The Hell Creek Formation is an intensely-studied division of Upper Cretaceous to lower Paleocene rocks in North America, named for exposures studied along Hell Creek, near Jordan, Montana.
The Hell Creek Formation occurs in Montana and portions of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. In Montana, the Hell Creek Formation overlies the Fox Hills Formation and is the uppermost formation of the Cretaceous period. "Pompey's Pillar" at the Pompeys Pillar National Monument is a small isolated section of the Hell Creek Formation.
[1][2] The Hell Creek Formation is well exposed in the badlands in the vicinity of Ft. Peck Reservoir.
It is a series of fresh and brackish-water clays, mudstones, and sandstones deposited during the Maastrichtian, the last part of the Cretaceous period, by fluvial activity in fluctuating river channels and deltas and very occasional peaty swamp deposits along the low-lying eastern continental margin fronting the late Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway. The climate was mild, and the presence of crocodilians suggests a sub-tropical climate, with no prolonged annual cold. The famous iridium-enriched K–T boundary, which separates the Cretaceous from the Cenozoic, occurs as a discontinuous but distinct thin marker bedding within the Formation, near its uppermost strata.
The world's largest collection of Hell Creek fossils is housed and exhibited at the Museum of the Rockies, in Bozeman, Montana. The specimens displayed are the result of the museum's Hell Creek Project, a joint effort between the museum, Montana State University, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of North Dakota and the University of North Carolina which began in 1998. The formation is also a popular location for commercial excavations.
Contents
Paleobiota
The formation has produced impressive assemblages of invertebrates, plants, mammals, fish, reptiles, and amphibians. Notable dinosaur finds include Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops. The most complete Hadrosaurid dinosaur ever found was retrieved in 2000 from the Hell Creek Formation and widely publicised in a National Geographic documentary aired in December 2007. A few bird, mammal, and pterosaur fossils have also been found. Teeth of sharks and rays are sometimes found in the riverine Hell Creek Formation, suggesting that some of these taxa were tolerant of fresh water then as now.
editAmphibians
Color key
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Notes
Uncertain or tentative data are in small text; |
Amphibians reported from the Hell Creek Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | State | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images | |
Indeterminate[2] |
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[3]
[4] A living Barbourula. | |||||
Indeterminate[2] |
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H. dilatus[2] |
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L. bairdi[2] |
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O. kayi[2] |
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P. cretacica[2] |
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P. copei[2] |
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S. tectum[2] |
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S. pustulosa[2] |
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editBony fishes
Bony fishes reported from the Hell Creek Formation | ||||||
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Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images |
A. eruciferus[5] |
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[5]
[6]Acipenser[7][8] A Belonostomus fossil [9][10] A living Lepisosteus | ||||
A. fragosa[5] |
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B. longirostris[5] |
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C. amnicolus[7] |
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L. occidentalis[5] |
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P. montanensis[5] |
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P. wilsoni[5] |
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P. casei[9] |
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P. nanus[7] |
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Indeterminate[5] |
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P. squamosus[5] |
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editCartilaginous fishes
Cartilaginous fishes reported from the Hell Creek Formation | ||||||
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Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | |
I. avonicola[10] |
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L. selachos[10] |
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M. bipartitus[10] |
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editOrnithischians
editAnkylosaurs
Ankylosaurs reported from the Hell Creek Formation | ||||||
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Genus | Species | State | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images |
Ankylosaurus magniventris[12] |
|
An ankylosaur. Also found in the Lance and Scollard Formations. |
[11] | |||
Unnamed and indeterminate remains[12] |
An ankylosaur. |
editCeratopsians
Color key
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Notes
Uncertain or tentative data are in small text; |
Ceratopsians reported from the Hell Creek Formation | ||||||
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Genus | Species | State | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images |
Indeterminate[15] |
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A small primitive-looking ceratopsian. |
[13]
[14]Triceratops [15][16]Triceratops horridus | |||
?T. sacrisonorum |
|
A ceratopsian possibly synonymous withTriceratops[16] |
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?T. latus[12] |
A ceratopsian possibly synonymous withTriceratops.[17] Also found in the Frenchman and Lance Formations. | |||||
T. horridus[12] |
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A ceratopsian, very common. Also found in the Evanston, Frenchman, Kirtland, Lance, Laramie, and Scollard Formations. | ||||
T. maximus[12] |
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"[Eight] vertebrae, [two] ribs."[18] |
