Moreno Formation

{{Short description|Mesozoic geologic formation in San Joaquin Valley, California}}

{{Infobox rockunit

| name = Moreno Formation

| image =

| caption =

| type = Geological formation

| age = {{fossilrange|70|66|latest=65.5|Maastrichtian 70–66 Ma}}

| period = Maastrichtian

| prilithology = Shale

| otherlithology = Sandstone

| namedfor =

| namedby =

| region = San Joaquin Valley {{flag|California}}

| country = {{flag|United States}}

| coordinates =

| unitof = Chico Group

| subunits =

| underlies = Unconformity with the Martinez Formation and Tejon Formation

| overlies = Panoche Formation

| thickness = {{convert|1600|-|2000|ft|m|2|abbr=on}}

| extent =

| area =

| map =

| map_caption =

}}

The Moreno Formation is a Mesozoic geologic formation located in San Joaquin Valley (California).
Dinosaur remains diagnostic to the genus level are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution." Pp. 517-607.

Paleofauna

=Cartilaginous fish=

class="wikitable" align="center" width="100%"

colspan="7" align="center" |Cartilaginous fishes reported from the Moreno Formation

Genus

! Species

! Location

! Member

! Material

! Notes

! Images

Heptranchias{{Cite web |title=PBDB Collection |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicCollectionSearch?collection_no=108392 |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=paleobiodb.org}}

|H. sp

=Ray-finned fish=

class="wikitable" align="center" width="100%"

colspan="7" align="center" |Ray-finned fishes reported from the Moreno Formation

Genus

! Species

! Location

! Member

! Material

! Notes

! Images

Bonnerichthys{{cite journal |last1=Friedman |first1=Matt |last2=Shimada |first2=Kenshu |last3=Everhart |first3=Michael J. |last4=Irwin |first4=Kelly J. |last5=Grandstaff |first5=Barbara S. |last6=Stewart |first6=J. D. |title=Geographic and stratigraphic distribution of the Late Cretaceous suspension-feeding bony fish Bonnerichthys gladius (Teleostei, Pachycormiformes) |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |date=8 January 2013 |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=35–47 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2012.713059 |s2cid=128958842 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2012.713059}}

B. gladius

A large, filter-feeding pachycormid.

File:Bonnerichthys_gladius.png]]

Saurodon{{cite journal |last1=Friedman |first1=Matt |last2=Shimada |first2=Kenshu |last3=Everhart |first3=Michael J. |last4=Irwin |first4=Kelly J. |last5=Grandstaff |first5=Barbara S. |last6=Stewart |first6=J. D. |title=Geographic and stratigraphic distribution of the Late Cretaceous suspension-feeding bony fish Bonnerichthys gladius (Teleostei, Pachycormiformes) |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |date=8 January 2013 |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=35–47 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2012.713059 |s2cid=128958842 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2012.713059}}

S. sp.

An ichthyodectid.

File:Saurodon_leanus.png]]

=Dinosaurs=

colspan="7" align="center" \|Dinosaurs reported from the Moreno Formation
class="wikitable" align="center" width="100%"
Genus ! Species ! Location ! Member ! Material ! Notes ! Images
Augustynolophus{{cite journal \| last1 = Prieto-Márquez \| first1 = Albert \| last2 = Wagner \| first2 = Jonathan R. \| last3 = Bell \| first3 = Phil R. \| last4 = Chiappe \| first4 = Luis M. \| year = 2014 \| title = The late-surviving 'duck-billed' dinosaur Augustynolophus from the upper Maastrichtian of western North America and crest evolution in Saurolophini \| journal = Geological Magazine \| volume = 152\| issue = 2 \| pages = 225–241\| doi = 10.1017/S0016756814000284 \| s2cid = 131049979 }} \| A. morrisi \| \| \| \|saurolophine. \|File:Augustynolophus_morrisi.png]]
style="background:#fbdddb;" \| Saurolophus \|style="background:#fbdddb;" \| S. morrisi \|style="background:#fbdddb;" \| \|style="background:#fbdddb;" \| \|style="background:#fbdddb;" \| \|style="background:#fbdddb;" \|Reclassified as Augustynolophus morrisi. \|

=Mosasaurs=

class="wikitable" align="center" width="100%"

colspan="7" align="center" |Mosasaurs reported from the Moreno Formation

Genus

! Species

! Location

! Member

! Material

! Notes

! Images

rowspan="2" style="background:#fbdddb;" |

Kolposaurus"4: The Marine Reptiles; Mosasaurs," in Hilton (2003) p. 107-110

|style="background:#fbdddb;" |

K. bennisoni

|style="background:#fbdddb;" |

| rowspan="2" style="background:#fbdddb;" |

The name Kolposaurus was preoccupied and its two constituent species moved to the new genus Plotosaurus.

| rowspan="2" |

style="background:#fbdddb;" |

K. tuckeri

|style="background:#fbdddb;" |

Plesiotylosaurus"Appendix: Summary of the Mesozoic Reptilian Fossils of California," in Hilton (2003) p. 273

P. crassidens

File:Plesiotylosaurus_crassidens_MP.jpg]]

rowspan="2" |

Plotosaurus

P. bennisoni

| rowspan="2" |

File:Plotosaurus bennisoni profile reconstruction.jpg]]

style="background:#E6E6E6;" |P. tuckeri

| style="background:#E6E6E6;" |

| style="background:#E6E6E6;" | A junior synonym of P. bennisoni.

