Earth:Oldman Formation

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Oldman Formation
Stratigraphic range: Campanian, 77.5–76.5 Ma
↓
TypeGeological formation
Unit ofBelly River Group
UnderliesDinosaur Park Formation
OverliesForemost Formation
Thicknessup to 328 feet (100 m)[1]
Lithology
PrimarySandstone
OtherMudstone and bentonite
Location
Coordinates [ ⚑ ] : 49°37′41″N 112°53′23″W / 49.62806°N 112.88972°W / 49.62806; -112.88972 (Oldman Formation)
RegionWestern Canada Sedimentary Basin
Country Canada
Type section
Named forOldman River
Named byRussell, L.S. and Landes, R.W.
Year defined1940[2]
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The Oldman Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Late Cretaceous (Campanian stage) age that underlies much of southern Alberta, Canada. It consists primarily of sandstones that were deposited in fluvial channel and floodplain environments. It was named for exposures along the Oldman River between its confluence with the St. Mary River and the city of Lethbridge, and it is known primarily for its dinosaur remains and other fossils.[3]

Lithology

The Oldman Formation is composed primarily of light-colored, fine-grained sandstones. They are upward-fining, lenticular to sheet-like bodies that are yellowish, steep-faced and blocky in outcrop. The formation also includes lesser amounts of siltstone and mudstone.[4]

Depositional environments

Dinosaurs of the Oldman Formation

The sediments of the Oldman Formation were deposited in fluvial channels (the sandstones) and a variety of channel margin, overbank and floodplain environments (the siltstones and mudstones). The formation is about 40 metres (130 ft) thick at Dinosaur Provincial Park in southeastern Alberta. It thickens toward the southwest, and northwestern Montana appears to have been the primary source of the sediments.[4]

Relationship to other units

The Oldman Formation is a member of the Belly River Group (also known as the Judith River Group). It conformably overlies the Foremost Formation, and is separated from the overlying Dinosaur Park Formation by a regional disconformity. The sediments of the Oldman are superficially similar to those of the Dinosaur Park, which was included in the Oldman Formation prior to the recognition of the disconformity. The two formations can also be distinguished by petrographic and sedimentologic differences.[3][4] In Central Montana, The Oldman Formation is equivalent to the upper part of the Mclelland Ferry Member, as well as the Woodhawk and Coal Ridge Members of the Judith River Formation.[5] It is also believed to be equivalent to parts of the Two Medicine Formation in Western Montana.[6]

Age

The Oldman Formation was deposited during the middle Campanian, between about 77.5 and 76.5 million years ago.[7] It lies fully within magnetic polarity Chron 33n.[8]

Fossil content

List of dinosaurs found in the formation:[7][9]

Template:Paleobiota-key-compact

Theropods

Theropods of the Oldman Formation
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Daspletosaurus D. torosus Lower Several specimens with a complete skeleton A tyrannosaurid
D. wilsoni[10] Upper Two skulls with associated postcrania A tyrannosaurid
Dromaeosaurus Indeterminate Teeth A dromaeosaurid
cf. Hesperonychus[11] Indeterminate Foot claw A dromaeosaurid or an avialan[12]
Paronychodon Indeterminate Teeth A troodontid
Prismatoolithus[13] P. levis Partial clutch containing 12 eggs
Richardoestesia R. isosceles Misreported
Indeterminate Teeth A dromaeosaurid
Saurornitholestes S. langstoni Partial remains A dromaeosaurid
Troodon Dubious Teeth, eggs, embryos A dubious taxon of troodontid, most specimens formerly considered Troodon have been reassigned to other genera such as Stenonychosaurus
Struthiomimus S. altus Several specimens, including a nearly complete skeleton[14] An ornithomimid

