Astoria Formation

Summary

The Astoria Formation (formerly known as the Astoria shales) is a geologic formation in Washington state & Oregon. It preserves fossils dating back to the early to middle Miocene (but was formerly thought to date to the Oligocene).[1]

Astoria Formation
Stratigraphic range: Miocene
TypeGeological formation
Sub-unitsFrom top to bottom:[1]
  • Big Creek sandstone member
  • Newport sandstone member
  • Silver Point mudstone member
  • Angora Peak sandstone member
UnderliesMontesano Formation[2]
OverliesLincoln Creek Formation[2]
Location
Region Washington (state)  Oregon
Country United States

Description edit

The Astoria Formation is a thick marine formation representing a near shore, relatively shallow-water shelf deposit.[2] The formation spans a considerable amount of time, with its base considered to be lower boundary of Newportian Stage (late Early Miocene) & its top to be upper boundary of Newportian Stage (middle Middle Miocene).[1]

Fossil content edit

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.

Mammals edit

Carnivorans edit

Genus Species Stratigraphy Material Notes Images
Desmatophoca D. brachycephala East of Knappton, Washington.[3] Skull elements.[3] A desmatophocid.
D. oregonensis Iron Mountain Bed & an unspecified horizon.[3][4] Multiple specimens.[3][4] A desmatophocid.
 
Enaliarctos E. emlongi South of Big Creek, Lincoln County, Oregon.[5] USNM 250345.[5] A pinnipedimorph, may instead be from the Nye Mudstone.[citation needed]
 
E. sp. Iron Mountain bed, Lincoln County, Oregon.[6] Partial skeleton (UWBM 89114).[6] A pinnipedimorph.
 
Eodesmus E. condoni Iron Mountain Bed, Oregon.[7] A nearly complete cranium.[7] A desmatophocid.
Pacificotaria P. hadromma Iron Mountain bed, Lincoln County, Oregon.[8] Complete cranium (LACM 127973).[8] A pinnipedimorph.
Proneotherium P. repenningi Lincoln County, Oregon.[9] Remains of multiple individuals.[9] An odobenid.
Pteronarctos P. goedertae Lincoln County, Oregon.[10] Skulls.[10] A pinnipedimorph.

Cetaceans edit

Genus Species Presence Material Notes Images
Cophocetus C. oregonensis North of Yaquina Bay.[4] Associated skull, jaws & skeletal elements.[4] A baleen whale.
Dilophodelphis D. fordycei Nye Beach, Oregon.[11] USNM 214911.[11] A platanistid.
 
Wimahl W. chinookensis Washington State[12] A kentriodontid.
Zarhinocetus Z. donnamatsonae Near Elma, Washington.[2] UCMP 86139.[2] An allodelphinid.

Perissodactyls edit

Genus Species Presence Material Notes Images
Aphelops A. sp. Fragment of skull (USNM 187123).[4] A rhinoceros.
 
Tylocephalonyx T. sp. Iron Mountain Bed, Lincoln County, Oregon.[13] A skull (NMNH 187129).[13] A chalicothere.

Birds edit

Genus Species Presence Material Notes Images
Diomedeidae Gen. et. sp. indet. East of Knappton, Washington.[14] Partial skeleton (SMF Av 644).[14] An albatross.

Cartilaginous fish edit

Genus Species Presence Material Notes Images
Carcharodon C. megalodon North of Newport, Oregon.[15] Species reassigned to the genus Otodus.
 
Cetorhinus C. piersoni North of Newport, Oregon.[16] Teeth.[16] A basking shark.
Cosmopolitodus C. hastalis Coos Bay, Oregon.[15] A tooth.[15] A lamnid shark.
 
C. planus? North of Newport, Oregon.[15] A lamnid shark.
 
Galeocerdo G. cf. aduncus North of Newport, Oregon.[15] A requiem shark.
 
Hexanchus North of Newport, Oregon.[15] A cow shark.
 
