Dry Mesa Quarry [BYU] (Jurassic to of the United States)

Also known as CO-58, DMDQ, DMQ

Where: Montrose County, Colorado (38.6° N, 108.4° W: paleocoordinates 34.7° N, 55.4° W)

• coordinate stated in text

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: Brushy Basin Member (Morrison Formation), Late/Upper Kimmeridgian to Late/Upper Kimmeridgian (155.7 - 145.0 Ma)

• upper part of Morrison, near base of member; 30-45 m below base of overlying Cedar Mountain Fm.

•The base of the quarry is about 1 metre above the "clay change". "Sediments near the clay change were dated at 150.3 +/- 0.26 Ma based on Ar40/Ar39 data from plagioclase crystals. Therefore the quarry must be younger than that, close to 150.2 +/- 0.5 Ma. More recent U-Pb dates from this part of the Morrison resulted in 151.2 +/- 1.2 Ma" (Smith et al. 2010. JVP 30:1466). These radiometric dates bracket the Kimmeridgian/Tithonian boundary, and so a late Kimmeridgian-early Tithonian age is entered.

• bed-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: "channel"; medium-grained, coarse, conglomeratic sandstone

• "a shallow but wide braided stream"
• "a fine to coarse grained lenticular sandstone"

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Collected by E. Jones, V. Jones, J. Jensen in 1971–1990

Collection methods: quarrying, surface (float), surface (in situ), mechanical,

• discovered summer, 1971 by Eddie & Vivian Jones

Primary reference: Anonymous. 1973. The Great Dinosaur DIscovery. 1-8 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Uhen]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 45975: authorized by Matthew Carrano, entered by Matthew Carrano on 16.12.2004, edited by Richard Butler, Roger Benson and Jonathan Tennant

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Amphibia
  -
? Amphibia indet.10 Linnaeus 1758 tetrapod
BYU 9513, vertebral centrum
Reptilia
 Archosauria -
Archosauria indet.10 archosaur
BYU 9514-9516
 Ornithischia -
Ankylosauria indet.11 ankylosaur
 Ornithischia - Stegosauridae
Stegosaurus sp.2 Marsh 1877 ornithischian
 Ornithischia -
? Othnielia sp.2 Galton 1977 ornithopod
Camptosaurus sp.2 Marsh 1885 ornithopod
MNI = 1
 Ornithischia - Dryosauridae
Dryosaurus altus6 Marsh 1878 ornithopod
MOR-90-03-Jr-H; BYU 13050, 725/13252, 883
 Theropoda -
Ceratosaurus sp.12 Marsh 1884 ceratosaur
 Theropoda - Compsognathidae
? Ornitholestes sp.2 Osborn 1903 compsognathid
 Theropoda -
Maniraptora indet.10 Gauthier 1986 maniraptoran
BYU 2023, right femur
 Theropoda - Dromaeosauridae
? Dromaeosauridae indet.2 Colbert and Russell 1969 maniraptoran
 Theropoda -
Palaeopteryx thomsoni n. gen. n. sp.7 maniraptoran
BYU 2022 (holotype), identified as proximal left tibiotarsus
Stokesosaurus sp.12 Madsen 1974 coelurosaur
cf. Coelurus sp.12 Marsh 1879 coelurosaur
Allosaurus jimmadseni3 Chure et al. 2006 allosauroid
MNI = 4
 Avetheropoda -
Carnosauria indet.10 carnosaur
 Theropoda - Piatnitzkysauridae
Marshosaurus sp.12 Madsen 1976 tetanuran theropod
 Theropoda - Megalosauridae
Torvosaurus tanneri n. gen. n. sp.5
Torvosaurus tanneri n. gen. n. sp.5 Galton and Jensen 1979 tetanuran theropod
67 specimens
 Saurischia - Camarasauridae
Camarasaurus sp.2 Cope 1877 camarasaurid
BYU VP 8967, 13007, 16953, 17465, 12852, 12853, 13286, 17352
 Saurischia - Brachiosauridae
Brachiosaurus sp.4 Riggs 1903 brachiosaurid
rt. scapulocoracoid (BYU 9462), sacral complex with three articulated caudal vertebrae (BYU 11434)
 Saurischia -
Haplocanthosaurus sp.4 Hatcher 1903 sauropod
BYU 9194, 11506, 17530, 17531, 17689, 12865
 Saurischia - Diplodocidae
Apatosaurus sp.2, "Supersaurus vivianae n. gen. n. sp." = Supersaurus vivianae9, "Dystylosaurus edwini n. gen. n. sp." = Supersaurus vivianae9, "Ultrasaurus macintoshi n. gen. n. sp." = Supersaurus vivianae9, Diplodocus sp.2, Barosaurus sp.2
Apatosaurus sp.2 Marsh 1877 diplodocid
BYU 5065, 11420
"Supersaurus vivianae n. gen. n. sp." = Supersaurus vivianae9 Jensen 1985 diplodocine
"Dystylosaurus edwini n. gen. n. sp." = Supersaurus vivianae9 Jensen 1985 diplodocine
BYU 5750
"Ultrasaurus macintoshi n. gen. n. sp." = Supersaurus vivianae9 Jensen 1985 diplodocine
BYU 5000 (type) plus BYU 5001, 5002, and 5003
Diplodocus sp.2 Marsh 1878 diplodocine
BYU 12155, 12604
Barosaurus sp.2 Marsh 1890 diplodocine
BYU 11617
 Pterosauria -
? Pterodactyloidea indet.10 Plieninger 1901 pterosaur
BYU 9509, 9510, femora
? Dsungaripteroidea indet.15 pterosaur
BYU 2500, first left wing-phalanx
Mesadactylus ornithosphyos n. gen. n. sp.10 Jensen and Padian 1989 pterosaur
BYU 2024, synsacrum. BYU 2025, left femur
 Loricata - Goniopholididae
Eutretauranosuchus delfsi14 Mook 1967 crocodilian
BYU 17628, complete skull and mandibles
 Crocodylia - Crocodylidae
 Eosuchia -
 Testudinata - Pleurosternidae
Glyptops sp.2 Marsh 1890 turtle
Dinochelys whitei1 Gaffney 1979 turtle
BYU 13099, skeleton exposed in dorsal and ventral views
Mammalia
  -
Mammalia indet.13 Linnaeus 1758 mammal
BYU 2026, distal end of a right humerus
 Allotheria -
Multituberculata indet.8 Cope 1884 multituberculate
 Prototheria -
Prototheria indet.2 Gill 1872 mammal
Osteichthyes
 Dipnoi - Ceratodontidae
Ceratodus sp.2 Agassiz 1838 lungfish
 Palaeonisciformes - Palaeoniscidae