sign in sign up
<<
Home , Adocus, Basilemys, Bridger Formation, Chamops, Cimolestes, Cimolomyidae

..

.. 9 Bi:

DATA BASE AND REVIEW OF PALEOFAUNAS AND FLORAS OF THE , LATE , , NEW.MEXICO, WITH INTERPRETIVE OBSERVATIONS AND AGE RELATIONSHIPS

Donald L. Wolberq

Open File Report 117 INTRODUCTION

This open-file report is.the first part of'a three-part

series of reports ihat will treat thepaleobiology of the

uppermostCretaceous-lowermost Tertiary faunas and floras

of the San JuanBasin,' northwestern . This .. first part deals.with the Fruitland Formation; part I1 wiW. treat the Kirtland and Ojo Alamo Formationsand part

I11 will treatthe :NacimientoFormation. Thisseries-of repor,ts will haveseveral objectives:

firstly, an effort is made to pull together in oneplace,

theextant data available for each of the floras andfaunas.

'. 1 Secondly, it is hoped that this data will: pr'ovide a. reasonable

baseand framework to which additional data can be added and

fitted -.most of the available literature is' diffuse or

inadequate.'Thirdly, this series ofreports will pointthe

way towardsneeded data in order to adequately characterize

each of the biotas involved and thusprovide a standard size

sampleon which land use and -mitigation paleontological

efforts canbe based.

GENERAL

The San JuanBasin of northwestern New Mexicoand

southwestern. is an asymmetric structural depression .. thatcontains , , , ,

Pennsylvanian,, Trkassic, , Upper Cretaceous, * 2

Tertiary, andQuaternary deposits (see Kelley,1951). A

well drilled by El Paso Company in the SEk

sec. 7, T. 29 N., R. 5 w., Hew Mexico principalmeridian,

penetrated Precambrianrocks at 14,030 feet (Fassettand Hinds, 1971, p. 4) . UpperCretaceous rocks inthe San Juan Basin consist ofintertonguing marine and-nonmarine

deposits representing a series of basinal transgressions

and regressions. The fin'alregressive episode, marking

the last withdrawal of the epeiric sea

from the region is marked by the Pictured Cliffs .

The Pictured Cliffs Sandstone is overlain by the

FruitlandFormation and the Kirtiand Formation, of un.doubted

Late Cretaceousage. The Ojo Alamo Formationoverlies the

Kirtland. Evidence is beingdeveloped (Wolberg, inprep.)

that most or all of the Ojo Alamo (sensuBrown,,l910) is

Cretaceousin age and that the Ojo Alamo restricted (sensu .. Baltz, Ash, andAnderson, 1966) is a conceptthat cannot

besubstantiated.

The NacimientoFormation overlies the Ojo Alamo Sandstone

. and Ls clearlyPaleocene in age. To thenorth, the Kirtland

.Formation is overlain by the ,the age

relationships of which are in doubt.

The Fruitland Formation contains a rich and varied

abundance of ,invertebrate, and botanicalremains.

Great coal reserves are also contained within the Fruitland

Formation.Fassett and Hinds (1971, p. 67) estimatedthat

approximately 200 billion tons of coal is contained in the 3

Fruitland Formation between its outcrop and greatest depth of more than 4,000 feet.In addition, in numerous areas

of the San Juan Basin,partly natural and partly man

(over grazing)induced erosion, acting on exposures of the

Fruitland and overlying deposits produces characteristic

andprominent badlands topography considered by some valuab

for scenicand recreational enjoyment. Thus, the elements

of a typical'clashof economic, scientific, and sc$nic

values are in place in the San.Juan Basin (see Wolbergand

Kottlowski, .1980 foradditional discussion). It seems apparent that a more comprehensiveunderstanding of each of

.. thevarious elements involved inthis conflict of views .. 'would serve to more reasonablyreach an appropriate solution.

A'fuller understanding of the of the Fruitland

Formationwould place the potential scientific values of the

regionin proper context. Similarly, a betterunderstanding

of Fruitland paleontology would help resolve a number of

misstatements in the literature andhas a direct bearingon

theage of the Formation and the likely ages of overlying

units,the and the Ojo Alamo Sandstone.

THE FRUITLAND FORMATION

The Fruitland Formation was named byBauer '(1916) for

a series of deposits that conformably overlie the Pictured

Cliffssandstone and consist'of sandstone, , and coal :e' . .' 4

and are of brackish to freshwaterorigin. The name is taken from.the.village' of Fruit1and;on the San Juan River, in

San Juan County', New Mexico, which lies.on outcrops Of

the formration. the ..

Fassettand Hinds (1971, 'p. 8) discussthe lower contact ofthe Fruitland with the Pictured Cliffs Sandstone. On

electric-logs, this contact is placed at the top'of the

massive sandstone bklow thelowermost coal except where the

~ FruitlandPicturedand Cliffs intertongue. Inexposed sections,

the contact is placed at the top of thehighest Ophiomorpha

majorybearingsandstone.

.. The upper wntact of the Fruitland with the Kirtland

'... Formation is noteasily established. In general, petroleum

geologists place the contact at the top of the highest coal

orcarbonaceous shale. _Reeside (1924, p. 20) utilizedthe

highestsandstone as the top of theFruitland, while Dane

(1936, p. 113) usedthe top of the highest brown. sandstone.

Barnes(1953) used an upper boundary definition that included

all thick persistent and all prominentsandstones

withinthe Fruitland. Powell'(1972, p. 16) placesthe contact

at "..thehighest persistent fine-grained white sandstone

bedwhich occurs .above the highest bedand ... below thethick of theK.irtland Shale." Where the

fine-grainedwhite are lacking,the boundary'is

placed'at.?the top of the highest coal bed. Elsewhere,

wheresandstones and/or coals are absent,the Fruitland and 5

Kirtland are mapped together as Kirtland-Fruitland undivided. The Fruitland Formation isof variable thickness with .. an average thicknessof 300-350 feet although thicknesses may range from0 to a maximum of 500 feet.In .the eastern

part of the Basin the Fruitland tothins 0 feet, partly 'due to erosion and partly dueto a stratigraphic rise of the underlying Pictured Cliffs Sandstone (Fassett and Hinds, '1971, p. 23). In ,general, the Fruitland thickens from the - -. southeast to the northwestby as much as 150 feet. The Fruitland is present in exposure- on the north, west and south sidesof the San Juan Basin.It is absent . in two areason the east side where the Pictured Cliffsis .. .

. ' also absent as is the Kirtland Formation. In these areas, the Ojo Alamo Sandstone overlies the . Cobban (1973) suggested that, "the uppermost partof the Lewis Shale and the lowermost partof the Pictured Cliffs Sandstone probably 'liesin the zone of Didymoceras cheyennense (Meek and Hayden) (p. 150)." However,he cautiously notes that although D.- cheyennense has been found in the upper part . of the Lewis Shale near Chimpey Rock, only incomplete or fragmentary remains of a Didymoceras were found in the Pictured Cliffs Sandstone near Barker Dome. The Barker Dome

' material.may representD." cheyennense. The importanceof this occurrence is the suggestionof an age for the lower part of the Pictured Cliffs.thatis.older than the zoneof compressus Say. Didymoceras is almost unknown from this zone. 0 .. . 6

This does not date the Fruitland Formation beyond the

f ac:t that it. must be younger than. the zone of E. cheyennense. The fact that -B. compressus was not,€ound at Barker Dome onlydates that portion of thePictured Cliffs. Clearly, other evidence would seem to indicate -a Maestrichtian age for the Fruitland Formation and'equivalent marine rocks for

the later portion of the Fruitland are lacking to date.

Additional study of higher portions of the Pictured Cliffs

are needed, The Fruitlandevidence indicates that higher

ammonitezones should be found.

FRUITLAND LITHOLOGY

The Fruitland Formation is of exceedingly variable

lithology.Fruitland deposits consist of,interbedded

. sandstone, silts, coals,"clinker" beds and thin

withan abundance of brackish water molluskssuch as Ostrea. The brackish water beds appear to be confined to

thelowest portions of theFruitland. Coals dominate the lowerpart of the formation as dosandstones, while siltstones and shales are more common in the upperparts of

theformation. The lithologicunits are at bestdiscontinuous

andof limited areal extent. Coal bedsoffer the.greatest

areal continuityand, at least locally,serve as useful

horizonmarkers. This utility may well beexpanded with

additional detailed mappingof prominent coal units similar

to the work that has been done in the Powder River and Williston

Basinsof andNorth Dakota (Sloan, 1969; Wolberg, 1978). 7

FRUITLANDMEGAFLORISTICS

Much work remains tobe done on the of the

Fruitland,indeed the entire uppermost Cretaceous-lowermost

Tertiaryof the, SanJuan Basin.' Needed studiesinclude

collection and analysisof megabotanical material especially

leavesand wood; additional and detailed palynologicalstudies

withinan exceedingly fine stratigraphic '"mesh" anddetailed . -. paleoecologic studies within a framework. of modern concepts.

