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Map of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM), southern Utah (A), and generalized stratigraphic section of the upper Campanian Kaiprowits Formation (B). The approximate stratigraphic position of Akainacephalus johnsoni is located near the base of the middle unit within the Kaiparowits Formation. The map highlights the GSENM boundary (dashed line), showing the geological distribution and outcrops of the Cretaceous Kaiparowits, Wahweap, and Straight Cliffs formations. The red star indicates the Horse Mountain area, from which Akainacephalus johnsoni was recorded. Map and stratigraphic column modified from Roberts (2005). Radioisotopic dates used from Roberts, Deino & Chan (2005) and Roberts et al. (2013), respectively.
Formations Kaiparowits

Map of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM), southern Utah (A), and generalized stratigraphic section of the upper Campanian Kaiprowits Formation (B). The approximate stratigraphic position of Akainacephalus johnsoni is located near the base of the middle unit within the Kaiparowits Formation. The map highlights the GSENM boundary (dashed line), showing the geological distribution and outcrops of the Cretaceous Kaiparowits, Wahweap, and Straight Cliffs formations. The red star indicates the Horse Mountain area, from which Akainacephalus johnsoni was recorded. Map and stratigraphic column modified from Roberts (2005). Radioisotopic dates used from Roberts, Deino & Chan (2005) and Roberts et al. (2013), respectively.

Kaiparowits Campanian Cretaceous Akainacephalus +1
Psittacosaurus skeletal mount (Early Cretaceous, Jiufotang Formation) and unidentified Late Cretaceous dinosaur egg from Xixia, Hennan, on display in the Li Siguang Memorial Museum in Huangzhou.
Formations Jiufotang

Psittacosaurus skeletal mount (Early Cretaceous, Jiufotang Formation) and unidentified Late Cretaceous dinosaur egg from Xixia, Hennan, on display in the Li Siguang Memorial Museum in Huangzhou.

museum Jiufotang Cretaceous Early Cretaceous +4
Shestakovsky Yar (paleontological site Shestakovo-1, Ilek Formation).

Shestakovsky Yar (paleontological site Shestakovo-1, Ilek Formation).

Ilek formation
Paleontological locality Shestakovo 3 (Ilek Formation, Lower Cretaceous), July 2022.
Formations Ilek

Paleontological locality Shestakovo 3 (Ilek Formation, Lower Cretaceous), July 2022.

Ilek Cretaceous formation
(A) Present day map of Australia with the town of Lightning Ridge indicated by the star. (B) Regional map of the Lightning Ridge region showing localities (where known) for specimens described in this text. Sealed (solid black lines) and unsealed roads (dashed lines) are indicated. The ephemeral Coocoran Lake is marked with a dotted blue line. (C) Correlative stratigraphy of the major Cretaceous depositional basins and geological units discussed in this study. The ornithopod icon and arrow indicate the approximate level of the Griman Creek Formation from which the current material pertains. Informal units are in quotation marks. Maps in (A) and (B) redrawn and modified from Bell et al. (2016) and Opal Fields—Lightning Ridge Region map produced by the NSW Department of Mineral Resources, respectively. Stratigraphy based on Toslini, McLoughlin & Drinnan (1999) and Cook, Bryan & Draper (2013). Ornithopod silhouette created by Caleb M. Brown and used under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.

(A) Present day map of Australia with the town of Lightning Ridge indicated by the star. (B) Regional map of the Lightning Ridge region showing localities (where known) for specimens described in this text. Sealed (solid black lines) and unsealed roads (dashed lines) are indicated. The ephemeral Coocoran Lake is marked with a dotted blue line. (C) Correlative stratigraphy of the major Cretaceous depositional basins and geological units discussed in this study. The ornithopod icon and arrow indicate the approximate level of the Griman Creek Formation from which the current material pertains. Informal units are in quotation marks. Maps in (A) and (B) redrawn and modified from Bell et al. (2016) and Opal Fields—Lightning Ridge Region map produced by the NSW Department of Mineral Resources, respectively. Stratigraphy based on Toslini, McLoughlin & Drinnan (1999) and Cook, Bryan & Draper (2013). Ornithopod silhouette created by Caleb M. Brown and used under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.

Australia Griman Creek Cretaceous specimen +3
View north across Frenchman River of Upper Cretaceous and Paleocene age strata of the Bearpaw, Whitemud, Battle, Frenchman, and Ravenscrag Formations in the Cypress Hills of southern Saskatchewan. Foreground strata on other side of (tree lined) creek represent a slumped section. Note the bright white zone is the Whitemud Formation. View includes type area of Frenchman and Ravenscrag Formations.

View north across Frenchman River of Upper Cretaceous and Paleocene age strata of the Bearpaw, Whitemud, Battle, Frenchman, and Ravenscrag Formations in the Cypress Hills of southern Saskatchewan. Foreground strata on other side of (tree lined) creek represent a slumped section. Note the bright white zone is the Whitemud Formation. View includes type area of Frenchman and Ravenscrag Formations.

