Kaiparowits Formation
{{short description|Rock formation in the United States}}
{{Infobox Rockunit
| name = Kaiparowits Formation
| image = Kaiparowits Formation.jpg
| caption = Fluvial deposits of the Kaiparowits Formation at "The Blues".
| type = Geological formation
| age = Campanian {{fossil range|77.3|72.8}}
| period = Campanian
| prilithology = Mudstone, sandstone
| otherlithology =
| namedfor =
| namedby =
| region = Utah
| country = United States
| coordinates = {{coord|37|24|0|N|111|41|0|W|name=Kaiparowits Formation|display=inline,title}}
| unitof =
| subunits =
| underlies =
| overlies =
| thickness = {{convert|2600|ft|m|abbr=on|disp=flip}}
| extent =
| area =
| map =
| map_caption =
}}
The Kaiparowits Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in the Kaiparowits Plateau in Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, in the southern part of Utah in the western United States. It is over 2800 feet (850 m) thick, and is Campanian in age. This Upper Cretaceous formation was formed from alluvial floodplains of large rivers in coastal southern Laramidia; sandstone beds are the deposit of rivers, and mudstone beds represent floodplain deposits. It is fossiliferous, with most specimens from the lower half of the formation, but exploration is only comparatively recent, with most work being done since 1982. It has been estimated that less than 10% of the Kaiparowits formation has been explored for fossils. The Natural History Museum of Utah has conducted most fieldwork.
Age
Traditionally, the Kaiparowits Formation has been considered to be roughly equivalent in age to the northern Dinosaur Park Formation. This, combined with the differences in fauna between the two formations, has led some scientists, most notably Scott Sampson, to conclude that there was some barrier separating northern and southern Laramidia at this time. However, preliminary re-calibration of late Cretaceous formation correlations suggests that the upper part of the Kaiparowits, where many of the unique species are found, is actually younger than the Dinosaur Park, and that some Kaiparowits species may simply be the descendants of Dinosaur Park species.{{Cite journal|last=Fowler|first=Denver Warwick|date=2017-11-22|title=Revised geochronology, correlation, and dinosaur stratigraphic ranges of the Santonian-Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) formations of the Western Interior of North America|journal=PLOS ONE|language=en|volume=12|issue=11|pages=e0188426|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0188426|issn=1932-6203|pmc=5699823|pmid=29166406|bibcode=2017PLoSO..1288426F|doi-access=free}} However, new dates reveal that this is simply an artifact of inaccurate Ar-Ar dating, and both formations had similar ages.{{Cite journal |last1=Ramezani |first1=Jahandar |last2=Beveridge |first2=Tegan L. |last3=Rogers |first3=Raymond R. |last4=Eberth |first4=David A. |last5=Roberts |first5=Eric M. |date=2022-09-26 |title=Calibrating the zenith of dinosaur diversity in the Campanian of the Western Interior Basin by CA-ID-TIMS U–Pb geochronology |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=16026 |doi=10.1038/s41598-022-19896-w |issn=2045-2322 |pmc=9512893 |pmid=36163377|bibcode=2022NatSR..1216026R }}
According to new Uranium-Lead stratigraphic data, the fossil-bearing portion of the Kaiparowits Formation dates from about 77.24 to 75.02 million years ago, with the volcaniclastic Upper Valley Member estimated to date from 73.8 to 72.8 million years ago.{{Cite journal |last1=Beveridge |first1=Tegan L. |last2=Roberts |first2=Eric M. |last3=Titus |first3=Alan L. |date=October 2020 |title=Volcaniclastic member of the richly fossiliferous Kaiparowits Formation reveals new insights for regional correlation and tectonics in southern Utah during the latest Campanian |journal=Cretaceous Research |volume=114 |pages=104527 |doi=10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104527 |bibcode=2020CrRes.11404527B |issn=0195-6671}}
Biostratigraphy
The timeline below follows the re-calibrated timeline of Fowler (2017), showing species from the Kaiparowits Formation in green, and related species from Alberta in blue.
