OMNH V239, Mussentuchit: Early Cenomanian, Utah

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Reptilia - Spheroolithidae
Hedge et al. 2025 1 specimen
ONNH 28280
Reptilia - Elongatoolithidae
Zelenitsky et al. 2000 1500 specimens
TMP 98.107.4, 98.107.15, 98.107.18, 98.107.22
Reptilia
Nydam 2002
Reptilia - Polyglyphanodontidae
Cifelli et al. 1999 1 specimen
OMNH 32639
Cifelli et al. 1999 1 specimen
OMNH 29771
    = Dicothodon moorensis n. gen., n. sp. Nydam 1999
Nydam 1999
Nydam and Cifelli 2002
Mammalia - Eutriconodonta - Triconodontidae
4 specimens
2 specimens
5 specimens
Mammalia - Spalacotheriidae
Cifelli 1999 3 specimens
Cifelli 1999 2 specimens
Mammalia
Cifelli et al. 2016 1 specimen
OMNH 25809
Cifelli et al. 2016 1 specimen
OMNH 25802
Cifelli et al. 2016 3 specimens
OMNH 25813, 25798, 25803
Cifelli 2004
Cifelli 2004
Mammalia - Multituberculata
Eaton and Cifelli 2001 17 specimens
holotype M1, OMNH 25747; including two tentatively referred m1s
Eaton and Cifelli 2001 2 specimens
Eaton and Cifelli 2001 1 specimen
Eaton and Cifelli 2001 5 specimens
Eaton and Cifelli 2001 2 specimens
including tentatively referred M1
Amphibia - Temnospondyli - Albanerpetontidae
Gardner 1999 1 specimen
OMNH 26210
Gardner 1999 1 specimen
OMNH 26222
see common names

Geography
Country:United States State/province:Utah County:Emery
Coordinates: 38.9° North, 111.1° West (view map)
Paleocoordinates:46.1° North, 69.2° West (Wright 2013)
Basis of coordinate:stated in text
Geographic resolution:small collection
Time
Period: Cretaceous Epoch: Late Cretaceous
Stage: Cenomanian 10 m.y. bin: Cretaceous 5
Key time interval: Early Cenomanian
Age range of interval: 100.5 - 93.9 m.y. ago
Stratigraphy
Geological group:Dakota Formation:Cedar Mountain Member:Mussentuchit
Stratigraphic resolution:group of beds
Stratigraphy comments: 4 m below overlying Naturita Fm.

A radiometric age of 98.37 ± 0.07 Ma was obtained by the OMNH from volcanic ash within the Mussentuchit Member (Cifelli and others, 1997, 1999). Additional ages by Garrison and others (2007) ranging from 96.7 ± 0.5 to 98.2 ±0.6 Ma indicate that the Mussentuchit Member was deposited over an interval of 1.5 Ma during the early Cenomanian and supports a correlation with the siliceous marine Mowry Shale to the north, which is well-constrained from 40Ar/39Ar sanidine ages obtained from bentonite beds that bracket the Mowry in Wyoming; the basal Arrow Creek Bentonite is 98.5 ± 0.5 Ma and the capping Clay Spur Bentonite is 97.2 ± 0.7 Ma (Obradovich, 1993; Ogg and Hinnov, 2012; Sprinkel and others, 2012) near the base of the Upper Cretaceous. Tucker et al. 2020 also suggested a likely depositional age of ~96-94Ma for the Musseuntuchit member.
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology: not reported
Environment:"channel"
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body
Size of fossils:macrofossils,mesofossils
Collection methods and comments
Collection excludes:some genera
Reason for describing collection:taxonomic analysis
Metadata
Database number:14399
Authorizer:J. Alroy, M. Carrano, R. Benson Enterer:J. Alroy, M. Carrano, R. Benson
Modifier:M. Carrano Research group:vertebrate
Created:1998-09-21 00:00:00 Last modified:2025-03-20 16:06:36
Access level:the public Released:1998-09-21 00:00:00
Creative Commons license:CC0
Reference information

Primary reference:
1223. R. L. Cifelli and S. K. Madsen. 1998. Triconodont mammals from the medial Cretaceous of Utah. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 18(2):403-411 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/M. Carrano]

Secondary references:

1213 R. L. Cifelli. 1999. Therian teeth of unusual design from the mid-Cretaceous (Albian–Cenomanian) Cedar Mountain Formation of Utah. Journal of Mammalian Evolution 6(3):247-270 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/M. Carrano]
39671 R. L. Cifelli. 2004. Chapter 5: Marsupial Mammals from the Albian–Cenomanian (Early–Late Cretaceous) Boundary, Utah. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 285:62-79 [R. Benson/R. Benson]
60386 R. L. Cifelli, J. E. Cohen, and B. M. Davis. 2016. New tribosphenic mammals from the Mussentuchit Local Fauna (Cedar Mountain Formation, Cenomanian), Utah, USA. Palaeontologia Polonica 67:67-81 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
1227 R. L. Cifelli, R. L. Nydam, J. D. Gardner, A. Weil, J. G. Eaton, J. I. Kirkland, and S. K. Madsen. 1999. Medial Cretaceous vertebrates from the Cedar Mountain Formation, Emery County, Utah: the Mussentuchit local fauna. In D. D. Gillette (ed.), Vertebrate Paleontology in Utah. Utah Geological Survey Miscellaneous Publication 99-1:219-242 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/M. Carrano]
6099 J. G. Eaton and R. L. Cifelli. 2001. Multituberculate mammals from near the Early-Late Cretaceous boundary, Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 46(4):453-518 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/M. Carrano]
70607 J. A. Frederickson, M. H. Engel, and R. L. Cifelli. 2018. Niche partitioning in theropod dinosaurs: diet and habitat preference in predators from the uppermost Cedar Mountain Formation (Utah, U.S.A.). Scientific Reports 8(1):17872:1-13 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
6845 J. D. Gardner. 1999. New albanerpetontid amphibians from the Albian to Coniacian of Utah, USA—bridging the gap. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 19(4):632-638 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/M. Carrano]
91397 J. Hedge, R. T. Tucker, P. J. Makovicky and L. E. Zanno. 2025. Fossil eggshell diversity of the Mussentuchit Member, Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah. PLOS ONE 20(2):e0314689:1-33 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
25684 R. L. Nydam. 1999. Polyglyphanodontinae (Squamata: Teiidae) from the medial and Late Cretaceous: new taxa from Utah, U.S.A. and Baja California del Norte, Mexico. Utah Geological Survey Miscellaneous Publication 99-1:303-317 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy]
7277 R. L. Nydam. 2002. Lizards of the Mussentuchit Local Fauna (Albian-Cenomanian boundary) and comments on the evolution of the Cretaceous lizard fauna of North America. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 22(3):645-660 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Alroy]
6714 R. L. Nydam and R. L. Cifelli. 2002. A new teiid lizard from the Cedar Mountain Formation (Albian-Cenomanian boundary) of Utah. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 22(2):276-285 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Alroy]
70245 D. K. Zelenitsky, K. Carpenter, and P. J. Currie. 2000. First record of elongatoolithid theropod eggshell from North America: the Asian oogenus Macroelongatoolithus from the lower Cretaceous of Utah. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 20(1):130-138 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]