

H. scollardensis

Coleville River Bluff

Samples of distinct pollen

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

H. amplus

Coleville River Bluff

Samples of distinct pollen

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Gleicheniidites

G. senonicus

Coleville River Bluff

Samples of distinct pollen

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Foveosporites

F sp.

Coleville River Bluff

Samples of distinct pollen

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Foraminisporis

F. undulosus

Coleville River Bluff

Samples of distinct pollen

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Fibulapollis

F. scabratus

Coleville River Bluff

Samples of distinct pollen

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Expressipollis

cf. E. accuratus

Coleville River Bluff

Samples of distinct pollen

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Erdtmannipollis

E. procumbentformis

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen spores

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Dictyophyllidites

D. sp.

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen remains

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Deltoidospora

D. spp.

Coleville River Bluff

Preserved pollen samples

Very abundant in the early Maastrichtian and Indeterminate level of the formation, becoming rarer until the Middle/Late Maastrichtian. Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Cycadopites

C. fragilis

Coleville River Bluff

Samples of distinct pollen

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Crassispora ?

cf. C. apisulacea

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen samples

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

cf. Converrucosisporites

cf. C. sp.

Coleville River Bluff

Specimens of preserved pollen spores

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Clavatisporites

C. sp.

Coleville River Bluff

Preserved pollen samples

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Circulodinium

C. sp.

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen samples

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Cingutriletes

cf. C. congruens

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen remains

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Cingulizonates

C. bialatus

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen samples

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Cicatricosisporites

C. sp. 1

Coleville River Bluff

Distinct pollen remains

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

C. spp.

Coleville River Bluff

Preserved pollen

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

cf. C. dorogensis

Coleville River Bluff

Fossilized pollen spores

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Cibotiumspora

C. sp.

Coleville Bluff Formation

Pollen spores

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Camarozonosporites

C. ambigens

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen specimens

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Botryococcus

B. braunii

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Botryococcus braunii.jpg

Indeterminate

Indeterminate

Coleville River Bluff

Bissacate gymnosperm pollen

Common and abundant in the Early Maastrichtian, becoming rarer towards the Late Maastrichtian. Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Balmeisporites

B. sp.

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen spore remains

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Azonia

cf. A. cribrata

Coleville River Bluff

Carbonized pollen

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Aquilapollenites

A. trialatus

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

A. spp.

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

A. sp.

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

cf. A. dentatus

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

A. amygdaloides

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen

Numerous in the Late Campanian, becoming abundant in the Maastrichtian. Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Annulispora

A. sp.

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Anacololsidites

A. sp. 1

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

A. sp.

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Alete

A. clavate

Coleville River Formation

Pollen

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Aequitriradites

cf. A. spinulosus

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

Aequitriradite

A. sp.

Coleville River Bluff

Pollen

Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Troodon</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Troodon is a former wastebasket taxon and a potentially dubious genus of relatively small, bird-like theropod dinosaurs definitively known from the Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous period. It includes at least one species, Troodon formosus, known from Montana. Discovered in October 1855, T. formosus was among the first dinosaurs found in North America, although it was thought to be a lizard until 1877. Several well-known troodontid specimens from the Dinosaur Park Formation in Alberta were once believed to be members of this genus. However, recent analyses in 2017 have found this genus to be undiagnostic and referred some of these specimens to the genus Stenonychosaurus some to the genus Latenivenatrix, and some to the genus Pectinodon. The genus name is Ancient Greek for "wounding tooth", referring to the teeth, which were different from those of most other theropods known at the time of their discovery. The teeth bear prominent, apically oriented serrations. These "wounding" serrations, however, are morphometrically more similar to those of herbivorous reptiles, and suggest a possibly omnivorous diet.

