Kirtland Formation

Kirtland Formation Stratigraphic range: Campanian, 74.5–73 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Type	Geological formation
Sub-units	Hunter Wash Member, Farmington Member, De-na-zin Member
Underlies	Ojo Alamo Formation
Overlies	Fruitland Formation
Thickness	594 meters
Location
Region	New Mexico
Country	USA

The Kirtland Formation (originally the Kirtland Shale) is a sedimentary geological formation.^[1] It is the product of alluvial muds and overbank sand deposits from the many channels draining the coastal plain that existed on the inland seashore of North America, in the late Cretaceous period. It overlies the Fruitland Formation. It is found in the San Juan Basin in the states of New Mexico and Colorado, in the United States of America.

The base of the Kirtland Formation and its lowest sub-unit, the Hunter Wash member, has been dated to 74.55 ± 0.29 Ma. Together with the upper part of the underlying Fruitland Formation, this contains fossils representing the Hunter Wash local fauna. The border between the Hunter Wash member and overlying Farmington member dates to approximately 74 million years ago. The top of the Farmington member and bottom of the overlying De-na-zin member has been radiometrically dated to 73.37 ± 0.28 Ma ago. The top of the De-na-zin member, which contains the Willow Wash local fauna, has been dated to 73.04 ± 0.25 Ma ago.^[1]

Overlying the De-na-zin member is a unit called the Naashoibito member This has often been considered to be part of the Kirtland formation, but more recently has been transferred back to the overlying Ojo Alamo Formation, which it had originally been part of.^[1]

Vertebrate Paleofauna

Bony fish

Bony fishes of the Kirtland Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Member	Abundance	Notes
Melvius[2]	M. chauliodous[2]		De-na-zin[2]		Member of the Willow Wash local fauna.[2]

Cartilaginous fish

Cartilaginous fishes of the Kirtland Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Member	Abundance	Notes
Myledaphus[2]	M. bipartitus[2]		De-na-zin[2]		Member of the Willow Wash local fauna.[2]

Crurotarsans

Color key Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon		Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.

Crurotarsans of the Kirtland Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Member	Abundance	Notes
Brachychampsa[2]	B. montana[2]		De-na-zin[2]		Member of the Willow Wash local fauna.[2]
Denazinosuchus[2]	D. kirtlandicus[2]		De-na-zin[2]		Member of the Willow Wash local fauna.[2]
Leidyosuchus[3]	Indeterminate[3]		De-na-zin[2]		Member of the Willow Wash local fauna.[2]

Ornithischians

Color key Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon		Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.

Ornithischians reported from the Kirtland Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Member	Material	Notes	Images
Ahshislepelta[4]	A. minor[4]		Hunter Wash[4]	Incomplete postcranial skeleton[4]		Kritosaurus Parasaurolophus Titanoceratops ouranos
Anasazisaurus[5]	A. horneri[5]			"Partial skull."[5]
Kritosaurus[6]	K. navajovius[6]		De-na-zin[2]		Member of the Willow Wash local fauna.[2]
Naashoibitosaurus[6]	N.ostromi[6]		De-na-zin[2]	"Partial skull."[7]	Member of the Willow Wash local fauna.[2]
Nodocephalosaurus[6]	N. kirtlandensis[6]		De-na-zin[2]	"Partial skull."[8]	Member of the Willow Wash local fauna.[2]
Parasaurolophus[6]	P. tubicen[6]		De-na-zin[2]	"Disarticulated, associated skull and postcraniua, pertaining to at least [three] individuals."[9]	Member of the Willow Wash local fauna.[2]
Pentaceratops[6]	P. fenestratus[6]
	P. sternbergi[6]		De-na-zin[10] Hunter Wash[10]	More common in the lower part of the formation.[10]	Member of the Willow Wash local fauna.[2]
Sphaerotholus[2]	S. goodwini[2]		De-na-zin[2]		Member of the Willow Wash local fauna.[2]
Stegoceras[11]	S. novomexicanum[11]		Hunter Wash[11]	"SMP VP-2790, incomplete parietal"[11]	Also found in the upper Fruitland Formation.
Titanoceratops	T. ouranos		Hunter Wash		Member of the Willow Wash local fauna.
Ziapelta[12]	Z. sanjuanensis		Hunter Wash [12] De-na-zin [12]	Complete skull lacking the lower jaws, first two cervical half rings.[12]

Pterosaurs

Color key Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon		Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.

