Ringbone Formation
The Ringbone Formation is a Campanian geologic formation in southwestern New Mexico.[1][2]
| Ringbone Formation Stratigraphic range: Campanian ~84–71 Ma | |
|---|---|
| Type | Geological formation |
| Underlies | Hidalgo Formation |
| Overlies | Mojado Formation |
| Thickness | 7,500 feet (2,300 m) |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Mudstone |
| Other | Sandstone |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 31.959°N 108.464°W |
| Approximate paleocoordinates | 39.3°N 80.7°W |
| Region | New Mexico |
| Country |  United States |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Ringbone Ranch |
| Named by | S.G. Lasky |
| Year defined | 1938 |
  Ringbone Formation (the United States)  Ringbone Formation (New Mexico) | |
Description
The base of the formation is a conglomerate with boulders up to 2.5 feet (0.76 m) in diameter. The bulk of the formation is dark shale with minor sandstone and black limestone. The upper beds are tuffaceous sandstone with minor black limestone. A basalt flow and an andesite breccia are present in the upper beds.[1] The total thickness is about 7,500 feet (2,300 m). The formation interfingers with the underlying Mojado Formation and is overlain by the Hidalgo Formation.[3]
Fossils
The formation contains fossils of the gastropod Physa,[2] the palm Sabal, and other fossils consistent with Campanian age.[3]
Dinosaur remains of tyrannosaurs and hadrosaurs are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.[4] These include possible remains of Albertosaurus<[5] and a hadrosaur tail skin impression.[6]
History of investigation
The formation was first named as the Ringbone Shale by Lasky in 1938 for outcrops near Ringbone Ranch in the Little Hatchet Mountains.[1] Zeller renamed the unit as the Ringbone Formation in 1970.[3]
See also
- List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
References
- Lasky 1938
- Thayer 1970
- Zeller 1970
- Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution." Pp. 517-607.
- Lucas et al. 1990
- Anderson et al. 1998
Bibliography
- Anderson, Brian G.; Lucas, Spencer G.; Barrick, Reese E.; Heckert, Andrew B.; Basabilvazo, George T. (28 December 1998). "Dinosaur skin impressions and associated skeletal remains from the upper Campanian of southwestern New Mexico: new data on the integument morphology of hadrosaurs". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 18 (4): 739–745. doi:10.1080/02724634.1998.10011102.
- Hayes, Philip Thayer (1970). "Cretaceous paleogeography of southeastern Arizona and adjacent areas". U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper. Professional Paper. 658-B. doi:10.3133/pp658B.
- Lasky, Samuel G. (1938). "Newly Discovered Section of Trinity Age in Southwestern New Mexico". AAPG Bulletin. 22 (5): 524–540. doi:10.1306/3D932F80-16B1-11D7-8645000102C1865D. ISSN 0149-1423.
- Lucas, Spencer G.; Basabilvazo, George; Lawton, Timothy F. (December 1990). "Late cretaceous dinosaurs from the ringbone formation, southwestern New Mexico, U.S.A.". Cretaceous Research. 11 (4): 343–349. doi:10.1016/S0195-6671(05)80045-X.
- Weishampel, David B.; Peter Dodson, and Halszka (eds.) Osmólska. 2004. The Dinosauria, 2nd edition, 1–880. Berkeley: University of California Press. Accessed 2019-02-21. ISBN 0-520-24209-2
- Zeller, R.A., Jr. (1970). "Geology of the Little Hatchet Mountains, Hidalgo and Grant Counties, New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources Bulletin. 96. Retrieved 16 September 2020.