Vertebrate Paleontology of Montana
VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY OF MONTANA John R. Horner1 and Dale A. Hanson2 1Chapman University, Orange, California; Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 2South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, Rapid City, South Dakota (1) INTRODUCTION derived concerning the evolution, behavior, and paleo- Montana is renowned for its rich paleontological ecology of vertebrate fossil taxa from Montana. treasures, particularly those of vertebrate animals All Paleozoic vertebrates from Montana come such as fi shes, dinosaurs, and mammals. For exam- from marine sediments, whereas the Mesozoic as- ple, the most speciose fi sh fauna in the world comes semblages are derived from transgressive–regressive from Fergus County. The fi rst dinosaur remains noted alternating marine and freshwater deposits, and the from the western hemisphere came from an area near Cenozoic faunas are derived strictly from freshwater the mouth of the Judith River in what would become terrestrial environments. Fergus County. The fi rst Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, (2) PALEOZOIC VERTEBRATES and many more since, have come from Garfi eld and McCone Counties. The fi rst dinosaur recognized to Two vertebrate assemblages are known from the show the relationship between dinosaurs and birds Paleozoic, one of Early Devonian age, and the other of came from Carbon County, and the fi rst dinosaur eggs, Late Mississippian age. embryos, and nests revealing dinosaur social behav- a. Early Devonian (Emsian: 407–397 Ma) iors were found in Teton County. The fi rst dinosaur Beartooth Butte Formation confi rmed to have denned in burrows was found in The oldest vertebrate remains found in Montana Beaverhead County. come from the Beartooth Butte Formation exposed Although Montana is not often thought of for in the Big Belt and Big Snowy Mountains of central mammal fossils, a great diversity of late Mesozoic Montana.
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