Paleobiota of the Chinle Formation explained
The Chinle Formation is an extensive geological unit in the southwestern United States, preserving a very diverse fauna of Late Triassic (primarily Norian-age) animals and plants. This is a list of fossilized organisms recovered from the formation.
Amniotes
Archosauromorphs
Crurotarsans
See main article: Archosaurs of the Chinle Formation.
Other Archosauromorphs
Other amniotes
Miscellaneous amniotes of the Chinle Formation |
---|
Genus | Species | State | Member | Abundance | Notes | Images |
---|
Acallosuchus[17] | A. rectori |
|
| Known only from a partial skull. | A strange neodiapsid whose bones were heavily ornamented "with subtriangular knobs... running the length of the bones." Even these ornamentations were ornamented "with additional grooves." It is too bizarre to be currently classified as anything more than a probable diapsid. | |
Ancistronychus[18] | A. paradoxus |
|
| Manual unguals (hand claws). | A drepanosaur related to Drepanosaurus. |
Avicranium[19] | A. renestoi |
|
| Skull and neck vertebrae. | A drepanosaur with a toothless skull and a flexible neck owing to the heterocoelous (saddle-shaped) articular surfaces of the vertebral centrae. The neural spines are anteroposteriorly short and strongly anterodorsally inclined. These features closely resemble those of Drepanosaurus. |
Colognathus[20] | C. obscurus |
|
| Known only from a jaw fragment and some isolated teeth. | Originally believed to be a fish, Colognathus was a strange amniote with distinctive fluted teeth. |
Dolabrosaurus | D. aquatilis |
|
| Articulated vertebral and limb material. | A drepanosaur. |
Drepanosaurus[21] | D. unguicaudatus |
|
| | A drepanosaur. |
Kataigidodon[22] | K. venetus |
|
| Partial dentaries. | A non-mammalian eucynodont. |
Kraterokheirodon[23] | K. colberti |
| - Petrified Forest
- Blue Mesa or Mesa Redondo
| Known only from two teeth. | A possible cynodont. Although they share some similarities with cynodont teeth, the teeth of Kraterokheirodon are very distinctive and can't be confidently referred to a known amniote group. |
Palacrodon[24] | Indeterminate |
|
| Jaw fragments. | A diapsid reptile of uncertain phylogenetic placement with unusual broadened teeth. More complete fossils of this genus from the Fremouw Formation of Antarctica suggest that it was an arboreal saurian.[25] |
Placerias[26] | P. hesternus |
|
| Known from several hundred remains, but very rare outside of the highly concentrated Placerias Quarry. | A placeriine stahleckeriid dicynodont. |
Skybalonyx[27] | S. skapter |
|
| Manual unguals (hand claws). | A drepanosaur which likely had a burrowing lifestyle. |
Uatchitodon[28] | U. schneideri[29] |
|
| Known in Chinle from only a single tooth. The presence of venom channels is consistent with other known Uatchitodon specimens, although the Chinle specimen's channels are unique in being "completely enclosed under the surface of the crown." | A reptile of unknown affinities, probably a carnivorous archosauromorph with venomous capabilities. |
Whitakersaurus[31] | W. bermani |
|
| | A rhynchocephalian found at Ghost Ranch. |
Indeterminate procolophonid[32] | Indeterminate |
| | | |
|
Amphibians
Cartilaginous fish
Chondrichthyans of the Chinle Formation |
---|
Genus | Species | State | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
---|
Acrodus[40] | Indeterminate |
|
| Only a single tooth is known. | A hybodontiform shark. | |
Lonchidion[42] | L. humblei |
|
| | A hybodontiform shark. Lonchidion remains are common throughout the Carnian microvertebrate sites of the American southwest. |
Palaeoxyris | P. humblei[43] |
|
| Several specimens | An egg capsule of a freshwater hybodont shark. |
Phoebodus[44] | Indeterminate |
|
| Only a single specimen has been recovered from the formation. | |
Reticulodus[45] | R. synergus |
| - Owl Rock
- Petrified Forest
- Sonsela
| | The crown of its tooth bears a "reticulating ornamentation on [its] occlusal surface[.]" Reticulodus remains are common throughout the Norian microvertebrate sites of the American southwest. |
Mooreodontus[46] [47] | M. moorei |
|
| Common in the lower Chinle Formation's microvertebrate localities. | A xenacanthiform shark. |
|
Lobe-finned fish
Lungfish
Dipnoans (lungfish) of the Chinle Formation |
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Genus | Species | State | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes |
---|
Arganodus[50] | A. dorotheae | | | | |
Indeterminate |
|
| Arganodus toothplates are the most common fossil in the formation from a non-tetrapod. They are evenly distributed across strata, although some individual localities have very high concentrations. | Most Chinlean Arganodus fossils are isolated tooth plates. |
Ceratodus | C. dorotheae | | | | Named by Case in 1921, in the 1980s it was referred to Arganodus. |
|
Ray-finned fish
Plants
The Chinle Formation has a diverse flora of plant megafossils, though they are concentrated in only a few sites with suitable conditions. One of the most diverse floral communities is found near Fort Wingate, New Mexico. Paleobotanists have traditionally placed the Fort Wingate plant beds into the Monitor Butte Member, though more recently they are placed within the Bluewater Creek Formation, a subunit of the Chinle Formation first defined in 1989.[62] Some Fort Wingate plant fossils belong to the "Lake Ciniza beds", a localized patch of grey mudstone corresponding to an ancient lake.
