Discover

The 'Dinosaur Park Formation' is the uppermost member of the Judith River Group, a major geologic unit in southern Alberta. It was laid down over a period of time between about 76.5 and 75 million years ago. The formation is made up of deposits of a high-sinuosity (anastomosing) fluvial system, and is capped by the Lethbridge Coal Beds. The formation is bounded by the Oldman Formation below it and the marine Bearpaw Formation above it (Eberth, 2005).

It is best known for the dense concentrations of dinosaur skeletons, both articulated and disarticulated, that are found there. However, other animals such as fish, turtles, and crocodilians are also abundant in the formation. The formation has been named after Dinosaur Provincial Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Contents

Stratigraphic division of ornithischians? (Ryan and Evans, 2005)

Flora and fauna

Palynomorphs

Plant body fossils (Koppelhus, 2005)

Mollusks (Johnston and Hendy, 2005)

Fish

Amphibians (Gardner, 2005)

Turtles (Brinkman, 2005)

Choristoderes

Lizards (Caldwell, 2005)

Plesiosaurs (Sato, Eberth, Nicholls, and Manabe, 2005)

Crocodylians (Xiao-Chun Wu, 2005)

Pterosaurs (Godfrey and Currie, 2005)

Dinosaurs

Mammals (Fox, 2005)

References

Stratigraphic division of ornithischians? (Ryan and Evans, 2005)

''Centrosaurus'', ''Chasmosaurus russelli'', ''Gryposaurus'', and ''Corythosaurus'' are most common at the base of the formation, to about the middle. ''Styracosaurus'', ''Chasmosaurus belli'', ''Prosaurolophus'', and ''Lambeosaurus lambei'' are most common from the middle to near the top. A new group may be present at the top, as the inland sea transgresses onto land, but there are less remains here. An unnamed pachyrhinosaur, ''Chasmosaurus irvinensis'', and ''Lambeosaurus magnicristatus'' may be more common here.

Flora and fauna

Numerous types of plants and animals are known from the formation (taxonomy mostly after the relevant chapters of Currie and Koppelhus, 2005):

Palynomorphs

Palynomorphs are organic-walled microfossils, like spores, pollen, and algae (Braman and Koppelhus, 2005)
Unknown producers

★ at least 8 species
Fungi

★ at least 35 taxa
Chlorophyta (green algae and blue-green algae)

★ at least 12 species
Pyrrhophyta (dinoflagellates, a type of marine algae)

★ unassigned cysts
Bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, and hornworts)
:Anthocerotophyta (hornworts)
:
★ at least 5 species
:Marchantiophyta (liverworts)
:
★ at least 14 species
:Bryophyta (mosses)
:
★ at least 5 species
Lycopodiophyta
:Lycopodiaceae (club mosses)
:
★ at least 11 species
:Selaginellaceae (small club mosses)
:
★ at least 6 species
:Isoetaceae (quillworts)
:
★ at least 1 species
Polypodiophyta
:Osmundaceae (cinnamon ferns)
:
★ at least 6 species
:Schizaeaceae (climbing ferns)
:
★ at least 20 species
:Gleicheniaceae (''Gleichenia'' and allies; coral ferns)
:
★ at least 5 species
:Cyatheaceae (''Cyathea'' and allies)
:
★ at least 4 species
:Dicksoniaceae (''Dicksonia'' and allies)
:
★ at least 3 species
:Polypodiaceae (ferns)
:
★ at least 4 species
:Matoniaceae
:
★ at least 1 species
:Marsileaceae
:
★ at least 1 species
Pinophyta (gymnosperms)
:Cycadaceae (cycads)
:
★ at least 3 species
:Caytoniaceae
:
★ at least 1 species
:Pinaceae (pines)
:
★ at least 4 species
:Cupressaceae (cypresses)
:
★ at least 3 species
:Podocarpaceae (''Podocarpus'' and allies)
:
★ at least 4 species
:Cheirolepidiaceae
:
★ at least 2 species
:Ephedraceae (Mormon teas)
:
★ at least 6 species
Unknown gymnosperms: at least 3 species
Magnoliophyta (angiosperms)
:Magnoliopsida (dicots)
::Buxaceae (boxwood)
::
★ at least 1 species
::Gunneraceae (gunneras)
::
★ at least 1 species
::Salicaceae (willows, cottonwood, quaking aspen)
::
★ at least 1 species
::Droseraceae (sundews)
::
★ at least 1 species
::Olacaceae (tallowwood)
::
★ at least 2 species
::Loranthaceae (showy mistletoes)
::
★ at least 1 species
::Sapindaceae (soapberry)
::
★ at least 1 species
::Aceraceae (maples)
::
★ at least 1 species
::Proteaceae (proteas)
::
★ at least 9 species
::Compositae (sunflowers)
::
★ at least 1 species
::Fagaceae (beeches, oaks, chestnuts)
::
★ at least 2 species
::Betulaceae (birches, alders)
::
★ at least 1 species
::Ulmaceae (elms)
::
★ at least 1 species
::Chenopodiaceae (goosefoots)
::
★ at least 1 species
:Liliopsida (monocots)
::Liliaceae (lilies)
::
★ at least 6 species
::Cyperaceae (sedges)
::
★ at least 1 species
::Sparganiaceae (bur-reeds)
::
★ possibly 1 species
:Unknown angiosperms: at least 88 species

