Brightseat Formation
{{Short description|Geologic formation in Maryland, United States}}
The Brightseat Formation is an exposure of marine sedimentary rock beds of Upper Cretaceous/Lower Paleocene age (65 MY to 55.5 MY), in Landover, Maryland. The exposure is located at Brightseat Road between Sheriff and Landover Roads. The site is currently owned by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. It was given its name by R.R. Bennett and G.G. Collins in 1952.Bennett, R.R., and Collins, G.G., 1952, Brightseat Formation, a new name for sediments of Paleocene age in Maryland: Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences, v. 42, no. 4, p. 114–116.
According to the Maryland Geologic Survey, the exposure consists of "Gray to greenish-gray, micaceous, argillaceous, sparsely glauconitic, fine- to coarse-grained sand, locally indurated calcareous beds; phosphatic pebbles; thickness 0 to 20 feet."Maryland Geological Survey - Coastal Plain Rocks and Sediments 1968
Research
Available research on the flora and fauna of the Brightseat Formation is decades-old. In 1968, thirty-five species of minute crustaceans, ostracodes, mostly cytheraceans, were found at outcrops of the Brightseat Formation, including 13 new species.Journal of Paleontology v. 42 no. 1 p 100–142 January 1968 The presence of otoliths, calcareous secretions that accumulate within the auditory chambers of bony fish, indicate the presence of fish fauna in the formation.Travisono, Jeanne. 1981. AAPG Bulletin Volume 65 p 656 The Brightseat Formation has also yielded three taxa of sea turtles: Taphrosphys sulfates (Leidy), Agomphus sp., and Osteopygis emarginatus Cope.Weems, R. E. 1988. Paleocene turtles from the Aquia and Brightseat formations, with a discussion of their bearing on sea turtle evolution and phylogeny. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 101:109–145.
References
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External links
- [http://www.mgs.md.gov/esic/geo/lgcp.html Maryland Geological Survey: Coastal Plains Rocks and Sediments]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20111006083953/http://devonian.org/GeologicScale.html Fossils of Maryland]
Category:Upper Cretaceous Series of North America