Another productive areas for plant fossils is Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. Though petrified wood could be found through the entire stratigraphy of the park, most other plant fossils are exclusive to greenish mudstone layers adjacent to the Newspaper Rock sandstone bed in the Blue Mesa Member (formerly known as the "Lower Petrified Forest").
Conifers are the most common and diverse plants, including petrified wood and leafy branches from massive trees (Araucarioxylon, Pagiophyllum) as well as smaller shrubby forms (Pelourdea). Cycad and bennettitalean leaves and other remains make up a significant portion of the flora (Zamites, Nilssoniopteris, Williamsonia, etc.). Ferns (Cladophlebis, Phlebopteris, Clathropteris, Cynepteris, etc.) are abundant, with a range of growth habits including low shrubs, tree ferns, and palm-like fronds comparable to their modern relatives. Sphenophytes (horsetails: Neocalamites, Equistetites, Schizoneura, etc.) have low diversity but high abundance, and the largest Neocalamites fossils in the Chinle Formation could reach up to 6 meters (20 feet) in height. "Seed ferns" (Chilbinia, Marcouia?) ginkgophytes (Baiera), and small lycopods (Chinlea, Selaginella) were present but uncommon. The flora is rounded out by unusual low-growing gymnosperms such as Sanmiguelia (an angiosperm-like shrub), Dechellyia, and Dinophyton (possible relatives of Gnetales).
The floral composition of the Chinle Formation (and other parts of Late Triassic North America) seem to shift with changes in climate over time. The lowest parts of the Chinle, such as the Shinarump Conglomerate, are dominated by the bennettitalean Eoginkgoites alongside the first occurrence of other persistent plants such as Phlebopteris, Equisetites, and most common conifer species. Subsequent subunits (such as the Blue Mesa Member, Monitor Butte Member, and Bluewater Creek Formation) are much more diverse, with a wide array of humidity-adapted plants making up the typical Chinle flora. This second floral zone is characterized by Dinophyton, a common but enigmatic shrubby gymnosperm. Plant fossils are rare in the upper part of the Chinle Formation, which was presumably much drier than the lower part. In these later layers, by far the most common plant fossils belong to Sanmiguelia (an endemic of southwestern North America) alongside conifers and horsetails.[63] [64]
Gymnosperms
Gymnosperms of the Chinle Formation |
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Genus | Species | State | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
---|
Araucariorhiza[65] | A. joae |
|
| Uncommon | Roots of conifers similar to modern Araucariaceae. Possibly from the same plant as Araucarioxylon arizonicum. | |
Araucarioxylon[67] | A. arizonicum, A. sp.[68]
|
|
| Abundant | Petrified trunks of large conifers possibly related to modern Araucariaceae.[71] State fossil of Arizona. | |
Araucarites | A. rudicula[72] |
|
| Very rare | Large female conifer cones similar to those of araucariacean conifers. | |
Aricycas[73] | A. paulae |
| - Blue Mesa (= "Lower Petrified Forest")
| Moderately common | Pinnate cycad leaves | |
Baiera | B. arizonica |
| - Blue Mesa (= "Lower Petrified Forest")
- Bluewater Creek (= "lower red member", formerly Monitor Butte)
| Uncommon | Ginkgophyte leaves | |
Brachyphyllum | B. sp,B. hegewaldia[75] |
| - Blue Mesa (= "Lower Petrified Forest")
- Agua Zarca Sandstone
- Shinarump
- Temple Mountain
| Uncommon | Conifer leaves and shoots | |
Carpolithus | C. chinleana |
| - Blue Mesa (= "Lower Petrified Forest")
| Rare | Seeds of uncertain affinities | |
Cephalotaxopsis | C. sp. |
| | | Conifer foliage | |
Charmorgia | C. dijolli |
| - "Petrified Forest" sensu lato
| Rare | Short cycad stems | |
Chilbinia[76] | C. lichii |
|
| Rare | An archaic seed fern with seeds and leaves more similar to Carboniferous-Permian seed ferns than to Triassic forms. | |
Creberanthus | C. bealeii |
|
| Very rare | Pollen-bearing cones similar to those of some extinct "pteridosperms" (seed ferns). Associated with Alisporites opii, a common palynomorph. | |