Prognathodon{{cite journal |last1=Lindgren |first1=Johan |last2=Schulp |first2=Anne |title=New material of Prognathodon (Squamata: Mosasauridae), and the mosasaur assemblage of the Maastrichtian of California, U.S.A. |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |date=15 September 2010 |volume=30 |issue=5 |pages=1632–1636 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2010.501444 |s2cid=131124198 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2010.501444}}

P. cf. waiparaensis

cf. Mosasaurus

cf. M. sp.

Halisaurus

H. sp.

=Plesiosaurs=

colspan="7" align="center" \|Plesiosaurs reported from the Moreno Formation
class="wikitable" align="center" width="100%"
Genus ! Species ! Location ! Member ! Material ! Notes ! Images
Aphrosaurus"Appendix: Summary of the Mesozoic Reptilian Fossils of California," in Hilton (2003) p. 276 \| A. furlongi \| \| \| \| \|File:Aphrosaurus furlongi profile reconstruction.jpg]]
Fresnosaurus \| F. drescheri \| \| \| \| \|File:Fresnosaurus drescheri profile reconstruction.jpg]]
Hydrotherosaurus \| H. alexandrae \| \| \| \| \| File:Hydrotherosaurus alexandrae profile reconstruction.jpg]]
Morenosaurus \| M. stocki \| \| \| \| \|File:Morenosaurus stocki profile reconstruction.jpg]]

=Turtles=

class="wikitable" align="center" width="100%"

colspan="7" align="center" |Testudines reported from the Moreno Formation

Genus

! Species

! Location

! Member

! Material

! Notes

! Images

style="background:#f3e9f3;" |

Adocus

|style="background:#f3e9f3;" |

J. Howard Hutchison later referred the specimen originally identified as Adocus by to the genus Basilemys."4: The Marine Reptiles; Turtles," in Hilton (2003) p. 114

Basilemys

Osteopygis"Appendix: Summary of the Mesozoic Reptilian Fossils of California," in Hilton (2003) p. 277

= Foraminifera =

colspan="7" align="center" \|Forams reported from the Moreno Formation
class="wikitable" align="center" width="100%"
Genus ! Species ! Location ! Member ! Material ! Notes ! Images
Anomalina \|A. pseudopopillosa \| \|Tierra Loma Shale Member \| \| \|
Bulimina \|B. obtusa \| \|Tierra Loma Shale Member \| \|99% of the foraminifera sampled at the Tierra Loma Shale Member belonged to B. obtusa.{{Cite web \|title=Panoche Hills 5, UCMP V3735 (Cretaceous of the United States) \|url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicCollectionSearch?collection_no=108392 \|website=PBDB.org}} {{Cite journal \|last=Welles \|first=S. P. \|date=1943 \|title=Elasmosaurid plesiosaurs with description of new material from California and Colorado \|url=https://plesiosauria.com/pdf/welles_1943_elasmosaurid_plesiosaurs.pdf \|journal=Memoirs of the University of California \|volume=13}} \|
Dentalina \|D. legumen \| \|Tierra Loma Shale Member \| \| \|
Frondicularia \|F. undulosa \| \|Tierra Loma Shale Member \| \| \|
Gyroidina{{Cite web \|title=PBDB Collection \|url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicCollectionSearch?collection_no=108392 \|access-date=2025-03-06 \|website=paleobiodb.org}} \|G. depressa \| \|Tierra Loma Shale Member \| \| \|
rowspan="4" \|Nodosaria \|N. monile \| rowspan="4" \| \| rowspan="4" \|Tierra Loma Shale Member \| rowspan="4" \| \| rowspan="4" \| \| rowspan="4" \|
N. pomuligera
N. spinifera
N. sp
Nodosarella \|N. sp \| \|Tierra Loma Shale Member \| \| \|

Footnotes

References

Hilton, Richard P. 2003. Dinosaurs and Other Mesozoic Reptiles of California. Berkeley: University of California Press. 318 pp.
Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. 861 pp. {{ISBN|0-520-24209-2}}.

Category:Maastrichtian Stage of North America

Category:Cretaceous California

Moreno Formation

Paleofauna

=Cartilaginous fish=

=Ray-finned fish=

=Dinosaurs=

=Mosasaurs=

=Plesiosaurs=

=Turtles=

= Foraminifera =

See also

Footnotes

References