Javelina Formation

The Javelina Formation is a geological formation in Texas. Dating has shown that the strata date to the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous, approximately 70 to 66.5 million years old.[1] The middle part of the formation has been dated to about 69 million years ago plus or minus 1 million years and the top situated near the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary (in the overlying Black Peaks Formation[1]), dated to 66 Ma ago.[2] Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.[3]

Javelina Formation
Stratigraphic range: Maastrichtian,
Distinctive mauve and red beds of the Javelina Formation outcropping in Big Bend National Park, Texas
TypeGeological formation
Unit ofTornillo Group
UnderliesBlack Peaks Formation
OverliesAguja Formation
Lithology
PrimarySandstone
OtherClaystone, mudstone, siltstone, conglomerate
Location
Coordinates29.3°N 103.4°W / 29.3; -103.4
Approximate paleocoordinates36.0°N 82.8°W / 36.0; -82.8
Region Texas
Country USA
Type section
Named forJavelina
Javelina Formation is located in the United States
Javelina Formation
Javelina Formation (the United States)
Javelina Formation is located in Texas
Javelina Formation
Javelina Formation (Texas)

Age

The typical age range of the Javelina Formation has been difficult to determine.[4] Only one geological site in the Javelina Formation has thus far yielded the correct rock types for radiometric dating. The outcrop, situated in the middle strata of the formation about 90 meters below the K-Pg boundary and within the local range of Alamosaurus fossils and below two sites that have yielded Quetzalcoatlus fossils, was dated to 69.0 plus or minus 0.9 million years old in 2010.[2] Indeterminate chasmosaurinae fossils have also been as well.[5]

Fossil content

Vertebrate paleofauna
Vertebrates of the Javelina Formation
GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
Alamosaurus A. sanjuanensis A titanosaurian sauropod, also from the Ojo Alamo Formation
Bravoceratops B. polyphemus A chasmosaurine ceratopsid known from the lowermost part of the Javelina Formation which dates back to the early Maastrichtian.[6]
Dasyatis[7] Unknown A ray
Gryposaurus?[8] G.? alsatei[8] A saurolophine hadrosaurid known from the Two Medicine Formation, the Dinosaur Park Formation, the Kaiparowits Formation, possible remains have also been unearthed in the El Picacho Formation.[9]
Kritosaurus[8][10] K. navajovius[8][11][12] A saurolophine handrosaurid, also known from the Kirtland Formation, Aguja Formation, Ojo Alamo Formation and the El Picacho Formation. A possible second species of Kritosaurus might have lived in the Javelina Formation.
Quetzalcoatlus Q. northropi and Q. lawsoni[13] An azhdarchid pterosaur
Rhombodus[7] Unknown A ray
Saurornitholestes[14] S. cf. langstoni A dromaeosaurid
Saurolophinae[8] Indeterminate[8] A saurolophine handrosaurid similar to the genus Saurolophus.
Torosaurus[15] T. utahensis[15] A chasmosaurine ceratopsid whose remains have been found in the Frenchman Formation, Hell Creek Formation, North Horn Formation, McRae Formation, and Lance Formation.
Troodon T. sp. A troodontid
Tyrannosaurus T. rex A tyrannosaurid, originally identified from the Hell Creek Formation. Also found in the Denver, Ferris, Frenchman, Lance, Livingston, McRae, North Horn, Scollard, and Willow Creek Formations. [16]
Trionychidae Indeterminate Indeterminate turtle remains
Wellnhopterus[13] W. brevirostris An azhdarchid pterosaur.

Flora

Woody dicots and angiosperms have been unearthed in this formation.[17][18] Plant fossils indicate that this area was a woodland habitat.[19]

Flora of the Javelina Formation
GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
Javelinoxylon[20] J. multiporosum[21] A dicotyledonous tree