Dadoxylon | D. chaneyi |
| - "Petrified Forest" sensu lato
| Very rare | Possible cordaitalean conifer wood. | |
Dechellyia[77] | D. gormanii |
| - Bluewater Creek (formerly Monitor Butte)
- Monitor Butte
| Uncommon | An enigmatic gymnosperm with narrow pinnate leaves, "clasping" leaf-like sporophylls, and winged seeds. Some leaves are affected by galls, similar to those formed by eriophyid mites in modern plants. | |
Dinophyton | D. spinosus[80] |
| - Blue Mesa (= "Lower Petrified Forest")
- Monitor Butte
- Bluewater Creek ("Ciniza Lake beds", formerly Monitor Butte)
| Common | An unusual gymnosperm combining needle-covered shoots with seed-bearing structures having the form of "pinwheel"-like clusters of tubular needles. Possibly related to Gnetales. | |
Elatocladus | E. puercoensis |
|
| Uncommon | Leaf-bearing conifer shoots | |
Eoginkgoites | E. sp.,E. davidsonii[82] |
|
| Common within its small stratigraphic range | A bennettitalean with palm-shaped fronds similar to some ginkgo species. | |
Ginkgoites | G. sp. |
|
| Rare | A ginkgophyte | |
Lindleycladus | L. arizonicus |
|
| Uncommon | Conifer shoots bearing Podozamites leaves. Formerly known as Podozamites arizonicus. | |
Lyssoxylon | L. grigsbyi |
| - "Petrified Forest" sensu lato
- Bluewater Creek (formerly Monitor Butte)
| Rare | Cycad trunks | |
Marcouia | M. neuropteroides |
| - Blue Mesa (= "Lower Petrified Forest")
- Bluewater Creek (formerly Monitor Butte)
- Monitor Butte
| Uncommon | Fern-like gymnosperm leaves of uncertain affinities. Some leaves are affected by feeding traces including crescent-shaped marginal incisions and oval-shaped holes. These were probably produced by beetles or orthopterans (grasshoppers and kin). | |
Masculostrobus | M. clathratus |
|
| Locally common | A pollen-bearing cone associated with lattice-shaped Equisetosporites chinleana pollen. | |
Nilssoniopteris | N. ciniza |
| - "Petrified Forest" sensu lato
- Bluewater Creek ("Ciniza Lake beds", formerly Monitor Butte)
- Shinarump
| Uncommon | Large smooth-edged bennettitalean leaves, some of which were originally identified as Macrotaeniopteris magnifola. | |
Otozamites | O. macombii |
|
| Uncommon | Bennettitalean leaves | |
Pagiophyllum | P. sp.,P. duttonia, P. navajoensis,
P. readiana,
P. zuniana,
P. simpsonii[83]
| - Arizona
- Colorado
- New Mexico
| - "Middle Dolores"
- "Petrified Forest" sensu lato
- Sonsela
- Bluewater Creek ("Ciniza Lake beds", formerly Monitor Butte)
- Agua Zarca Sandstone
| Locally very common | Conifer leaves | |
Palissya | P. sp.,P. diffusa, P. sphenolepis
|
| - Monitor Butte
- Agua Zarca Sandstone
- Shinarump
| Uncommon | Conifer leaves and shoots | |
Pelourdea | P. poleoensis |
| - "Siltstone"
- "Middle Dolores"
- Poleo
- Bluewater Creek ("Ciniza Lake beds", formerly Monitor Butte)
- Shinarump
| Common | A shrubby conifer with strap-like leaves arranged around a single narrow stem. | |
Podozamites | P. sp.,P. emmonsi, P. lanceolatus
|
| - Blue Mesa (= "Lower Petrified Forest")
- Shinarump
- Temple Mountain
| Uncommon | Conifer leafs and shoots | |
Pramelreuthia | P. dubielli,[84] P. yazzi |
|
| Rare | Gymnosperm microsporophylls (pollen-bearing organs) | |
Pterophyllum | P. sp.,P. braunianum |
|
| Uncommon | Bennettitalean leaves | |
Samaropsis | S. sp.,S. puerca |
| - Blue Mesa (= "Lower Petrified Forest")
| Uncommon | Seeds of uncertain affinities | |
Sanmiguelia | S. lewisii |
| - Rock Point
- Owl Rock
- "Middle Dolores"
- Petrified Forest
- Sonsela
- Blue Mesa
| Common | An unusual palm-like shrub, controversially suggested to be a relative or predecessor of angiosperms (flowering plants). | |
Schilderia | S. adamanica |
|
| Rare | Petrified stems of a conifer or gnetalean | |
Williamsonia | W. nizhonii[87] |
| - Bluewater Creek (= "lower red member", formerly Monitor Butte)
| Rare | A bennettitalean "flower" (female cone) | |
Woodworthia | W. arizonica |
|
| Uncommon | Stems and petrified wood of a conifer related to A. arizonicum.[88] | |
Zamites | Z. sp.,Z. occidentalis, Z. powellii
|
| - Church Rock?
- Owl Rock?