Ornithischians

Ornithischians of the Oldman Formation
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Albertaceratops A. nesmoi Lower Single skull A ceratopsid
Albertadromeus[15] A. syntarsus Upper A thescelosaurid
Anchiceratops Indeterminate A ceratopsid
Brachylophosaurus B. canadensis Upper Skull and partial skeleton A hadrosaurid
Brontotholus B. sp.[16] Skull dome A pachycephalosaurid, also found in the Two Medicine Formation frameless
Chasmosaurus C. brevirostris Junior synonym of C. russelli
C. russelli Upper A ceratopsid, also found in the Dinosaur Park Formation
Coronosaurus C. brinkmani Upper A ceratopsid
Corythosaurus C. casuarius Upper A hadrosaurid, also found in the Dinosaur Park Formation
Foraminacephale F. brevis Also known from the Dinosaur Park Formation[17] A pachycephalosaurid, once thought to be a species of Stegoceras 200px
Gremlin[18] G. slobodorum Lower A right frontal A leptoceratopsid
Hanssuesia H. sternbergi Upper, also present in the Dinosaur Park Formation and Judith River Formation skull dome A pachycephalosaurid, potentially synonymous with Stegoceras validum[19]
Maiasaura M. peeblesorum Upper A hadrosaurid, also known from the Two Medicine Formation.[20]
Parasaurolophus P. walkeri Upper A hadrosaurid, also found in the Dinosaur Park Formation
Scolosaurus S. cutleri Upper An ankylosaurid, may actually be from the Dinosaur Park Formation
Wendiceratops W. pinhornensis Lower Partial Skeleton And Partial Skull A centrosaurine
An unnamed orodromine Unnamed Upper An orodromine distinct from Albertadromeus. Closer to Oryctodromeus than to Albertadromeus, Orodromeus, and Zephyrosaurus.[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lexicon of Canadian Geological Units. "Oldman Formation". http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:011229. 
  2. ↑ Russell, L.S. and Landes, R.W., 1940. Geology of the southern Alberta Plains; Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir 221.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Eberth, D.A. and Hamblin A.P. 1993. Tectonic, stratigraphic, and sedimentologic significance of a regional discontinuity in the upper Judith River Group (Belly River wedge) of southern Alberta, Saskatchewan, and northern Montana. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 30: 174-200.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Eberth, D.A. 2005. The geology. In: Currie, P.J., and Koppelhus, E.B. (eds), Dinosaur Provincial Park: A Spectacular Ancient Ecosystem Revealed. Indiana University Press: Bloomington and Indianapolis, p. 54-82. ISBN 0-253-34595-2.
  5. ↑ Chinzorig, Tsogtbaatar; Takasaki, Ryuji; Chiba, Kentaro; Fiorillo, Anthony R.; Kobayashi, Yoshitsugu; Saneyoshi, Mototaka; Ishigaki, Shinobu (2025-09-10). "A potential deinocheirid ornithomimosaur from the Judith River Formation (Upper Cretaceous: Montana, U.S.A.) and its paleobiogeographic implications" (in en). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology e2536844: (13 pages). doi:10.1080/02724634.2025.2536844. 
  6. ↑ Fowler, Elizabeth A. Freedman; Horner, John R.. "A New Brachylophosaurin Hadrosaur (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) with an Intermediate Nasal Crest from the Campanian Judith River Formation of Northcentral Montana" (in en). PLOS One 10 (11). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0141304. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Arbour, V.M.; Burns, M. E.; Sissons, R. L. (2009). "A redescription of the ankylosaurid dinosaur Dyoplosaurus acutosquameus Parks, 1924 (Ornithischia: Ankylosauria) and a revision of the genus". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 29 (4): 1117–1135. doi:10.1671/039.029.0405. Bibcode: 2009JVPal..29.1117A. 
  8. ↑ Lerbekmo, J.F. 1989. The position of the 33-33r (Campanian) polarity chron boundary in southeastern Alberta. Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology 37: 43-47.
  9. ↑ Weishampel, D.B., Barrett, P.M., Coria, R.A., Le Loueff, J., Xu X., Zhao X., Sahni, A., Gomani, E.M.P., & Noto, C.N. 2004. Dinosaur distribution. In: Weishampel, D.B., Dodson, P., & Osmólska, H. (Eds.). The Dinosauria (2nd Edition). Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 517-606.