<i>Dromaeosaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Dromaeosaurus is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period, sometime between 80 and 69 million years ago, in Alberta, Canada and the western United States. The type species is Dromaeosaurus albertensis, which was described by William Diller Matthew and Barnum Brown in 1922. Its fossils were unearthed in the Hell Creek Formation, Horseshoe Canyon Formation and Dinosaur Park Formation. Teeth attributed to this genus have been found in the Prince Creek Formation. Dromaeosaurus is the type genus of both Dromaeosauridae and Dromaeosaurinae, which include many genera with similar characteristics to Dromaeosaurus such as possibly its closest relative Dakotaraptor. Dromaeosaurus was heavily built, more so than other dromaeosaurs that are similar in size, like Velociraptor.

<i>Edmontosaurus</i> Hadrosaurid dinosaur genus from Late Cretaceous US and Canada

Edmontosaurus, with the second species often colloquially and historically known as Anatosaurus or Anatotitan, is a genus of hadrosaurid (duck-billed) dinosaur. It contains two known species: Edmontosaurus regalis and Edmontosaurus annectens. Fossils of E. regalis have been found in rocks of western North America that date from the late Campanian age of the Cretaceous period 73 million years ago, while those of E. annectens were found in the same geographic region from rocks dated to the end of the Maastrichtian age, 66 million years ago. Edmontosaurus was one of the last non-avian dinosaurs to ever exist, and lived alongside dinosaurs like Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus, Ankylosaurus, and Pachycephalosaurus shortly before the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.

<i>Pachyrhinosaurus</i> Ceratopsid dinosaur genus from Late Cretaceous US and Canada

Pachyrhinosaurus is an extinct genus of centrosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period of North America. The first examples were discovered by Charles M. Sternberg in Alberta, Canada, in 1946, and named in 1950. Over a dozen partial skulls and a large assortment of other fossils from various species have been found in Alberta and Alaska. A great number were not available for study until the 1980s, resulting in a relatively recent increase of interest in Pachyrhinosaurus.

<i>Einiosaurus</i> Ceratopsian dinosaur genus from Upper Cretaceous period

Einiosaurus is a genus of herbivorous centrosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of northwestern Montana. The name means 'bison lizard', in a combination of Blackfeet Indian eini and Latinized Ancient Greek sauros; the specific name (procurvicornis) means 'with a forward-curving horn' in Latin. Einiosaurus is medium-sized with an estimated body length at 4.5 metres (15 ft).

<i>Montanoceratops</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lance Formation</span> Geological formation in the United States

The Lance (Creek) Formation is a division of Late Cretaceous rocks in the western United States. Named after Lance Creek, Wyoming, the microvertebrate fossils and dinosaurs represent important components of the latest Mesozoic vertebrate faunas. The Lance Formation is Late Maastrichtian in age, and shares much fauna with the Hell Creek Formation of Montana and North Dakota, the Frenchman Formation of southwest Saskatchewan, and the lower part of the Scollard Formation of Alberta.

<i>Alaskacephale</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Alaskacephale is an extinct genus of pachycephalosaurid, a group of dome-headed, herbivorous ornithischian dinosaurs, that lived during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous period in what is now northern Alaska. The genus is one of the few known Arctic dinosaurs and was found in the Prince Creek Formation, which preserves a menagerie of fossils. The only known specimen, a squamosal bone, was found in 1999 and later described in 2005. However, Alaskacephale was not formally named until the next year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judith River Formation</span> Fossil-bearing geologic formation in Montana, part of the Judith River Group

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horseshoe Canyon Formation</span> Geological formation in Canada

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centrosaurinae</span> Extinct subfamily of dinosaurs

Centrosaurinae is a subfamily of ceratopsid, a group of large quadrupedal ornithischian dinosaur. Centrosaurine fossil remains are known primarily from the northern region of Laramidia but isolated taxa have been found in China and Utah as well.

<i>Edmontosaurus regalis</i> Extinct species of dinosaur

Edmontosaurus regalis is a species of comb-crested hadrosaurid dinosaur. Fossils of E. regalis have been found in rocks of western North America that date from the late Campanian age of the Cretaceous Period 73 million years ago, but it may have possibly lived into the early Maastrichtian.

