Earth:Cloverly Formation

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Short description: Geological formation in the United States
Cloverly Formation
Stratigraphic range: Valanginian-Cenomanian
Cloverly Fm.jpg
Brightly colored strata of the Himes Member of the Cloverly Formation near Shell, Wyoming
TypeGeological formation
Sub-unitsPryor Conglomerate, Little Sheep Member, Himes Member
UnderliesThermopolis Shale
OverliesMorrison Formation
Thickness150–400 ft (46–122 m)
Lithology
PrimaryMudstone
OtherConglomerate, sandstone
Location
Region Wyoming,  Montana,

 Colorado,

 Utah
Country USA
Type section
Named forCloverly post office, Wyoming
Named byNelson Horatio Darton, 1904[1]

The Cloverly Formation is a geological formation of Early and Late Cretaceous age (Valanginian to Cenomanian stage) that is present in parts of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah in the western United States. It was named for a post office on the eastern side of the Bighorn Basin in Wyoming by N.H. Darton in 1904.[1][2] The sedimentary rocks of formation were deposited in floodplain environments and contain vertebrate fossils, including a diverse assemblage of dinosaur remains. In 1973, the Cloverly Formation Site was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.[3]

Stratigraphy

The Cloverly Formation rests disconformably on the Morrison Formation and is conformably overlain by the Thermopolis Shale. It is subdivided into a variety of members, depending on the location.[2][4] In the Bighorn Basin along the Montana-Wyoming border, Moberly (1960) divided the Cloverly into the following three members:

  • The Pryor Conglomerate lies at the base and contains abundant black chert. It is named from thick beds exposed on the west side of the Pryor Mountains.
  • The Little Sheep Member lies in the middle and is composed of pale-purple, gray to almost white, bentonitic mudstone.
  • The uppermost unit is the Himes Member, which contains some coarse-grained channel sandstone deposits, but consists primarily of brightly multicolored (variegated) mudstones.

In contrast, Ostrom (1970) divided the formation into four units, which he named Units IV-VII:

  • Unit IV equates to the Pryor Conglomerate of Moberly and consists of a conglomerate or conglomeratic sandstone.
  • Unit V, overlaying Unit IV, consists of a lower grey-to-purple claystone with abundant fist-sized chalcedony and barite concretions; the unit is highly bentonitic and contains occasional channel sands.
  • Unit VI is a discontinuous "salt and pepper" cross-stratified channel sandstone with occasional conglomerate, considered by Moberly to be part of the Himes Member.
  • Unit VII, the uppermost, is a maroon to orange claystone with occasional highly rounded and polished pebbles of silica.[5]

Age

A stratigraphic revision of the Cloverly Formation using new uranium lead dates reinterpret the formation as spanning the Valanginian-Cenomanian stages of the Cretaceous period. The individual ages of the members are listed below:[6]

Depositional environment

The sediments of the Cloverly Formation were deposited in alluvial and floodplain environments. The basal conglomerates probably represent braided river deposits, while the sandstones were deposited in fluvial channels. The mudstones that contain most of the fossils represent overbank, lacustrine, and pedogenic deposits.[2][4][7]

Vertebrate fauna

Animals recovered include the dinosaurs Deinonychus, Microvenator, Tenontosaurus, Zephyrosaurus and Sauropelta as well as fragmentary remains of Titanosaurs, Ankylosaurs and Ornithomimids. As well, two genera of turtle Naomichelys and Glyptops and the lungfish Ceratodus.[8] Dinosaur eggs have been found in Montana.[9]

References for data: Ostrom 1970; Cifelli et al. 1998; Cifelli 1999; Nydam and Cifelli 2002. Possible goniopholidid remains are known from the formation.

Ornithischians

Ornithischians reported from the Cloverly Formation
Genus Species State Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images

Aquilops[10]

A. americanus

  • Montana
 Cloverly VII; Himes Member[10]

A basal neoceratopsian.