Much hasbeen made of prevailingpaleoclimates and environments

on thebasis of leaf-margins and form .(Sloan, 1969; Axelrod

andBailey, 1969; Wolfe, 1971), butthis idea has been .. .. severelyquestioned or at least reinterpreted(Wolfe, 1979)

.. A dynamicand perhaps architectural analyses of Fruitland

floras and forests can be undertaken with concerted detailed

.studies much on the modelof Halle, Oldeman, andTomlinson

(1978).

The basic megabotanical study related to the Fruitland

flora still remainsKnowlton (1916) andKnowlton's list has

beenfrequently repeated by later authors. The tablebelow

is takenfrom Knowlton. Comparison is also made to'the Vermejo Formationof the Raton Basin (Knowlton, 1917) . A good deal of similarity between the floras appears evident.

However, a cautionarynote is inorder; the floras are not

sufficiently well known to make this comparison useful for

more than very general conclusions to be drawn. The best leaf floras are present in the relatively

commonly occurring "clinker" deposits associated with 8

Fruitlandcoals. These deposits, as well as non-clinker, fine-grainedsediments should be sampled in a concerted

effort.

Foss.il ~oodis relatively common.in the Fruitland,

butgenerally as isolatedoccurrences. In the Split-lip

Flats area, relatively near the old Ojo Alamo TradingPost,

aninteresting “ forest“ (more accurately a fossil

... stump-field) is exposed. Numerous ”in situ stumps and I. occasional large iogs occurand would form the basis for

a useful.woodstudy. The distributionof the observable

stumps will be mapped.

Table 1. Megafloraidentified byKnowlton (1916) FamilySchiziaceae * Anemia hesperia Knowlton Anemia sp.

FamilyPinaceae

Sequoiarechenbachi (Geinitz)

A._ S. obovata? Knowlton

2 Geinitzia formosa Heer

.. Family. .Pontederiaceae

Heteranthera cretacea Knowlton

FamilyPontederiaceix:

Beteranthera cretacea Knowlton

* genuspresent in Vermejo of Raton Basin . * present in Vermejo of RatonBasin 9

Table 1. continued

Family ,Palmaceae * Sabalmontana? Knowlton Sabalsp;

Family Myricaceae

A Myrica torreyiLesquereux

. -. Family Salicaceae * Salix baueri Knowlton Salix sp. a.

FamilyFacaceae * Quercusbaueri Knowlton'

FamilyMoraceae

Ficus baueri Knowlton * Ficus curta? Knowlton Ficus praetrinervis Knowlton

* Ficus leei Knowlton . . Ficus praelatifolia Knowlton

Ficussp. * Ficusrhamnoides Knowlton' Ficussquarrosa? Knowlton Ficus sp. cf. -F.. wardii Knowlton * Ficus eucalyptifolia? Knowlton .e 10

Table 1. continued

Family Lauraceae

Laurus baueri Knowlton

* -L. coloradensis Knowlton

Family Nymphaeaceae

Nelumbo sp.

Family Sterculeaceae

* Pterospermitesundulatus Knowlton

-P. neomexicanus Knowlton

Family Grossulariaceae , , Ribes -neomexicana Knowlton

Incertae ~sedes

Carpites baueri Knowlton

* Phy'llites petiolatus Knowlton

Phyllites neomexicanusknow3ton

.. 11

Fruitland Palynology

Zavada(1976) .studied 16 samplesof coals andshales collected from Fruitland Formation exposures in the San Juan

Basinfor palynomorph.content. The samplesyielded 152 species

of sporesand hlonging to 97 genera.These included

52'generaand 72 speciesof pteridophytes, 16 generaand 19 speciesof , 29 generaand 61 speciesof

angiosperms.

Zavadacompared his results to previous studies of

Campanian, Maestrichtianand microfloras of the

westerninterior of Nbrth America. He found thatonly four ., species known to occur in .the were found in,the

' Fruit1m.d samples. However, fully 35 speciesrestricted to

Maestrichtianmicrofloras occur in the Fruitland. 10 species

elsewhere restricted to the Paleocene are found in the

Fruitlandassemblage. On thebasis of these comparisons,

Zavada assigned a Maestrichtianage to the Fruitland Formation.

Zavada'sstudy represents the most detailed palynological

analysis of the 'Fruitland Formation completed to 'date.

Zavada notes that Tschudy (1971) lin Fassett ana Hinds, 1971,

. pp.'19-23 and Tschudy, 1973)

. listed 81 generaand 37 speciesfrom the Fruitland. Of the 152species listed by Zavada, only 12 speciesand 24 genera are common.to all three floras. Zavada attributesthis low

correlation to the fact that.. Tschudy did not figure any of the specimenshe recovered, did not provide a systematictreatment 12 of the materials and only about ofhalf Tschudy’s Ealynomorphs were identified to species level.

Table ..2. Palynomorphs 1dentifie.d. by Zavada (1976)

Division BRYOPHYTA Class MUSCI Order SPHAGNALES

Family SPHAGNACEAE ’ Cingutriletes clavus (Balme)

Stereisporites vstereoides (Potonik and Venitz) -S. antiquasporites (Wilson and Webster)’

Ziivisporis- ”novomexicanum ~ (Anderson)

Division LYCOPHYTA Order LYCOPODIALES Family LYCOPEDIACEAE Hamulatisporis - hamulatisKrutzsch Foveosporites canalis Stanley Inundatisporis vermiculisporites (Rouse)

Lycopodiacidites ”arcuatus Hedlund Lycopodiumsporites austroclavatidites (Cookson)

Order SELAGINELLALES Family’ SELAGINELLACEAE Acanthotriletes --varispinosus Pocock Ceratosporites pocockii Srivastava Cingulatisporites dakotaensis Stanley 13

-C. scabratus Couper C.- tavaredensis Groot and Groot Echinatisporis longechinus Krutzsch Foveasporis fovearis Krutzsch

Division ARTHOROPHPTA

Order CALANITALES Family CALANITACEAE Calamospora Esozoica Couper

.. DivisionOSNUMDACIDITES

Order OSMUNDALES Family OSMUNDACEAE Osmundacidites wellmanii Couper

Order FILICALES Family SCHIZAEACEAE Appendicisporites- dentimarginatus Brenner

A.- "distocarinatus Dettmann Cicatricosisporites cf.-C. crassiterminatus Hedlund C. dorogensis Potoni6 and Gelletich " -C: hughesii Dettmann Lygodiosporites verrucosus Srivastara Trilobosporites purverulentus (Verbitskaya) Triplanosporites -sinuosus Pflug Gleicheniidites 2ilobatus Brenner e 14 Table 2. continued

-G. circinidites (Cookson)

”G. concavisporites (Rouse) -G. senonicus Ross .. .. Family HYMENOPHYLLACEAE

Biretisporites. deltoidus (Rouse)

Family DICKSONIZCEAE-CYATHEACEAE - -_ Alsophilidites- kerguelensis Cookson Concavissimisporites punctatus (Del-Court and Sprumont) C.- variverrucatus icouper) Cyathidites australis Couper .. -C. minor Couper -C. subtilis Couper

Family MATONIACEAE .. Matonisporites equiexinus COUper

-M. impensus Hedlund - - M. sp. cf. M.ornamentalis -(Cookson) -M. phlebopteroides Couper

Order SALVINIALES Family SALVINIACEAE Azolla cretacea Stanley Azollopsis coccoides Hall Parazolla heterotricha Hall e 15 Table 2. continued . SPORAE INCERTAE SEDIS Balmeisporites longirimosus Kondinskaya -B. major (Norton)

-B. sp. cf. -B. rigidus Bergad Chomotriletes fragilis Pocock Cirratriradites teter Norris Concavisporites -praeobtusangulus Krutzsch -C. subgranulosus'couper Foraminisporis undulatus Leffingwell Foveotriletes balteus Partridge Granulatisporites -arenaster Paden and Felix "-Laevigatosporites qlacilus Wilson and Webster L.- irroratus Hedlund -L. ovatus Wilson and Webster Lygodiumsporites exiguus Paden' and Felix Microfoveolatosporis -tuemmlitzensis Krutzsch Nevesisporites sp. cf. -N. radiatus Chlonova Perotriletes "- cubensis Anderson Peromonolites granulatus Norton and Hall Polycingulatisporites densatus (DeJersey) Po1,ypodiisporites favus Potanig Punctatosporites -ellipsoideus Pflug

-P:reginensis Anderson Reticuloidosporites -dentatus Pflug Schizosporis -majusculus Hedlund

-S. parvus Cookson and Dettmann .e e 16 ' Table 2. continued Stenozonotriletes stellatus.Chlonova Sporopollis laqueaeformis Weyland ..and Greifield Trochicola scollardiana Srivastava.