- Blue Mesa (= "Lower Petrified Forest")
- Sonsela
- Bluewater Creek ("Ciniza Lake beds", formerly Monitor Butte)
- Monitor Butte
- Agua Zarca
- Shinarump
| Very common | Bennettitalean leaves. Some leaves exhibit feeding traces, including sharp diagonal marginal traces and slot-like non-marginal traces. These traces were probably left by beetles. Zamites powellii was formerly known as Otozamites powellii. | |
|
Ferns
Ferns of the Chinle Formation |
---|
Genus | Species | State | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
---|
Apachea | A. arizonica |
|
| Rare | Dipteridacean fern leaves, possibly damaged specimens of Clathropteris walkeri. |
Cladophlebis | C. daughertyi,[91] C. subfalcata, C. yazzia,
C. sp.
|
| - Blue Mesa (= "Lower Petrified Forest")
- Bluewater Creek (= "lower red member", formerly Monitor Butte)
- Monitor Butte
- Shinarump
| Very common | Large sterile fern leaves of uncertain affinities |
Clathropteris | C. walkeri |
| - Blue Mesa (= "Lower Petrified Forest")
- Bluewater Creek (= "lower red member", formerly Monitor Butte)
| Common | Dipteridacean fern leaves |
Cynepteris | C. sp.,C. lasiophora |
| - Church Rock?
- Owl Rock?
- Blue Mesa (= "Lower Petrified Forest")
- Bluewater Creek (= "lower red member", formerly Monitor Butte)
- Monitor Butte
| Common | Bipinnate fern leaves previously identified as Lonchopteris. Some leaves are affected by crescent-shaped marginal feeding traces, probably from beetles or orthopterans (grasshoppers and kin). |
Itopsidema[92] | I. vancleavi |
|
| Uncommon | Stems of large osmundacean tree ferns. Some stems show evidence of being bored by oribatid mites.[93] |
Phlebopteris | P. smithii,P. utensis | - Arizona[94]
- New Mexico
- Utah
| - Blue Mesa (= "Lower Petrified Forest")
- Bluewater Creek (= "lower red member" / "Ciniza Lake beds", formerly Monitor Butte)
- Shinarump
| Common | Matoniacean fern leaves with a palmate structure |
Sphenopteris | S. arizonica |
| - Blue Mesa (= "Lower Petrified Forest")
| Uncommon | Sterile fern leaves of uncertain affinities. Some show evidence for marginal damage by insect feeding traces. |
Todites | T. fragilis |
| - Blue Mesa (= "Lower Petrified Forest")
- Bluewater Creek (="lower red member", formerly Monitor Butte)
| Uncommon | Osmundacean fern leaves |
Wingatea | W. plumosa |
| - Blue Mesa (= "Lower Petrified Forest")
- Bluewater Creek (="lower red member", formerly Monitor Butte)
| Rare | Gleicheniacean fern leaves previously named as a species of Coniopteris. | |
Other plants
Other plants of the Chinle Formation |
---|
Genus | Species | State | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
---|
Chinlea | C. sp.,C. campii |
| - "Petrified Forest" sensu lato
| Uncommon | Small lycopod stems similar to shrubby forms such as Pleuromeia. | |
Equisetites | E. sp.,E. bradyi |
| - Blue Mesa (= "Lower Petrified Forest")
- Bluewater Creek ("Ciniza Lake beds", formerly Monitor Butte)
- Shinarump
| Common | A horsetail indistinguishable from modern Equisetum. | |
Equisetocalis[97] | E. muirii |
|
| Concentrated in a narrow stratigraphic range (the Newspaper Rock sandstone bed) | Small three-dimensional horsetail stems preserved in pyrite nodules. | |
Isoetites | I. circularis |
| - "Petrified Forest" sensu lato
| Rare | Quillwort shoots | |
Lycostrobus | L. chinleana |
| - Blue Mesa (= "Lower Petrified Forest")
| Rare | Horsetail cones sometimes placed in the genus Equicalostrobus | |
Neocalamites | N. sp.,N. virginiensis | - Arizona
- Utah
- Colorado[98]
- New Mexico
| - "Siltstone"
- Church Rock?
- Owl Rock?
- "Petrified Forest" sensu lato
- Bluewater Creek (= "lower red member" / "Ciniza Lake beds", formerly Monitor Butte)
| Common | Stems and leaves of a giant sphenophyte (horsetail) | |
Schizoneura | S. harrisii |
| - Bluewater Creek (formerly Monitor Butte)
| Uncommon | Stems and leaves of a large sphenophyte (horsetail) more typical of Southern Hemisphere plant assemblages. | |
Selaginella | S. anasazia |
|
| Uncommon | A low-growing lycopsid similar to modern broad-leaved species of Selaginella, such as S. kraussiana | | |
Arthropods
Arthropods of the Chinle Formation |
---|
Genus | Species | State | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
---|
Enoplocytia | E. porteri[99] |
|
| Single well-preserved fossil | An erymid crayfish | |
Paleoscolytus[100] | P. divergus |
|
| | A species of bark beetle, evidenced by trace fossils of tracks made on A. arizonicum specimens. | |
|
Bibliography
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Notes and References
- "Vertebrate Fauna; Archosauriformes; Crosbysaurus harrisae," Irmis (2005) p. 71
- William G. Parker . Sterling J. Nesbitt . Adam D. Marsh . Ben T. Kligman . Kenneth Bader . 2021 . First occurrence of Doswellia cf. D. kaltenbachi (Archosauriformes) from the Late Triassic (middle Norian) Chinle Formation of Arizona and its implications on proposed biostratigraphic correlations across North America during the Late Triassic . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 41 . 3 . e1976196 . 10.1080/02724634.2021.1976196 . 243474578 .