Aquilops
Sauropelta
Tenontosaurus
Zephyrosaurus

Sauropelta[11]

S. edwardsorum[11]

Known from "several articulated skeletons" and common armor plates.[11] Only one partial skull is known.[12]

Articulated skeletons are often encased in carbonate caliche deposits that require acid to be removed safely.[11]

Tatankacephalus[13] T. cooneyorum[13] Cloverly VII[13] Partial cranium, rib fragments, and osteoderms.[13] Originally described as an ankylosaurid but has since been reclassified as a nodosaurid.[14]

Tenontosaurus[11]

T. tilleti[11]

Its remains are the most common of any dinosaur of the formation.[11]

Juvenile remains are sometimes found together, suggesting that young Tenontosaurus lived in sibling groups. Deinonychus teeth are sometimes associated with Tenontosaurus remains suggesting a predator–prey relationship between the two.[11]

Zephyrosaurus[11]

Z. schaffi[11]

Himes Member

Its remains are "very rare."[11]

Saurischians

Theropod eggshell fragments are known from the formation. Unidentifiable ornithomimid remains are present and most commonly represented by toe bones.[11] Indeterminate allosauroid remains are known from the formation. Remains identified by John Ostrom as Ornithomimus are suspected by Jack Horner to be of a new ornithomimid genus.[11] Possible remains of a microraptorian, a troodontid, and a basal tyrannosauroid similar to Moros have also been found here as well.

Saurischians reported from the Cloverly Formation
Genus Species State Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Acrocanthosaurus[16] A. atokensis[16] Cloverly VII; Himes Member[16]
Acrocanthosaurus
Deinonychus
Microvenator
Sauroposeidon

Deinonychus[11]

D. antirrhopus[11]

Its remains are "very rare."[11]

Tenontosaurus remains have been recovered in association with Deinonychus teeth on several occasions suggesting a predator–prey relationship between the two.[11]

Microvenator[11]

M. celer[11]

Himes Member

Its remains are "extremely rare."[11] Known only from a "[p]artial skeleton with partial skull."[17] The specimen lacks feet and is catalogued as AMNH 3041.[18]

The type specimen AMNH 3041[11] was recovered by Barnum Brown from Cloverly strata in Montana in 1933.

Ornithomimus[19]

O. velox[19]

Later found to be indeterminate ornithomimid remains.[19]

Rugocaudia[20]

R. cooneyi[20]

Cloverly VII; Himes Member[20]
Sauroposeidon[21] S. proteles Cloverly VII; Himes Member[16]

Mammals

Mammals reported from the Cloverly Formation
Genus Species State Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images

Astroconodon

A. sp.[22]

Previously referred as "Cloverly triconodont"
Gobiconodon

cf. Atokatheridium

Indeterminate

Bryceomys

B. sp.

Corviconodon

C. montanensis

Gobiconodon

G. ostromi

Janumys

J. sp.

Montanalestes

M. keeblerorum

cf. Oklatheridium

Indeterminate

cf. Paracimexomys

Indeterminate

Spalacotheriidae Indeterminate

Crocodyliforms

Crocodyliforms reported from the Cloverly Formation
Genus Species State Stratigraphic position Material Notes

cf. Atoposauridae

Indeterminate

cf. Bernissartidae

Indeterminate

cf. Goniopholididae

Indeterminate|

cf. Pholidosauridae

Indeterminate

Turtles

Turtles reported from the Cloverly Formation
Genus Species State Stratigraphic position Material Notes

Cryptodira

Indeterminate

"Glyptops"[11]

"G". pervicax[11]

Naomichelys[11]

N. speciosa[11]

Testudinata

Indeterminate

Lepidosaurs

Lepidosaurs reported from the Cloverly Formation
Genus Species State Stratigraphic position Material Notes

Paramacellodus

P. keebleri

Paramacellodidae?

