Ken's Site (Cretaceous of the United States)

Also known as UCM Loc. 77062; DMNH loc. 3426; UWBM loc. C1099

Where: Weld County, Colorado (40.4° N, 104.5° W: paleocoordinates 46.9° N, 80.4° W)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• small collection-level geographic resolution

When: Laramie Formation, Lancian (70.6 - 66.0 Ma)

• group of beds-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: "floodplain"; gray mudstone and yellow sandstone

• "channel and overbank deposits" (Carpenter 1979)

•"an off-channel and overbank depositional environment" (Wilson et al. 2010)

• "dark silty shales and clays of overbank deposits overlain by a yellow cross-bedded, lenticular sandstone" (Carpenter 1979)

•"upper very fine to lower fine sandstone beds alternating with grey mudstone and siltstone beds with ripple marks" with "abundant iron oxide concretions and weathered layers, especially near the top of the section, which is about 5 m high"; "most fossils... are found at the base of the exposures in a dark grey mudstone layer" (Wilson et al. 2010)

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Collected by K. Carpenter in 1977; reposited in the DMNH, UCM

Collection methods: bulk, chemical, sieve,

• "laboratory washing and screening" with matrix "soaked overnight in hydrogen peroxide"; "~300 kg" were screened by Carpenter in 1977 according to Wilson et al. 2010

Primary reference: K. Carpenter. 1979. Vertebrate fauna of the Laramie Formation (Maestrichtian), Weld County, Colorado. Contributions to Geology, University of Wyoming 17(1):37-49 [J. Alroy/M. Sommers]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 14640: authorized by John Alroy, entered by John Alroy on 27.09.1993, edited by Matthew Carrano, Roger Benson and Patricia Holroyd

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Chondrichthyes
 Hybodontiformes - Lonchidiidae
Lonchidion selachos Estes 1964 elasmobranch
 Rajiformes - Rhinobatidae
Myledaphus bipartitus Cope 1876 guitarfish
 Rajiformes - Sclerorhynchidae
 Orectolobiformes - Orectolobidae
"Squatirhina americana" = Restesia americana
"Squatirhina americana" = Restesia americana Estes 1964 wobbegong
Amphibia
 Caudata -
Caudata indet. salamander
 Proteida - Batrachosauroididae
Opisthotriton kayi Auffenberg 1961 salamander
 Caudata - Urodela
Scapherpeton tectum Cope 1876 salamander
Lisserpeton bairdi Estes 1965 salamander
 Temnospondyli - Albanerpetontidae
Albanerpeton nexuosus2 Estes 1981 tetrapod
UCM 38713, 38714
Mammalia
  -
Mammalia indet. Linnaeus 1758 mammal
 Allotheria -
Multituberculata indet. Cope 1884 multituberculate
 Multituberculata - Cimolomyidae
Meniscoessus sp. Cope 1882 multituberculate
Cimolomys sp. Marsh 1889 multituberculate
 Multituberculata - Cimolodontidae
cf. Cimolodon sp.5 Marsh 1889 multituberculate
UWBM specimen
 Theriamorpha - Gypsonictopidae
Gypsonictops sp. Simpson 1927 eutherian
Reptilia
 Testudinata -
Compsemys victa Leidy 1856 turtle
 Testudinata - Baenidae
Baenidae indet.3 Cope 1882 turtle
 Testudines -
Testudines indet. Batsch 1788 turtle
 Testudines - Adocidae
Adocus sp. Cope 1868 turtle
Adocus sp.3 Cope 1868 turtle
 Testudines - Trionychidae
Trionychidae indet.3 Gray 1825 softshell turtle
Trionychidae indet.1 Gray 1825 softshell turtle
subgenus Adocus
Trionychinae indet.3 Gray 1825 softshell turtle
 Squamata - Anguidae
Odaxosaurus piger Gilmore 1928 squamates
 Squamata - Chamopsiidae
Chamopsiidae "Laramie chamopsiid"4 Denton and O'Neill 1995 squamates
UCM 42164: an unnamed chamopsiid from Colorado (Fig. 1C), characterized by enlarged back teeth
 Crocodylia - Crocodylidae
 Crocodylia - Alligatoridae
Brachychampsa montana Gilmore 1911 crocodilian
 Loricata -
"Leidyosuchus sternbergi" = Borealosuchus sternbergii
"Leidyosuchus sternbergi" = Borealosuchus sternbergii Gilmore 1910 crocodilian
 Ornithischia -
Ornithischia indet. ornithischian
 Ornithischia - Ceratopsidae
Triceratops sp. Marsh 1889 ceratopsid
 Ornithischia -
Thescelosaurus sp. Gilmore 1913 ornithopod
 Theropoda - Dromaeosauridae
Dromaeosauridae indet. Colbert and Russell 1969 maniraptoran
 Theropoda - Tyrannosauridae
cf. Tyrannosaurus rex Osborn 1905 tyrant lizard king
 Sauria -
 Choristodera -
Champsosaurus sp. Cope 1876 choristodere
Actinopteri
 Lepisosteiformes - Lepisosteidae
"? Atractosteus occidentalis" = Lepisosteus occidentalis
"? Atractosteus occidentalis" = Lepisosteus occidentalis Leidy 1856 gar
 Amiiformes - Amiidae
Amia sp. Linnaeus 1766 bowfin
 Teleostei -