- Marsh . Adam D. . Parker . William G. . Nesbitt . Sterling J. . Kligman . Ben T. . Stocker . Michelle R. . 2022 . Puercosuchus traverorum n. gen. n. sp.: a new malerisaurine azendohsaurid (Archosauromorpha: Allokotosauria) from two monodominant bonebeds in the Chinle Formation (Upper Triassic, Norian) of Arizona . Journal of Paleontology . en . 96 . S90 . 1–39 . 10.1017/jpa.2022.49 . 0022-3360 . free.
- Brenen M. Wynd . Sterling J. Nesbitt . Michelle R. Stocker . Andrew B. Heckert . 2020 . A detailed description of Rugarhynchos sixmilensis, gen. et comb. nov. (Archosauriformes, Proterochampsia), and cranial convergence in snout elongation across stem and crown archosaurs . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 39 . 6 . e1748042 . 10.1080/02724634.2019.1748042 . 219917329 .
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- Pritchard . Adam C. . Turner . Alan H. . Nesbitt . Sterling J. . Irmis . Randall B. . Smith . Nathan D. . 2015-03-04 . Late Triassic tanystropheids (Reptilia, Archosauromorpha) from northern New Mexico (Petrified Forest Member, Chinle Formation) and the biogeography, functional morphology, and evolution of Tanystropheidae . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . en . 35 . 2 . e911186 . 10.1080/02724634.2014.911186 . 130089407 . 0272-4634.
- "Vertebrate Fauna; Archosauromorpha; Tanytrachelos sp.," Irmis (2005) p. 70
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- "Vertebrate Fauna; Archosauromorpha; Trilophosaurus buettneri, Trilophosaurus jacobsi, Trilophosaurus sp." Irmis (2005) p. 70
- "Vertebrate Fauna; Archosauromorpha; Trilophosaurus buettneri," Irmis (2005) p. 70
- "Abstract," Mueller and Parker (2006) p. 119
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- "Vertebrate Fauna; Archosauriformes; Vancleavea campi," Irmis (2005) p. 71
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- "Vertebrate Fauna; Reptilia incertae sedis; Acallosuchus rectori," Irmis (2005) pp. 69-70
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- "Vertebrate Fauna; Parareptilia; Colognathus obscurus," Irmis (2005) p. 69
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- "Vertebrate Fauna; Synapsida; Placerias hesternus," Irmis (2005) p. 82
- Jenkins . Xavier A. . Pritchard . Adam C. . Marsh . Adam D. . Kligman . Ben T. . Sidor . Christian A. . Reed . Kaye E. . Kaye Reed . 2020 . Using manual ungual morphology to predict substrate use in the Drepanosauromorpha and the description of a new species . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 40 . 5 . e1810058 . 10.1080/02724634.2020.1810058 . free.
- Listed as cf. Uatchitodon sp. in "Vertebrate Fauna; Reptilia incertae sedis; Cf. Uatchitodon sp," Irmis (2005) p. 69
- Mitchell . Jonathan S. . Heckert . Andrew B. . Sues . Hans-Dieter . 2010 . Grooves to tubes: evolution of the venom delivery system in a Late Triassic "reptile" . Naturwissenschaften . 97 . 12 . 1117–1121 . 2010NW.....97.1117M . 10.1007/s00114-010-0729-0 . 21060984 . 10093308.
- "Vertebrate Fauna; Reptilia incertae sedis; Cf. Uatchitodon sp," Irmis (2005) p. 69
- Heckert. Andrew B.. Lucas. Spencer G.. Rinehart. Larry F.. Hunt. Adrian P.. 2008-07-01. A New Genus and Species of Sphenodontian from the Ghost Ranch Coelophysis Quarry (upper Triassic: Apachean), Rock Point Formation, New Mexico, Usa. Palaeontology. en. 51. 4. 827–845. 10.1111/j.1475-4983.2008.00786.x. 1475-4983. free.
- Nicholas C. Fraser . Randall B. Irmis . David K. Elliott . 2005 . A procolophonid (Parareptilia) from the Owl Rock Member, Chinle Formation of Utah, USA . Palaeontologia Electronica . 8 . 1 . Article Number 8.1.13 .
- "Vertebrate Fauna; Temnospondyli; Apachesaurus gregorii" Irmis (2005) pp. 67-68
- Mueller (2007)
- Gee . Bryan M. . Parker . William G. . Marsh . Adam D. . Redescription of Anaschisma (Temnospondyli: Metoposauridae) from the Late Triassic of Wyoming and the phylogeny of the Metoposauridae . Journal of Systematic Palaeontology . 2020 . 18 . 3 . 233–258 . 10.1080/14772019.2019.1602855. 190896742 .