Pterosaurs of the Kirtland Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Member	Abundance	Notes
Navajodactylus[13]	N. boerei[13]	Partial phalanx and ulna fragment[13]	Hunter Wash Member[13]

Saurischians

Color key Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon		Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.

Saurischians of the Kirtland Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Member	Abundance	Notes	Images
Alamosaurus[14]	A. sanjuanensis[14]				Erroneously identified as a member of the Willow Wash fauna, specimens actually from the Naashoibito member of the Ojo Alamo Formation[15]	Bistahieversor
Aublysodon[16]	A. mirandus[16]				Remains once attributed to the dubious tooth genus Aublysodon (and later Daspletosaurus)[16] are now referred to Bistahieversor, although these remains (OMNH 10131) may possibly have come from the Fruitland Formation.[17]
Bistahieversor[18]	B. sealeyi[18]		Farmington[17] Hunter Wash[18]
Daspletosaurus[16]	Unnamed[16]		De-na-zin[2] Farmington[17] Hunter Wash[18]		Remains formerly referred to an unidentified or undescribed species of Daspletosaurus were originally attributed to the dubious tooth genus Aublysodon.[16] These remains were later reclassified as belonging to the new genus Bistahieversor. Some of these remains (OMNH 10131), however, may have originated in the Fruitland Formation.[17]
Ornithomimus[6]	O. sp.[6]		De-na-zin[2]		Member of the Willow Wash local fauna.[2]
Saurornitholestes	S. sullivani[19]		De-na-zin
"Saurornitholestes"	"S." robustus[20]		De-na-zin[20]		Member of the Willow Wash local fauna.[2] Originally assigned to Saurornitholestes, actually a troodontid.[21]
Troodontidae	Indeterminate[22]
Tyrannosauridae	Indeterminate[6][23]

Turtles

Turtles of the Kirtland Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Member	Abundance	Notes
Basilemys[2]	B. nobilis[2]		De-na-zin[2]		Member of the Willow Wash local fauna.[2]
Denazinemys[2]	D. nodosa[2]		De-na-zin[2]		Member of the Willow Wash local fauna.[2]
Neurankylus[2]	N. baueri[2]		De-na-zin[2]		Member of the Willow Wash local fauna.[2]
Plastomenus[2]	P. robustus[2]		De-na-zin[2]		Member of the Willow Wash local fauna.[2]
Thescelus[2]	T. hemispherica[2]		De-na-zin[2]		Member of the Willow Wash local fauna.[2]

