Paw Paw Formation Explained

Paw Paw Formation
Type:	Geological formation
Age:	Late Albian ~
Period:	Albian
Prilithology:	Mudstone
Coordinates:	32.9°N -97.3°W
Paleocoordinates:	30.2°N -59.8°W
Unitof:	Comanche & Washita Groups

The Paw Paw Formation is a geological formation in Texas whose strata date back to the late Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.

Fossil content

Reptiles

Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs reported from the Paw Paw Formation
Genus	Species	Presence	Material	Notes	Images
Nodosauridae indet.^[1] ^[2]	Indeterminate	Tarrant County, Texas	Humerus, ilia, scapulocoracoid and specimen representing a baby	Nodosaurid remains that cannot be compared with Pawpawsaurus due to lack of overlapping elements. Informally referred to as the "Paw Paw Scuteling".^[3]
Pawpawsaurus	P. campbelli	Tarrant County, Texas	Complete skull	A nodosaurid
Texasetes^[4]	T. pleurohalio	Blue Mound	Partial skeleton	A nodosaurid

Pterosaurs

Pterosaurs reported from the Paw Paw Formation
Genus	Species	Presence	Material	Notes	Images
Coloborhynchus^[5]	C. wadleighi	SMU locality 263	Jaw elements	Species moved to the genus Uktenadactylus
Tapejarinae indet.^[6]	Indeterminate	SMU locality 263	Incomplete right metatarsal	Tapejarid bone with signs of scavenging by fish and sharks
Uktenadactylus^[7]	U. wadleighi	SMU locality 263	Jaw elements	An anhanguerid

Turtles

Fish

Bony fish

Bony fish reported from the Paw Paw Formation
Genus	Species	Presence	Material	Notes	Images
Allocyclostoma^[8]	A. alienus	Juniper Point locality	3 otoliths	A beardfish
Apateodus	A. sp.	Juniper Point locality	6 otoliths	An aulopiform
Argentina?	A. texana	Juniper Point locality	49 otoliths	An argentine
Elopothrissus	E. pawpawensis	Juniper Point locality	139 otoliths	A bonefish
Genartina	G. princeps	Juniper Point locality	486 otoliths	A fish of uncertain classification
Ichthyodectiformes indet.	Indeterminate	SMU locality 241		Represents either Saurodon sp. or Saurocephalus sp.
Ichthyotringa	I.? cuneata	Juniper Point locality	12 otoliths	An aulopiform
	I. sp.	Juniper Point locality	An otolith	An aulopiform
Paraulopus	P.? wichitae	Juniper Point locality	6 otoliths	An aulopiform
Pteralbula	P. galtina	Juniper Point locality	7 otoliths	A bonefish
Teleostei incertae sedis	Indeterminate	Juniper Point locality	3 otoliths	Teleost fish remains
Texoma	T. cyclogaster	Juniper Point locality	5 otoliths	A beardfish

Cartilaginous fish

Cartilaginous fish reported from the Paw Paw Formation
Genus	Species	Presence	Material	Notes	Images
Cretalamna^[9]	C. appendiculata	Roanoke SMU locality 241	Teeth	An otodontid shark
Cretodus	C. semiplicatus	Roanoke	15 teeth	A mackerel shark
Cretoxyrhina^[10]	C. vraconensis	Northeast Texas	Seven teeth	A mackerel shark
Leptostyrax	L. macrorhizus	Roanoke Lake Texoma SMU locality 241	Nine teeth	A mackerel shark
Paraisurus	P. compressus	Roanoke SMU locality 241	Incomplete tooth	A mackerel shark
Protolamna	P. roanokeensis	Roanoke	Teeth	A mackerel shark
Pseudohypolophus	P. sp.	SMU locality 241		A ray
Squalicorax^[11] ^[12]	S. aff. S. baharijensis		A tooth	An anacoracid shark
	S. pawpawensis		Teeth	An anacoracid shark
	S. priscoserratus		Teeth	An anacoracid shark
	S. volgensis	Roanoke	Teeth	Material reassigned to S. pawpawensis
	S. sp.		Teeth	Material reassigned to S. pawpawensis