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id:mesozoic value:rgb(0.54,0.54,0.258)
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from: -75.3 till: -74.2 color:cretaceous text:Upper Kaiparowits
from: -76.2 till: -75.3 color:jurassic text:Middle Kaiparowits
from: -76.8 till: -76.2 color:triassic text:Lower Kaiparowits
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from: -77 till: -74 color:mesozoic text:Biostratigraphy of the Kaiparowits Formation (green) compared to the Dinosaur Park Formation (blue)
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color:DPF bar:NAM1 from:-76.9 till:-76.8 text:Mercuriceratops gemini
color:DPF bar:NAM2 from:-76.7 till:-76.6 text:Chasmosaurus priscus
color:DPF bar:NAM3 from:-76.5 till:-76.3 text:Chasmosaurus belli
color:DPF bar:NAM4 from:-76.3 till:-76.2 text:Chasmosaurus russelli
color:DPF bar:NAM5 from:-76.3 till:-76.2 text:Vagaceratops irvinensis
color:KWF bar:NAM6 from:-76.0 till:-75.9 text:Kosmoceratops richardsoni
color:KWF bar:NAM7 from:-76.0 till:-75.6 text:Utahceratops gettyi
color:DPF bar:NAM8 from:-76.9 till:-76.5 text:Centrosaurus apertus
color:DPF bar:NAM9 from:-76.4 till:-76.2 text:Styracosaurus albertensis
color:DPF bar:NAM10 from:-76.0 till:-75.9 text:Pachyrhinosaurini sp.
color:KWF bar:NAM11 from:-75.8 till:-75.6 text:Nasutoceratops titusi
color:DPF bar:NAM12 from:-76.9 till:-76.5 text:Gryposaurus notabilis
color:DPF bar:NAM13 from:-76.4 till:-76.2 text:Prosaurolophus maximus
color:DPF bar:NAM14 from:-76.5 till:-76.0 text:Gryposaurus sp.
color:KWF bar:NAM15 from:-76.5 till:-75.8 text:Gryposaurus sp.
color:KWF bar:NAM16 from:-75.6 till:-75.5 text:Gryposaurus monumentensis
color:DPF bar:NAM17 from:-76.9 till:-76.8 text:Parasaurolophus walkeri
color:DPF bar:NAM18 from:-76.7 till:-76.6 text:Parasaurolophus sp.
color:KWF bar:NAM19 from:-76.4 till:-75.5 text:Parasaurolophus cyrtocristatus
color:DPF bar:NAM20 from:-76.9 till:-76.5 text:Corythosaurus casuarius
color:DPF bar:NAM21 from:-76.6 till:-76.3 text:Lambeosaurus lambei
color:DPF bar:NAM22 from:-76.2 till:-76.1 text:Lambeosaurus magnicristatus
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from: -76.9 till: -75.8 color:cretaceous text:Dinosaur Park Formation, Alberta
from: -75.8 till: -75.2 color:cretaceous text:Bearpaw Formation, Alberta
from: -75.2 till: -74 color:cretaceous text:Horseshoe Canyon Formation, Alberta
Habitat
File:Teratophoneus attacking Kosmoceratops-transformed.jpegs of Kaiparowits Formation]]
The Kaiparowits Formation is a muddy bed that was deposited between about 77.3 to 72.8 million years ago, in the area where the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument of Utah is today. It is extremely fossil rich, with thousands of plants and animal fossils being preserved in amongst its sandstone and mudstone deposits. Based on plants remains including multiple vines, leaves, and branches, It was assumed by paleontologists Scott Sampson and his colleagues that Utah in the Campanian was a dense jungle bordering the Western Interior Seaway. The jungle theory would also support why almost all the animals in the Kaiparowits Formation were new species, and why the deposits were so plentiful. Without the need for herbivores to migrate to find food, and theropods to migrate after herbivores, a whole ecosystem could evolve secluded from interbreeding. The theory also supported why the dinosaurs adorned such features like the 15 horns of Kosmoceratops, they were for sexual selection.{{cite journal|last=Miller|first=P.|date=May 2014|title=Digging Utah's Dinosaurs|url=http://ngm-beta.nationalgeographic.com/2014/05/articles/digging-utahs-dinosaurs/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207002513/http://ngm-beta.nationalgeographic.com/2014/05/articles/digging-utahs-dinosaurs/|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 7, 2014|journal=National Geographic|volume=225|issue=5|pages=60–79}}
Paleofauna
File:Kosmoceratops and Talos by durbed.jpg disturbed from its rest by a wandering Talos in Laramidia]]