., Undulatisporites undulapolus,. Brenner

Division CYCADOPHYTA Division .. Order CYCADALES Family CYCADACEAE . -. -Cycadopites scabratus Stanley

. Division CONIFEROPHYTA Order CONIFERALES Family PINACEAE Laricoidites magnus (Potoni6) Alisporites grandis (Cookson) Abietineae pollenites sp.. Gabonisporis bacaricumulus Srivastava Tsugapollenites crispa Zaklinskaja

Family TAXODIACEAE Taxodiaceaepollenites hiatus (Potoni6)

Family ARAUCARIACEAE Araucariacidites.__australis Cookson

Family PODOCARPACEAE Podocarpites otagoensis Couper

-P. radiatus Brenner Ephedripites- constaliferous Brenner -E. ovatus (Pierce) Table 2. continued Family GYMNOSPERMAE INCERTAE SEDIS Circulina Parva Brenner Classopollis obidosensis GrQOtand.Groot Exesipollenites tumulus Balme -I_ -Eucommiidites debizlis GrQOt and Groot E.- troedssonii Erdtman Inaperturopollenites limbatus Balme

Division ANTHOPHYTA

Class. DICOTYLEDONEAE .. Order URTICALES Family ULMACEAE -Ulmipollenites Sp.

Or der JUGLANDALES Family JUGLANDACEAE Momipites -circularis Norton M.- coryloides Wodehouse M.- tenuipolus Anderson

M." triradiatus Nichols

Order -Family FAGACEAE

Psilatricolporites prolatus Pierce ' Family

.Alnipollenites "trina (Stanley) Alnipollenites n. sp. -Bet.ulaceoipo1lenites infrequens (Stanley) e 18

Table 2. continued

Order CARYOPHYLLALES Family CHENOPODIACEAE

' PolyIjorina cribraria Srivastava

Order PROTEALES

Family. PROTEACEAE ~.

-Proteacidites marginus Rouse . -. -P. palisadus Couper P. retusus Anderson - "

"P. ~thalmanni Anderson. '

Order SANTALALES Family SANTALACEAE Aquilapollenites -amygdaloides Srivastava

' -A. polaris Funkhouser

A." pyriformis Norton'. A.- senonicus (Mtchedlishvilli)

Asilapollenites sp. Aquilapollenites- n. sp. Fibulapollis- scabratus B. Tschudy

Family BALANOPHORACEAE Thomsonipollis -magnificus Kurtzsch

Order CELASTRALES Family AQUIFOLIACEAE Ilexpollenites anguloclavatus e 19 Table 2. continued Order SAPINDALES

. Family SAPINDACEAE

' Cupaniedites reticularis Cookson andPike

.. Family HIPPOCASTANACEAE

' -Aesculiidites circumstriatus (Fairchild)

Family ANACARDIACEAE

Rhoipites -cryptpporus Srivastava -R. globosus Stanley

Order SCROPHULARIALES

. .. Family OLEASEAE .. Fraxinopollenites -variabilis Stanley

Class MONOCOTYLEDONEAE

Order ARECALES

Family PALMAE

Palmaepollenites -tranquillus Potoni6

Order LILIALES

Family LILIACEAE -Liliacidites -complexus (Stanley)

-L. dividuus (Pierce)

ANGIOSPERMAE INCERTAE SEDIS

Chlonovaia sibiricus- (Chlonova)

Kurtzipitesannulatus Norton

Nudopollisterminalis (Pflug and Thomson) -Quadrapollenites vagus Stover 20

Table 2. continued

Simpsonipollis -mullensis (Simpson)

-Sindorapollis granulatus- Tschudy -Tetracolpites pulcher Srivastava -Tricolpites albiensisXemp

-T. foveolatusNorton -T. pannosus Dettmann and, Playford

-T. psilascabratusNorton Tricolpitessp. = Sp.C of Anderson

Tricolporites leuros Partridge

-T. rhomboides Anderson

Tricolpopollenites -anguloluminosus (Anderson) T. hians(Stanley) ” -T. sinuosus Norton.

T. microreticulatusNorton ”

Tricolporopollenites -aliquantulus Hedlund ._ T. confossus Newman ” -T: kruschii (Poton,iB)

-T. microreticulatus Pflug

-T. pseudocingulum (Potoni6)

-T. =ackmani. Brenner -Triporopollenitej -bituitus (Potoni6)

-T. pseudocanalis Paden-Phillips ,

”T. scabroporus Newman “Pollen A“ 21

Table 3.. Fruitland Palynomorphs Restricted to the Campanian from Zavada (1976)

Fibulapollis -scabratus Sindorapollis granulatus -Punctatosporites reginensis Inaperturopollenites limbatus

Table 4. Fruitland Palynomorphs-Restricted to the Maestrichtian (from Zavada, 1976).

Azollopsis- -doccoides " (=Azollasagittifera) Aquilapollenites- polaris A.- Eriformis Acanthotriletes -varispinosus

Cypanicidites -reticularis Ceratosporites- pococki CingutriIetes clavus -Concavissimisporites variverrucatus Cicatricosisporites- dorogensis Cingulatisporites -scabratus

-Deltoidospora " halli Ephedripites ovatus Faveosporites canalis.

-Gabonisporis bacaricumulus Gleicheniidites -concavisporites Inm'datisporites vermiculisporites Ilexpollenites spp.'(= Pistillipolle.nites) e 22

Table 4. continued

Kurtzipites -annulatus

-Liliacidites dividuus agodiosporites verrucosus Matonisporites equiexinus -Momipites. croyloides

-Nevesisporites "radiatus perotriletes cubensis Polyporina -cribraria Peromonolites granulatus

Podocarpidites olagoensis

-Polycingulatisporites -densatus . Styx minor (= Balmaesporites -lonqirimosus) Styx major (= -B. major)

Tricolpopollenites sp. (Type C) Trochocola -scollardiana

'

-Tricolpopollenites " microreticulatus -Tricolporopollenites confossus Rhoipites globosus Undulatisporites- -undulapolus 23

Table 5. Fruitland. Palynomorphs restrictedto-Paleocene

Microfloras (from Zavada, 1376)

Alnipollenites Trina -Betulaceoipollenites infrequens .. Foveasporis trianqulus Foveosporis cyclicus

-Fraxinoipollenites va-siabilis Momipites- tenuipolus

Pinus semicircuhs (= Abietineaepollenites) Tricolpites -anquloluminosus

-T. psilascabratus Tricolpopollenites- zolatus 24

FRUITLANDMOLLUSKS

Adequatestudies of the Fruitland mollusks are lacking.

Much nomenclaturalrevision should modify the faunal list includedbelow. Similarly, previous work hasnot related

fossilmollusk occurrences.to a detailedstratigraphy. A lack' of stratigraphic precision makes it difficult to draw inferencesfrom the described forms regarding , pal-eoecology or relationshipsto molluscan faunas elsewhere.

Work in progress and planned byWolbzrg in cooperation with

Hartman shouldresolve some ofthe difficulties. Particular attention will be paid to 'the stratigraphic distribution of molluscanassemblages. It is apparent,however, on the basis of availabledata, that at least two distinct molluscan"biofacies" can be detected: a dominantly .. brackish-waterbiofacies and a dominantlyfreshwater bi,ofacies.

The lowerlimestone beds of the Fruitland are at times almost coquinoidcarbonates with abundant remains of Ostrea sp., and clearly represent.brackish-water conditions.Higher in theFruitland section, freshwater formsappear to bedominant and are generally restricted to shalesand claystones. The higheroccurrences may represent a greater distance to influencesof the Picture Cliffs seaway.

As a logicalextension of these investigations, an examination of brackish-water deposits for potential foraminiferans wouldbe worthwhile. 'As yet,no documentation is availablefor the presence of forams in the Fruitland. .. 25 Such documentation should be forthcoming and would be most

. . worthwhile.'Russell (1975, pi 151) notes the presence of

Proparreysiaholmesiana (White) inthe Fruitland and

Proparreysiapyramidatoides (Whitfield)-in the Kirtland. These bivalves are typicallyLancian forms. It hasyet

to be demonstrated that"P. holmesiana and- P. pyramidatoides bothoccur in the Fruitland,.or in the Kirtland; the separate

occurrences may be anomalous.Nevertheless the occurrences of these forms is significant.

Table 6. FRUITLAND ..

Nonmarine' Invertebrates '

(fromStanton, 1916; Russell,1975)

Ostrea glabra". Meek and Hayden

Anomia -gryphorhynchus Meek Anomia gryphaeiformis.Stanton

Modiola _.laticostata (White)

UniO holmesianus White (= Proparreysiaholmesiana (Whit-e) )

Unio amarillensisStanton

Unio" gardneri Stanton

Unio reesidei: St.anton

Unio brachyopisthus White (= 'Plesielliptiobrachyopisthus (White)

Unioneomexicanus Stanton

Unid brimhallensisStanton

Unio sp.,cf. -U. primaevus White Corbiculacytheriformes (Meek and Hayden) .. 'e 26

Table 6. continuted

Corbula -chacoensis Stanton Panopaea -simulatrix Whiteaves? Teredinaneomexicana Stanton

Neritina baveri Stanton Neritina IVelatella)- sp. Campeloma amarillensisStanton

Tuiotoma -thompsoni Whit:

Melania insculpta Meek?

Goniobasis? -subtortuosa Meek and Hayden Physa -reesidei Stanton Physasp.

Planorbis(Bathyomphalus) chacoensis Stanton 27

Fruitland Vertebrate Faunas

..

