Black Peaks Formation

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Black Peaks Formation
Stratigraphic range: Maastrichtian-Danian (Tiffanian)
~66.5–60  Ma
Type Geological formation
Unit of Tornillo Group
Overlies Javelina Formation
Lithology
Primary Mudstone
Other Limestone
Location
Coordinates 29°18′N103°24′W / 29.3°N 103.4°W / 29.3; -103.4
Approximate paleocoordinates 36°00′N82°48′W / 36.0°N 82.8°W / 36.0; -82.8
RegionFlag of Texas.svg  Texas
CountryFlag of the United States.svg  USA
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Black Peaks Formation (the United States)
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Black Peaks Formation (Texas)

The Black Peaks Formation is a geological formation in Texas whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains (from the sauropod Alamosaurus ) and the pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus northropi [1] have been among the fossils reported from the formation. [2] [3] The boundary with the underlying Javelina Formation has been estimated at 66.5 million years old. [4] The formation preserves the rays Rhombodus and Dasyatis , as well as many gar scales. [5]

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See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Quetzalcoatlus</i> Genus of azhdarchid pterosaurs from the Late Cretaceous

Quetzalcoatlus is a genus of azhdarchid pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous Maastrichtian age of North America. Its name comes from the Aztec feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl. The type species is Q. northropi, named by Douglas Lawson in 1975. The genus also includes the smaller species Q. lawsoni, which was known for many years as an unnamed species, before being named by Brian Andres and Wann Langston Jr. (posthumously) in 2021. Q. northropi has gained fame as a candidate for the largest flying animal ever discovered.

<i>Gryposaurus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

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

Alamosaurus is a genus of opisthocoelicaudiine titanosaurian sauropod dinosaurs containing a single known species, Alamosaurus sanjuanensis, from the Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous period in what is now southwestern North America. It is the only known titanosaur to have inhabited North America after the nearly 30-million year absence of sauropods from the North American fossil record and probably represents an immigrant from South America.

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<i>Angulomastacator</i> Extinct genus of dinosaur

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<i>Argentinadraco</i> Genus of azhdarchoid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous

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ReBecca Hunt-Foster is an American paleontologist. She has worked with dinosaur remains from the Late Jurassic to Late Cretaceous of the Colorado Plateau, Rocky Mountains, Southcentral, and the Southwestern United States of America. She described the dinosaur Arkansaurus fridayi and identified the first juvenile Torosaurus occurrences from Big Bend National Park in North America in 2008.

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<i>Wellnhopterus</i> Genus of azhdarchid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous

Wellnhopterus is an azhdarchid pterosaur recovered from the Late Cretaceous Javelina Formation in Texas that was previously identified as a thalassodromine. It consists of a set of upper and lower jaws, as well as some cervical vertebrae and a fragmentary long bone. In July 2021, the jaws were given the genus name "Javelinadactylus", with the type and only species as "J. sagebieli"; however, this article has now been retracted. In a paper published in December 2021, the complete holotype was independently named Wellnhopterus, with the only species being W. brevirostris. As of 2022, this is the formal name of this pterosaur.

The sauropod hiatus is a period in the North American fossil record for most of the Late Cretaceous noted for its lack of sauropod remains. It may represent an extinction event, possibly caused by competition with ornithischian herbivores, habitat loss from the expansion of the Western Interior Seaway, or both. Alternatively, it has been argued that the hiatus represents a decrease in inland deposits that would have effectively preserved the animals, creating the illusion of an extinction. The sauropod hiatus ended shortly before the end of the Cretaceous, with the appearance of Alamosaurus, most likely an immigrant from South America, in the southern parts of North America.

References

  1. Andres, Brian; Langston, Wann (2021-12-14). "Morphology and taxonomy of Quetzalcoatlus Lawson 1975 (Pterodactyloidea: Azhdarchoidea)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 41 (sup1): 46–202. doi: 10.1080/02724634.2021.1907587 . ISSN   0272-4634.
  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. Lehman, T. M. and A. B. Coulson. 2002. A juvenile specimen of the sauropod dinosaur Alamosaurus sanjuanensis from the Upper Cretaceous of Big Bend National Park,Texas. Journal of Paleontology 76(1): 156-172.
  4. Woodward, H. N. (2005). Bone histology of the sauropod dinosaur Alamosaurus sanjuanensis from the Javelina Formation, Big Bend National Park, Texas.
  5. Hunt, ReBecca K., Vincent L. Santucci and Jason Kenworthy. 2006. "A preliminary inventory of fossil fish from National Park Service units." in S.G. Lucas, J.A. Spielmann, P.M. Hester, J.P. Kenworthy, and V.L. Santucci (ed.s), Fossils from Federal Lands. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 34, pp. 63-69.

Further reading