See also

References
  1. Woodward, H. N. (2005). Bone histology of the sauropod dinosaur Alamosaurus sanjuanensis from the Javelina Formation, Big Bend National Park, Texas.
  2. Lehman, T.M.; McDowell, F.; Connelly, J. (2006). "First isotopic (U-Pb) age for the Late Cretaceous Alamosaurus vertebrate fauna of West Texas, and its significance as a link between two faunal provinces". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 26 (4): 922–928. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2006)26[922:fiuaft]2.0.co;2. S2CID 130280606.
  3. 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. ISBN 0-520-24209-2.
  4. Sullivan, R.M.; Lucas, S.G. (2006). "The Kirtlandian land-vertebrate "age" – faunal composition, temporal position and biostratigraphic correlation in the nonmarine Upper Cretaceous of western North America" (PDF). New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Bulletin. 35: 7–29.
  5. Hunt, ReBecca (September 2005). "CERATOPSID DINOSAURS FROM THE JAVELINA FORMATION (MAASTRICHTIAN), BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, TEXAS". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 25 (3): 72A. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  6. Wick, Steven L.; Lehman, Thomas M. (1 July 2013). "A new ceratopsian dinosaur from the Javelina Formation (Maastrichtian) of West Texas and implications for chasmosaurine phylogeny". Naturwissenschaften. 100 (7): 667–682. Bibcode:2013NW....100..667W. doi:10.1007/s00114-013-1063-0. PMID 23728202. S2CID 16048008. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  7. Hunt, ReBecca K.; Santucci, Vincent L.; Kenworthy, Jason (2006). "A preliminary inventory of fossil fish from National Park Service units." in S.G. Lucas, J.A. Spielmann, P.M. Hester, J.P. Kenworthy, and V.L. Santucci (ed.s), Fossils from Federal Lands". New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 34: 63–69.
  8. Lehman, Thomas M.; Wick, Steven L.; Wagner, Jonathan R. (2016). "Hadrosaurian dinosaurs from the Maastrichtian Javelina Formation, Big Bend National Park, Texas". Journal of Paleontology. 90 (2): 1–24. Bibcode:2016JPal...90..333L. doi:10.1017/jpa.2016.48. S2CID 133329640.
  9. Osmólska, Halszka; Dobson, Peter; Weishampel, David B. (6 November 2004). The Dinosauria. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. p. 582. ISBN 9780520242098.
  10. Wagner, Jonathan R. (May 2001). The hadrosaurian dinosaurs (ornithischia: hadrosauria) of Big Bend National Park, Brewster County, Texas, with implications for late Cretaceous paleozoogeography. Doctoral Dissertation, Texas Tech University (Thesis). hdl:2346/11160. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  11. Wagner, Jonathan R. (May 2001). The hadrosaurian dinosaurs (ornithischia: hadrosauria) of Big Bend National Park, Brewster County, Texas, with implications for late Cretaceous paleozoogeography. Doctoral Dissertation, Texas Tech University (Thesis). hdl:2346/11160. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  12. Wagner, Jonathan R.; Lehman, Thomas M. (2001). "A new species of Kritosaurus from the Cretaceous of Big Bend National Park, Brewster County, Texas". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 21 (3): 110A–111A.
  13. Andres, B.; Langston, W. Jr. (2021). "Morphology and taxonomy of Quetzalcoatlus Lawson 1975 (Pterodactyloidea: Azhdarchoidea)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 41 (sup1): 142. Bibcode:2021JVPal..41S..46A. doi:10.1080/02724634.2021.1907587. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 245125409.
  14. Sankey, J. T.; Standhardt, B. R.; Schiebout, J. A. (2005). "Theropod teeth from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian), Big Bed National Park, Texas. In K. Carpenter (ed.), The Carnivorous Dinosaurs". Indiana University Press, Bloomington: 127–152. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  15. Hunt, ReBecca K.; Lehman, Thomas M. (2008). "Attributes of the ceratopsian dinosaur Torosaurus, and new material from the Javelina Formation (Maastrichtian) of Texas". Journal of Paleontology. 82 (6): 1127–1138. Bibcode:2008JPal...82.1127H. doi:10.1666/06-107.1. S2CID 129385183.
  16. Wick, Steven L. (July 2014). "New evidence for the possible occurrence of Tyrannosaurus in West Texas, and discussion of Maastrichtian tyrannosaurid dinosaurs from Big Bend National Park". Cretaceous Research. 50: 52–58. Bibcode:2014CrRes..50...52W. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2014.03.010. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  17. Wheeler, Elisabeth A.; Lehman, Thomas M. (1 January 2000). "Late Cretaceous woody dicots from the Aguja and Javelina Formations, BiBend National Park, Texas, USA". IAWA Journal. 21 (1): 83–120. doi:10.1163/22941932-90000239. S2CID 84528074. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  18. Lehman, Thomas M.; Shiller II, Thomas A. (2020). "An angiosperm woodland in the Javelina Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Big Bend National Park, Texas, U.S.A." Cretaceous Research. 115: 104569. Bibcode:2020CrRes.11504569L. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104569. S2CID 225616237. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  19. Lehman, Thomas M.; Shiller II, Thomas A. (2020). "An angiosperm woodland in the Javelina Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Big Bend National Park, Texas, U.S.A." Cretaceous Research. 115: 104569. Bibcode:2020CrRes.11504569L. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104569. S2CID 225616237. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  20. Jacobs, L. 1995. Lone Star Dinosaurs. Texas A&M University Press. p.102
  21. Wheeler, E. A.; Lehman, T. M.; Gasson, P. E. (1994). "Javelinoxylon, an Upper Cretaceous dicotyledonous tree from Big Bend National Park, Texas, with presumed Malvalean affinities". American Journal of Botany. 81 (6): 703–710. doi:10.1002/j.1537-2197.1994.tb15504.x.

Further reading
  • S. L. Wick and T. M. Lehman. 2013. A new ceratopsian dinosaur from the Javelina Formation (Maastrichtian) of West Texas and implications for chasmosaurine phylogeny. Naturwissenschaften
  • T. M. Lehman and A. B. Coulson. 2002. A juvenile specimen of the sauropod dinosaur Alamosaurus sanjuanensis from the Upper Cretaceous of Big Bend National Park, Texas. Journal of Paleontology 76(1):156-172
  • A. R. Fiorillo. 1998. Preliminary report on a new sauropod locality in the Javelina Formation (Late Cretaceous), Big Bend National Park, Texas. In V. L. Santucci & L. McClelland (eds.), National Park Service Geologic Resources Division Technical Report NPS/NRGRD/GRDTR-98/01. National Park Service Paleontological Research Volume 3:29-31
  • A. W. A. Kellner and W. Langston. 1996. Cranial remains of Quetzalcoatlus (Pterosauria, Azhdarchidae) from Late Cretaceous sediments of Big Bend National Park, Texas. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 16(2):222-231
  • D. A. Lawson. 1976. Tyrannosaurus and Torosaurus, Maestrichtian dinosaurs from Trans-Pecos, Texas. Journal of Paleontology 50(1):158-164
  • D. A. Lawson. 1975. Pterosaur from the latest Cretaceous of West Texas: discovery of the largest flying creature. Science 187:947-948
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