Plant body fossils (Koppelhus, 2005)

★ various ferns

★ ''Equisetum'' (Equisetaceae)
Gymnosperms

★ ''Platyspiroxylon'' (Cupressaceae)

★ ''Podocarpoxylon'' (Podocarpaceae)

★ ''Elatocladus'' (Taxodiaceae)

★ ''Sequoia'' (Taxodiaceae)

★ ''Sequoiaxylon'' (Taxodiaceae)

★ ''Taxodioxylon'' (Taxodiaceae)
Ginkgos

★ ''Baeria''

★ ''Ginkgoites''
Angiosperms

★ ''Artocarpus'' (Moraceae)

★ ''Cercidiphyllum'' (Cercidiphyllaceae)

★ ''Dombeyopsis'' (Sterculiaceae)

★ ''Menispermites'' (Menispermaceae)

★ ''Pistia'' (Araceae)

★ ''Platanus'' (Platanaceae)

★ ''Vitis'' (Vitaceae)

★ ''Trapa'' (Trapaceae)

Mollusks (Johnston and Hendy, 2005)

Freshwater bivalves

★ ''Fusconaia''

★ ''Lampsilis''

★ ''Sphaerium'' (2 species)
Freshwater gastropods

★ ''Campeloma'' (2 species)

★ ''Elimia''

★ ''Goniobasis'' (3 species)

★ ''Hydrobia''

★ ''Lioplacodes'' (2 species)

Fish

Chondrichthyans (Neuman and Brinkman, 2005)

★ ''Hybodus'' (a shark)

★ ''Myledaphus'' (a ray)

★ indeterminate orectolobid
Acipenseriformes (sturgeons) (Neuman and Brinkman, 2005)

★ unnamed sturgeon

★ unnamed paddlefish
Holostean fish (Neuman and Brinkman, 2005)

★ ''Belonostomus''

★ ''Lepisosteus'' (the gar)

★ unnamed bowfin

★ at least 2 other holosteans
Teleost fish (Neuman and Brinkman, 2005)

★ ''Patatarpon'' (an elopomorph, like the tarpon)

★ ''Cretophareodus'' (an osteoglossomorph)

★ ''Coriops''

★ ''Estesesox''

★ ''Oldmanesox''

★ ''Paralbula'' (including ''Phyllodus'')

★ at least 8 other teleosts

Amphibians (Gardner, 2005)

Albanerpetonidae (extinct, salamander-like amphibians)

★ ''Albanerpeton''
Caudata (salamanders)

★ ''Habrosaurus''

★ ''Lisserpeton''

★ ''Opisthotriton''

★ ''Scapherpeton''

★ unnamed caudatan

★ 2 indeterminate caudatans
Salienta (frogs)

★ 2 unnamed salientans

Turtles (Brinkman, 2005)

★ ''Adocus

★ "''Apalone''"

★ ''Aspideretoides'' (3 species)

★ ''Basilemys''

★ ''Boremys''

★ ''Judithemys''

★ ''Neurankylus''

★ ''Plesiobaena''

★ 2 indeterminate taxa

Choristoderes

Choristoderes, or champsosaurs, were aquatic reptiles. Small examples looked like lizards, while larger types were superficially similar to crocodilians (Keqin Gao and Brinkman, 2005)

★ ''Champsosaurus'' (at least 3 species)

★ ''Cteniogenys''

Lizards (Caldwell, 2005)

Helodermatids

★ ''Labrodioctes''
Necrosaurids

★ ''Parasaniwa''
Teiids

★ ''Glyptogenys''

★ ''Socognathus''
Varanids

★ ''Palaeosaniwa''
Xenosaurids

★ ?''Exostinus''

Plesiosaurs (Sato, Eberth, Nicholls, and Manabe, 2005)

★ indeterminate elasmosaurids (very long-necked) (more common)

★ indeterminate polycotylids (shorter-necked)