A great deal of attention has been given to Fruitland vertebratefaunas. Yet surprisingly little actualcomprehensive

analysis of the variety and distribution of vertebrate faunal

components is available for review that postdate the early

studies.of Gilmore (1916, 1919); Osborn(1923); or Ostrom (1963)

-.and inpart Gaffney (1972); Clemens (1973). Most recent work

hasbeen concerned primarily with determining faunal content

(Powell, 1972, 1973;Armstrong-Ziegler, 1978; Wolbergand

LeMone3 1980 ) . Vertebrate material is relatively common in the Fruitland

Formation in'a wide varietyof lithologic types. Wolberg has

recoveredvertebrate material insandstones, clays and shales,

siltstones andeven some material associatedwith coals.

Vertebrate material associated with coals is the least abundant

and least well prese,rvedof the types of occurrences noted.

The best preserved material appears to be associated with

sandstones.

Turtles are very abundant in the Fruitland Formation but

formthe least understoodfaunal element. systematics

was for long in need of extensiverevision and it is probable

that mostof the reportedtaxa are suspect. It is suggested

that all previous classification schemes for be

discardedand the. ideas of Gaffney (1972) forbaenids and

Gaffney(1975) for higher categories be utilized for future badlyneeded analyses of Fruitland (and higher) turtle taxa. * 28

Table 7. Gaffney's (1972) Classification of'Baenoidea of '.

Class Reptilia Order Testudines Suborder Superfamily Baenoidea Family Glyptopsidae

Glyptaps March(U. J..) "

Family. Cope Subfamily Trinitichelinae Trinitichelys Gaffney (K.) Subfamily Hayemydinae

' HayemysGaffmey (U.K.) Subfamily Eubaeninae Gaf fney(U.K. -Pal)

Eubaena Hay(U.K. )

Stygiochelys- Gaffney & Hiatt (U.K.) Subfamily Palatobaeninae Gaffney (U.K.-Pal) Subfamily Baeninae Leidy () Chisternon Leidy (Eocene) Taxa within Baenidae but not referable to subfamily: Leidy (K-Pal) Lambe (U.K.)

Boremys Lambe (U.K.) .Thescelus Hay (U.K.) 29

Table 8. Gaffney's (1975) Classification of Higher Categories of Turtles. Order Testudines Linnaeus Suborder Proganochelydia Romer Family Proganochelyidae ( Suborder Casichelydia Gaffney Infraorder Cope Family (X-Rec.) Family dhelidae (Eocene-Bec.) Infraorder Cryptodira (Cope) Parvaorder ' Gaf fney Superfamily Baenoidea Williams Family Glyptopsidae (Jur.) Family Baenidae (K-Eoc.) Parvaorder Eucryptodira Gaffney 'Superfamily Trionychoidea Gray Family (0lig.--Rec.) Family (K-Rec.) Family Carettochelyidae (Eoc.-Rec . Family (K-Rec.) Superfamily Chelonioidea Uaur Family (Jur.) Family (K)

Family Toxochelyidae (K-Eoc.) Family Cermochelyidae (Eoc.-Rec.)

.' Family Chkloniidae (X-Rec.) 30

Superfamily Baur Family (Pal.-Rec.)

. Family (Pal.-Re.c. ) Family Tes tudinidae(Eoc. -Rec .) 31

Gaffney'sclassifications are includedbelow. Attempts

havebeen made to rationalize reported occurrences of turtles

in the Fruitland with Gaffney's scheme in the vertebrate

,faunal lists that follow.

Although turtles obviously formed an important part of

Fruitlandfaunas, their apparent abwidance may bemisleading.

Turtlebones are verydense and resistant. A single turtle

cavapase and plastron will easily break into numerous smaller

pieces that in turn break into still smaller resistant pieces.

An .accurate representation of turtle. abundance is badly needed.

.The detailedplotting of turtle occurrences and abundances

I. should provide interesting ecologic data and data related to

depositionalenvironments.

Table 9 representsGaffney's (1972.), view of the stratigraphic

distribution of baenoid turtles.

Table 9. StratigraphicDistribution of Baenoid Turtles

(fromGaffney, 1972).

Maestrichtian AssociatedSkulls Skulls andShells Shells Hayemys latifrons . Plesiobaena -Thescelus antiqua insiliens Eubaenacepha1ic.a Neurankylus -Stygiochelys estesi eximius "

Palatobaena bairdi formgenus "Baena" Compsemys victa

Campanian .

.Plesiobaena Boremys antiqua -pulchra Thescelus -insiliens Neurankylus exlmlus .. 32

To demonstrate the confusion and "over-description"of turtles the synonomies are^ taken from Gaffney (1972) and have a direct bearingon San Juan Basin faunas. Table 10. Examples of Revisions 1. Compsemys victa Leidy C. - "parva Hay 1916 -C. vafer Hay 1910 C.- puercensis Gilmore 1919 . . -_ C.- torrejonensis dilmore 1919. 2. Neurankylus eximius Lambe " Charitemys capitans Bay 1908 Neurankylus baueri Gilmore 1916 Baena -fluviatilis Parks. 1933 3. Boremys - pulchra (Lambe 1906) Baena pulchra Lambe 1906 Boreymys -albertensis Gilmore 1919 -Boreymys grandis Gilmore 1935 Baena nodosa Wiman 1933 4. Thescelus insiLiens Hay 19.OC Thescehs rapiens Hay 1908 Thescelus hemispherica Gilmore 1935 Baena longicauda Russell 1935

Gaffney (1972) notes that analyses of a sampleof Baena arenosa from the of indicates that a great deal of variation occursin terms of shell morphology. A sympatric species Chisternon undatum has a distinct skull 33

morphology but a shellvery similar to that of Baena. On the basis of shells only, it wouldbe difficult to separate these taxa. Inthe Cretaceous, a similar,situation canbe demonstrated with shell morphologies that are as variable as in -B. arenosa and -C. undatum but very few associated skulls. Although it is likely that more thanone species. .is present,reasonable separation of the taxa is only nominally. possible.

. _. As noted. above, the ' of the Fruitland are discussed by Gilmore (.1916,/1919, andel'sewhere) ; Osborn

(1323)described sternbergii and Wiman (1930, pp.. 14-15)reported Pentaceratops? sp., collected by Charles Sternberg in New Mexico for the 'Paleontological Institute inUpsala, Swe,den. The fragmentary material:

"An der.Sudseite von Alamo Wash, drei miles oberh.alb

. Hunters Store wurden in'den Fruitland Shales einige

Ceratopsidenfragmentegefunden." Sternberg's deserves a closer look but essentially appears reasonable and is primarilybased upon

Reeside's work in the SanJuan Basin.

C.M. Sternberg (1949, p. 42) placesPentaceratops -sternbergii in a position older than but youngerthan Monmlonius, roughlyEdmontonian in age as

compared to a Judith River age for Monoclonius.- " . . .. . This may well be valid €or but not' valid for New Mexico. As noted else- where, thePentaceratops community is lik.ely to havecontinued through the Cretaceous in New Mexico as a part of a southern, contemporaneous fauna. The presence of -Monoclonius in New Mexiso is questioned by this author. 34

Ostrom.(1963)described Para'saurolophus cyrtocristatuts

from theFruitland Formation. The specimen was collected in

1923by C.H. Sternberg near Coal Creek;about eight miles southeast of Tsaya in McKinley County.

Powell (1972, 1973).synthesized. much of the diffuse vertebratedata for'the San Juan Basin.Table ll'is taken

fromPowell (1972). More recent work 'hasmodified his

interpretations.

Table 11. Vertebratesof the Fruitland Formation

SubclassAnapsida

OrderChelonia

Neurankylus 'baueri Gilmore

Baenanodosa Gil'more "

' hdocusbossi Gilmore

Asperiditessp.

SubclassArchosauria

OrderCrocodilia

Crocodylussp.

Brachampsa? sp.

OrderSaurischia

Family

Deinodon?Sp.

Order

FamilyHadrosauridae ' '

- yrtocristatus Ostrom FamilyCeratopsidae

.Monoclonius sp.? Pentaceratops. sternbergii Osborn Y

It should be noted that Powell neglects to mention that

Gilmore (1916) reports ? lineolatus Cope andAspideretes

austerus Hay, Neurankylusbaueri is in factNeurankylus

eximius of Gaffney (1972).. SimilarlyBaena "nocosa is perhaps

better referred to as. "formgenus Baena."

Clemens,and a series ofother researchers (R.E. Sloan,

M.C. McKenna for'example)have had'a longstanding interest

in SanJuan Basin . Clemens haslong actively researched

mammalian faunas of the.Frwit1,and. Clemens (1967 written

communication) inFassett andHinds (1971', p. 19) provided

the following faunal list for mammals recoverd in Hunter

Wash from the Fruitland Formation:

Table 12. .(fromFassett andHinds, 1971)

Multituberculata

Mesod ma, possibly -M. formosa, '

Cimolodon, two species, one resembling -C. nitidus, the

otherincluding of smalxer individual size.

A new specieswith a low, eucosmodontidlike P4. 4 A new specieswith high, trenchant PT . Marsupialia

Alphadonmarshi or a closely related species and at

least.one other, as yetundescribed species.