- "Vertebrate Fauna; Temnospondyli; Buettneria perfecta" Irmis (2005) p. 67. Note that Koskinonodon was listed under the preoccupied (see Mueller 2007) name Buettneria in the preceding reference.
- Jason D. Pardo . Bryan J. Small . Adam K. Huttenlocker . 2017 . Stem caecilian from the Triassic of Colorado sheds light on the origins of Lissamphibia . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America . 114 . 27 . E5389–E5395 . 10.1073/pnas.1706752114 . 28630337 . 5502650 . 2017PNAS..114E5389P . free .
- Kligman . Ben T. . Gee . Bryan M. . Marsh . Adam D. . Nesbitt . Sterling J. . Smith . Matthew E. . Parker . William G. . Stocker . Michelle R. . 2023-01-25 . Triassic stem caecilian supports dissorophoid origin of living amphibians . Nature . 614 . 7946 . en . 102–107 . 10.1038/s41586-022-05646-5 . 36697827 . 9892002 . 256272986 . 1476-4687. 10919/113568 . free .
- Michelle R. Stocker . Sterling J. Nesbitt . Ben T. Kligman . Daniel J. Paluh . Adam D. Marsh . David C. Blackburn . William G. Parker . 2019 . The earliest equatorial record of frogs from the Late Triassic of Arizona . Biology Letters . 15 . 2 . Article ID 20180922 . 10.1098/rsbl.2018.0922 . 30958136 . 6405462 . 10919/87931 .
- "Vertebrate Fauna; Chondrichthyes; Acrodus sp." Irmis (2005) p. 65
- The Petrified Forest and Sonsela Acrodus specimens are actually Reticulodus. See "Vertebrate Fauna; Chondrichthyes; Acrodus sp." Irmis (2005) p. 65 for details.
- "Vertebrate Fauna; Chondrichthyes; Lonchidion humblei," Irmis (2005) p. 65
- Fischer . Jan . Axsmith . Brian J. . Ash . Sidney R. . 2010-03-01 . First unequivocal record of the hybodont shark egg capsule Palaeoxyris in the Mesozoic of North America . Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen . en . 255 . 3 . 327–344 . 10.1127/0077-7749/2009/0028 . 0077-7749.
- "Vertebrate Fauna; Chondrichthyes; Phoebodus sp." Irmis (2005) p. 65
- "Vertebrate Fauna; Chondrichthyes; Reticulodus synergus," Irmis (2005) p. 65
- "Vertebrate Fauna; Chondrichthyes; 'Xenacanthus' moorei," Irmis (2005) p. 64
- Bhat . Mohd Shafi . Ray . Sanghamitra . Datta . P. M. . 2018-09-01 . A new assemblage of freshwater sharks (Chondrichthyes: Elasmobranchii) from the Upper Triassic of India . Geobios . 51 . 4 . 269–283 . 10.1016/j.geobios.2018.06.004 . 0016-6995.
- Listed as cf. Chinlea sp. in "Vertebrate Fauna; Temnospondyli; Cf. Chinlea sp." Irmis (2005) p. 67
- "Vertebrate Fauna; Temnospondyli; Cf. Chinlea sp." Irmis (2005) p. 67
- "Vertebrate Fauna; Temnospondyli; Arganodus sp." Irmis (2005) p. 67
- Listed as "cf. Australosomus" in "Vertebrate Fauna; Osteichthyes; Cf. Australosomus sp." Irmis (2005) p. 66-67
- "Vertebrate Fauna; Osteichthyes; Cf. Australosomus sp." Irmis (2005) p. 66-67
- Bobb Schaeffer . 1967 . Late Triassic fishes from the western United States . Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History . 135 . 285–342 . 2246/1125 .
- Sarah Z. Gibson . 2016 . Redescription and Phylogenetic Placement of †Hemicalypterus weiri Schaeffer, 1967 (Actinopterygii, Neopterygii) from the Triassic Chinle Formation, Southwestern United States: New Insights into Morphology, Ecological Niche, and Phylogeny . PLOS ONE . 11 . 9 . e0163657 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0163657 . 27657923 . 5033578. 2016PLoSO..1163657G . free .
- Listed as "cf. Lasalichthyes" in "Vertebrate Fauna; Osteichthyes; Cf. Lasalichthyes sp." Irmis (2005) p. 66
- "Vertebrate Fauna; Osteichthyes; Cf. Lasalichthyes sp." Irmis (2005) p. 66
- Sarah Z. Gibson . 2013 . A new hump-backed ginglymodian fish (Neopterygii, Semionotiformes) from the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation of southeastern Utah . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 33 . 5 . 1037–1050 . 10.1080/02724634.2013.758125 . 129797885 .