Indeterminate

Ptilotodon

P. wilsoni

Also known from the Antlers Formation

Teiidae

Indeterminate

Amphibians

Amphibians reported from the Cloverly Formation
Genus Species State Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images

Albanerpeton

A. ektopistikon[23]

Albanerpeton
Anura

Indeterminate

Batrachosauroididae

Indeterminate

cf. Scapherpetontidae

Indeterminate

cf. Scotiophryne

Indeterminate

Bony fish

Osteichthyes reported from the Cloverly Formation
Genus Species State Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images

Ceratodus[11]

C. frazieri[11]

Ceratodus

C. nirumbee[24]

aff. Lepidotes

Indeterminate

aff. Pycnodontidae

Indeterminate

Vidalamiinae

Indeterminate

Cartilaginous fish

Chondrichthyes reported from the Cloverly Formation
Genus Species State Stratigraphic position Material Notes

Egertonodus

E. sp.

Hybodus

H. parvidens

Lonchidion

L. sp.

Parvodus

P. sp.

Pseudohypolophus

P. sp.

See also

  • List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Darton, N.H. 1904. Comparison of the stratigraphy of the Black Hills, Bighorn Mountains, and Rocky Mountain Front Range. Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 15, p. 379-448.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 U.S. Geological Survey (1993). "Geologic Unit: Cloverly". http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Geolex/UnitRefs/CloverlyRefs_7546.html. Retrieved 2014-12-23. 
  3. ↑ "National Natural Landmarks - National Natural Landmarks (U.S. National Park Service)" (in en). https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nnlandmarks/site.htm?Site=CLFO-MT. "Year designated: 1973" 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Moberly, R.M., Jr., 1960, Morrison, Cloverly, and Sykes Mountain formations, northern Bighorn basin, Wyoming and Montana: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 71, no. 8, p. 1137-1176.
  5. ↑ Ostrom, John H. (1970). Stratigraphy and paleontology of the cloverly formation (Lower Cretaceous) of the Bighorn Basin Area, Wyoming and Montana. Peabody Mus. of Nat. History, Univ. OCLC 258060311. http://worldcat.org/oclc/258060311. 
  6. ↑ D'Emic, Michael D.; Foreman, Brady Z.; Jud, Nathan A.; Britt, Brooks B.; Schmitz, Mark; Crowley, James L. (2019-04-01). "Chronostratigraphic Revision of the Cloverly Formation (Lower Cretaceous, Western Interior, USA)". Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History 60 (1): 3. doi:10.3374/014.060.0101. ISSN 0079-032X. 
  7. ↑ May, M.T. 1992. Intra- and extrabasinal tectonism, climate and intrinsic threshold cycles as possible controls on Early Cretaceous fluvial architecture, Wind River basin, Wyoming. In: Sundell, K.A., and Anderson, T.C., eds., Rediscover the Rockies: Wyoming Geological Association Field Conference Guidebook, 43rd Annual Field Conference, Casper, WY, September 12–19, 1992, no. 43, p. 61-74.
  8. ↑ Oreska, Matthew P. J.; Carrano, Matthew T.; Dzikiewicz, Katherine M. (2013). "Vertebrate paleontology of the Cloverly Formation (Lower Cretaceous), I: faunal composition, biogeographic relationships, and sampling" (in en). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 33 (2): 264–292. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.717567. ISSN 0272-4634. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2012.717567. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "3.11 Montana, United States; 1. Cloverly Formation," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 556.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Farke, Andrew A.; Maxwell, W. Desmond; Cifelli, Richard L.; Wedel, Mathew J. (2014-12-10). "A Ceratopsian Dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Western North America, and the Biogeography of Neoceratopsia" (in en). PLOS ONE 9 (12): e112055. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0112055. ISSN 1932-6203. PMID 25494182. Bibcode: 2014PLoSO...9k2055F. 
  11. ↑ 11.00 11.01 11.02 11.03 11.04 11.05 11.06 11.07 11.08 11.09 11.10 11.11 11.12 11.13 11.14 11.15 11.16 11.17 11.18 11.19 11.20 11.21 11.22 11.23 11.24 11.25 11.26 11.27 11.28 11.29 11.30 11.31 11.32 Horner. Pp. 93-100.
  12. ↑ "Table 17.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 365.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Parsons, William L.; Parsons, Kristen M. (2009). "A new ankylosaur (Dinosauria: Ankylosauria) from the Lower Cretaceous Cloverly Formation of central Montana". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 46 (10): 721–738. doi:10.1139/E09-045. Bibcode: 2009CaJES..46..721S. 
  14. ↑ Richard S. Thompson; Jolyon C. Parish; Susannah C. R. Maidment; Paul M. Barrett (2012). "Phylogeny of the ankylosaurian dinosaurs (Ornithischia: Thyreophora)". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 10 (2): 301–312. doi:10.1080/14772019.2011.569091. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 "3.12 Wyoming, United States; 2. Cloverly Formation," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 556.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 D'Emic, Michael D.; Melstrom, Keegan M.; Eddy, Drew R. (2012). "Paleobiology and geographic range of the large-bodied Cretaceous theropod dinosaur Acrocanthosaurus atokensis". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 333–334: 13–23. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.03.003. Bibcode: 2012PPP...333...13D. 
  17. ↑ "Table 8.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 167.
  18. ↑ "Table 5.1," in Varricchio (2001). Page 44.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 "3.11 Wyoming, United States; 1. Cloverly Formation" and "3.12 Montana, United States; 2. Cloverly Formation," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 556.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 D. Cary Woodruff (2012). "A new titanosauriform from the Early Cretaceous Cloverly Formation of Montana". Cretaceous Research 36: 58–66. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2012.02.003. 
  21. ↑ D'Emic, M.D., and B.Z. Foreman. (2012). The beginning of the sauropod dinosaur hiatus in North America: insights from the Lower Cretaceous Cloverly Formation of Wyoming. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 32(4):883–902.
  22. ↑ Hoffmann, Simone; Kirk, E. Christopher; Rowe, Timothy B.; Cifelli, Richard L. (2023-08-05). "Petrosal morphology of the Early Cretaceous triconodontid Astroconodon from the Cloverly Formation (Montana, USA)" (in en). Journal of Mammalian Evolution. doi:10.1007/s10914-023-09673-5. ISSN 1573-7055. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-023-09673-5. 
  23. ↑ Carrano, Matthew T.; Oreska, Matthew P. J.; Murch, Abree; Trujillo, Kelli C.; Chamberlain, Kevin R. (2021-08-27). "Vertebrate paleontology of the Cloverly Formation (Lower Cretaceous), III: a new species of Albanerpeton, with biogeographic and paleoecological implications". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 41 (5). doi:10.1080/02724634.2021.2003372. ISSN 0272-4634. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2021.2003372. 
  24. ↑ Frederickson J.A. and Cifelli R.L. (2016) New Cretaceous lungfishes (Dipnoi, Ceratodontidae) from western North America. Journal of Paleontology.

