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Hornerstown Formation
The Hornerstown Formation is a Paleogene or latest Mesozoic geologic formation in New Jersey.Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution." Pp. 517-607. The age of these deposits have been controversial. While most fossils are of animals types known from the earliest Cenozoic era, several fossils of otherwise exclusively Cretaceous age have been found. These include remains of the shark ''Squalicorax'', the teleost fish ''Enchodus'', several species of ammonite, and marine lizards referred to the genus ''Mosasaurus''. Some of these remains show signs of severe abrasion and erosion, however, implying that they are probably re-worked from older deposits. Most of these fossils are restricted to the lowest point in the formation, one rich in fossils and known as the Main Fossiliferous Layer, or MFL. Other explanations for the out-of-place fossils in the MFL is that they represent a time-averaged assemblage that built up and remained unburied during a time of low sediment depositio ...
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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 ...
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Tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions (including detonations, landslides, glacier calvings, meteorite impacts and other disturbances) above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami. Unlike normal ocean waves, which are generated by wind, or tides, which are in turn generated by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun, a tsunami is generated by the displacement of water from a large event. Tsunami waves do not resemble normal undersea currents or sea waves because their wavelength is far longer. Rather than appearing as a breaking wave, a tsunami may instead initially resemble a rapidly rising tide. For this reason, it is often referred to as a tidal wave, although this usage is not favoured by the scientific community because it might give ...
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List Of Dinosaur-bearing Rock Formations
This list of dinosaur-bearing rock formations is a list of geologic formations in which dinosaur fossils have been documented. Containing body fossils * List of stratigraphic units with dinosaur body fossils ** List of stratigraphic units with few dinosaur genera ** List of stratigraphic units with indeterminate dinosaur fossils Containing trace fossils * List of stratigraphic units with dinosaur trace fossils ** List of stratigraphic units with dinosaur tracks *** List of stratigraphic units with ornithischian tracks *** List of stratigraphic units with sauropodomorph tracks *** List of stratigraphic units with theropod tracks See also * Lists of fossiliferous stratigraphic units * List of fossil sites * Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceo ... {{DEFAULTSOR ...
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Hyposaurus
''Hyposaurus'' is a genus of extinct marine dyrosaurid crocodyliform. Fossils have been found in Paleocene aged rocks of the Iullemmeden Basin in West Africa, Campanian–Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) Shendi Formation of Sudan and Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) through Danian (Early Paleocene) strata in New Jersey, Alabama and South Carolina. Isolated teeth comparable to ''Hyposaurus'' have also been found in Thanetian (Late Paleocene) strata of Virginia.Denton Jr., R. K., Dobie, J. L. and D. C. Parris, 1997. The Marine Crocodilian ''Hyposaurus'' in North America. from Ancient Marine Reptiles, editors J. M. Callaway and E. L. Nicholls, Academic Press. It was related to ''Dyrosaurus''. The priority of the species ''H. rogersii'' has been debated,Norell, M. A. and G. W. Storrs. 1989. Catalogue and review of the type fossil crocodilians in the Yale Peabody Museum. Postilla 203:1-28 however there is no sound basis for the recognition of more than one species from North America. The ...
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Bottosaurus
''Bottosaurus'' is an extinct genus of alligatorid from the Late Cretaceous-Early Paleocene of New Jersey, Texas, and possibly North Carolina and South Carolina. Two species are currently accepted, with a third requiring re-evaluation. Taxonomy & Distribution Recent phylogenetic studies have recovered ''Bottosaurus'' as a member of Alligatoridae within the subfamily Caimaninae, which indicates that ''Bottosaurus'' is more closely related to caimans than to alligators. ''Bottosaurus harlani'' is predominantly found from Late Cretaceous strata of Maastrichtian age, such as the Hornerstown Formation and New Jersey Greensands. New material has been reported from the Rhems and Williamsburg Formations of the Black Mingo Group of the South Carolina coastal plain that dates back to the Danian and Thanetian stages of the Paleocene epoch, suggesting that ''Bottosaurus'' had survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event and lived through much of the early Paleogene period. How ...
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Crocodylomorph
Crocodylomorpha is a group of pseudosuchian archosaurs that includes the crocodilians and their extinct relatives. They were the only members of Pseudosuchia to survive the end-Triassic extinction. During Mesozoic and early Cenozoic times, crocodylomorphs were far more diverse than they are now. Triassic forms were small, lightly built, active terrestrial animals. The earliest and most primitive crocodylomorphs are represented by " sphenosuchians", a paraphyletic assemblage containing small-bodied forms with elongated limbs that walked upright, which represents the ancestral morphology of Crocodylomorpha. These forms persisted until the end of the Jurassic. During the Jurassic, Crocodylomorphs morphologically diversified into numerous niches, including into the aquatic and marine realms. Evolutionary history When their extinct species and stem group are examined, the crocodylian lineage (clade Pseudosuchia, formerly Crurotarsi) proves to have been a very diverse and adaptive ...