The Wapiti Formation is a geological formation of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in northwestern Alberta, and northeastern British Columbia, Canada. Its deposition spanned the time interval from the lower Campanian through to the upper Maastrichtian, between approximately 80 and 68 Ma. It was named by G.M. Dawson in 1881, presumably for exposures along the lower part of the Wapiti River and downstream along the Smoky River in Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Javelina Formation</span> Geological formation in Texas, USA

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. 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, dated to 66 Ma ago. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.

Anthony Ricardo Fiorillo is Executive Director of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science, as well as a senior fellow at the Institute for the Study of Earth and Man at Southern Methodist University. For many years he was vice president of research & collections and chief curator at the Perot Museum of Nature & Science. A native of Connecticut, he received his bachelor's at the University of Connecticut, his master's at the University of Nebraska and a Ph.D. in Vertebrate Paleontology from the University of Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paleontology in Alaska</span> Overview of research on ancient fossils in Alaska

Paleontology in Alaska refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Alaska. During the Late Precambrian, Alaska was covered by a shallow sea that was home to stromatolite-forming bacteria. Alaska remained submerged into the Paleozoic era and the sea came to be home to creatures including ammonites, brachiopods, and reef-forming corals. An island chain formed in the eastern part of the state. Alaska remained covered in seawater during the Triassic and Jurassic. Local wildlife included ammonites, belemnites, bony fish and ichthyosaurs. Alaska was a more terrestrial environment during the Cretaceous, with a rich flora and dinosaur fauna.

<i>Nanuqsaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Nanuqsaurus is a genus of tyrannosaurine theropod dinosaur known from the Late Cretaceous period Prince Creek Formation of the North Slope of Alaska, having lived roughly 70-68 million years ago. It contains a single species, Nanuqsaurus hoglundi, known only from a partial skull and multiple undescribed postcranial and teeth elements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of hadrosaur research</span>

This timeline of hadrosaur research is a chronological listing of events in the history of paleontology focused on the hadrosauroids, a group of herbivorous ornithopod dinosaurs popularly known as the duck-billed dinosaurs. Scientific research on hadrosaurs began in the 1850s, when Joseph Leidy described the genera Thespesius and Trachodon based on scrappy fossils discovered in the western United States. Just two years later he published a description of the much better-preserved remains of an animal from New Jersey that he named Hadrosaurus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Druckenmiller</span> American paleontologist

Patrick Scott Druckenmiller is a Mesozoic paleontologist, taxonomist, associate professor of geology, Earth Sciences curator, and museum director of the University of Alaska Museum of the North, where he oversees the largest single collection of Alaskan invertebrate and vertebrate fossils. He has published work on plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, mastodons, and dinosaurs in the United States, Svalbard, and Canada. He has co-authored papers on discussions of mass extinctions and biogeography. Much of his work has focused on Arctic species. He is a member of the Spitsbergen Jurassic Research group, which focuses on marine reptiles.

