Gone With The New Papers

["Jerry D. Harris" <jharris@dixie.edu>]

Another new issue of _Cretaceous Research_, with three goodies in it:

Salgado, L., Coria, R.A., Magalhaes Riberio, C.M., Garrido, A., Rogers, R., 
Simón, M.E., Arcucci, A.B., Rogers, K.C., Carabajal, A.P., Apesteguía, S., 
Fernández, M., García, R.A., and Talevi, M. 2007. Upper Cretaceous dinosaur 
nesting sites of Río Negro (Salitral Ojo de Agua and Salinas de 
Trapalcó-Salitral de Santa Rosa), northern Patagonia, Argentina. Cretaceous 
Research 28(3):392-404. doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2006.06.007.

ABSTRACT: Twenty three different sites in two areas of Río Negro Province 
(Salitral Ojo de Agua and Salitral de Santa Rosa-Salinas de Trapalcó), 
preserving eggs and eggshells from the Allen Formation (Upper Cretaceous) 
were studied, and five egg levels were identified. Three different types of 
eggshell were recognized. Eggs possessing thick eggshells of Type 1 are 
abundant in both areas, sometimes associated with eggs having thinner 
shells. Eggs of eggshell Type 1 are included in the oofamily 
Faveoloolithidae of the parataxonomic classification. Eggshell Type 2 is 
subdivided into two groups (Types 2A and 2B), mostly based on the mean 
thickness of the eggshells and other parameters. Eggs of eggshell Type 2 are 
assigned to the oofamily Megaloolithidae of the parataxonomic 
classification, and ascribed to titanosaurs. A third type of eggshell (Type 
3) is only recorded at one of the localities (Salitral Ojo de Agua, egg 
level 2). This type is intimately associated with theropod bones, and its 
microstructure agrees with an assignation to the Theropoda. It is assigned 
to the oofamily Elongatoolithidae.


Garrison, J.R., Jr., Brinkman, D., Nichols, D.J., Layer, P., Burge, D., and 
Thayn, D. 2007. A multidisciplinary study of the Lower Cretaceous Cedar 
Mountain Formation, Mussentuchit Wash, Utah: a determination of the 
paleoenvironment and paleoecology of the Eolambia caroljonesa dinosaur 
quarry. Cretaceous Research 28(3):461-494. doi: 
10.1016/j.cretres.2006.07.007.

ABSTRACT: A quarry within the Cedar Mountain Formation in Mussentuchit Wash, 
Emery County, Utah, produced a fossil assemblage containing the remains of 
at least eight juvenile iguanodontid dinosaurs (Eolambia caroljonesa). The 
Cedar Mountain Formation lies stratigraphically between the 
Tithonian-Berriasian (Upper Jurassic) Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison 
Formation and the Cenomanian (Upper Cretaceous) Dakota Formation. Detailed 
stratigraphic, sedimentological, geochronological, palynological, and 
paleontological data have been collected along a measured section at the 
site of the Cifelli #2 Eolambia caroljonesa Quarry. These data provide a 
chronostratigraphic and a biostratigraphic framework for the Cedar Mountain 
Formation and allow a detailed reconstruction of the paleoenvironment and 
the paleoecology of the local paleogeographic area from which E. caroljonesa 
have been recovered.
Three 40Ar/39Ar ages ranging from 96.7 to 98.5 Ma have been obtained three 
stratigraphically distinct altered volcanic ash layers within the 
Mussentuchit Member, one of which passes through the E. caroljonesa quarry, 
that indicate that the quarry is latest Albian in age and that the 
stratigraphic boundary between the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain 
Formation and the overlying Dakota Formation is at or near the 
Albian/Cenomanian boundary.
Sedimentological and biostratigraphic data suggest that significant 
long-term and short-term climatic changes are recorded in the Cedar Mountain 
Formation. During deposition of the lower part of the formation, climatic 
conditions were warm and arid to semi-arid. During deposition of the upper 
part of the formation, conditions became more humid. The progressive change 
in climatic conditions was probably related to the transgression of the 
Mowry Sea from the north. Cyclic sedimentation in the Mussentuchit Member 
suggests high-frequency changes from wet to dry periods.


Averianov, A.O. 2007. Theropod dinosaurs from Late Cretaceous deposits in 
the northeastern Aral Sea region, Kazakhstan. Cretaceous Research 
28(3):532-544. doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2006.08.008.

ABSTRACT: Seven theropod taxa (Tyrannosauridae indet., Ornithomimidae 
indet., Therizinosauroidea cf. Neimongosaurus sp., Therizinosauroidea 
indet., Caenagnathidae indet., Dromaeosaurinae indet., and Velociraptorinae 
indet.) have been identified from the Santonian Bostobe Formation, and four 
taxa (Tyrannosauridae indet., Ornithomimidae indet., Therizinosauroidea 
indet., and Dromaeosauridae indet.) are known from the underlying Turonian 
Zhirkindek Formation of the northeastern Aral Sea region in Kazakhstan. 
These theropod faunas are similar in composition to faunas from the Turonian 
Bissekty Formation of Uzbekistan, Santonian Yalovach Formation of 
Tajikistan, and Turonian-Santonian Irendabasu and Bayanshiree (upper part) 
formations of northern China and southern Mongolia. The therizinosauroid cf. 
Neimongosaurus sp., known from an isolated femur, is the only theropod taxon 
from Kazakhstan currently identifiable to generic level. A therizinosauroid 
similar to Neimongosaurus is reported here for the first time; this genus 
was known previously from the Irendabasu Formation of northern China.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jerry D. Harris
Director of Paleontology
Dixie State College
Science Building
225 South 700 East
St. George, UT  84770   USA
Phone: (435) 652-7758
Fax: (435) 656-4022
E-mail: jharris@dixie.edu
and     dinogami@gmail.com
http://cactus.dixie.edu/jharris/

"Trying to estimate the divergence times
of fungal, algal or prokaryotic groups on
the basis of a partial reptilian fossil and
protein sequences from mice and humans
is like trying to decipher Demotic Egyptian with
the help of an odometer and the Oxford
English Dictionary."
              -- D. Graur & W. Martin (_Trends
                  in Genetics_ 20[2], 2004)