The Black Peaks Formation is a geological formation in Texas whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous. Though some of its strata date back to the Paleocene and Eocene. Dinosaur remains (from a titanosaurian sauropod, either Alamosaurus or Utetitan, and a tyrannosaurid) and the pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus northropi are among the fossils reported from the formation. The boundary with the underlying Javelina Formation has been estimated at 66.5 million years old. The formation preserves the rays Rhombodus and Dasyatis, as well as many gar scales. Cenozoic aged fossils unearthed here consist of mammals like multituberculates, barylambdids, and insectivores, as well as alligatorids like Bottosaurus. Turtle fossils have also been unearthed here too.
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References
Further reading
- J. A. Fronimos and T. M. Lehman. 2014. New specimens of a titanosaur sauropod from the Maastrichtian of Big Bend National Park, Texas. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 34(4):883-899
- T. M. Lehman and K. Barnes. 2010. Champsosaurus (Diapsida: Choristodera) from the Paleocene of West Texas: Paleoclimatic Implications. Journal of Paleontology 84(2):341-345
- J. A. Schiebout. 1974. Vertebrate paleontology and paleoecology of Paleocene Black Peaks Formation, Big Bend National Park, Texas. Texas Memorial Museum Bulletin 24:1-88
- J. A. Wilson. 1967. Early Tertiary mammals. In R. A. Maxwell, J. T. Lonsdale, R. T. Hazzard, & J. A. Wilson (eds.), Geology of Big Bend National Park, Brewster County, Texas. The University of Texas Publication 6711:157-169