<i>Unnuakomys</i> Extinct genus of mammals

Unnuakomys is an extinct genus of metatherian mammal from the Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous. It was discovered in the Prince Creek Formation of Alaska, and is the northernmost metatherian known. The type species is U. hutchisoni.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Flaig, P.P.; McCarthy, P.J.; Fiorillo, A.R. (2013). "Anatomy, Evolution, and Paleoenvironmental Interpretation of an Ancient Arctic Coastal Plain: Integrated Paleopedology and Palynology from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Prince Creek Formation, North Slope, Alaska, USA". In Driese, S.G.; Nordt, L.C. (eds.). New Frontiers in Paleopedology and Terrestrial Paleoclimatology: Paleosols and Soil Surface Analog Systems. Vol. 104. pp. 179–230. doi:10.2110/sepmsp.104.14. ISBN   9781565763227.{{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
  2. 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.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Fiorillo, A. R.; Tykoski, R. S. (2014). Dodson, Peter (ed.). "A Diminutive New Tyrannosaur from the Top of the World". PLoS ONE . 9 (3): e91287. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...991287F. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0091287 . PMC   3951350 . PMID   24621577.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Fiorillo, A.R.; Tykoski, R.S.T. (2012). "A new species of the centrosaurine ceratopsid Pachyrhinosaurus from the North Slope (Prince Creek Formation: Maastrichtian) of Alaska". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 57 (3): 561–573. doi: 10.4202/app.2011.0033 .
  5. 1 2 3 Gangloff, R.A.; Fiorillo, A.R.; Norton, D.W. (2005). "The First Pachycephalosaurine (Dinosauria) from the Paleo-Arctic of Alaska and its Paleogeographic Implications". Journal of Paleontology. 79 (5): 997–1001. doi:10.1666/0022-3360(2005)079[0997:tfpdft]2.0.co;2. S2CID   130669713.
  6. Marincovich, L.; Brouwers, E. M.; Carter, L. D. (1985). "Early Tertiary marine fossils from northern Alaska: Implications for Arctic Ocean paleogeography and faunal evolution". Geology. 13 (11): 770. Bibcode:1985Geo....13..770M. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1985)13<770:ETMFFN>2.0.CO;2.
  7. 1 2 Flores, R.M.; Myers, M.D.; Houseknecht, D.W.; Stricker, G.D.; Brizzolara, D.W.; Ryherd, T.J.; Takahashi, K.I. (2007). "Stratigraphy and Facies of Cretaceous Schrader Bluff and Prince Creek Formations in Colville River Bluffs, North Slope, Alaska" (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper. 1748: 52.
  8. 1 2 3 Druckenmiller, Patrick S.; Erickson, Gregory M.; Brinkman, Donald; Brown, Caleb M.; Eberle, Jaelyn J. (June 2021). "Nesting at extreme polar latitudes by non-avian dinosaurs". Current Biology. 31 (16): 3469–3478.e5. Bibcode:2021CBio...31E3469D. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.041 . ISSN   0960-9822. PMID   34171301.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Fiorillo, A.R.; Gangloff, R.A. (2000). "Theropod Teeth from the Prince Creek Formation (Cretaceous) of Northern Alaska, with Speculations on Arctic Dinosaur Paleoecology". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 20 (4): 675–682. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2000)020[0675:ttftpc]2.0.co;2. S2CID   130766946.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "3.33 Alaska, United States; 3. Prince Creek Formation," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 587.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Fiorillo, A. R.; Hasiotis, S. T.; Kobayashi, Y.; Breithaupt, B. H.; McCarthy, P. J. (2011). "Bird tracks from the Upper Cretaceous Cantwell Formation of Denali National Park, Alaska, USA: a new perspective on ancient northern polar vertebrate biodiversity". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 9 (1): 33–49. Bibcode:2011JSPal...9...33F. doi:10.1080/14772019.2010.509356.
  12. 1 2 Watanabe, Akinobu; Erickson, Gregory M.; Druckenmiller, Patrick S. (2013-09-01). "An ornithomimosaurian from the Upper Cretaceous Prince Creek Formation of Alaska". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 33 (5): 1169–1175. Bibcode:2013JVPal..33.1169W. doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.770750. ISSN   0272-4634. S2CID   130049294.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Chiarenza, A. A.; Fiorillo, A. R.; Tykoski, R. S.; McCarthy, P. J.; Flaig, P. P.; Contreras, D. L. (2020). "The first juvenile dromaeosaurid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from Arctic Alaska". PLOS ONE. 15 (7): e0235078. Bibcode:2020PLoSO..1535078C. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0235078 . PMC   7343144 . PMID   32639990.