Later found to be indeterminate ceratopsid remains.[12] | |||
T. prorsus[12] |
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Very common.[citation needed] |
Also found in the Frenchman and Lance Formations. | |||
T. serratus[12] |
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Later referred to T. horridus.[12] |
editOrnithopods
Color key
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Notes
Uncertain or tentative data are in small text; |
Ornithopods reported from the Hell Creek Formation | ||||||
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Genus | Species | State | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images |
A. annectens |
Reclassified as Edmontosaurus annectens[19] |
[17] | ||||
A. copei |
Junior synonym of Edmontosaurus annectens.[19] | |||||
B. garbanii |
Junior synonym of Thescelosaurus garbanii | |||||
B. infernalis |
Reclassified as Thescelosaurus | |||||
D. mirabilis |
Junior synonym of Trachodon mirabilis, remains actually belong to E. annectens[19] | |||||
E. annectens |
Very common. |
A hadrosaur. Also found in the Denver, Frenchman, Lance, Laramie, and Scollard Formations. | ||||
E. regalis |
Common hadrosaur remains are often referred to this genus, but all fossils diagnosable as E. regalis specifically are only known from older deposits.[20] | |||||
P. walkeri[21] |
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A possible lambeosaurine hadrosaur potentially similar to the Campanian genus Parasaurolophus | ||||
?T. garbanii[22] |
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T. infernalis |
Nomen dubium | |||||
T. neglectus[14] |
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A small ornithopod. Also found in the Frenchman, Lance, Laramie, and Scollard Formations.[24] Sometimes misspelled as T. garbani.[22] | ||||
Indeterminate[25] |
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T. mirabilis |
Misclassified, remains now referred to Edmontosaurus annectens |
editPachycephalosaurs
An undescribed Pachycephalosaur is present in North Dakota.[13]
Color key
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Notes
Uncertain or tentative data are in small text; |
Pachycephalosaurs reported from the Hell Creek Formation | ||||||
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Genus | Species | State | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images |
?D. hogwartsia[26] |
|
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A pachycephalosaur, possibly synonymous withPachycephalosaurus. |
[21] | ||
P. wyomingensis[12] |
A pachycephalosaur. Also found in the Judith River and Lance Formations. | |||||
S. buchholtzae[12] |
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"Skull material."[27] |
A pachycephalosaur, possibly synonymous withPrenocephale. Also found in the Kirtland Formation | |||
S. goodwini[12] |
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"Skull material."[27] |
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S. edmontonense[12] |
Pachycephalosaurid remains from Montana and south Dakota have been erroneously referred to this Campanian species. | |||||
?S. spinifer[12] |
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A pachycephalosaur, possibly synonymous withPachycephalosaurus. Also found in the Lance Formation. | ||||
Indeterminate[14] |
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editPlants
Plants of the Hell Creek Formation | ||||
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Genus | Species | Presence | Description | Images |
Indeterminate |
Casts of Dawn Redwood seed cones are known from the Hell Creek. | |||
C. corrugata |
A prehistoric species of water lettuce, previously assigned to the genus Pistia. | |||
A. araucana |
Casts of Monkey-puzzle leaves are found in Hell Creek. |
editPterosaurs
Pterosaurs of the Hell Creek Formation | ||||
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Taxa | Species | Location | Description | Images |
Indeterminate[29] |
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A single azhdarchid neck bone may belong to the genus Quetzalcoatlus.[29] |
editTheropods
Theropod tracks have been found in South Dakota.[14] An unnamed alvarezsaurid is known from Montana.[30]
editOrnithomimosaurs
Color key
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Notes
Uncertain or tentative data are in small text; |
Ornithomimids reported from the Hell Creek Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | State | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images | |
Nomen nudum |
|
An ornithomimid. |
[23] | ||||
Indeterminate[12] |
An ornithomimid | ||||||
S. sedens[33] |
A large ornithomimid.[33] | ||||||
Indeterminate[14] |
editOviraptorosaurs
Color key
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Notes
Uncertain or tentative data are in small text; |
Oviraptorosaurs reported from the Hell Creek Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | State | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images | |
C. collinsi[14] |
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Sometimes considered a junior synonym ofChirostenotes, but type material actually from the Dinosaur Park Formation |
[25] | ||||
Indeterminate[14] |
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Known from the articular region of a lower jaw catalogued as BHM 2033.[35] |
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C. elegans[12] |
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Partial foot catalogued as MOR 752.[35] |
A large oviraptorosaur, also found in the Dinosaur Park and Two Medicine Formations. | ||||
C. sp. |
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Based on the undescribed "Triebold specimen" |
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E. elegans[12] |
Junior synonym of Chirostenotes elegans. |
editParavians
Color key
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Notes
Uncertain or tentative data are in small text; |
Paravians reported from the Hell Creek Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | State | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images | |
A. archibaldi[12] |
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Two adult and one juvenile specimens, all based on lower leg elements.[citation needed] |