Invertebrates

Arthropods

Arthropods reported from the Paw Paw Formation
Genus	Species	Presence	Material	Notes	Images
Acanthaxius^[13]	A. carinatus	Near Fort Worth	Several specimens	An axiid
Angulotergum^[14]	A. milviformis	Salvation Army locality	Numerous specimens	A barnacle
Axiopsis	A. pawpawensis	Near Fort Worth	One specimen	An axiid
	A. sampsonumae	Near Fort Worth	One specimen	An axiid
	A. spinifera	Near Fort Worth	One specimen	An axiid
Cenomanocarcinus^[15]	C. vanstraeleni	Tarrant County	Several specimens	A cenomanocarcinid crab
Cretacoranina^[16]	C. punctata	Fort Worth Haltom City	Approximately 260 specimens	A frog crab
Dawsonius	D. tigris	Near Fort Worth	Several specimens	A ctenochelid
Diotascalpellum	D. acies	Salvation Army locality	Multiple specimens	A barnacle
Feldmannia^[17] ^[18]	F. wintoni	SMU locality 241 Haltom City Between Haltom City & Hurst Benbrook	Numerous specimens	An etyiid crab originally named as Xanthosia wintoni
Galathea^[19]	G. cretacea	Watauga	One specimen	A squat lobster
	G.? limonitica	South of Fort Worth	One specimen	A squat lobster
Ivolepas	I. worthensis	Salvation Army locality	Multiple specimens	A barnacle
Linuparus	L. adkinsi	SMU locality 241		A spiny lobster
Marylyreidus	M. punctatus	Tarrant County	3 specimens	A lyreidid crab
Meticonaxius	M. rhacheochir	Near Fort Worth	One specimen	A micheleid
Nephrops	N. americanus	Fort Worth	Numerous specimens	A lobster
Nodosculda^[20]	N. fisherorum	Near Fort Worth	Several specimens	A mantis shrimp
Paraxiopsis	P. erugatus	Near Fort Worth	Several specimens	An axiid
	P. texensis	Near Fort Worth	Several specimens	An axiid
Raninella	R. sp.	SMU locality 241		A frog crab
Xanthosia	X. aspera	SMU locality 241 Fort Worth Benbrook	Several specimens	An etyiid crab
	X. pawpawensis	Haltom City Between Haltom City & Hurst Hurst Benbrook	36 specimens	An etyiid crab
	X. reidi	Keller Haltom City	10 carapaces	An etyiid crab
	X. wintoni	SMU locality 241 Haltom City Between Haltom City & Hurst Benbrook	Numerous specimens	Moved to the genus Feldmannia

Bivalves

Bivalves reported from the Paw Paw Formation
Genus	Species	Presence	Material	Notes	Images
Lima	L. sp.	SMU locality 241		A limid
Lopha	L. quadriplicata	SMU locality 241		An ostreid
Neithea	N. sp.	SMU locality 241		A neitheid
Stearnsia	S. robbinsi	SMU locality 241		A crassatellid
Texigryphaea	T. washitaensis	SMU locality 241		A gryphaeid
Trigonia	T. clavigera?	SMU locality 241		A trigoniid

Cephalopods

Cephalopods reported from the Paw Paw Formation
Genus	Species	Presence	Material	Notes	Images
Anisoceras^[21]	A. armatum		5 fragments	An ammonite
Cantabrigites	C. spinosum		Multiple specimens	An ammonite
	C. wenoensis		Multiple specimens	An ammonite
Conlinites	C. wrighti	Northeast of Watagua West of Roanoke	Several hundred specimens	An ammonite
Engonoceras	E. serpentinum	Near Denison	Multiple specimens	An ammonite
	E. sp.	SMU locality 241		An ammonite
Enigmaticeras	E. riceae	Northeast of Watagua East of Watagua Near Haslet	12 specimens	An ammonite
Ficheuria	F. americana	East of Watagua	One specimen	An ammonite
	F. pernoni		One specimen	An ammonite
Flickia	F. simplex	South of Rio Vista	One specimen	An ammonite
Hamites	H. venetzianus	Keller	7 fragments	An ammonite
Lechites	L. (Lechites) comanchensis		Multiple specimens	An ammonite
Mariella	M. (Mariella) asper	Fort Worth South of Rio Vista	Multiple specimens	An ammonite
	M. (Mariella) worthensis	Fort Worth Southwest of Haslet	Multiple specimens	An ammonite
Mortoniceras	M. (Subschloenbachia) rostratum	South of Rio Vista	Internal mould	An ammonite
Neophlycticeras	N. (Neophlycticeras) sp.		A single shell	An ammonite
	N. (Paradolphia) occidentalis	East of Watagua	A single shell	An ammonite
Scaphites	S. hilli	Fort Worth	Multiple specimens	An ammonite
Stoliczkaia	S. (Lamnayella) worthense	Fort Worth	Several hundred specimens	An ammonite
	S. (Shumarinaia) asiatica		2 specimens	An ammonite
	S. (Stoliczkaia) clavigera		Fragments of phragmocone	An ammonite
Tetragonites	T. sp.	Northeast of Watagua	Internal mould	An ammonite
Worthoceras	W. worthense		Multiple specimens	An ammonite

