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Moreno Hill Formation
The Moreno Hill Formation is a geological formation in western New Mexico whose strata were deposited in the Late Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.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. . Description The formation is a nonmarine coal-bearing formation composed mostly of sandstone and shale with minor siltstone. The shales are brownish gray in color, and the sandstones are discontinuous beds of very pale orange to light brown poorly sorted grains that usually show steep crossbedding. The sandstones are interpreted as channel or splay deposits in a fluvial environment. The shales include thin lenses of bituminous coal, including tonsteins (distinctive thin ash beds). The total maximum thickness is . It overlies the Atar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geological Formation
A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics ( lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exposed in a geographical region (the stratigraphic column). It is the fundamental unit of lithostratigraphy, the study of strata or rock layers. A formation must be large enough that it can be mapped at the surface or traced in the subsurface. Formations are otherwise not defined by the thickness of their rock strata, which can vary widely. They are usually, but not universally, tabular in form. They may consist of a single lithology (rock type), or of alternating beds of two or more lithologies, or even a heterogeneous mixture of lithologies, so long as this distinguishes them from adjacent bodies of rock. The concept of a geologic formation goes back to the beginnings of modern scientific geology. The term was used by Abraham Gottlob Wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tonstein
Tonstein (from the German "Ton", meaning clay, plus "Stein", meaning rock) is a hard, compact sedimentary rock that is composed mainly of kaolinite or, less commonly, other clay minerals such as montmorillonite and illite. The clays often are cemented by iron oxide minerals, carbonaceous matter, or chlorite. Tonsteins form from volcanic ash deposited in swamps. Tonsteins occur as distinctive, thin, and laterally extensive layers in coal seams throughout the world. They are often used as key beds to correlate the strata in which they are found. The regional persistence of tonsteins and relict phenocrysts indicate that they formed as the result of the diagenetic alteration of volcanic ash falls in an acidic (low pH) and low- salinity environment, consistent with a freshwater swamp.Potter, P. E., J. B. Maynard, and P. J. Depetris (2005) ''Mud and Mudstones'' Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, Berlin. 297 pp. . pp. 141–142.Bohor, B. F., and D. M. Triplehorn (1993) ''Tonsteins: alte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nothronychus
''Nothronychus'' (meaning "slothful claw") is a genus of therizinosaurid theropod dinosaurs that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous period. The type species, ''Nothronychus mckinleyi'', was described by James Kirkland and Douglas G. Wolfe in 2001. It was recovered near New Mexico's border with Arizona, in an area known as the Zuni Basin, from rocks assigned to the Moreno Hill Formation, dating to the late Cretaceous period (mid-Turonian stage), around 91 million years ago. A second specimen, described in 2009 as a second species, ''Nothronychus graffami'', was found in the Tropic Shale of Utah, dating to the early Turonian, between one million and a half million years older than ''N. mckinleyi''. ''Nothronychus'' were bulky herbivorous theropods with wide, sloth-like hip (resembling that of the non-related ornithischians), four-toed feet with all four toes facing forward, elongated necks and prominent arms with sharp claws. Both species were similar in dimensions, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeyawati NT
''Jeyawati'' (meaning "grinding mouth" in the Zuni language) is a genus of hadrosauroid dinosaur which lived during the Turonian stage of the Late Cretaceous. The type species, ''J. rugoculus'', was described in 2010, based on fossils recovered in the U.S. state of New Mexico. The holotype, MSM P4166, was discovered in the Moreno Hill Formation. A cladistic analysis indicates that ''Jeyawati'' was more plesiomorphic (ancestral) than ''Shuangmiaosaurus'', '' Telmatosaurus'', and ''Bactrosaurus'', but more derived (less like the common ancestor) than '' Eolambia'', ''Probactrosaurus'', and ''Protohadros ''Protohadros'' (meaning "first hadrosaur") is a genus of herbivorous ornithischian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous ( Cenomanian stage). Gary Byrd, a part-time palaeontologist, discovered some remains of this euornithopod (ribs and an ungual) ...''.McDonald Andrew T.; Wolfe, Douglas G. and Kirkland, James I. (2010). "A new basal hadrosauroid (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) from th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hadrosauromorpha
Hadrosauromorpha is a clade of iguanodontian ornithopods, defined in 2014 by David B. Norman to divide Hadrosauroidea into the basal taxa with compressed manual bones and a pollex, and the derived taxa that lack them. The clade is defined as all the taxa closer to ''Edmontosaurus regalis'' than '' Probactrosaurus gobiensis''. This results in different taxon inclusion depending on the analysis. Classification Hadrosauromorpha was first used in literature by David B. Norman in 2014 in a discussion of phylogenetics of ''Hypselospinus''. In his 2014 paper Norman references another of his publications as the authority for Hadrosauromorpha, a chapter in the book ''Hadrosaurs''. However, the book was in fact published later, in 2015. Following Article 19.4 of the PhyloCode, the authorship of the clade is thus Norman (2015), while the authorship of the definition is Norman (2014). Definition Hadrosauromorpha was defined by Norman (2014 and 2015) as hadrosauroid taxa closer to ''Edmon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeyawati
''Jeyawati'' (meaning "grinding mouth" in the Zuni language) is a genus of hadrosauroid dinosaur which lived during the Turonian stage of the Late Cretaceous. The type species, ''J. rugoculus'', was described in 2010, based on fossils recovered in the U.S. state of New Mexico. The holotype, MSM P4166, was discovered in the Moreno Hill Formation. A cladistic analysis indicates that ''Jeyawati'' was more plesiomorphic (ancestral) than ''Shuangmiaosaurus'', '' Telmatosaurus'', and ''Bactrosaurus'', but more derived (less like the common ancestor) than '' Eolambia'', ''Probactrosaurus'', and ''Protohadros ''Protohadros'' (meaning "first hadrosaur") is a genus of herbivorous ornithischian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous ( Cenomanian stage). Gary Byrd, a part-time palaeontologist, discovered some remains of this euornithopod (ribs and an ungual) ...''.McDonald Andrew T.; Wolfe, Douglas G. and Kirkland, James I. (2010). "A new basal hadrosauroid (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) from th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ankylosauria
Ankylosauria is a group of herbivorous dinosaurs of the order Ornithischia. It includes the great majority of dinosaurs with armor in the form of bony osteoderms, similar to turtles. Ankylosaurs were bulky quadrupeds, with short, powerful limbs. They are known to have first appeared in the Middle Jurassic, and persisted until the end of the Cretaceous Period. The two main families of Ankylosaurs, Nodosauridae and Ankylosauridae are primarily known from the Northern Hemisphere, but the more basal Parankylosauria are known from southern Gondwana during the Cretaceous. Ankylosauria was first named by Henry Fairfield Osborn in 1923.Osborn, H. F. (1923). "Two Lower Cretaceous dinosaurs of Mongolia." ''American Museum Novitates'', 95: 1–1/ref> In the Linnaean classification system, the group is usually considered either a suborder or an infraorder. It is contained within the group Thyreophora, which also includes the stegosaurs, armored dinosaurs known for their combination of plate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dinosaur
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 (mya), 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 201.3 mya; their dominance continued throughout the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The fossil record shows that birds are feathered dinosaurs, having evolved from earlier theropods during the Late Jurassic epoch, and are the only dinosaur lineage known to have survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event approximately 66 mya. Dinosaurs can therefore be divided into avian dinosaurs—birds—and the extinct non-avian dinosaurs, which are all dinosaurs other than birds. Dinosaurs are varied from taxonomic, morphological and ecological standpoints. Birds, at over 10,700 living species, are among ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amiidae
The Amiidae are a family of basal ray-finned fishes. The bowfin is the only species to survive today, although additional species in all four subfamilies of Amiidae are known from Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Eocene fossils. Bowfins are now found throughout eastern North America, typically in slow-moving backwaters, canals, and ox-bow lakes. When the oxygen level is low (as often happens in still waters), the bowfin can rise to the surface and gulp air into its swim bladder, which is lined with blood vessels and can serve as a primitive lung. Amiidae is a monophyletic group that has numerous synapomorphic characters. Amiidae were widespread and particularly rich in species during the Eocene era. During this era, they appeared to be confined almost exclusively to fresh water. Taxonomy The family is divided into four subfamilies, with 11 genera described: *Amiidae **Subfamily Amiinae ***Genus ''Amia'' ***Genus †'' Cyclurus'' ***Genus †'' Pseudoamiatus'' **Subfamily †Amiopsin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melvius
''Melvius'' is a genus of vidalamiin amiid fish from the Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', the .... The type species, ''Melvius thomasi'', was described by Bryant in 1987. A second species ''Melvius chauliodous'', was named and described by Hall and Wolburg in 1989,L. Grande and W. E. Bemis. 1998. A comprehensive phylogenetic study of amiid fishes (Amiidae) based on comparative skeletal anatomy. An empirical search for interconnected patterns of natural history. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Memoir 4. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 18(1, suppl.):1-690 and it is now considered to be one of the index taxa of the Kirtlandian land-vertebrate age. References Amiiformes Prehistoric ray-finned fish genera Late Cretaceous fish of North Ame ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of living fish species are ray-finned fish, belonging to the class Actinopterygii, with around 99% of those being teleosts. The earliest organisms that can be classified as fish were soft-bodied chordates that first appeared during the Cambrian period. Although they lacked a true spine, they possessed notochords which allowed them to be more agile than their invertebrate counterparts. Fish would continue to evolve through the Paleozoic era, diversifying into a wide variety of forms. Many fish of the Paleozoic developed external armor that protected them from predators. The first fish with jaws appeared in the Silurian period, after which many (such as sharks) became formidable marine predators rather than just the prey of arthropods. Mos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crevasse Canyon Formation
The Crevasse Canyon Formation is a coal-bearing Cretaceous geologic formation in New Mexico and Arizona. Description The formation is divided into three members, in ascending stratigraphic order: ''Dilco Coal Member'', ''Dalton Sandstone Member'', and ''Gibson Coal Member''. The Dilco Coal Member is described by Cather (2010) as "Drab mudstone, fine- to medium-grained sandstone, and coal. Sandstone is commonly crossbedded or ripple laminated." The Dalton Sandstone Member is described as "Gray to yellowish gray, fine- to medium-grained, cliff-forming sandstone." The Gibson Coal Member is described as "Drab mudstone, buff, brown, and greenish gray sandstone (commonly cross-bedded), and coal," with the coals typically less than 0.5 m thick. Thickness is at the type section. In some exposures, the Dilco Coal Member is separated from the Dalton Sandstone Member by the Mulatto Tongue of the Mancos Shale. A fourth member of the Crevasse Canyon Formation, the Borrego Pass Lentil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