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Tytthostonyx
''Tytthostonyx'' is a genus of prehistoric seabird. Found in the much-debated Hornerstown Formation which straddles the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary 66 million years ago, this animal was apparently closely related to the ancestor of some modern birds, such as Procellariiformes and/or "Pelecaniformes". A single species is placed herein, ''Tytthostonyx glauconiticus''.Olson, S. and Parris, D.C. (1987).The Cretaceous Birds of New Jersey. ''Smithsonian Contributions to Paleontology'', 63: 22pp. It has been placed into a family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ... of its own, Tytthostonychidae. References Procellariiformes Prehistoric bird genera Late Cretaceous birds of North America Extinct birds of North America Fossil taxa described in 1987 {{paleo ...
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Telmatornis
''Telmatornis'' is a valid prehistoric bird genus of unclear affiliations. It apparently lived in the Late Cretaceous; its remains were found in the early Maastrichtian (c.71-68 million years ago) Navesink Formation of New Jersey. A single species is included today, ''Telmatornis priscus''. It was for some time united with other taxa of aquatic birds from around the Cretaceous-Paleocene boundary in the form taxon " Graculavidae", the supposed "transitional shorebirds", but this group is now known to be artificial. Some sources erroneously claim it was allied with ducks and geese. The reason for this is that the early anseriform '' Anatalavis rex'' was for some time included in ''Telmatornis''. Hope (2002), however, noted that ''Telmatornis'' shares many characters with members of Charadriiformes, the ancient and diverse group of modern birds that includes for example gulls, auks and waders. A cladistic analysis of the forelimb skeleton (Varricchio 2002) found it highly similar ...
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Palaeotringa
''Palaeotringa'' is a prehistoric bird genus that was discovered by O. C. Marsh during the late 19th century American bone wars. Its remains were found in the controversial Hornerstown Formation of New Jersey (United States) which straddles the Cretaceous-Paleocene boundary some 66 million years ago. Though it cannot be said if these birds lived before or after the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, they were in all likelihood wading birds that inhabited the coasts of the northwestern Atlantic. Two species are assigned to this genus nowadays, ''Palaeotringa littoralis'' and ''P. vagans''. They were for some time believed to be primitive, small Gruiformes and later on placed in the form taxon " Graculavidae", the "transitional shorebirds". Though they appear to be early Charadriiformes - and may well be so, for this order seems to date back to the Cretaceous - their remains are too fragmentary for cladistic analysis to say anything more precise than that they are Neornithes ...
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Laornis
__NOTOC__ ''Laornis'' is a genus of a prehistoric neornithine birds, known only from Specimen YPM 820, a single tibiotarsus leg bone discovered in the late 19th century. Consequently, the genus is monotypic, containing only the species ''Laornis edvardsianus''. Regarding its scientific name, ''Laornis'' means "stone bird", from Ancient Greek ''lao'' "stone" + ''ornis'' "bird". ''edvardsianus'' honors Alphonse Milne-Edwards, to compliment the French paleontologist on his landmark study ''Recherches Anatomiques et Paleontologiques pour servir a l'Histoire des Oiseaux Fossiles de la France'', the second part of which was nearing completion at that time. It was found in Late Cretaceous or Early Paleocene sediments of the Hornerstown Formation at the Birmingham Marl Pits, Pemberton Township, New Jersey, United States (39°59'N, 74°43'W). The deposits were laid down at about 66–63 Ma (million years ago). The bone is rather distinct but not very diagnostic. Its general shape sugge ...
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Graculavus
''Graculavus'' is a prehistoric bird genus that was described in the 19th century by American paleontologist O. C. Marsh. Its remains were found in the Late Cretaceous Austin Chalk of Texas, USA, and Lance Formation (late Maastrichtian faunal stage, or Lancian land mammal age), and the controversial Hornerstown Formation which straddles the Cretaceous–Paleocene boundary, possibly dating to the Danian stage. These birds lived on the shores of the northwestern Atlantic and the Western Interior Seaway some . Classification ''Graculavus'' is the namesake for the form taxon "Graculavidae", a plesiomorphic assembly of unrelated birds that were believed to hold a key position in avian evolution as "transitional shorebirds." Two species are known: ''Graculavus augustus'' from the Western Interior Seaway and ''Graculavus velox'' from the Atlantic Seaboard.Chiappe, Luis M. and Witmer, Lawrence M. (2002): ''Mesozoic Birds: Above the Heads of Dinosaurs'', University of California Press, 2 ...
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Name
A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A personal name identifies, not necessarily uniquely, a ''specific'' individual human. The name of a specific entity is sometimes called a proper name (although that term has a philosophical meaning as well) and is, when consisting of only one word, a proper noun. Other nouns are sometimes called "common names" or (obsolete) "general names". A name can be given to a person, place, or thing; for example, parents can give their child a name or a scientist can give an element a name. Etymology The word ''name'' comes from Old English ''nama''; cognate with Old High German (OHG) ''namo'', Sanskrit (''nāman''), Latin ''Roman naming conventions, nomen'', Greek language, Greek (''onoma''), and Persian language, Persian (''nâm''), from the Proto-Indo ...
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