Echinoderms

Echinoderms reported from the Paw Paw Formation
Genus	Species	Presence	Material	Notes	Images
Alkaidia^[22]	A. sumralli	Fort Worth Benbrook	36 fragments	A starfish
Altairia	A. wintoni	Fort Worth	6 specimens	A starfish
Asteroidea indet.	Indeterminate	SMU locality 241		A starfish
Betelgeusia	B. reidi	Keller Haltom City Fort Worth Benbrook Hurst	Hundreds of specimens	A starfish
Capellia	C. mauricei	Fort Worth	Several specimens	A starfish
Crateraster	C. texensis	Fort Worth Benbrook	Over 30 specimens	A starfish
Denebia	D. americana	Fort Worth Benbrook	Numerous specimens	A starfish
Discocrinus^[23]	D. catastomus		Multiple specimens	A crinoid
Echinoidea indet.	Indeterminate	SMU locality 241		A sea urchin
Fomalhuatia	F. hortensae	Fort Worth Benbrook	Numerous specimens	A starfish
Goniasteridae indet.	Unknown	Fort Worth	3 marginal ossicles	A starfish
Poecilocrinus	P. dispandus	SMU locality 241		A crinoid
	P. dispandus forma discus		Few specimens	A crinoid
	P. dispandus forma floriformis		Multiple specimens	A crinoid
Roveacrinus	R. morganae	Fort Worth	One specimen	A crinoid
	R. proteus	Fort Worth	32 cups	A crinoid