References

  • Burton, D., Greenhalgh, B.W., Britt, B.B., Kowallis, B.J., Elliott, W.S., and Barrick, R. 2006. New radiometric ages from the Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah and the Cloverly Formation, Wyoming: implications for contained dinosaur faunas. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 38(7): 52.
  • Chen, Z.-Q. and Lubin, S. 1997. A fission track study of the terrigenous sedimentary sequences of the Morrison and Cloverly Formations in northeastern Bighorn Basin, Wyoming. The Mountain Geologist 34:51-62.
  • Cifelli, R.L. 1999. Tribosphenic mammal from the North American Early Cretaceous. Nature 401:363-366.
  • Cifelli, R.L., Wible, J.R., and Jenkins, F.A. 1998. Triconodont mammals from the Cloverly Formation (Lower Cretaceous), Montana and Wyoming. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 18: 237-241.
  • Horner, John R. Dinosaurs Under the Big Sky (Cloverly Formation). Mountain Press Publishing Company. pp. 93–100. ISBN:0-87842-445-8.
  • Nydam, R.L., and Cifelli, R.L. 2002. Lizards from the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian-Albian) Antlers and Cloverly Formations. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 22: 286-298.
  • Ostrom, J. H. 1970. Stratigraphy and paleontology of the Cloverly Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of the Bighorn Basin area, Wyoming and Montana. Peabody Museum Bulletin 35:1-234
  • Varricchio, D. J. 2001. Late Cretaceous oviraptorosaur (Theropoda) dinosaurs from Montana. pp. 42–57 in D. H. Tanke and K. Carpenter (eds.), Mesozoic Vertebrate Life. Indiana University Press, Indianapolis, Indiana.
  • Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. 861 pp. ISBN:0-520-24209-2.



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