See also

• List of stratigraphic units with dinosaur body fossils

Footnotes

1. Sullivan, R.M., and Lucas, S.G. 2006. "The Kirtlandian land-vertebrate "age" – faunal composition, temporal position and biostratigraphic correlation in the nonmarine Upper Cretaceous of western North America." New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Bulletin 35:7-29.
2. "Table 1," in Sullivan and Lucas (2006). Page 11. Note that the Willow Wash local fauna is entirely within the De-na-zin member; see "Biostratigraphy" page 8.
3. Listed as "cf. Leidyosuchus sp." in "Table 1," in Sullivan and Lucas (2006). Page 11. Note that the Willow Wash local fauna is entirely within the De-na-zin member; see "Biostratigraphy" page 8.
4. Michael E. Burns and Robert M. Sullivan (2011). "A new ankylosaurid from the Upper Cretaceous Kirtland Formation, San Juan Basin, with comments on the diversity of ankylosaurids in New Mexico" (PDF). Fossil Record 3. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Bulletin. 53: 169–178.
5. "Table 20.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 439.
6. "3.3 New Mexico, United States; 10. Lower Kirtland Formation," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 580.
7. "Table 20.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 440.
8. "Table 17.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 365.
9. "Table 20.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 442.
10. "Kirtlandian Index Fossils," in Sullivan and Lucas (2006). Page 10.
11. Steven E. Jasinski and Robert M. Sullivan (2011). "Re-evaluation of pachycephalosaurids from the Fruitland-Kirtland transition (Kirtlandian, late Campanian), San Juan Basin, New Mexico, with a description of a new species of Stegoceras and a reassessment of Texascephale langstoni" (PDF). Fossil Record 3. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Bulletin. 53: 202–215.
12. Arbour, Victoria M.; Burns, Michael E.; Sullivan, Robert M.; Lucas, Spencer G.; Cantrell, Amanda K.; Fry, Joshua; Suazo, Thomas L. (24 September 2014). "A New Ankylosaurid Dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous (Kirtlandian) of New Mexico with Implications for Ankylosaurid Diversity in the Upper Cretaceous of Western North America". PLOS ONE. PLOS. 9 (9): e108804. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0108804. PMC 4177562. PMID 25250819. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
13. Robert M. Sullivan and Denver W. Fowler (2011). "Navajodactylus boerei, n. gen., n. sp., (Pterosauria, ?Azhdarchidae) from the Upper Cretaceous Kirtland Formation (upper Campanian) of New Mexico" (PDF). Fossil Record 3. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Bulletin. 53: 393–404.
14. "3.3 New Mexico, United States; 10. Lower Kirtland Formation and 11. Upper Kirtland Formation," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Pages 580-581.
15. Jasinski, S. E., Sullivan, R. M., & Lucas, S. G. (2011). Taxonomic composition of the Alamo Wash local fauna from the Upper Cretaceous Ojo Alamo Formation (Naashoibito Member) San Juan Basin, New Mexico. Bulletin, 53, 216-271.
16. "Systematic Paleontology," in Carr and Williamson. (2010). Page 1.
17. "Systematic Paleontology; Referred Specimens," in Carr and Williamson. (2010). Page 1.
18. "Systematic Paleontology; Holotype," in Carr and Williamson. (2010). Page 1.
19. https://www.academia.edu/12172255/A_new_dromaeosaurid_Theropoda_Dromaeosauridae_from_the_Late_Cretaceous_of_New_Mexico_B_and_W_
20. "Abstract," in Sullivan. (2006). Page 253.
21. David C. Evans, Derek William Larson, Thomas Michael Cullen & Robert M Sullivan (2014) ‘Saurornitholestes’ robustus is a troodontid (Dinosauria: Theropoda). Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (advance online publication) doi: 10.1139/cjes-2014-0073 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjes-2014-0073#.U4yjc_ldXTo
22. Listed as "cf. Troodon sp." in "3.3 New Mexico, United States; 11. Upper Kirtland Formation," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Pages 580-581.
23. Listed as "cf. Tyrannosaurus sp." in "3.3 New Mexico, United States; 11. Upper Kirtland Formation," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Pages 580-581.

References

• Burns, Michael E. (2008). "Taxonomic utility of ankylosaur (Dinosauria, Ornithischia) osteoderms: Glyptodontopelta mimus Ford, 2000: a test case". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 28 (4): 1102–1109. doi:10.1671/0272-4634-28.4.1102.
• Carr, T.D.; Williamson, T.E. (2010). "Bistahieversor sealeyi, gen. et sp. nov., a new tyrannosauroid from New Mexico and the origin of deep snouts in Tyrannosauroidea". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 30 (1): 1–16. doi:10.1080/02724630903413032.
• Sullivan, R.M. (2006). "Saurornitholestes robustus, n. sp. (Theropoda:Dromaeosauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous Kirtland Formation (De-Na-Zin member_), San Juan Basin, New Mexico" (PDF). NMMNH Bulletin. 35: 253–256.
• Sullivan, R.M., and Lucas, S.G. 2006. "The Kirtlandian land-vertebrate "age" – faunal composition, temporal position and biostratigraphic correlation in the nonmarine Upper Cretaceous of western North America." New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Bulletin 35:7-29.
• Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. 861 pp. ISBN 0-520-24209-2.