Pediomys sp.

Eutheria

zpsonictopssp. 36

Table 12. continued

Cimolestessp.

A therian that cannot be referred to the Marsupiala

or on the available evidence.

Clenens(p. 19) alsoprovides the' following observations:

"Comparisonof this faunal unit with the Lance

local faunafrom the Late Cretaceous of eastern

Wyoming pointsout some interesting differences.

Forexample, (a multituberculate)

andPediomys (amarsupial) have .high relative " abundances inthe Lance. local fauna. The

former is unknown and the latter very rare in

New Mexico. Our collections are now large

enough to warrant suggesting that their

absenceor low frequencyof.occurrence

are not a product of bias in collecting

techniqueor small sample size. Whether .

thesefaunal differences reflect differences

in aFe,ecology or combinations of these

.and other factors, remains to he

determined. "

Clemens (197k) providedan update of the Hunter Wash local fauna (Table 13) . -e 37

Table 13. (from Clemens, 1973)

Order Multiturberculata Suborder Ptilodontoidea -Family.Ectypodontidae

Mesodma sp. The P4 resembles that ofcM. ...but is larger primaevusL .~ , cf.-C. judithae -_ FamilyPtildontidae ' cf. Kimbekohia campi Family cimolodontidae

Cimlodon sp. At least one species resembling. -C. nitidus and the other including animals of smaller individualsize. Suborder Tasniolabidoidea Family Eucosmodontidae A new and species

Order Marsupialia Superfamily Didelphoidea Family Didelphidae cf. marshi. Teeth of this species are " approximately intermediate between -A. marshi andA.- wilsoni. Alphadon? new species Family Pediomyidae Pediomys cf. cooki 38

Table 13. 'continued .. ,. Order Insectivora Family Lepeictidae

Gypsonictops sp. TWO species 'are present. Family Palaeorcytidae

cf. sp. Smaller than-C. incisus

Eutherian of uncertain ordinal affinities. Clemens (1973, p. 165) notes that the Hunter Wash collections were obtained from the upper 40 feetof the.Fruitland Formation and the lower.55 feet.of the Kirtland Shale. It is probably younger than the zone of Didymoceras nebrascense. However, docum6ntation by Lindsay, and others (1978) indicates that the Hunter Wash faunas are from the Fruitland Formation. Although, predominantly a listing,the,work of Armstrong-Zieglar (1978) is very significant. Many lower vertebrate: forms are reported from the Fruitland for the first time. Unfortunately, difficulties exist with respect to locaiity data reported by Armstrong-Zieglar. However, it is possible to compare her Fruitland fauna to comparable Judith River faunas (Sahni, 1972), Lance faunas (Estes, 1964) and Hell Creek faunas (Estes and others, 1969).

Table 14. (from Armstrong-Zieglar, 1978)

Chondrichthyes Selachii Hybodontidae 39

Table 14. continued

X*Lonchidion selachos' Estes

Insuridae

Isurus (Oxyrhina)sp.

Orectolobidae

*Squatirhina sericana Estes

Squatirhinasp. Batoidea

Pristidae

X*Ischyrhizaavonicola Estes

Dasyatidae

88X*-bipartitus Cope

Osteichthyes

Acipenseriformes

Acipenseridae x* Acipensereruciferus (Cope) Polyodontidae

Xpaleopsephurus " wilsoniMacAlpin.

0. Amiiformes

Amiidae 'X* fragosa(Jordan) x species in.Hel1 Creekof Estes et al, 1969 5 genus in Hell. Creek of Estes et al, 1969 speciesin Judith River of Sahni (1972) -88 genusin Judith River of Sahni (1972) * species in Lance of Wyoming (Estes, 1964) * genusin.Lance of Wyoming (Estes, 1964) # species of Estes (1969) 40 Table 14. " e

0. Lepisosteiformes Lepisosteidae

. '' EX* occiden,talis (Leidy)

0. Elopiformes F. Phyllodontidae gx#Paralbula casei Este's' Perciformes Sciaenidae - -. *Platacodon nanus Marsh

Amphibia Anura .. . Discoglossidae X -Scotiophryne -~- pustulosa Estes . Pe'lobatidae X? ?Eopelobates sp. Urodela

Prosirenidae . EXaProdesmodon- ?copei P. copei Estes at Lance Batrachosaurordhdae

EX**isthotriton Kayi" Auffenberg ?Urodela XCuttysaqkus- mcnallyi Estes

Reptilia Testudinata Dermatemyididae -AdOCUSX Sp. %ompsemys 'sp. 41

Table 14. continued

?Basilemyssp. .. Trionychidae

ETrionyx sp.

Sauria

Teiidae

88x*Leptochamops'denticulatus (Gilmore)

88X*Chamopssegnis Marsh

Anguidae

Gen. et. sp.indet.

%f. Gerrhonotussp.

Serpentes

Aniliidae

Soniophis- cosgriffi s.sp.

Crocodilia

Crocodylidae

@%eidyosuchussp.

?Thoracosa&rus sp.

'X* sp.

Sauris'chia

Coeluridae

X* lacustris Cope

?Coeluridae

Unidentifiedgenus and species

? 42

Table 14. continued

Deinodontidae . 'Deinodon horridus . Ornithischia ?Pachydephalosauridae Hadrosauridae 'Kritosaurus navajovius pentaceratops sternbergii Osborn ?Monoclonius-sp.- Gilmore

Mammalia .. . ~ctypodontidae -Eli ? sp. , ? new multituberculate(SI ? Essonodon sp. cimolodontidae -Cimol.odon' sp. n. sp. Eucosmodontidae new genus. and species ,Marsupilia Didelphidae

:Alphadon cf. marshi ?Peradectes sp. e 43

Table 14. continued

Revised list in Mammals, p. 43

Order Multituberculata

Neoplagiaulacidae

Mesodma? sp.

new genus?and new species?

Cimolodontidae . -_ sp.

Eucosmodontidae

new genusand species

Familyincertae sedis

' Essonodon?sp.

OrderMarsupialia '

Didelphidae

Alphadon cf.marshi

. cf. Peradectes sp.

The turtlenomenclature of Armstrong-Zieglar is in need of revision. -P. casei was first described by Estes (1969) fromthe Maestrichtian of New Jersey(Nqvesink Marl) but is also known from the CampanianOld Man Formation of Cahada and the London ClayYpresian (Early Eocene) of England.

Amia fragosa(Jordan) was originallydescribed as

Kindleiafragosa until revised byBoreske (1974). Fox (1975) and Estes (1964) havealso reported anilliids. A series of larger trunk vertebrae recovered by Wolbergfrom the vicinity 44 of Bisti TradingPost, may represent -Amia. cf. uintaensis. Thesespecimens agree ,well withBoreske's (1974, p. 64) description., They appear larger and more robust than

vertebrae in A." kinde'ila.

Wolbergand LeMone (1980)reported a Fruitlandvertebrate faunafrom the vicinity.of the old Bisti TradingPost. This fauna however is unlocated stratigraphically in the Fruitland; work is in progress.to more accurately delimit the stratigraphy ofthe collecting areas. However, thisfauna records the presence of .- for the first time as well as

Gorgosaurus. The latter referralshould probably read

?.This fauna is recordedin table 15. The turtles listed should be revised.

Table15. Fruitland Fauna from near Bisti (fromWolberg and

LeMone, 1980)

Class

SubcalssHslocephali

OrderChimaeriformes

SuborderChimaeroidei.

FamilyChimaeridae

Myledaphussp.

Class

SubclassActinopterygii

InfraclassHolostei

OrderSemionotiformes 45

Table15. continued

Suborder Lepisostoidei

Family Lepisosteidae

Lepisosteus.sp. A

Order Ammiformes

SuborderAmioidei

Family Ammiidae . Amia- sp.

Class Reptilia .. . SubclassAnapsida

.... . OrderC..helonia

Suborder Amphichelydia

SuperfamilyBaenoides

FamilyBaenidae

.. Baenia sp. A

Suborder Cryptodira

Superfami1.y Testudinoides

FamilyDermatemydidae

Adocus sp.

S.uperfamilyTrionychoidea

FamilyTrionychidae

Trionyx sp. cf. T. vorax "

Trionyx sp. cf."T.'austerds 46

Table 15. continued

Subclass Order Eosuchia Suborder Family Ch&mpsosauridae. Champsosaurus sp.

Subclass Archosauria - -. Order Crocodilia Suborder Eusuchia Family ,Crocodylidae. sp.

-Brachychampsa sp.

Order Suborder Infraorder Family Gorgosaurus sp.

Order Ornithischia Suborder Family Hadrosauridae cf. Kritosaurus

Suborder Family EuopIocephalus- sp. 47

Table 15. continued

Class Mammalia

Order Multituberculata-

SuborderPtilodofitoidea

FamilyEctypodontidae

Mesodma sp.

FamilyCimolodontidae

cf. Cimolodon

OrderInsectivora

' Family Leptictidae

cf.

The Fruitlandfauna is thusbetter,known, in some respects, thanexpected at least in terms of potential diversity.