  14. 1 2 3 Fiorillo, A.R.; Tykoski, R.S.; Currie, P.J.; Mccarthy, P.J.; Flaig, P. (2009). "Description of two partial Troodon braincases from the Prince Creek Formation (Upper Cretaceous), North Slope Alaska". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 29 (1): 178–187. Bibcode:2009JVPal..29..178F. doi:10.1080/02724634.2009.10010370. S2CID   197535475.
  15. Zanno, Lindsay E.; Varricchio, David J.; O'Connor, Patrick M.; Titus, Alan L.; Knell, Michael J. (2011-09-19). "A New Troodontid Theropod, Talos sampsoni gen. et sp. nov., from the Upper Cretaceous Western Interior Basin of North America". PLOS ONE. 6 (9): e24487. Bibcode:2011PLoSO...624487Z. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0024487 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   3176273 . PMID   21949721.
  16. 1 2 Sullivan, R.M. (2006). "A taxonomic review of the Pachycephalosauridae (Dinosauria: Ornithischia)". New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 35: 347–365.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Spicer, R.A.; Parrish, J.T. (1987). "Plant Megafossils, Vertebrate Remains, and Paleoclimate of the Kogosukruk Tongue (Late Cretaceous), North Slope, Alaska". In Hamilton, Thomas D.; Galloway, John P. (eds.). Geologic Studies in Alaska. pp. 47–48.{{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
  18. 1 2 3 4 Fiorillo, A.R.; Tykoski, R.S. (2013). Farke, Andrew A. (ed.). "An Immature Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum (Dinosauria: Ceratopsidae) Nasal Reveals Unexpected Complexity of Craniofacial Ontogeny and Integument in Pachyrhinosaurus". PLoS ONE . 8 (6): e65802. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...865802F. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0065802 . PMC   3686821 . PMID   23840371.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Brown, C.M.; Druckenmiller, P. (2011). "Basal ornithopod (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) teeth from the Prince Creek Formation (early Maastrichtian) of Alaska". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 48 (9): 1342–1354. Bibcode:2011CaJES..48.1342B. doi:10.1139/e11-017.
  20. 1 2 3 Re-examination of the cranial osteology of the Arctic Alaskan hadrosaurine with implications for its taxonomic status Ryuji Takasaki, Anthony R. Fiorillo, Ronald S. Tykoski, Yoshitsugu Kobayashi.
  21. 1 2 Sharpe, Henry S.; Powers, Mark J.; Dyer, Aaron D.; Rhodes, Matthew M.; McIntosh, Annie P.; Garros, Christiana W.; Currie, Philip J.; Funston, Gregory F. (2024-04-16). "Craniomandibular anatomy of a juvenile specimen of Edmontosaurus regalis Lambe, 1917 clarifies issues in ontogeny and biogeography". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. doi:10.1080/02724634.2024.2326644. ISSN   0272-4634.
  22. McCarthy, Paul J.; Tykoski, Ronald S.; Kobayashi, Yoshitsugu; Fiorillo, Anthony R.; Takasaki, Ryuji (2019-03-29). "The First Definite Lambeosaurine Bone From the Liscomb Bonebed of the Upper Cretaceous Prince Creek Formation, Alaska, United States". Scientific Reports. 9 (1): 5384. Bibcode:2019NatSR...9.5384T. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-41325-8. ISSN   2045-2322. PMC   6440964 . PMID   30926823.
  23. 1 2 3 4 Thurston, D.K.; Fujita, K. (1994). 1992 Proceedings, International Conference on Arctic Margins. Anchorage, Alaska: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, Alaska Outer Continental Shelf Region. ISBN   978-1125448038.
  24. Eberle, Jaelyn J.; Clemens, William A.; Erickson, Gregory M.; Druckenmiller, Patrick S. (2023-01-01). "A new tiny eutherian from the Late Cretaceous of Alaska". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 21 (1). Bibcode:2023JSPal..2132359E. doi:10.1080/14772019.2023.2232359. ISSN   1477-2019. S2CID   260668330.
  25. Eberle, Jaelyn J.; Clemens, William A.; McCarthy, Paul J.; Fiorillo, Anthony R.; Erickson, Gregory M.; Druckenmiller, Patrick S. (2019-02-14). "Northernmost record of the Metatheria: a new Late Cretaceous pediomyid from the North Slope of Alaska". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 17 (21): 1805–1824. Bibcode:2019JSPal..17.1805E. doi:10.1080/14772019.2018.1560369. ISSN   1477-2019. S2CID   92613824.

Bibliography