Frenchman Cretaceous Paleocene formation
View northeast across Frenchman River of Upper Cretaceous and Paleocene age strata of the Bearpaw, Whitemud, Battle, Frenchman, and Ravenscrag Formations in the Cypress Hills of southern Saskatchewan. Foreground strata on other side of (tree lined) creek represent a slumped section. Note the bright white zone is the Whitemud Formation. View includes type area of Frenchman and Ravenscrag Formations.

View northeast across Frenchman River of Upper Cretaceous and Paleocene age strata of the Bearpaw, Whitemud, Battle, Frenchman, and Ravenscrag Formations in the Cypress Hills of southern Saskatchewan. Foreground strata on other side of (tree lined) creek represent a slumped section. Note the bright white zone is the Whitemud Formation. View includes type area of Frenchman and Ravenscrag Formations.

Frenchman Cretaceous Paleocene formation
Dryolestidan mammal Crusafontia amoae sp. nov., MPZ CC2−1 M4 or M5, holotype, from the site of Cuesta Corrales 2, Colladico Blanco level, El Castellar Formation, Galve, Teruel, Spain in, occlusal (A), mesial (B), labial (C), distal (D), and lingual (E) views. The schematic drawing of C. amoae, in the box in the lower left−hand corner shows the main anatomical elements of the occlusal surface of a dryolestidan.
Formations El Castellar

Dryolestidan mammal Crusafontia amoae sp. nov., MPZ CC2−1 M4 or M5, holotype, from the site of Cuesta Corrales 2, Colladico Blanco level, El Castellar Formation, Galve, Teruel, Spain in, occlusal (A), mesial (B), labial (C), distal (D), and lingual (E) views. The schematic drawing of C. amoae, in the box in the lower left−hand corner shows the main anatomical elements of the occlusal surface of a dryolestidan.

drawing Spain El Castellar holotype +1
The type specimen of the ichnogenus Cheliceratichnus, from the Early Jurassic East Berlin Formation of Holyoke, Massachusetts.

The type specimen of the ichnogenus Cheliceratichnus, from the Early Jurassic East Berlin Formation of Holyoke, Massachusetts.

East Berlin Early Jurassic Jurassic specimen +1
Bifurculapes laqueatus trackway (positive hyporelief, i.e. casts on the bottom surface of the bed) from the Early Jurassic East Berlin Formation (Hartford Basin) of Holyoke, Massachusetts (not the same specimen as this one). See coin (1 U.S. cent, 19.05 mm in diameter) for scale.

Bifurculapes laqueatus trackway (positive hyporelief, i.e. casts on the bottom surface of the bed) from the Early Jurassic East Berlin Formation (Hartford Basin) of Holyoke, Massachusetts (not the same specimen as this one). See coin (1 U.S. cent, 19.05 mm in diameter) for scale.

scale East Berlin Early Jurassic Jurassic +3
Bifurculapes laqueatus trackway (positive hyporelief, i.e. casts on the bottom surface of the bed) from the Early Jurassic East Berlin Formation (Hartford Basin) of Holyoke, Massachusetts (not the same specimen as this one). See coin (1 U.S. cent, 19.05 mm in diameter) for scale.

Bifurculapes laqueatus trackway (positive hyporelief, i.e. casts on the bottom surface of the bed) from the Early Jurassic East Berlin Formation (Hartford Basin) of Holyoke, Massachusetts (not the same specimen as this one). See coin (1 U.S. cent, 19.05 mm in diameter) for scale.

scale East Berlin Early Jurassic Jurassic +3
A trackway of the trace fossil Bifurculapes laqueatus (positive hyporelief, i.e. casts on the bottom surface of the bed) from the Early Jurassic East Berlin Formation (Hartford Basin) of Holyoke, Massachusetts (not the same specimen as this one). Scale is in cm.
Formations East Berlin

A trackway of the trace fossil Bifurculapes laqueatus (positive hyporelief, i.e. casts on the bottom surface of the bed) from the Early Jurassic East Berlin Formation (Hartford Basin) of Holyoke, Massachusetts (not the same specimen as this one). Scale is in cm.

scale East Berlin Early Jurassic Jurassic +4
Geological context of the Lower Cretaceous deposits of southeast England, focussing on the Purbeck Group and Wealden Supergroup.