However, this is almostentirely on thebasis of isolated studiesthat only report isolated occurrences. No definitive treatmentor synthesis of theFruitland exists. No coherent stratigraphic framework for the placementof these isolated faunasexists.' For comparison, Sahni's (1972) Judith River fauna is shown below in Table 16.

Table 16. JudithRiver Fauna (afterSahni 1972)

Class Elasmobranchii

Order Rajiformes Family Dasyatidae Alyledaphus- bipartitus Cope 48

Table 16. continued

Class Osteichthyes

Order .Amiiformes

Family

Kindleiafragosa Jordan

Order Aspidorhynchiformes

Family Aspidorhynchidae

Belonostomus longirostris (Lambe) " Order Lepisosteiformes

Family Lepisosteidae

-Lepisosteus occidentalis (Leidy)

Order Elopiformes

Family Albulidae

?Paralbula sp.

InfraclassTeleostei, indet

Class Amphibia

OrderSalientia

Family Discoglossidae '

Family Pelobatidae

Order Urodela

FamilyScaph'erpetonidae

-Scapherpeton tectum Cope Lisserpeton bairdi Estes

Family

Habrosaurusdilatus Gilmore

Family Plethodontidae

Prodesmodon copei Estes - " 49

Table 16. ' continued

Family ?Plethodontidae Opisthotriton Kayi Auffenberg

Class Reptilia Order Testudines Family Dermatemydidae sp. Family Trionychidae Trionyx s.p. Family ?Baenidae Order Eosuchia . FamilyChampsosauridae Champsosaurus sp. Order Crocodilia Suborder ?Sebecosuchia Suborder Eusuchia Family Crocodylidae' Subfamily Crocodylinae Leidoyosuchus canadensis Larnbe Subfamily Alligatorinae Brachychampsa montana Gilmore Order Sauria Family

' segnis Marsh " Leptochampos denticulatus (Gilmore) Family piger .Gilmore 50

Table 16. continued

FamilyXenosauridae. . Exostinus -lancensis Gilmore

Family?

cf.Exostinus sp.

FamilyParasaniwidae

-Parasaniwa wyomingensis Gilmore . .~iraderma- bogerti Estes

OrderSaurischia

Family Deinodontidae

-Deinodon horridus Leidy -albertensis Matthew and Brown

’ -- formosus - Leidy Paronychodon -lacustris Cope Order Ornithischia

Family Hadrosauridae

.SubfamilyHadrosaurinae

Kritosaurus cf. -K. breviceps (Marsh)

SubfamilyLambe.osaurinae

Procheneosaurusaltidens (Lambe)

FamilyPachycephalosauridae

?Stegocerasvalidus Lambe Family H.ypsilophodontidae

Thescelosaurus cf.”T. neglectus Gilmore

FamilyCeratopsidae

Generaand sp; indet.

Family Nodosauridae -costatus Leidy - longiceps Sternberg a 51

Table 16.' continued

Class Mammalia Infraclass Order Multituberculata Family Ectypodontidae

Cimexomys judithae Sahni Cimexomys maqnus Sahni' . " Mesodma primaevus (Lambe) Family . ciarki Sahni - ..

Meniscoessus- major" (Russell) Family' Cimolodontidae Cimolodon sp. Infraclass Order Marsupicarnivora Family Didelphidae

Alphadon praesaqus (Russell) Alphadon halleyi Sahni. Alphadon cf.-A. rhaister Clemens Family Pediomyidae Pediomys -clemensi Sahni Family Stagodontidae Boreodon - matutinusLambe Infraclass Eutheria Order Insectivora . Family Leptictidae Subfamily Gypsonictopsinae Gypsonictops lewisi Sahni 52

The JudithRiver Formation has been dated at 75+2 my.

., It'interfingers with the to the east and is Campanian inage. Judith River deposits are fluvial,channel

sandstones, silts andmudstones with occasioQal beds of

lignite and coal, especial.1-y at the top of theformation.

The JudithRiver fauna was confined to the.lowland,

coastal regions between the rising Cordilleras some 400-500

miles to the 'west and the Pierre Sea,about 100 miles to the

east. The area was covered by a multistoriedtropical rain

forest similar to that found .at the present time on the

eastern coast of Costa Rica.,

ThreeJudith River communities are recognized by Sahni:

1. Stream andStream Bank

2. Megaterrestrial

3. Microterrestrial

The stream and stream bank community was proximal to

depositional areas andrepresented by a diversity of ,

, and champsosaurs, snails and clams.

The Megaterrestrial community consistsof large

herbivorousand carnivorous . egg shell

fragments are relatively common. The microterrestrial

community consisted o'f mammals (herbivoresand omnivores)

andcarnivorous reptilian forms.

Sahni was able to offer a detailed stratigraphic

distribution,depositional environments, relative proportions

offaunal components forthe Judith River faunas.This

provided a coherent model of community structure andpaleo-

environments.This has yet to bedone forthe Fruitland Formtion. 53

Table 17.below is a f.irst effort to provide such an overall model of at least the. faunal elements of the Fruitland as theyare presently understood. It is veryincomplete and thereported occurrences are. just that:reports of the presence o.f certaintaxa. No statementsregarding abundance can yet be made. 54

Table 17.

STREAM AND STREAM BANK COMMUNITY

Leidyosuchussp. Brachycharnpsa sp. ?Thoracosaurus sp. Champsosaurus sp. Lenchidionselachos Isurus (Oxyrhina) sp. - Lo Squatirhinaamericana Squatirhina sp. D: Ischyrhiza'avonicola Myledaphus bipartitus 0 3 Acipenser eruciferus Paleopsephurus wilsoni .- .- H

Leprsosteusoccidentalis. Paralbula "casei r;: Platacodonnanus Scotiophryne pustulosa 4 u ?Eopelobatessp. Prodesrnodon ?copei

Opisthotritonkayi Cuttysarkus rncnallyi

Amia fragosa .' Neurankylusexirnius

Lo nodosa "Baena" W D: Basilernys 0 Trionyx 3 H Aspideretes z . Adocus

0 Adocus? lineolatus

[I) Bivalves 2 s E4 H m ffi W Table 17. continued

MEGATERRESTRIAL COMMUNITY ARBOREAL COMMUNITY (fore st floor, Understory)floor, (forest (MicroterrestriaL) - Dernodon 'horridus Leptochamops denticulatus co w dromaeosaurid Chamops segnis' e Paronychodon lacustris Gerrhonotus .. 0 - 3 Coniophiscosqriffi gorgosaur? c_ H z -Gypsonictops sp. a Gypsonictopshypoconus .4 V .sp. Cimolestes ,

- " .. Alphadon cf. A.- marshi

0 cf. ~ Peradectes 3 Pediomys cf. P. cooki - - " - !i!0 co. 'sp.?Monoclonius Mesodma sp. W ffi Pentaceratopssterndergii Cimolodon sp. 0 Kritosaurus mavajovius 3 - Eucosmodontid -Parasaurolophus cyrtocristatus Essonodon VI a UI p: Euoplocephalussp. Cimexomys sp. W cf. Ximbetohia.campi - 56

Age and Paleoecology of the Fruitland Formation

Much has been made of the archaic nature' of Fruitland-

Kirtlandmegaterrestrial communities. Comparisons of

Fruitland-Kirtland to other megafaunas have stressed similarities to Campanian-age faunasof Montana andCanada rather than Maestrichtian-age,faunas of Montana andCanada. The error inherent in this logic has been a general neglect .. ofradiometric and paleomagnetic data and a stress on general faunalcomposition as a chronostratigraphic datum rather than biogeographicinference.

As Sloan (1969) noted some yearsago, Late Cretaceous megaterrestrialcommunities evidence a good deal of regional andtemporal variation. North American megaterrestrialcommunities range.. in age from the Campanian through the Maestrichtian and that include the Judithian, Edmontonian,and Lancian Stages

(Russell, 1964, 1975). The term Lancian was first usedby

Dorf (1942). Late CretaceousNorth American megaterrestrial communitiesconsist of two main "biofacies." The older of these is a community known from the Judith River Formationof

Montana (Sahni, 1972) and the Oldman Formationof Alberta

(Russeil; 1964). Folinsbee,and others, (1965) dated the

0verlying.Bearpaw Shale as 70-73 m.y. and the.typica1

Judithianvertebrate fauna must be approximately 74-75 m.y.

(Russell, 1975',p. 148). This community is also known from the Fruitland and Kirtland and the lower part of the North Horn Formationof from latest Campanian through e 57

Maestrichtian. The community is, dominatedby ~longfrilled,

fenestrate ceratopsians, crested duckbilled dinosaurs,

ankylosaursand some flatheaded duckbilled dinosaurs.

The onlyNorth American sauropod,, known

'fromthe Late Cretaceous occursin this community. The

' northern-mostoccurrence of Alamosaurus is inthe type Lance

of Wyoming (Sloan, 1969) and it is not known to 'occur earlier thanthe Maestrichtian. Sloan suspects that the genus migrated - -. into western North America fromEurope via the northern

Tethyianshore or bycrossing Tethys from .