Crocodylians (Xiao-Chun Wu, 2005)

★ ''Albertochampsa''

★ ''Leidysuchus''

★ at least 1 unnamed taxon

Pterosaurs (Godfrey and Currie, 2005)

★ 1 large unnamed azhdarchid (giant, long-necked pterosaur)

★ 1 smaller unnamed azhdarchid

★ 1 unnamed non-azhdarchid pterosaur

Dinosaurs

Theropoda (Currie, 2005)
:Tyrannosauridae
:
★ ''Daspletosaurus torosus''
:
★ ''D.'' sp.
:
★ ''Gorgosaurus libratus'' (also called ''Albertosaurus libratus''
:Ornithomimidae
:
★ ''Dromiceiomimus brevitertius''
:
★ ''Ornithomimus edmontonicus''
:
★ ''Struthiomimus altus''
:Caenagnathidae (all of these may be species of ''Chirostenotes'')
:
★ ''Caenagnathus collinsi''
:
★ ''C. sternbergi''
:
★ ''Chirostenotes pergracilis''
:
★ ''Elmisaurus rarus''
:Avimimidae
:
★ ?indeterminate avimimid
:Therizinosauridae
:
★ ?indeterminate therizinosaurid
:Troodontidae
:
★ ''Troodon inequalis'' or ''formosus''
:Dromaeosauridae
:
★ ''Dromaeosaurus albertensis''
:
★ ''Saurornitholestes langstoni''
:Family unknown
:
★ ''Paronychodon lacustris''
:
★ ''Ricardoestesia gilmorei''
:Birds
:
★ ''Baptornis'' sp.
:
★ ''Cimolopteryx'' sp.
:
★ ''Palintropus'' sp.
:
★ additional indeterminate bird taxa
Ornithischia (Ryan and Evans, 2005)
:Ankylosauria
::Ankylosauridae
::
★ ''Euoplocephalus tutus''
::Nodosauridae
::
★ ''Edmontonia longiceps''
::
★ ''E. rugosidens''
::
★ ''Panoplosaurus mirus''
:Pachycephalosauridae
:
★ ''Hanssuesia sternbergi''
:
★ ''Gravitholus albertae''
:
★ ''Ornatotholus browni'' (?juvenile ''Stegoceras'')
:
★ ''Stegoceras validum''
:
★ "S." ''breve'' (?''Prenocephale'')
:Ceratopsia
:
★ ''Leptoceratops'' sp.
::Ceratopsidae
:::Centrosaurinae (long nose horn, short brow horns, short spiky frill)
:::
★ ''Centrosaurus apertus''
:::
★ ''Monoclonius lowei''
:::
★ ''Styracosaurus albertensis''
:::
★ unnamed ''Pachyrhinosaurus''-like taxon
:::Chasmosaurinae (short nose horn, long brow horns, long frill)
:::
★ ''Anchiceratops ornatus''
:::
★ ''Chasmosaurus belli''
:::
★ ''C. irvinensis''
:::
★ ''C. russelli''
:Ornithopoda
:
★ at least 1 indeterminate hypsilophodont
::Hadrosauridae
:::Hadrosaurinae (duckbills without hollow crests)
:::
★ ''Gryposaurus notabilis''
:::
★ ''G. incurvimanus''
:::
★ ''Prosaurolophus maximus''
:::Lambeosaurinae (duckbills with hollow crests)
:::
★ ''Corythosaurus casuarius''
:::
★ ''Lambeosaurus lambei''
:::
★ ''L. magnicristatus''
:::
★ ''Parasaurolophus walkeri''

Mammals (Fox, 2005)

Multituberculata

★ ''Cimexomys'' sp.

★ ''Cimolodon'' spp.

★ ''Cimolomys clarki''

★ ''Meniscoessus major''

★ ''Mesodma primaeva''

★ unnamed multituberculates
Marsupials

★ ''Alphadon halleyi''

★ ''Eodelphis browni''

★ ''E. cutleri''

★ 5 species of "Pediomys"

★ ''Turgidodon russelli''

★ ''T. praesagus''
Placentals

★ ''Cimolestes'' sp. (uncertain taxonomy)

★ ''Gypsonictops lewisi''

★ ''Paranyctoides sternbergi''
Unknown therians: at least 1 species

References

★ Braman, D.R., and Koppelhus, E.B. 2005. Campanian palynomorphs. In: Currie, P.J., and Koppelhus, E.B. (eds), ''Dinosaur Provincial Park: A Spectacular Ancient Ecosystem Revealed.'' Indiana University Press: Bloomington and Indianapolis, 101-130.

