Multi-Aged Small Pterosaur Track Assemblage from the Upper Cretaceous of Korea

Author(s):  
Jongyun Jung ◽  
Min Huh ◽  
Koo-Geun Hwang ◽  
Hyun-Joo Kim ◽  
Byung-Do Choi ◽  
...  

Abstract The pterosaur is the earliest and largest powered flying vertebrate, even earlier and larger than the other extant archosaurian group, birds. However, evidence for this flying reptile, including the diversity of the small-sized pterosaur after the mid-Cretaceous, and their ecology, has remained elusive. Here we present numerous and dense pterosaur track assemblages from the Hwasun Seoyuri tracksite in the Upper Cretaceous Jangdong Formation of the Neungju Basin in Korea. The pterosaur track assemblage, assigned to Pteraichnus isp., consists of various sized, randomly oriented manus-dominated tracks with several pes claw marks. These features commonly indicate the semi-aquatic behavior and multi-age gregariousness of pterosaurs. The supposed trackmaker of pterosaur tracks would be the small-sized pterodactyloid that inhibited the Late Cretaceous Korean Peninsula, but that has not previously been reported. This ichnological evidence for the global distribution of small-sized pterosaurs could be interpreted to mean that the pterosaur fauna in the Late Cretaceous was more distributed and diverse than was previously known.

1997 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 615-620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco J. Vega ◽  
Rodney M. Feldmann ◽  
Adriana C. Ocampo ◽  
Kevin O. Pope

A new species of carcineretid crab, Carcineretesplanetarius, is described from the Upper Cretaceous (lower Maastrichtian) Barton Creek Dolomite at Albion Island, Belize. The age is based on the stratigraphic range of associated nerineid gastropods and correlation with nannoplankton, benthic foraminifera, and the other known congeneric species of crab found in Jamaica. Confirmation of this age aids in constraining the timing of ejecta deposits of the Chicxulub impact found at the top of Barton Creek Dolomite exposed on Albion Island. Paleoenvironmental and paleoecological analyses suggest that these crabs were swimmers in lagoonal settings, capable of burrowing a few centimeters into the mud for protection.


2002 ◽  
Vol 39 (11) ◽  
pp. 1591-1603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth L Nicholls ◽  
Dirk Meckert

A new fauna of fossil marine reptiles is described from the Late Cretaceous Nanaimo Group of Vancouver Island. The fossils are from the Haslam and Pender formations (upper Santonian) near Courtenay, British Columbia, and include elasmosaurid plesiosaurs, turtles, and mosasaurs. This is only the second fauna of Late Cretaceous marine reptiles known from the Pacific Coast, the other being from the Moreno Formation of California (Maastrichtian). The new Nanaimo Group fossils are some 15 million years older than those from the Moreno Formation. However, like the California fauna, there are no polycotylid plesiosaurs, and one of the mosasaurs is a new genus. This reinforces the provinciality of the Pacific faunas and their isolation from contemporaneous faunas in the Western Interior Seaway.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Alexander O Averianov ◽  
Maxim S Arkhangelsky

Abstract The Campanian Beloe Ozero locality within the Rybushka Formation in Saratov Province, Russia, is one of the richest and most diverse Upper Cretaceous pterosaur localities in Europe. It produces identifiable remains of Pteranodontidae indet. and Azhdarchidae indet., as well as bones which can be attributed to either of these groups. The pteranodontid specimens from the Beloe Ozero locality described in this paper include a cervical III, distal scapula, humerus deltopectoral crest, proximal syncarpal, preaxial carpal and complete femur. Based on the femur and proximal syncarpal, the wingspan estimate for the Beloe Ozero pteranodontid varies from 5.2 to 6.5 m. Volgadraco bogolubovi, known from the neighbouring Shyrokii Karamysh locality of the same formation and attributed previously to the Azhdarchidae, is more likely pteranodontid than azhdarchid. The other putative records of the Pteranodontidae in the Late Cretaceous of North America, Europe and Asia are discussed. Pteranodontid pterosaurs had a much wider distribution on the northern continents in the Late Cretaceous than previously thought.


PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e12640
Author(s):  
Andrea Cau ◽  
Daniel Madzia

Borogovia gracilicrus is a small-bodied theropod dinosaur from the Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) Nemegt Formation of southern Mongolia. The taxon is based on a single fragmentary specimen preserving only the distal part of the hindlimbs. The morphology of Borogovia shows a peculiar combination of features, some of which are traditionally considered troodontid synapomorphies and others which are unusual for Troodontidae but are shared with other maniraptoran clades. In particular, the second toe of B. gracilicrus differs from other troodontids in lacking some of the features which contribute to the specialized ‘sickle-clawed’ second toe, here termed the ‘falciphoran condition’, shared with dromaeosaurids and some other paravians, such as the strongly compressed and falciform ungual. Phylogeny reconstructions intended to explore the affinities of Borogovia consistently support its referral within a subclade of troodontids including all Late Cretaceous taxa. The placement of Borogovia is not significantly affected by its unusual combinations of hindlimb features or by the homoplasy of the elements forming the falciphoran condition. Borogovia is supported as a valid taxon and is distinct from the other Nemegt troodontids, Tochisaurus and Zanabazar. The lack of a falciform ungual, and the distinctive morphology of the second toe in B. gracilicrus are interpreted as a derived specialization among Troodontidae and not as retention of the plesiomorphic condition of non-paravian theropods.