Animals present include chondrichthyans (sharks and rays), gars, bowfin, sturgeons, frogs, salamanders, turtles, lizards, crocodilians (including Deinosuchus),{{Cite web|url=https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2008CD/finalprogram/abstract_133900.htm|title=FIRST REPORT OF THE HYPER-GIANT CRETACEOUS CROCODYLIAN DEINOSUCHUS FROM UTAH|website=gsa.confex.com|access-date=2016-03-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729215156/https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2008CD/finalprogram/abstract_133900.htm|archive-date=2017-07-29|url-status=dead}}{{cite journal|display-authors=6|vauthors=Titus AL, Knoll K, Sertich JJ, Yamamura D, Suarez CA, Glasspool IJ, Ginouves JE, Lukacic AK, Roberts EM|year=2021|title=Geology and taphonomy of a unique tyrannosaurid bonebed from the upper Campanian Kaiparowits Formation of southern Utah: implications for tyrannosaurid gregariousness|journal=PeerJ|volume=9|pages=e11013|doi=10.7717/peerj.11013|pmid=33976955|pmc=8061582|doi-access=free}} pterosaurs,{{cite journal |last=Farke |first=Andrew A. |date=2021-01-20 |title=A large pterosaur limb bone from the Kaiparowits Fomation (late Campanian) of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA |journal=PeerJ |volume=9 |article-number=e10766 |doi=10.7717/peerj.10766 |doi-access=free |pmid=33552741 |pmc=7825364 }} coelurosaurian theropods such as dromaeosaurids, troodontids, and Ornithomimus velox, armored dinosaurs, the duckbill Parasaurolophus cyrtocristatus, and a variety of early mammals including multituberculates, marsupials, and insectivorans.{{cite book |last=Eaton |first=Jeffrey G. |author2=Cifelli, Richard L. |author3=Hutchinson, J. Howard |author4=Kirkland, James I. |author5= Parrish, J. Michael |year=1999 |chapter=Cretaceous vertebrate faunas from the Kaiparowits Plateau, south-central Utah |editor=Gillete, David D.|title=Vertebrate Paleontology in Utah |publisher=Utah Geological Survey |location=Salt Lake City |series=Miscellaneous Publication 99-1 |pages=345–353 |isbn=978-1-55791-634-1 }} Recent finds include large specimens of the duckbill Gryposaurus,{{cite journal |last=Gates |first=Terry |author2=Sampson, Scott |year=2006 |title=A new species of Gryposaurus (Dinosauria: Hadrosauridae) from the Upper Campanian Kaiparowits Formation of Utah |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=26 |issue=3, Suppl |pages=65A|doi=10.1080/02724634.2006.10010069 |s2cid=220413406 }} including the species G. monumentensis, and the first described remains of the oviraptorosaurian Hagryphus giganteus.{{cite journal |last=Zanno |first=Lindsay E. |author2=Sampson, Scott D. |year=2005 |title=A new oviraptorosaur (Theropoda; Maniraptora) from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) of Utah |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=897–904 |doi=10.1671/0272-4634(2005)025[0897:ANOTMF]2.0.CO;2|s2cid=131302174 }}
Trace fossils are also known from the Kaiparowits, including an excellently preserved hadrosaur skin impression known from a recent analysis by Herrero and Farke.{{cite journal | last1 = Herrero | first1 = Lucia | last2 = Farke | first2 = Andrew A | year = 2010 | title = Hadrosaurid Dinosaur Skin Impressions from the Upper Cretaceous Kaiparowits Formation of Southern Utah, USA. | journal = PalArch's Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology | volume = 7 | issue = 2| pages = 1–7 }}
=Turtles=
{{paleobiota-key-compact}}
=Neosuchians=
{{paleobiota-key-compact}}
=Ornithischians=
{{paleobiota-key-compact}}
== Ankylosaurs ==
== Ceratopsians ==
== Ornithopods ==
=Theropods=
{{paleobiota-key-compact}}
See also
References
{{Reflist|2}}
= Bibliography =
- {{citation |last1=Weishampel |first1=David B. |author2-link=Peter Dodson |last2=Dodson |first2=Peter |author3-link=Halszka Osmólska |last3=Osmólska |first3=Halszka |year=2004 |title=The Dinosauria, 2nd edition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vtZFDb_iw40C |publisher=Berkeley: University of California Press |pages=1–880 |accessdate=2019-02-21 |isbn=0-520-24209-2 |author1-link=David B. Weishampel }}
{{Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument}}
Category:Geologic formations of Utah
Category:Upper Cretaceous Series of North America
Category:Cretaceous geology of Utah