★ Brinkman, D.B. 2005. Turtles: diversity, paleoecology, and distribution. In: Currie, P.J., and Koppelhus, E.B. (eds), ''Dinosaur Provincial Park: A Spectacular Ancient Ecosystem Revealed.'' Indiana University Press: Bloomington and Indianapolis, 202-220.

★ Caldwell, M.W. The squamates: origins, phylogeny, and paleoecology. In: Currie, P.J., and Koppelhus, E.B. (eds). 2005. ‘’Dinosaur Provincial Park: A Spectacular Ancient Ecosystem Revealed.’’ Indiana University Press: Bloomington and Indianapolis, 235-248.

★ Currie, P.J. 2005. Theropods, including birds. In: Currie, P.J., and Koppelhus, E.B. (eds), ''Dinosaur Provincial Park: A Spectacular Ancient Ecosystem Revealed.'' Indiana University Press: Bloomington and Indianapolis, 367-397.

★ Currie, P.J., and Koppelhus, E.B. (eds). 2005. ''Dinosaur Provincial Park: A Spectacular Ancient Ecosystem Revealed.'' Indiana University Press: Bloomington and Indianapolis, 648 p.

★ Eberth, D.A. 2005. The geology. In: Currie, P.J., and Koppelhus, E.B. (eds), ''Dinosaur Provincial Park: A Spectacular Ancient Ecosystem Revealed.'' Indiana University Press: Bloomington and Indianapolis, 54-82.

★ Fox, R.C. 2005. Late Cretaceous mammals. In: Currie, P.J., and Koppelhus, E.B. (eds), ''Dinosaur Provincial Park: A Spectacular Ancient Ecosystem Revealed.'' Indiana University Press: Bloomington and Indianapolis, 417-435.

★ K. Gao and Brinkman, D.B. 2005. Choristoderes from the Park and its vicinity. In: Currie, P.J., and Koppelhus, E.B. (eds), ''Dinosaur Provincial Park: A Spectacular Ancient Ecosystem Revealed.'' Indiana University Press: Bloomington and Indianapolis, 221-234.

★ Gardner, J.D. 2005. Lissamphibians. In: Currie, P.J., and Koppelhus, E.B. (eds), ''Dinosaur Provincial Park: A Spectacular Ancient Ecosystem Revealed.'' Indiana University Press: Bloomington and Indianapolis, 186-201.

★ Godfrey, S.J., and Currie, P.J. 2005. Pterosaurs. In: Currie, P.J., and Koppelhus, E.B. (eds), ''Dinosaur Provincial Park: A Spectacular Ancient Ecosystem Revealed.'' Indiana University Press: Bloomington and Indianapolis, 292-311.

★ Johnston, P.A., and Hendy, A.J.W. 2005. Paleoecology of mollusks from the Upper Cretaceous Belly River Group. In: Currie, P.J., and Koppelhus, E.B. (eds), ''Dinosaur Provincial Park: A Spectacular Ancient Ecosystem Revealed.'' Indiana University Press: Bloomington and Indianapolis, 139-166.

★ Koppelhus, E.B. 2005. Paleobotany. In: Currie, P.J., and Koppelhus, E.B. (eds), ''Dinosaur Provincial Park: A Spectacular Ancient Ecosystem Revealed.'' Indiana University Press: Bloomington and Indianapolis, 131-138.

★ Neuman, A.G., and Brinkman, D.B. 2005. Fishes of the fluvial beds. In: Currie, P.J., and Koppelhus, E.B. (eds), ''Dinosaur Provincial Park: A Spectacular Ancient Ecosystem Revealed.'' Indiana University Press: Bloomington and Indianapolis, 167-185.

★ Ryan, M.J., and Evans, D.C. 2005. Ornithischian dinosaurs. In: Currie, P.J., and Koppelhus, E.B. (eds), ''Dinosaur Provincial Park: A Spectacular Ancient Ecosystem Revealed.'' Indiana University Press: Bloomington and Indianapolis, 312-348.

★ Sato, T., Eberth, D.A., Nicholls, E.L., and Manabe, M. 2005. Plesiosaurian remains from non-marine to paralic sediments. In: Currie, P.J., and Koppelhus, E.B. (eds), Dinosaur Provincial Park: A Spectacular Ancient Ecosystem Revealed.’’ Indiana University Press: Bloomington and Indianapolis, 249-276.

★ Xiao-Chun Wu. 2005. Crocodylians. In: Currie, P.J., and Koppelhus, E.B. (eds), ''Dinosaur Provincial Park: A Spectacular Ancient Ecosystem Revealed.'' Indiana University Press: Bloomington and Indianapolis, 277-291.