The above described more southern"biofacies" represents

anolder southern co'mmunity that persists through time,

basically intact with periodic additions or deletions

(e.g.,Alamosaurus.in the Maestrichtian.

The second megaterrestrial'community is dominated by flat-headedduckbilled dinosaurs and the ceratopsian

Arrhinoceratops- or its descendant Triceratops. This community

Rrobablyoriyi.1:ated from the Judith River-Oldmancommunity

butcontinues through time and to the north of the late phasesof > theolder community. Thislater,more northern community is

well known fromthe upper Edmonton of Alberta, the Hell Creek

of Montanaand the Dakotas and the Lance of northern Wyoming.

By andduring Maestrichtian t.:.me, the southern border

of Wyoming appears to form a boundarybetween the southern -Alamosaurus-Pentaceratops-Paras,aurolophus - - community andthe northernTriceratops-Anatosaurus dominates community. 58

Apart from the megaterrestrial 'community, the Fruitland fauna contains another "biocomponent," the 'stream and stream bank community. The Fruitland stream. and: stream bank community

' is very similar to stream and stream bank communities ranging in age from Campanian to latest Maestrichtian (Armstrong-

' Ziegler, 1978; Sahni, 1972; Estes, 1969). ' Wolberg and LeMone (1980) note the .occurrence-Champsosaurus of in the Fruitland

as well;- -. The .stream and stream bank community represents a slowly evolving biota that remains stable through time and persists well into the early Tertiari.It would appear that whatever ecological, constraints existed, primarily affected the megaterrestrial and micro-terrestrial communities rather than the stream and stream-bank community. The latter remains especially uniform from New MexicotoCanada. Stability in the Stream and Stream Bank community does not imply compositional 'uniformity. Estes and Berberian '(1970) demonstrated the sensitivityof detalled quantitative and- qualitative analyses for separating faunas inhabiting a swamp-forest-small watercourse environment from one nearer the deeper waters of majorrivers.that probably issued from the lowland swamps. 'Such analyses has yet to be done for the Late Cretaceous .of New Mexico.

In Knmlton (1916) Anemia hespes is comparedto living species that include -Anemia Baker,wrightii Anemia-cicutaria Kunze, and Anemia cuneata Kunze. These species are all natives of Cuba and are found growing in crevices in rocks along shaded rivers. The genus Heterantherai's small and comprises nine species, two which.occurof in tropical , 59

the others in the Americas. Three‘species are known in the

UnitedStates. they^ are herbsthat grow in mud orshallow water. -Heteranthera has creeping, ascending or floating stema and petioled leaves. -H. cretacea seems most similar

in form to -Heteranthera ”limosa (Swartz), thesmaller mud plantein, which currently is known fromVirginia to Kentucky and Missouri, south to Floridaand Louisiana and into tropical America.

~ -_ Stodola (1967, p.260-63) illustrates -H. limosa and discussesother species of Heteranthera as well. Heteranthera appears to prefer muddy bottomsor at least sand with clay and neutral to. alkaline waters (pH 7-8) . Although water temperatures. down to 50°F are tolerated by -H. dubia .and probably K.- limosa as well, warmer waters (65°-860F) are preferred.by other species.

The presence of a ceratopsian at Elephant Butte Reservoir will havemajor bearing on the validity of northern and southernmegaterrestrial communities. If theceratopsian is actuallyPentaceratops, the model may be., but is not necessarilyvalid. If the ceratopsian is Triceratops,the model is most likely wrong,and the available SanJuan data will have tobe reviewed. On thebasis of available biostratigraphicdata, paleomagnetic data, phylogenetic data, paleoecologicdata, Triceratops probably does not occur at Elephant Butte. e 60

Russell, 1964 as noted above recognized the Lancian, Edmontonian and Judithian stages and there associated faunas. He.found that certain mollusks are characteristicof each stage. Table 18 lists these. Note that Proparreysia -holmesiana is known from'the:Fruitland Formation.

Table 18. (after Russell, 1964) Upper Cretaceous Stages and Characteristics ,Mollusks - -.

Lancian State (Upper Maestrichtian) Quadrula cylindricoides -Proparreysia -- barnumi

Proparreysia - holmesiana .'

Edmontonian (Part of Maestrichtian)

Fusconaia? -stantoni ' Sphaerium heskethense' Viviparus- westoni

Lioplacodes " sanctamariensis

Judithian (Part of Campanian) Plesielliptio -abbreviatus Rhabdotophorus senectus -Lioplacodes vetula "

-Goniobasis -sublaevis

? 0 61

Lindsay,Jacobs, and Butler (1978) place the Hunter Wash fauna

in magneticanomaly 31, in theFruitland Formation. This is

theHunter Wash local faunaof Clemens (1973) as notedin

Butler,Lindsay, and Jacobs (1977). Reasonable correlation

ofthe magnetostratigraphic record between anomalies 32 and31

exist betweenthe SanJuan Basin and Red Deer Valley,Alberta

(Lerbekmo,Evans, and Baadsgaard, 1979), ~&d to therevised polarity time scale ofTarling and Mitchell (1978).

The FruitlandFormation appears to encompassanomaly 31 and

the lower portionof anomaly 30. . La Breque,Kent, and Condie

' (1977) andKent'.(1977) indicate that anomalies 30 and31 should .. 'includethe span of time from 65.5 m.y. to 67.5 m.y. Anomaly 31 may represent just or sxightly less thanone million ;

perhaps .as little as 750,000years (see Kent, 1977, p.770).

In anyevent, it 'doesnot appear likely that major interruptions

in sedimentation of any appreciable duration occurs within this

magnetostratigraphicinterval.

.Direction of ContinuedStudies

Certain directions for continued studies of the Fruitland .. Formationemerge from this data compilation and limited

interpretation.There are obviousgaps in our knowledge of

Fruitlandgeology, faunas and floras, although a surprisingly

broad data base exists onwhich to base additional work.

There is a clear'need for more detailed stratigraphic study of

theFruitland, including a better definition of the formation's

lower andupper boundaries, mapping of available exposures 62

and detailedattention to lithologies.Study of the.depositiona1 environmentsavailable in the Fruitland should be undertaken as shouldthe. detailed mapping of coal beds; individual coal

seams may offer the best horizon markers in the Fruitland

Formation.

A detailed collecting program for should be carriedout, both leaf and wood studies andpalynology.

Za.vada'a research is very provocative and verification of hisresults is needed.Knowlton's early marcobotanical studiesshould be expanded and brought up to date. No published study of Fruitland fossil wood exists andan excellentopportunity is available in the "fossil forest" area.

Vertebratestudies are almost all old qr diffuse, but betterdata is availablethan was expected. Almost all extent studies pay very little attention to a coherent stratigraphic framework. Futurevertebrate work mustbe keyed to an excellent stratigraphic concept of the Fruitland- prominent"marker-coals" may serve as theneeded hook for this work.Vertebrate work shouldconcentrate on the. distr,ibution andabundance of taxa through the formation ratherthan on isolatedoccurrences.. Increased emphasis should be placed on the acquisition of microvertebrate materials forstudy.

Invertebratestudies are badlyneeded. The ofpublished t'axa has been baaly distorted in comparison topresent understanding. Hartman's. planned work will go 63 far in establishing a reasonable understanding of the Fruitland mollusks. It is suggested that Fruitland 'studies (and Kirtland as well) now have a testable modelor hypothesis that should guide future work. 'The Fruitland fauna (and probably flora) may be the southern expression of a Late Cretaceous community separable but parallelto.a more northern community. Little or no differenceis seen between stream and stream bank communities from Canada to New Mexico. Differences are apparent, however, between the megaterrestrial communities. Differences are also apparent between the micr.oterrestria1 communities, Some isolating mechanism must have been responsible for these.differences. With this model,it should be possibleto predict and tesk tlie following. Earlier faunas should have been similar between areas. Differences should first appear low in the Fruitland and become progressively greater higher in the

Fruitland and well into the Kirtland Ojoand Alamo (The age of theOjo Alamo willbe discussed.in a later report, but it is most likely Cretaceous.). &lore southern faunal elements besides Alamosaurus shouldbe present. Additional differences should be detectable in the microterrestrial fauna. 64

References

.Armstrong-Zieg'ler, J.G., 1978. An anilidsnake and associated

vertebratesfrom the Campa'nian' of New Mexico. Journal

ofPaleontology, v. 52, no. 2, pp. 480-483

Axelrod, D.1; and H.P. Bailey, 1969, Paleotemperatureanalysis

of Tertiaryfloras. , Palaeoclimatology, - -_ palaeoecology. . v.. 6. , pp.163-195

Baltz, E.H. 1967. Stratigraphy and regionaltectonic

implications of part of Upper Cretaceousand Tertiary

rocks, east-central SanJuan Basin, New Mexico. U.S.

GeologicalSurvey Professional Paper 552. 101 p.