An enantiornithine. |
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Indeterminate[36] |
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Indeterminate[12] |
Teeth |
Dromaeosaurid teeth similar to the older Dromaeosaurus albertensis | |||||
P. lacustris[12] |
Teeth |
Indeterminate troodontid,[12] actually from the Dinosaur Park,Frenchman, Judith River, Kirtland and Milk River Formations but absent in the Hell Creek. | |||||
Indeterminate |
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Teeth |
Indeterminate troodontid | ||||
R.? isosceles |
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Teeth |
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R. cf. gilmorei |
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Teeth |
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Teeth |
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Indeterminate.[12] |
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Teeth |
Remains tentatively attributed to the Mongolian genusSaurornithoides were later referred to Troodon.[12] | ||||
Indeterminate[13] |
Teeth, partial dentary |
Dromaeosaurid remains similar to the older Saurornitholestes langstoni | |||||
S. inequalis[12] |
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Junior synonym of Troodon formosus.[12] | |||||
?T. formosus[12] |
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Teeth |
A troodontid, actually an indeterminate species of Troodon | ||||
Indeterminate[14] |
|
Teeth |
Troodontid teeth similar to the older Troodon formosus | ||||
Indeterminate |
|
Teeth, partial dentary |
Remains tentatively attributed to the Mongolian genus Velociraptorwere later tentatively referred to Saurornitholestes. |
editTyrannosaurids
Color key
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Notes
Uncertain or tentative data are in small text; |
Tyrannosaurids reported from the Hell Creek Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | State | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images | |
A. lancensis |
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Remains later referred to Nanotyrannus lancensis. |
[27] | ||||
A."megagracilis"[12] |
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Nomen nudum, remains later referred to Tyrannosaurus rex.[12] | |||||
A. mirandus[12] |
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Now considered indeterminate tyrannosauroid remains.[12] | |||||
A. molnari[12] |
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Remains later referred to Tyrannosaurus rex.[12] | |||||
D. lancensis |
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Remains later referred to Nanotyrannus lancensis. | |||||
D. megagracilis |
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Remains later referred to Tyrannosaurus rex. | |||||
G. lancensis |
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Remains later referred to Nanotyrannus lancensis. | |||||
?N. lancensis[12] |
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"Nearly complete skull."[40] |
A small tyrannosaur, possibly synonymous with Tyrannosaurus. | ||||
T. rex[12] |
A tyrannosaur, known from several specimens including a juvenile nicknamed "Jane". Also found in the Denver, Frenchman, Hill Creek South, Javelina, Kirtland, Lance, McRae, North Horn, Scollard, and Willow Creek Formations. |
editTurtles
Color key
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Notes
Uncertain or tentative data are in small text; |
Turtles reported from the Hell Creek Formation | |||||||
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Genus | Species | State | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | ||
Indeterminate[41] |
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C. victa[41] |
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E. cephalica[41] |
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G. sonsalla |
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Indeterminate[41] |
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editFootnotes
- ^ Listed as "cf. Barbourula sp." in "Class Amphibia," Estes and Berberian, (1970). Page 4.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Class Amphibia," in Estes and Berberian, (1970). Page 4.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Class Amphibia," in Estes and Berberian, (1970). Page 4. All taxa listed occur in Montana, see page 1.
- ^ Listed as "Eopelobates? sp." in "Class Amphibia," Estes and Berberian, (1970). Page 4.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Class Osteichthyes," in Estes and Berberian, (1970). Page 3.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Class Osteichthyes," in Estes and Berberian, (1970). Page 3. All taxa listed occur in Montana, see page 1.
- ^ a b c d "Class Osteichthyes," in Estes and Berberian, (1970). Page 4.
- ^ a b c "Class Osteichthyes," in Estes and Berberian, (1970). Page 4. All taxa listed occur in Montana, see page 1.
- ^ a b Listed as "cf. Paralbula casei" in "Class Osteichthyes," Estes and Berberian, (1970). Page 4.
- ^ a b c d e f "Class Chondrichthyes," in Estes and Berberian, (1970). Page 3.
- ^ a b c "Class Chondrichthyes," in Estes and Berberian, (1970). Page 3. All taxa listed occur in Montana, see page 1.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae afag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az babb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bvbw bx by bz ca cb "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous; North America; Montana)." Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 584.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous; North America; North Dakota)." Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 585.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous; North America; South Dakota)." Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 586.
- ^ Listed as "Leptoceratops c.f. gracilis" in "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous; North America; Montana)." Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 584.
- ^ Nicholas R. Longrich (2011). "Titanoceratops ouranous, a giant horned dinosaur from the Late Campanian of New Mexico". Cretaceous Research in press.doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2010.12.007.