  10. ↑ Warshaw, Elías A.; Guevara, Daniela Barrera; Fowler, Denver W. (2024-11-01). "Anagenesis and the tyrant pedigree: A response to "Re-analysis of a dataset refutes claims of anagenesis within Tyrannosaurus-line tyrannosaurines (Theropoda, Tyrannosauridae)"". Cretaceous Research 163. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105957. ISSN 0195-6671. 
  11. ↑ Longrich, N.R.; Currie, P.J. (2009). "A microraptorine (Dinosauria–Dromaeosauridae) from the Late Cretaceous of North America". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106 (13): 5002–5007. doi:10.1073/pnas.0811664106. PMID 19289829. Bibcode: 2009PNAS..106.5002L. 
  12. ↑ Hartman, Scott; Mortimer, Mickey; Wahl, William R.; Lomax, Dean R.; Lippincott, Jessica; Lovelace, David M. (2019-07-10). "A new paravian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of North America supports a late acquisition of avian flight" (in en). PeerJ 7. doi:10.7717/peerj.7247. ISSN 2167-8359. PMID 31333906. 
  13. ↑ Zelenitsky, Darla K.; Hills, L.V. (1996). "An egg clutch of Prismatoolithus levis oosp. nov. from the Oldman Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Devil's Coulee, southern Alberta". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 33 (8): 1127–1131. doi:10.1139/e96-085. Bibcode: 1996CaJES..33.1127Z. 
  14. ↑ Claessens, L.; Loewen, Mark A. (2015). "A redescription of Ornithomimus velox Marsh, 1890 (Dinosauria, Theropoda)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 36. doi:10.1080/02724634.2015.1034593. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Brown, C. M.; Evans, D. C.; Ryan, M. J.; Russell, A. P. (2013). "New data on the diversity and abundance of small-bodied ornithopods (Dinosauria, Ornithischia) from the Belly River Group (Campanian) of Alberta". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 33 (3): 495. doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.746229. Bibcode: 2013JVPal..33..495B. 
  16. ↑ Woodruff, D Cary; Horner, John R; Goodwin, Mark B; Evans, David C (2025-10-01). "The first pachycephalosaurid from the Late Cretaceous Two Medicine Formation: effects of the Western Interior Seaway on North American pachycephalosaurid evolution" (in en). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 205 (2). doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf087. ISSN 0024-4082. https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/doi/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf087/8279680. 
  17. ↑ Sullivan, R.M. (2006). "A taxonomic review of the Pachycephalosauridae (Dinosauria: Ornithischia)". in Lucas, S.G.; Sullivan, R.M.. Late Cretaceous vertebrates from the Western Interior. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 35. pp. 347–365. http://www.robertmsullivanphd.com/uploads/130_Sullivan__2006__-Pachycephalosauridae.pdf. 
  18. ↑ Ryan, M.J.; Micucci, L.; Rizo, H.; Sullivan, C.; Lee, Y.-N.; Evans, D.C. (2023). "A New Late Cretaceous leptoceratopsid (Dinosauria: Ceratopsia) from the Oldman Formation (Campanian) of Alberta, Canada". Windows into Sauropsid and Synapsid Evolution: Essays in Honor of Prof. Louis L. Jacobs. Seoul: Dinosaur Science Center Press. pp. 151–165. ISBN 978-89-5708-358-1. 
  19. ↑ Dyer, Aaron D.; Powers, Mark J.; Currie, Philip J. (2023). "Problematic putative pachycephalosaurids: Synchrotron µCT imaging shines new light on the anatomy and taxonomic validity of Gravitholus albertae from the Belly River Group (Campanian) of Alberta, Canada" (in en). Vertebrate Anatomy Morphology Palaeontology 10 (1): 65–110. doi:10.18435/vamp29388. ISSN 2292-1389. https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/vamp/index.php/VAMP/article/view/29388. 
  20. ↑ McFeeters, Bradley D.; Evans, David C.; Ryan, Michael J.; Maddin, Hillary C. (22 December 2020). "First occurrence of Maiasaura (Dinosauria, Hadrosauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous Oldman Formation of southern Alberta, Canada". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 58 (3): 286–296. doi:10.1139/cjes-2019-0207. https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjes-2019-0207. 

Bibliography

  • D.A. Eberth. 1996. Origin and significance of mud-filled incised valleys (Upper Cretaceous) in southern Alberta, Canada. Sedimentology 43:459–477
  • Ryan, M. J., and Russell, A. P., 2001. Dinosaurs of Alberta (exclusive of Aves): In: Mesozoic Vertebrate Life, edited by Tanke, D. H., and Carpenter, K., Indiana University Press, pp. 279–297

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