Almond Formation Explained
The Almond Formation is a geological formation of Late Cretaceous (Late Campanian-Early Maastrichtian[1]) age in Wyoming. It was deposited in marsh, deltaic, lagoonal, estuarine, and shallow marine environments along the western shore of the Western Interior Seaway. It consists primarily of fine- to medium-grained sandstone, siltstone, shale, and coal.[2] Fossils from the Almond Formation include remains of dinosaurs[3] and plants.[4]
Vertebrate paleofauna
Dinosaurs
| Dinosaurs of the Almond Formation |
|---|
| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images |
|---|
| Anchiceratops | Indeterminate | | | | Represents a new genus and species of unnamed ceratopsid | |
| Dromaeosaurus[5] | Indeterminate | | | | |
| Edmontonia | Indeterminate | | | | |
| Edmontosaurus | Indeterminate | | | | |
| Maiasaura | Indeterminate | | | | |
| Paronychodon | P. lacustris | | | | |
| Saurolophus[6] | S. sp. | | | One specimen (AMNH 3651) consisting of partial cranial and postcranial remains, as well as skin impressions | |
| Thescelosaurus[7] | Indeterminate | | | | |
| Unnamed chasmosaurine ceratopsid[8] | Unnamed | | | | Misidentified as Anchiceratops, it is actually a new species of Pentaceratops-like form that is the sister taxon to Bisticeratops.[9] Holotype was discovered in 1937. |
|
Other vertebrates
Non-dinosaur vertebrates found in the Almond Formation include crocodyliforms (indet.), turtles (Adocus cf. and Basilemys cf.), and ray-finned fish (Ichthyodectidae indet.).[10]
See also
- List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
References
- Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. 861 pp. .
Notes and References
- Fowler. Denver Warwick. 2017-11-22. Revised geochronology, correlation, and dinosaur stratigraphic ranges of the Santonian-Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) formations of the Western Interior of North America. PLOS ONE. 12. 11. e0188426. 10.1371/journal.pone.0188426. 1932-6203. 5699823. 29166406. 2017PLoSO..1288426F. free.
- Kieft, R.L., Hampton, G.J., Jackson, C.A.-L., and Larsen, E., 2011. Stratigraphic architecture of a net-transgressive marginal- to shallow-marine succession: Upper Almond Formation, Rock Springs Uplift, Wyoming, U.S.A. Journal of Sedimentary Research, vol. 81, p. 513-533.
- 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. .
- Stockey, R.A., Rothwell, G.W., and Johnson, K.R., 2007. Cobbania corrugata gen. et. comb. nov. (Araceae): A floating aquatic monocot from the Upper Cretaceous of western North America. American Journal of Botany, vol. 94, no. 4, p. 609-624.
- "3.12 Wyoming, United States; 4. Almond Formation," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 584.
- Gates . T. A. . Farke . A. A. . 2009-10-01 . Biostratigraphic and biogeographic implications of a hadrosaurid (Ornithopoda: Dinosauria) from the Upper Cretaceous Almond Formation of Wyoming, USA . Cretaceous Research . 30 . 5 . 1157–1163 . 10.1016/j.cretres.2009.05.001 . 0195-6671.
- Listed as "cf. Thescelosaurus sp." in "3.12 Wyoming, United States; 4. Almond Formation," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 584.
- Listed as "?Anchiceratops sp." in "3.12 Wyoming, United States; 4. Almond Formation," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 584.
- Dalman SG, Jasinski SE, Lucas SG. A new chasmosaurine ceratopsid from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Farmington Member of the Kirtland Formation, New Mexico. 2022. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 90. 127-153.
- Cowgill . Ethan . Ashurst-mcgee . Logan . Storrs . Glenn . Johnson . Christopher L. . Affolter . Matthew D. . Law . Lane . Hawkins . Quinlan . Tamez-Galvan . Evan . Kosowatz . Luke . 2021 . A PRELIMINARY REPORT ON NEW VERTEBRATE FOSSILS FROM THE LATE CRETACEOUS ALMOND FORMATION, WYOMING . Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs . 53 . 6 . 10.1130/abs/2021AM-371282.