- ^ Scannella, J. and Horner, J.R. (2010). "TorosaurusMarsh, 1891, is Triceratops Marsh, 1889 (Ceratopsidae: Chasmosaurinae): synonymy through ontogeny." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 30(4): 1157 - 1168.doi:10.1080/02724634.2010.483632
- ^ "Table 23.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 496.
- ^ a b c Campione, N.E. and Evans, D.C. (2011). "Cranial Growth and Variation in Edmontosaurs (Dinosauria: Hadrosauridae): Implications for Latest Cretaceous Megaherbivore Diversity in North America." PLoS ONE,6(9): e25186. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0025186
- ^ Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2011) Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages, Winter 2010 Appendix.
- ^ a b Listed as "?Parasaurolophus walkeri" in "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous; North America; Montana)." Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 584.
- ^ a b c Listed as "?Thescelosaurus garbanii" in "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous; North America; Montana)." Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 584.
- ^ Noted as being present, although misspelled as "Thescelosaurus garbani, in " "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous; North America; South Dakota)." Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 586.
- ^ Boyd, Brown, et al. (2009)
- ^ Listed as "c.f. Thescelosaurus sp." in "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous; North America; North Dakota)." Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 585.
- ^ a b c d Bakker et al. (2006)
- ^ a b "Table 21.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 465.
- ^ Listed as "cf. Quetzalcoatlus sp." in Henderson and Peterson (2006) 192–195.
- ^ a b c Henderson and Peterson (2006) 192–195.
- ^ Hutchinson and Chiappe, 1998. The first known alvarezsaurid (Theropoda: Aves) from North America. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 18(3), 447-450.
- ^ Triebold, 1997. The Sandy Site: Small Dinosaurs from the Hell Creek Formation of South Dakota. in Wolberg, Stump and Rosenberg (eds). Dinofest International: Proceedings of a Symposium sponsored by Arizona
- ^ Listed as "?Ornithomimus sp." in "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous; North America; North Dakota)." Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 585.
- ^ a b Longrich (2008), pages 983-996.
- ^ Listed as "c.f. Struthiomimus sp." in "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous; North America; North Dakota)." Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 585.
- ^ a b "Table 5.1," in Varricchio (2001). Page 44.
- ^ a b "Class Aves," in Estes and Berberian, (1970). Page 7.
- ^ "Class Aves," in Estes and Berberian, (1970). Page 7. All taxa listed occur in Montana, see page 1.
- ^ Referenced by the original, obsolete spelling "Ricardoestesia" in "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous; North America; North Dakota)." Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 585.
- ^ Listed as "?Saurornithoides sp." "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous; North America; Montana)." Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 584.
- ^ "Table 5.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 113.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Order Testudinata," in Estes and Berberian, (1970). Page 5.
- ^ a b c d "Order Testudinata," in Estes and Berberian, (1970). Page 5. All taxa listed occur in Montana, see page 1.
editReferences
[31] | |
[32] | ![]() Tyrannosaurus Rex Is My Most Favorite Dinosaur |
[33] |
- Bakker, R. T., Sullivan, R. M., Porter, V., Larson, P. and Saulsbury, S.J. (2006). "Dracorex hogwartsia, n. gen., n. sp., a spiked, flat-headed pachycephalosaurid dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation of South Dakota." in Lucas, S. G. and Sullivan, R. M., eds., Late Cretaceous vertebrates from the Western Interior. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 35, pp. 331–345. [1]
- Boyd, Clint A.; Brown, Caleb M.; Scheetz, Rodney D.; and Clarke, Julia A. (2009). "Taxonomic revision of the basal neornithischian taxa Thescelosaurusand Bugenasaura". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 29 (3): 758–770. doi:10.1671/039.029.0328.
- Estes, R., and P. Berberian. 1970. Paleoecology of a late Cretaceous vertebrate community from Montana. Breviora volume 343, 35 pages.
- Henderson, M.D. and Peterson, J.E. "An azhdarchid pterosaur cervical vertebra from the Hell Creek Formation (Maastrichtian) of southeastern Montana." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 26(1): 192–195.
- Longrich, N. (2008). "A new, large ornithomimid from the Cretaceous Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta, Canada: Implications for the study of dissociated dinosaur remains."Palaeontology, 54(1): 983-996.
- Varricchio, D. J. 2001. Late Cretaceous oviraptorosaur (Theropoda) dinosaurs from Montana. pp. 42–57 in D. H. Tanke and K. Carpenter (eds.), Mesozoic Vertebrate Life. Indiana University Press, Indianapolis, Indiana.
- Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. 861 pp. ISBN 0-520-24209-2.