- Sarah Z. Gibson . 2013 . Biodiversity and Evolutionary History of †Lophionotus (Neopterygii: †Semionotiformes) from the Western United States . Copeia . 2013 . 4 . 582–603 . 10.1643/CI-12-028 . 85755730 . free .
- Ben T. Kligman . William G. Parker . Adam D. Marsh . 2017 . First record of Saurichthys (Actinopterygii) from the Upper Triassic (Chinle Formation, Norian) of western North America . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 37 . 5 . e1367304 . 10.1080/02724634.2017.1367304 . 134301176 .
- Listed as "cf. Turseodus" in "Vertebrate Fauna; Osteichthyes; Cf. Turseodus sp." Irmis (2005) p. 66
- "Vertebrate Fauna; Osteichthyes; Cf. Turseodus sp." Irmis (2005) p. 66
- Lucas . S.G. . Spencer G. Lucas . Hayden . S.N. . 1989 . Triassic stratigraphy of west-central New Mexico . New Mexico Geological Society Field Conference Guidebook . 40 . 191–211 .
- Book: Parker, William G. . 2006 . Museum of Northern Arizona . 0-89734-120-1 . Parker . William G. . 62 . 46–64 . The stratigraphic distribution of major fossil localities in Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona . 71015548 . Ash . Sidney R. . Irmis . Randall B. . http://www.miketaylor.org.uk/dino/nm/Parker2006-pefo-biostratigraphy.pdf.
- Lucas . Spencer G. . 2013 . Plant megafossil biostratigraphy and biochronology, Upper Triassic Chinle Group, Western USA . New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin . 61 . 354–365.
- Daugherty . Lyman H. . Triassic Roots from the Petrified Forest National Park . 1963 . American Journal of Botany . en . 50 . 8 . 802–805 . 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1963.tb10649.x . 2027.42/141301 . 0002-9122. free .
- Book: Ash, Sidney R. . Dawn of the age of dinosaurs in the American Southwest . New Mexico Museum of Natural History . 1989 . Lucas . S.G. . Albuquerque . 189–222 . A catalog of Upper Triassic plant megafossils of the western United States through 1988 . Hunt . A.P. . http://www.npshistory.com/publications/cach/ash-1989.pdf.
- Frank H. Knowlton. 1889. New species of fossil wood (Araucarioxylon arizonicum) from Arizona and New Mexico. Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 11. 676. 1–5. 10.5479/si.00963801.11-676.1.
- Ash . Sidney R. . 1987 . The Upper Triassic Red Bed Flora of the Colorado Plateau, Western United States . Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science . 22 . 1 . 95–105 . 40024387.
- Ash . Sidney R. . 1974 . Upper Triassic plants of Canon del Cobre, New Mexico . New Mexico Geological Society Guidebook . 25 . 179–184.
- Ash . Sidney R. . 1989 . The upper Triassic Chinle flora of the Zuni Mountains, New Mexico . New Mexico Geological Society . 40 . 225–230 . 10.56577/ffc-40.225. 251985942 .
- Web site: 2006 . Trees to Stone . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150907234346/http://www.nps.gov/pefo/planyourvisit/upload/TreestoStone2006.pdf . September 7, 2015 . October 3, 2010 . National Park Service.
- Axsmith . Brian J. . Ash . Sidney R. . 2006 . Two rare fossil cones from the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation in Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, and New Mexico . Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin . 62 . 82–94.
- Ash . Sidney R. . 1991 . A New Pinnate Cycad Leaf from the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation of Arizona . Botanical Gazette . 152 . 1 . 123–131 . 10.1086/337871 . 83627771 . 0006-8071.
- Ash . Sidney R. . 1967 . The Chinle (Upper Triassic) megaflora of the Zuni Mountains, New Mexico . New Mexico Geological Society Fall Field Conference Guidebook . 18 . 125–131 . 10.56577/ffc-18.125. 11630110 .
- Ash . Sidney R. . 1973 . Two New Late Triassic Plants from the Petrified Forest of Arizona . Journal of Paleontology . 47 . 1 . 46–53 . 1302865.
- Ash . Sidney R. . Chilbinia Gen. Nov., an Archaic Seed Fern in the Late Triassic Chinle Formation of Arizona, USA . 2006 . Palaeontology . en . 49 . 2 . 237–245 . 10.1111/j.1475-4983.2006.00542.x . 129438630 . 0031-0239.
- Ash . Sidney R. . 1972 . Late Triassic plants from the Chinle Formation in north-eastern Arizona . Palaeontology . 15 . 4 . 598–618.
- Ash . Sidney . 1996 . Evidence of arthropod-plant interactions in the Upper Triassic of the southwestern United States . Lethaia . en . 29 . 3 . 237–248 . 10.1111/j.1502-3931.1996.tb01657.x . 0024-1164.
- Ash . Sidney R. . 2014-06-01 . Contributions to the Upper Triassic Chinle flora in the American southwest . Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments . en . 94 . 2 . 279–294 . 10.1007/s12549-014-0150-3 . 129297877 . 1867-1608.