Gastropods

See also

• List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations

Notes and References

1. Lee . Yuong-Nam . 1996-06-05 . A new nodosaurid ankylosaur (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Paw Paw Formation (Late Albian) of Texas . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . en . 16 . 2 . 232–245 . 10.1080/02724634.1996.10011311 . 0272-4634.
2. Book: Jacobs, Louis . Dinosaur eggs and babies . Winkler . Dale . Murry . Phillip . Maurice . John . 1996 . Cambridge University Press . 978-0-521-56723-7 . Carpenter . Kenneth . 1 . Cambridge . 337–346 . A nodosaurid scuteling from the Texas shore of the Western Interior Seaway . Hirsch . Karl F. . Horner . John R..
3. Riguetti . Facundo . Pereda-Suberbiola . Xabier . Ponce . Denis . Salgado . Leonardo . Apesteguía . Sebastián . Rozadilla . Sebastián . Arbour . Victoria . 2022-12-31 . A new small-bodied ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of North Patagonia (Río Negro Province, Argentina) . Journal of Systematic Palaeontology . 20 . 1 . 2137441 . 10.1080/14772019.2022.2137441 . 2022JSPal..2037441R . 254212751 . 1477-2019.
4. Jr. . Walter P. Coombs . 1995 . A New Nodosaurid Ankylosaur (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Lower Cretaceous of Texas . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 15 . 2 . 298–312 . 0272-4634.
5. Lee . Yuong-Nam . 1995 . The Early Cretaceous pterodactyloid pterosaur Coloborhynchus from North America . Palaeontology . 37 . 755–763.
6. Mull . Olivia K. . Bennett . S. Christopher . 2023-07-31 . Tapejarine pterosaur from the late Albian Paw Paw Formation of Texas, USA, with extensive feeding traces of multiple scavengers . Historical Biology . en . 1–6 . 10.1080/08912963.2023.2241044 . 0891-2963.
7. Rodrigues . Taissa . 2008-12-31 . Review of the pterodactyloid pterosaur Coloborhynchus . Zitteliana . B28 . 219–228.
8. Schwarzhans . Werner . Stringer . Gary L. . Welton . Bruce . December 2022 . Oldest Teleostean Otolith Assemblage from North America (Pawpaw Formation, Lower Cretaceous, upper Albian, northeast Texas, USA) . Cretaceous Research . 140 . 105307 . 10.1016/j.cretres.2022.105307 . 0195-6671. free .
9. Cappetta . Henri . Gerard . Case . 1999 . Additions aux faunes de sélaciens du Crétacé du Texas (Albien supérieur-Campanien) . Palaeo Ichthyologica . 9 . 5–111.
10. Siverson . Mikael . Ward . David J. . Lindgren . Johan . Kelley . L. Scott . 2013 . Mid-Cretaceous Cretoxyrhina (Elasmobranchii) from Mangyshlak, Kazakhstan and Texas, USA . Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology . en . 37 . 1 . 87–104 . 10.1080/03115518.2012.709440 . 0311-5518.
11. Book: Welton, Bruce J. . The collector's guide to fossil sharks and rays from the Cretaceous of Texas . Farish . Roger F. . 1993 . Before Time . 978-0-9638394-0-4 . Lewisvil[l]e, TX.
12. Siverson . Mikael . Lindgren . Johan . Kelley . L. Scott . 2007-07-17 . ANACORACID SHARKS FROM THE ALBIAN (LOWER CRETACEOUS) PAWPAW SHALE OF TEXAS . Palaeontology . en . 50 . 4 . 939–950 . 10.1111/j.1475-4983.2007.00691.x . 0031-0239.
13. Franţescu . Ovidiu . 2014 . Fossil mudshrimps (Decapoda: Axiidea) from the Pawpaw Formation (Cretaceous: Albian), northeast Texas, USA . Bulletin of the Mizunami Fossil Museum . 40 . 13–22.
14. Gale . Andy S. . 2020-11-01 . Cirripedes (Thoracica, Crustacea) from the Cretaceous (Albian and Cenomanian) of Texas and Oklahoma, USA . Cretaceous Research . 115 . 104556 . 10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104556 . 0195-6671.
15. Van Bakel . Barry . Guinot . Danièle . Artal . Pedro . René H.B. . Fraaije . Jagt . John W.M. . 2012 . A revision of the Palaeocorystoidea and the phylogeny of raninoidian crabs (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura, Podotremata) . Zootaxa . 3215 . 1–216.
16. Haj . A. E. . Feldmann . Rodney M. . May 2002 . Functional morphology and taxonomic significance of a novel cuticular Structure in Cretaceous Raninid crabs (Decapoda: Brachyura: Raninidae) . Journal of Paleontology . en . 76 . 3 . 472–485 . 10.1666/0022-3360(2002)076<0472:FMATSO>2.0.CO;2 . 0022-3360.
17. Hopkins . C. Schweitzer . Salva . Eric W. . Feldmann . Rodney M. . January 1999 . Re-evaluation of the genus Xanthosia Bell, 1863 (Decapoda: Brachyura: Xanthidae) and description of two new species from the Cretaceous of Texas . Journal of Paleontology . en . 73 . 1 . 77–90 . 10.1017/S0022336000027566 . 0022-3360.
18. Guinot . Danièle . Tavares . Marcos . 2001 . Une nouvelle famille de crabes du Crustacés et la notion de Podotremata Guinot, 1977 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura). . Zoosystema . fr . 23 . 507–546.
19. Stenzel . H.B. . 1945 . Decapod Crustaceans from the Cretaceous of Texas . The University of Texas Publication . 4401 . 401–477.
20. Franţescu . Ovidiu . 2012-09-01 . Nodosculda fisherorum, New Genus and New Species of Mantis Shrimp (Stomatopoda: Sculdidae) from the Cretaceous (Late Albian) of Texas, USA . Journal of Crustacean Biology . 32 . 5 . 774–779 . 86727467.
21. Kennedy . W. J. . 2004-12-01 . Ammonites from the Pawpaw Shale (Upper Albian) in northeast Texas . Cretaceous Research . 25 . 6 . 865–905 . 10.1016/j.cretres.2004.08.005 . 0195-6671.
22. Blake . Daniel B. . Reid . Robert . May 1998 . Some Albian (Cretaceous) asteroids (Echinodermata) from Texas and their paleobiological implications . Journal of Paleontology . en . 72 . 3 . 512–532 . 10.1017/S002233600002429X . 0022-3360.
23. Gale . Andrew Scott . Rashall . Jenny Marie . Kennedy . William James . Holterhoff . Frank Koch . 2021-03-05 . The microcrinoid taxonomy, biostratigraphy and correlation of the upper Fredericksburg and lower Washita groups (Cretaceous, middle Albian to lower Cenomanian) of northern Texas and southern Oklahoma, USA . Acta Geologica Polonica . en . 71 . 1 . 1–52 . 10.24425/agp.2020.132256 . 0001-5709. free .