Bauer, C.M. 1916.' Stratigraphy of a partof the Chaco River

Valley: U.S. GeologicalSurvey Professional Paper. 98-P,

pp. 271-278

Boreske, J.R., Jr. 1974. A review ofthe North American

fossilamiid . Bulletin Museum ofComparative

Zoology. v. 146, no. 1, pp. 1-87

Brown, Barnum. 1910. The. Cretaceous Ojo Alamo bedsof New Mexico with description of'the new dinosaurg,enus

-Xritosaurua. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural

Butler, R.J., E.H. Lindsay,and L.L. Jacobs. 1917. Magnetostratigraphy of the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary .. in theSan.Juan Basin, New Mexico. Nature, v. 267,

no.5609, pp. 318-323 e e 65

Clemens, W.A. 1973.The roles of fossil vertebrates in

interpretation of Late Cretaceous stratigraphy of the .. San Juan Basin, New Mexico. -InCretaceous and Tertiary rocks of thesouthern , J.E. Fassett

(editor), pp.154-167. Memoir of theFour Corners

GeologicalSociety

Cobban, W.A. 1973. Significantammonite.finds in uppermost

Mancos Shaleand' overlying formations between Barker

. . Dome, New Mexico,and.Grand Junction, Colorado.

pp.148-153 of Four-Corners Geolobical Societyguidebook

Dane, C.H. 1936. . The La Ven'tana-Chacra Mesa coalfield,

.. pt. 3 of Geologyand fieldresources of the southern

part of the San JuanBasin, New Mexico: U.S. Geol. SurveyBull. 860-C, pp. 81-161

Dorf, E.: 1942.Upper Cretaceous floras of the Rocky Mountain

region.Carnegie Institute Washington. Publication508,

168 p.

Estes, R: 1964. Fossilvertebrates from the Late Cretaceous LanceFormation, eastern Wyoming. Univ. Calif. Publ.

Geol. Sci. v. 49, pp. 1-187.

Estes,.R. 1969. Studieson fossil phyllodont.fishes.

Interrelationships and evolution in the Phyllodontidae

(Albuloidei).Copeia, v. 5, no. 2, pp. 317-331

Estes, R., P. Berberian,and C. Meszoely. 1969. Lower

.vertebrates from the Late Cretaceous Hell CreekFormation, McCone County,Montana Museum of ComparativeZoology,

HarvardUniversity. Breviora. No. 3.37, 35 p. 66

Fassett, J. and J. Hinds. 1971. Geology and fuel resources of the Fruitland Formation and Kirtland Shaleof the San Juan Basin,New Mexico and Colorado. U.S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Paper 676. 76 p. Folinsbee, R.E., H. Baadsgaard, G.L. Cumming, J. Nascimbene, .. and M. Shafiqullah. 1965. Late Cretaceous radiometric dates from the Cypress Hillsof western Canada. Alberta 'Society of Petroleum Geologists. 15th Annual Field Conference Guidebook, pt. 1, pp. 162-174 Fox, C.R. 1975. Fossil from the upper (Upper Cretaceous), Alberta. Canadian b70urnal .. .. of Earth Science. v. 12, pp. 1557-1563 _. Gafney, E.S. 1972. The systematics of the North American family Baenidae (Reptilia, Cryptodira). Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. Vol. 147, Article.5, pp. 241-320

Gaffney, E.S. 1975. A phylogeny and classification of the higher categories of turtles. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. . Hist. Vol. 155, Article 5, pp, .387-436 Gilmore, C.W. 1919 Reptilian faunas of the Torrejon, Puerco, and underlying Upper Cretaceous formations of San Juan

I County, New Mexico. U.S. Geol. Survey Professional Paper 119. 71 p. .. Gilmore, C.W. 1916. Vertebrate faunas of the Ojo Alamo,

' Kirtland, and Fruitland formations: U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 98-Q, pp. 279-308 Halle, F., R:A.A. Oldeman, and P.B. Tomlinson. 1978. Tropical trees and forests. Springer-Verlag, N.Y. 441 P. 67

Kellky, V.C.. 1951.Tectonics of the SanJuan Basin'. -In: New Mexico GeologicalSociety Guidebook of the south

west sides of the Sari JuanBasin, New Mexico andArizona,

2nd Fieldconference, 1951, pp..124-131

Kent, D.V. 1977. An estimate ofthe duration of the faunal

change at theCretaceous-Tertiary boundary. Geology.

V. 5, pp. 769-771

Knowlton, F.H. 1917. Fossilfloras of the Vermejoand Raton . ". RatonFormations of Coloradoand New Mexico.United

.StatesGeological Survey Professional Paper 101, pp.

223-435 .. La Brecque, J.L., Kent, D.V., and Cande, S.C. 1977.. Revised

magneticpolarity time scale for Late Cretaceousand

Cenozoic time. Geology v. 5,pp. 330-335

Lerbekmo, J.F., M.E. Evans,and H. Baadsgaard. 1979.

Magnetostratigraphy,biostratigraphy, and

of Cretaceous-Tertiaryboundary , Red Deer

Valley. Nature. vol.279,'pp. 26-30

Lindsay, E.K., J.L. Jacobs,and R.F. Butler. 1978.

Biostratigraphy and magnetostratigraphy of Paleocene

terrestrial deposits, San JuanBasin, New Mexico.Geology,

-vo~.6, pp. 425-429

Osborn, H.F. 1923. A new.genusand species of from New .Mexico, P.entaceratops- sternbergii. American

Museum Novitates,no. 93, 3 p. a 68

OstrQm, J.H.. 1963. -Parasaurolophus cyrtocristatus, a crested hadrosaurian dinosaur fromNew.Mexico. Fieldiana,

Geology. VOI. 14,' no. 8,, pp. i43-169 ' . Powell, J.S. 1972. The Gallego Sandstone (formerly Ojo Alamo Sandstone) of'the San Juan Basin, New Mexico..

Unpublished MS thesis.' The University of . 131 p. Powell, J.S. 1973. Paleontology and sedimentation models of the Kimbeto Memberof the Ojo Alamo Sandstone. In: - -. - Cretaceous and Tertiary rocksof the southern Colorado Plateau, J.E. Fassett (editor), pp. 111-122. Memoir of the Geological Society. Russell, L.S. 1964. Cretaceous nonmarine faunas of north- western.North America. Royal Ontario Museum .. Life Science Contribution 61. 24 pp. Russell, L.S. 1975. Mammalian faunal succession in the

. . Cretaceous System of western North America.In: The Cretaceous system of the western interior of North America Geological Association of Canada. Special Paper No. 13, pp. 137-161. Sahni, (1972). The vertebrate fauna of the , Montana. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. Vol. 147 Article 6, pp. 321-412 Sloan, R.E. 1969. Cretaceous and Paleocene terrestrial

communities of western North America. Proceedings Of the North American Paleontological Convention. Part E, pp. 427-453 69

'Stanton, T.W. ..1916. .Nonmarine Cretaceous'invertebrates of the San JuanBasin: , GeologicalSurvey

Professional Paper 98, .pp. 309-327

Sternberg, C.M. 1949. The Edmonton fauna 'and description

of a new Triceratops from the UpperEdmonton Member;

Phylogenyof theCertopsidae. Annual Report of the

National Museum of Canada for the Fisca1, 1947-1948.

Departmentof Mines and Resources, Bulletin No. 113; . -. pp. 33-46

Stodola, J. 1967. Encyclopediaof Water . T.F.H.

'PubLications,Inc. Jersey City,,NJ 368 p.

Tarling, D.H. and J.G. Mitchell. 1'978. RevisedCenozoic

polarity time scale. Geology. v. 6, pp;133-136 ..

Tschudy, R.H. 1973.The. Gasbuggy core -, a palynological appraisal. -In: Creta.ceous and Tertiary rocks of the

southernColorado Plateau, J.E. Fassett(editor),

pp. 131-143. Memoir ofthe Four Corners Geological Society. .. Wiman, C. 1930. Uber Ceratopsia aus der Oberen Kreide in New Mexico. Nova Acta RegiaeSocietatis Scientiarum

Upsaliensis.Serv. IV, Vol. 7, No.' 2, pp. 1-19.

Wolberg, D.L. andF. Xottlowski. 1980. Dinosaurs,turtles,

badlands,and coal in northwest New Mexico.Annual

Report1978-1979, NMBM&MR, pp. 68-74

Wolberg, D.L. 1978. The mammalian paleontologyof the Late

Paleocene(Tiffanian) Circle and Olive localities,

McCone and Power River counties, Montana.Unpubl. Ph.D.

Dissertation;385p. 70

..

Wolberg, D.L. and D.'LeMone. '1.980.Paleontology of Fruitland

\, Formation near Bisti, San JuanBasin, New Mexico - A

prpgressreport. AnnualReport 1978-1979, NMBM&MR,

pp.' 55-57 ~

Wolfe, J.A. 1971. Tertiary climatic fluctuationsand methods

ofanalysis of Tertiaryfloras. Palaeogeography,

Palaeolimatology,Palaeoecology, v. 9, p. 27-57

Wolfe, J.A. 1979. Temperatureparameters of humid-to mesic

forests of eastern Asia and relation to forests of other regionsof the Northern Hemisphere and Auexalasia.

United States GeologicalSurvey Professional Paper 1106.

37 p.