- Ash . Sidney R. . 1970 . Dinophyton, a problematical new plant genus from the Upper Triassic of the south-western United States . Palaeontology . 13 . 4 . 646–663.
- Book: Ash, Sidney R. . Brigham Young University Geology Studies . 1978 . 25 . 4: Plant Megafossils . https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292718693.
- Ash . Sidney R. . 1977 . An unusual bennettitalean leaf from the Upper Triassic of the south-western United States . Palaeontology . 20 . 3 . 641–659.
- Ash . Sidney R. . 1970 . Pagiophyllum simpsonii, a New Conifer from the Chinle Formation (Upper Triassic) of Arizona . Journal of Paleontology . 44 . 5 . 945–952 . 1302730.
- Ash . Sidney . Litwin . Ronald J. . 1996 . Two new species of the pinnate microsporophyll Pramelreuthia from the upper Triassic of the southwestern United States . American Journal of Botany . en . 83 . 8 . 1091–1099 . 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1996.tb12807.x.
- Ash . Sidney R. . Hasiotis . Stephen T. . 2013-04-01 . New occurrences of the controversial Late Triassic plant fossil Sanmiguelia Brown and associated ichnofossils in the Chinle Formation of Arizona and Utah, USA . Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen . 268 . 1 . 65–82 . 10.1127/0077-7749/2013/0316 . 0077-7749.
- Ash . Sidney R. . 1982 . Occurrence of the Controversial Plant Fossil Sanmiguelia cf. S. lewisi Brown in the Upper Triassic of Utah . Journal of Paleontology . 56 . 3 . 751–754 . 1304404.
- Ash . Sidney R. . 1968 . A new species of Williamsonia from the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation of New Mexico . Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Botany . en . 61 . 384 . 113–120 . 10.1111/j.1095-8339.1968.tb00108.x.
- Web site: 2012 . Fossil Trees or Petrified Wood . October 14, 2021 . University of Arizona.
- Herrick . Alisa S. . Fastovsky . David E. . Hoke . Gregory D. . 1999 . OCCURRENCES OF ZAMITES POWELLII IN OLDEST NORIAN STRATA IN PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL PARK, ARIZONA . National Park Service Paleontological Research . 4 . 91–95.
- Milner . Andrew C. . 2006 . Plant fossils from the Owl Rock or Church Rock members, Chinle Formation, San Juan County, Utah . New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science Bulletin . 37 . 410–413.
- Ash . S.R. . 1969 . Ferns from the Chinle Formation (Upper Triassic) in the Fort Wingate area, New Mexico . United States Geological Survey, Professional Paper . Professional Paper . 613-D . 1–40 . 10.3133/pp613d . 2330-7102.
- Daugherty . Lyman H. . Itopsidema, A New Genus of the Osmundaceae from the Triassic of Arizona . 1960 . American Journal of Botany . en . 47 . 9 . 771–777 . 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1960.tb07164.x.
- Ash . Sidney . 2000 . Evidence of oribatid mite herbivory in the stem of a Late Triassic tree fern from Arizona . Journal of Paleontology . en . 74 . 6 . 1065–1071 . 10.1666/0022-3360(2000)074<1065:EOOMHI>2.0.CO;2 . 86324641 . 0022-3360.
- Ash . Sidney . Litwin . Ronald J. . Traverse . Alfred . 1982 . The Upper Triassic fern Phlebopteris smithii (Daugherty) Arnold and its spores . Palynology . en . 6 . 1 . 203–219 . 10.1080/01916122.1982.9989242 . 0191-6122.
- Ash . Sidney . 1999 . An Upper Triassic Sphenopteris Showing Evidence of Insect Predation from Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona . International Journal of Plant Sciences . en . 160 . 1 . 208–215 . 10.1086/314115 . 85020560 . 1058-5893.
- Miller . Charles N. . The Lepidophytic Affinities of the Genus Chinlea and Osmundites Walkeri . 1968 . American Journal of Botany . en . 55 . 1 . 109–115 . 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1968.tb06950.x.
- Rothwell . Gar W. . R. Ash . Sidney . 2015 . Internal anatomy of the Late Triassic Equisetocaulis gen. nov., and the evolution of modern horsetails . The Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society . en . 142 . 1 . 27–37 . 10.3159/TORREY-D-14-00042.1 . 86841184 . 1095-5674.
- Holt . Edward L. . 1947 . Upright Trunks of Neocalamites from the Upper Triassic of Western Colorado . The Journal of Geology . 55 . 6 . 511–513 . 10.1086/625462 . 129374986 . 0022-1376.
- Miller . Gary L. . Ash . Sidney R. . 1988 . The oldest freshwater decapod crustacean, from the Triassic of Arizona . Palaeontology . 31 . 2 . 273–279.
- Sidney R. Ash & Geoffrey T. Creber. 2000. The Late Araucarioxylon arizonicum Trees of the Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, USA. Palaeontology. 43. 22–23. 10.1111/1475-4983.00116. 128691956 . free.