Bone Valley Formation
{{Short description|Geologic formation in Florida, United States}}
{{Infobox rockunit
| name = Bone Valley Formation
| image = Odontaspis 01.jpg
| imagesize = 160
| caption = Fossil from the Bone Valley Formation
| type = Formation
| age = {{Fossil range|Middle Miocene|Early Eocene|Middle Miocene to Early Pliocene}}
| period = Neogene
| prilithology = Sand, marl, clay
| otherlithology = Phosphorite pebbles, chert
| namedfor = Bone Valley, Florida
| namedby = G.C. Matson and F.G. Clapp, 1909
| region = Florida
| country = United States
| coordinates =
| unitof = Hawthorn Group
| subunits =
| underlies = Pleistocene sand
| overlies = Peace River Formation
| thickness = {{convert|30|m|ft|-1}}
| extent =
| area =
| map =
| map_caption =
}}
The Bone Valley Formation is a geologic formation in Florida. It is sometimes classified as the upper member of the Peace River Formation of the Hawthorn Group.{{Cite web|url=http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Geolex/UnitRefs/BoneValleyRefs_553.html|title=Geologic Unit: Bone Valley|author=U.S. Geological Survey| accessdate=2014-12-27}} It contains economically important phosphorite deposits that are mined in west-central Florida, as well as rich assemblages of vertebrate fossils.
Lithology
The Bone Valley Formation consists of sandy marl that contains pebbles of phosphate and chert, fragments of bone, and other organic remains. The finer grained material is soft and plastic when wet, but hardens when dry.Matson, G.C. and Clapp, F.G. 1909. A preliminary report on the geology of Florida with special reference to the stratigraphy. Florida Geological Survey Annual Report, no. 2, p. 13-173.
Age
The Bone Valley Formation contains mammal fossils and its age has been determined by mammalian biostratigraphy.
Epoch: Middle Miocene to Early Pliocene
North American land mammal age: Barstovian to HemphillianMorgan, G.S. 1993. Mammalian biochronology and marine-nonmarine correlations in the Neogene of Florida. In: Zullo, V.A. and others, The Neogene of Florida and adjacent regions; proceedings of the Third Bald Head Island conference on coastal plains geology, Hilton Head Island, SC, November 4–8, 1992. Florida Geological Survey Special Publication no. 37, p. 55-66.
Paleontology
The Bone Valley Formation includes a diverse assemblage of vertebrate fossils. These include remains of sea turtles,Dodd Jr, C.K. and Morgan, G. S. 1992. Fossil sea turtles from the early Pliocene Bone Valley Formation, central Florida. Journal of herpetology, 1-8. equines,MacFadden, B. J. 1986. Late Hemphillian monodactyl horses (Mammalia, Equidae) from the Bone Valley formation of central Florida. Journal of Paleontology, 466-475. felines,MacFadden, B. J. and Galiano, H. 1981. Late Hemphillian cat (Mammalia, Felidae) from the Bone Valley Formation of central Florida. Journal of Paleontology, 218-226.Berta, A. and Galiano, H. 1983. Megantereon hesperus from the late Hemphillian of Florida with remarks on the phylogenetic relationships of machairodonts (Mammalia, Felidae, Machairodontinae). Journal of Paleontology, 892-899. peccaries,Wright, D. B. and Webb, S. D. 1984. Primitive Mylohyus (Artiodactyla: Tayassuidae) from the late Hemphillian Bone Valley of Florida. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 3(3), 152-159. and others.
See also
{{Portal|Earth sciences|Florida|Paleontology}}
References
{{Reflist}}
- {{cite web|title= Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database|author= ((Various Contributors to the Paleobiology Database))|url= https://www.fossilworks.org|access-date= 17 December 2021}}