(A) Schematic geology of the Lower Cretaceous deposits of the Weald Sub-basin (southeast England), highlighting published spinosaurid finds (Charig & Milner, 1997; Salisbury & Naish, 2011; Turmine-Juhel et al., 2019). Based on Austen & Batten (2018: Fig. 2). Note that various additional spinosaurid teeth are known from the region but remain undescribed in detail (Fowler, 2007). (B) Simplified stratigraphic column of the Weald Group in southeast England, based on Batten & Austen (2011: Fig. 3.2). Note that the Grinstead Clay Formation, which subdivides the Tunbridge Wells Sands Formation in Batten & Austen (2011) and from which the “Suchosaurus cultridens” type specimen was discovered (Salisbury & Naish, 2011), is downgraded to a member of the latter formation in other works (Hopson, Wilkinson & Woods, 2008) and has not been included in this column. Spinosaurid silhouette courtesy of Dan Folkes (CC-BY 4.0).
Formations Durlston

Geological context of the Lower Cretaceous deposits of southeast England, focussing on the Purbeck Group and Wealden Supergroup. (A) Schematic geology of the Lower Cretaceous deposits of the Weald Sub-basin (southeast England), highlighting published spinosaurid finds (Charig & Milner, 1997; Salisbury & Naish, 2011; Turmine-Juhel et al., 2019). Based on Austen & Batten (2018: Fig. 2). Note that various additional spinosaurid teeth are known from the region but remain undescribed in detail (Fowler, 2007). (B) Simplified stratigraphic column of the Weald Group in southeast England, based on Batten & Austen (2011: Fig. 3.2). Note that the Grinstead Clay Formation, which subdivides the Tunbridge Wells Sands Formation in Batten & Austen (2011) and from which the “Suchosaurus cultridens” type specimen was discovered (Salisbury & Naish, 2011), is downgraded to a member of the latter formation in other works (Hopson, Wilkinson & Woods, 2008) and has not been included in this column. Spinosaurid silhouette courtesy of Dan Folkes (CC-BY 4.0).

Cretaceous specimen Spinosauridae Suchosaurus +2
Type section of the Cedar Mountain Formation, western side of Cedar Mountain, Emery County, Utah.

Type section of the Cedar Mountain Formation, western side of Cedar Mountain, Emery County, Utah.

Cedar Mountain formation
Morrison Formation (lower half), Jurassic-Cretacous boundary (K1 Unconformity) at red and orange paleosol, Cedar Mountain Formation (drab gray), and capping Naturita Formation. West of Dinosaur National Monument.

Morrison Formation (lower half), Jurassic-Cretacous boundary (K1 Unconformity) at red and orange paleosol, Cedar Mountain Formation (drab gray), and capping Naturita Formation. West of Dinosaur National Monument.

Cedar Mountain Morrison Jurassic Dinosauria +1
Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation (multi-colored) unconformably overlain by the Yellow Cat Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation (drab color), Jessie's Twist, Emery County, Utah

Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation (multi-colored) unconformably overlain by the Yellow Cat Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation (drab color), Jessie's Twist, Emery County, Utah

Cedar Mountain Morrison formation
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News

Remarkable Eoceras shaanxiense Fossils Rewrite Cephalopod Evolution
China Cambrian Stage 3 fossil evolution formation
Researchers have identified tiny fossils from the Shuijingtuo Formation (Cambrian Stage 3) of South China that could transform our understanding of cephalopod evolution. The newly described species, Eoceras shaanxiense, provides the oldest known evidence of a primordial siphuncle, a crucial anatomical feature that enabled cephalopods to regulate buoyancy and eventually become some of the oceans'
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Queensland Ichthyosaur Fossil Provides World-first Evidence of Predation on a Pterosaur
predator prey Australia Toolebuc Cretaceous Early Cretaceous fossil Ichthyosauria Pterosauria formation
An extraordinary fossil from Queensland, Australia has provided evidence of a prehistoric food chain. Scientists have identified the first definitive evidence that an ichthyosaur consumed a pterosaur. Furthermore, the marine reptile later became prey for one of the largest predators in the ancient Eromanga Sea. The spectacular fossil comes from the Lower Cretaceous Toolebuc Formation
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Flowering Plants Were Already Thriving before Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid Hit
Flowering Plants Were Already Thriving before Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid Hit
Mexico Cretaceous fossil Dinosauria extinction formation
Fossils from the Jose Creek Formation in New Mexico reveal that angiosperms (flowering plants) had built dense, fruit-bearing forests nearly 75 million years ago -- nearly 9 million years before the end-Cretaceous mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs -- challenging a long-held evolutionary narrative about how they came to dominate the planet. The post Flowering Plants Were Already Thriving before Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid Hit appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.
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Tracking Down an Elusive Allosaurus Species
bone Tanzania Tendaguru fossil Allosauria formation
Allosaurus has become a bit of a taxonomic waste basket.  This term relates to fossil material from theropods being assigned to the genus.  However, some of the evidence for assigning the material is tentative.  For example, theropod bones from southeastern Tanzania (Tendaguru Formation) had been assigned to an allosaur species named Allosaurus tendagurensis.  In 1925,
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A New Unenlagiid Dinosaur from Patagonia (Argentina)
Argentina Japan Cretaceous Late Cretaceous fossil Dinosauria Kank Unenlagiidae discovery formation new species
A team of scientists from Argentina and Japan has described a new species of unenlagiid dinosaur from southern Patagonia. Named Kank australis, this small, theropod dinosaur lived around 70 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous. The fossil remains were discovered in the Chorrillo Formation of Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. The discovery helps palaeontologists better
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