Arundel_Formation

Arundel Formation

Arundel Formation

Geological formation in Maryland

The Arundel Formation, also known as the Arundel Clay, is a clay-rich sedimentary rock formation, within the Potomac Group, found in Maryland[2] of the United States of America. It is of Aptian age (Lower Cretaceous). This rock unit had been economically important as a source of iron ore, but is now more notable for its dinosaur fossils. It consists of clay lenses within depressions in the upper part of the Patuxent Formation that may represent oxbow swamp facies.[3] It is named for Anne Arundel County, Maryland.[4]

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Vertebrate paleofauna

Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs present include cf. Acrocanthosaurus,[5][6] the possible ornithischian Magulodon,[5] the poorly known theropods "Allosaurus" medius, "Creosaurus" potens, and "Coelurus" gracilis, the ornithomimosaurian "Dryosaurus" grandis,[7] as well as another indeterminate ornithomimosaurian (though it most likely is Nedcolbertia),[8] the sauropod Astrodon, the nodosaurid Priconodon,[9] a possible basal ceratopsian,[10] and potentially the ornithopod Tenontosaurus.[3] Other vertebrates are not as well known from the formation, but include a freshwater shark, a lungfish,[11] at least three genera of turtles, and at least one crocodilian.[3]

Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
 Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.
More information Dinosaurs reported from the Arundel Formation, Genus ...

Pterosaurs

Unassigned pteradactyloid tracks.[25]

Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
 Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.
More information Pterosaurs of the Arundel Formation, Genus ...

Other fossils

William Bullock Clark (1897) described lignitized trunks of trees often found in upright positions with their roots still intact.[1]

G. J. Brenner (1963) described spores and pollen within the formation.[26]

See also

Footnotes

  1. [1]
    Clark, W.B., 1897, Outline of present knowledge of the physical features of Maryland: Maryland Geological Survey Volume Series, v. 1, pt. 3, p. 172-188.
  2. [2]
    "Geologic Map Legends". Coastal Plain Rocks and Sediments. Maryland Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  3. [3]
    Kranz, Peter M. (1998). "Mostly dinosaurs: a review of the vertebrates of the Potomac Group (Aptian Arundel Formation), USA". In Lucas, Spencer G.; Kirkland, James I.; Estep, J.W. (eds.). Lower and Middle Cretaceous Terrestrial Ecosystems. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 14. pp. 235–238.
  4. [4]
    "Geologic Unit: Arundel". National Geologic Map Database. USGS.
  5. [5]
    Harris, Jerald D. (1998). "Large, Early Cretaceous theropods in North America". In Lucas, Spencer G.; Kirkland, James I.; Estep, J.W. (eds.). Lower and Middle Cretaceous Terrestrial Ecosystems. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 14. pp. 225–228.
  6. [6]
    Lipka, Thomas R. (1998). "The affinities of the enigmatic theropods of the Arundel Clay facies (Aptian), Potomac Formation, Atlantic Coastal Plain of Maryland". In Lucas, Spencer G.; Kirkland, James I.; Estep, J.W. (eds.). Lower and Middle Cretaceous Terrestrial Ecosystems. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 14. pp. 229–234.
  7. [7]
    Brownstein, Chase D. "Redescription of Arundel formation Ornithomimosaur material and a reinterpretation of Nedcolbertia justinhofmanni as an "Ostrich Dinosaur": Biogeographic implications". PeerJ Preprints. e2308v1.
  8. [8]
    Gilmore, Charles W. (24 October 1919). "An Ornithomimid Dinosaur in the Potomac of Maryland". Science. 50 (1295): 394–395. Bibcode:1919Sci....50..394G. doi:10.1126/science.50.1295.394. PMID 17830121.
  9. [9]
    Weishampel, David B.; Barrett, Paul M.; Coria, Rodolfo A.; Le Loueff, Jean; Xu Xing; Zhao Xijin; Sahni, Ashok; Gomani, Elizabeth M.P.; Noto, Christopher N. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution". In Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; Osmólska, Halszka (eds.). The Dinosauria (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 517–606. ISBN 978-0-520-24209-8.
  10. [10]
    Chinnery, Brenda J.; Lipka, Thomas R.; Kirkland, James I.; Parrish, Michael J.; Brett-Surman, Michael K. (1998). "Neoceratopsian teeth from the Lower to Middle Cretaceous of North America". terpconnect.umd.edu/. Lower and Middle Cretaceous Terrestrial Ecosystems. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin No. 14. 297-302 pp. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  11. [11]
    Frederickson, J. A., Lipka, T. R., & Cifelli, R. L. (2016). A new species of the lungfish Ceratodus (Dipnoi) from the Early Cretaceous of the eastern USA. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, e1136316.
  12. [12]
    Carrano, Matthew T. (2024-05-01). "First definitive record of Acrocanthosaurus (Theropoda: Carcharodontosauridae) in the Lower Cretaceous of eastern North America". Cretaceous Research. 157: 105814. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105814. ISSN 0195-6671.
  13. [13]
    "3.25 Maryland, United States; 1. Arundel Clay," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 556.
  14. [14]
    "Table 4.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 78.
  15. [15]
    "3.25 Maryland, United States; 1. Arundel Clay" and "3.34 Washington D. C., United States; 1. Arundel Clay," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 556.
  16. [16]
    "3.34 Washington D. C., United States; 1. Arundel Clay," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 556.
  17. [17]
    "Table 13.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 270.
  18. [18]
    Kranz, D. 1998. Mostly Dinosaurs: A Review of the Vertebrates of the Potomac Group (Aptian Arundel Formation), USA, in Lucas, Kirkland and Estep, eds., 1998: 235-238.
  19. [19]
    Brownstein, Chase D. (2018). "The biogeography and ecology of the Cretaceous non-avian dinosaurs of Appalachia". Palaeontologia Electronica: 1–56. doi:10.26879/801.
  20. [20]
    "Table 6.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 139.
  21. [21]
    Kranz, P. (1996). Notes on the sedimentary iron ores of Maryland and their dinosaurian faunas. Maryland Geological Survey Special Publications 3:87–115.
  22. [22]
    "Table 13.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 266.
  23. [23]
    "Table 17.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 368.
  24. [24]
    Listed as "?Tenontosaurus sp." in "3.25 Maryland, United States; 1. Arundel Clay," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 556.
  25. [25]
    Lockley, M.; Harris, J.D.; and Mitchell, L. 2008. "A global overview of pterosaur ichnology: tracksite distribution in space and time." Zitteliana. B28. p. 187-198. ISSN 1612-4138.
  26. [26]
    Brenner, Gilbert J., 1963, The spores and pollen of the Potomac Group of Maryland: Maryland Geological Survey Bulletin, no. 27, 215 p.

References

  • Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. 861 pp. ISBN 0-520-24209-2.
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