1986 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. 1857-1859 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. W. Lowey ◽  
W. D. Sinclair ◽  
L. V. Hills

Three whole-rock K–Ar analyses on andesites from the Indian River area, west central Yukon, yielded dates of 69.0 ± 1.7, 65.2 ± 1.7, and 64.8 ± 1.7 Ma. These confirm earlier dates indicating the Carmacks Group is Late Cretaceous in age. A single date of 51.4 ± 3.9 Ma was obtained from a tuff in the Sixty Mile River area, west central Yukon, suggesting an Eocene age for these deposits. However, this date is considered equivocal because it is anomalous when compared with the other dates from the area.


2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 1074-1085
Author(s):  
E. A. Sokolova

The article analyzes own data on the species composition of shells of planktonic foraminifera from the Upper Cretaceous sediments of the Indian Oceans, as well as from the sections of the offshore seas of Australia. The species of planktonic foraminifera are grouped and arranged in a climatic series. An analysis of the change in the systematic composition of foraminifers made it possible to distinguish periods of extreme and intermediate climatic states in the Late Cretaceous.


2011 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 234-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Fuchs ◽  
Neal Larson

Morphologic analyses of a large collection of coleoid cephalopods from the Lebanese Upper Cretaceous yielded a much higher diversity than previously assumed and revealed numerous extraordinarily well-preserved, soft-part characters. An analysis of the Prototeuthidina, a gladius-bearing group with a slender torpedo-shaped body, revealed two species:Dorateuthis syriacaandBoreopeltis smithin. sp. Previously unknown soft-part characters, such as the digestive tract, the gills, and the cephalic cartilage considerably improved our knowledge ofD. syriaca.Since none of the investigated specimens show more than eight arms, similarities with modern squids are regarded as superficial.Boreopeltis smithin. sp. is erected on the basis of its comparatively wideParaplesioteuthis-like gladius. The latter species represents the first unambiguous record of this genus in Upper Cretaceous deposits. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that the prototeuthidid clade consists of two lineages. The plesioteuthidid lineage originates from early JurassicParaplesioteuthisand leads toPlesioteuthisandDorateuthis.The other lineage is morphologically more conservative and leads toBoreopeltis.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Yunqi Ye ◽  
Dangpeng Xi ◽  
Lixin Sun ◽  
Dermeval Aparecido Do Carmo ◽  
Lucas Silveira Antonietto ◽  
...  

Abstract Despite the abundant literature on limnic Cretaceous ostracode faunas, the database on mid-Late Cretaceous taxa is still scarce. The Songliao Basin in northeastern China preserves a diverse assemblage of ostracode fossils from the Santonian–Campanian Nenjiang and Sifangtai formations. This rather unique material is of major importance to comprehend Early to mid-Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian–Campanian) limnic ostracode faunas and therefore the evolution of Late Cretaceous basins in China. A study of this fauna was conducted to detail the taxonomy of ostracode species from members 1 and 2 of the Nenjiang and Sifangtai formations in the Songliao Basin. Well-preserved specimens of 14 ostracode species were recovered from samples of the ZKY2-1 well in southwestern Songliao Basin: Scabriculocypris liaukhenensis Liu in Netchaeva et al., 1959, Ilyocyprimorpha netchaevae Su in Netchaeva et al., 1959, Cypridea acclinia Netchaeva in Netchaeva et al., 1959, Cypridea cavernosa Galeeva, 1955, Cypridea gracile Netchaeva in Netchaeva et al., 1959, Cypridea lepida Ye in DOFEAD, 1976, Cypridea squalida Sou in Netchaeva et al., 1959, Fabaeformiscandona? Disjuncta (Hao in Hao et al., 1974), Lycopterocypris profunda Lübimova, 1956, Mongolocypris magna (Hou, 1958), Mongolocypris tera (Su in Netchaeva et al., 1959), Talicypridea obliquecostae (Szczechura and Błaszyk, 1970), Talicypridea reticulata (Szczechura, 1978) and Renicypris renalata (Su in Hao et al., 1974). Four of the species identified received emended descriptions and diagnoses. Other important results include the first discussion on sexual dimorphism in Cypridea acclinia and Fabaeformiscandona? disjuncta, the first study on the ontogeny of Ilyocyprimorpha netchaevae, and the reassignment of Cypridea liaukhenensis to the genus Scabriculocypris. Several species recorded herein are also found in other continental far-eastern Asian basins, while genera range from worldwide to far-eastern Asian distribution; these results support strong affinities among faunas of Mongolia, China, and Japan.


1996 ◽  
Vol 33 (12) ◽  
pp. 1655-1667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darla K. Zelenitsky ◽  
L. V. Hills ◽  
Philip J. Currie

Examination of a large number of eggshell fragments collected from the Oldman Formation of southern Alberta reveals a greater ootaxonomic diversity than is known from complete eggs or clutches. Three new oogenera and oospecies of the ornithoid-ratite morphotype and one of the ornithoid-prismatic morphotype are established, based on the eggshell fragments. Porituberoolithus warnerensis oogen. et oosp. nov. and Continuoolithus canadensis oogen. et oosp. nov. have a microstructure similar to that of elongatoolithid eggs of theropod dinosaurs. Tristraguloolithus cracioides oogen. et oosp. nov. and Dispersituberoolithus exilis oogen. et oosp. nov. possess an external zone and thus have a microstructure like modern avian eggshell. Tristraguloolithus has a shell thickness, microstructure, and surface sculpture similar to those of recent bird eggshell of the family Cracidae (order Galliformes). Dispersituberoolithus exhibits the primitive or normal eggshell condition of some recent neognathous avian taxa. The ootaxa described indicate a diversity of both avian and theropod dinosaur egg layers within Devil's Coulee and Knight's Ranch, southern Alberta, during the Late Cretaceous.


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