| New Egypt Formation | |
| Type: | Geological formation |
| Age: | Maastrichtian ~ |
| Period: | Maastrichtian |
| Prilithology: | Marl |
| Otherlithology: | Sandstone, claystone |
| Region: | New Jersey |
| Coordinates: | 40.3°N -74.1°W |
| Paleocoordinates: | 37.9°N -41.5°W |
| Unitof: | Monmouth Group |
| Overlies: | Navesink Formation |
The New Egypt Formation is a Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) geologic formation of the Monmouth Group in New Jersey, United States.[1]
The basal New Egypt is a massive clayey, glauconitic marl that closely resembles the Navesink Formation into which it grades below. Ammonites and other invertebrates found at the Spheno Run site correlate well with the middle Severn Formation of Maryland. Spheno Run has so far produced a remarkable number of vertebrate specimens, especially from marine reptiles, including: carapace elements from at least two species of turtles, Peritresius ornatus and Taphrosphys sulcatus; various bone elements from at least two species of mosasaurs including a sizable fragment of dentary bone from Prognathodon rapax and numerous shed teeth from Mosasaurus maximus.
Vertebrate remains also include material from sharks, particularly teeth and unusually large vertebral centra from an individual lamniform shark Squalicorax pristodontus, bony fish, and, rarely, dinosaurs. In addition to the vertebrate collection, Spheno Run also yields an abundance of invertebrate species including: twenty-two bivalves, seven gastropods, six cephalopods, and one each of echinoidea, porifera, and scaphopoda. It is rare to find such an extensive array of both vertebrate and invertebrate species within one horizon in New Jersey.[1] [2]