Isurus I. hastalis Coos Bay, Oregon.[15] A tooth.[15] Species reassigned to Cosmopolitodus.
I. planus? North of Newport, Oregon.[15] Species reassigned to Cosmopolitodus.
Myliobatis North of Newport, Oregon.[15] An eagle ray.
 
Otodus O. megalodon North of Newport, Oregon.[15] Originally reported as Carcharodon megalodon.
 

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Geolex — Astoria publications". ngmdb.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  2. ^ a b c d e Toshiyuki, Kimura; Barnes, Lawrence G. (March 2016). "New Miocene fossil Allodelphinidae (Cetacea, Odontoceti, Platanistoidea) from the North Pacific Ocean". Bull.Gunma Mus.Natu.Hist. 20: 1–58.
  3. ^ a b c d Barnes, Lawrence G. (1987-06-18). "An Early Miocene pinniped of the genus Desmatophoca (Mammalia: Otariidae) from Washington". Contributions in Science. 382: 1–20. doi:10.5962/p.208126. ISSN 0459-8113. S2CID 198245103.
  4. ^ a b c d e Ray, Clayton E. (1976). "Fossil Marine Mammals of Oregon". Systematic Zoology. 25 (4): 420–436. doi:10.2307/2412515. ISSN 0039-7989. JSTOR 2412515.
  5. ^ a b Berta, Annalisa (1991). "New Enaliarctos* (Pinnipedimorpha) from the Oligocene and Miocene of Oregon and the Role of "Enaliarctids" in Pinniped Phylogeny". Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology. 69 (69): 1–33. doi:10.5479/si.00810266.69.1. hdl:10088/19145.
  6. ^ a b Poust, Ashley; Boessenecker, Robert (2018). "Expanding the geographic and geochronologic range of early pinnipeds: new specimens of Enaliarctos from Northern California and Oregon". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 63. doi:10.4202/app.00399.2017. S2CID 55978096.
  7. ^ a b Tate-Jones, M. Kellum; Peredo, Carlos M.; Marshall, Christopher D.; Hopkins, Samantha S. B. (2020-07-03). "The Dawn of Desmatophocidae: A New Species of Basal Desmatophocid Seal (Mammalia, Carnivora) from the Miocene of Oregon, U.S.A." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 40 (4): e1789867. Bibcode:2020JVPal..40E9867T. doi:10.1080/02724634.2020.1789867. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 224935328.
  8. ^ a b Barnes, Lawrence G. (1992-04-07). "A new genus and species of Middle Miocene enaliarctine pinniped (Mammalia, Carnivora, Otariidae) from the Astoria Formation in coastal Oregon". Contributions in Science. 431: 1–27. doi:10.5962/p.208159. ISSN 0459-8113. S2CID 199822990.
  9. ^ a b Deméré, Thomas A.; Berta, Annalisa (2001-07-20). "A reevaluation of Proneotherium repenningi from the Miocene Astoria Formation of Oregon and its position as a basal odobenid (Pinnipedia: Mammalia)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 21 (2): 279–310. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2001)021[0279:AROPRF]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 88095414.
  10. ^ a b Berta, Annalisa (1994). New specimens of the Pinnipediform Pteronarctos from the Miocene of Oregon. Washington, D.C: Smithsonian Institution Press.
  11. ^ a b Boersma, Alexandra T.; McCurry, Matthew R.; Pyenson, Nicholas D. (May 2017). "A new fossil dolphin Dilophodelphis fordycei provides insight into the evolution of supraorbital crests in Platanistoidea (Mammalia, Cetacea)". Royal Society Open Science. 4 (5): 170022. Bibcode:2017RSOS....470022B. doi:10.1098/rsos.170022. ISSN 2054-5703. PMC 5451807. PMID 28573006.
  12. ^ Peredo, Carlos Mauricio; Uhen, Mark D.; Nelson, Margot D. (2018-03-04). "A new kentriodontid (Cetacea: Odontoceti) from the early Miocene Astoria Formation and a revision of the stem delphinidan family Kentriodontidae". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 38 (2): e1411357. Bibcode:2018JVPal..38E1357P. doi:10.1080/02724634.2017.1411357. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 89965454.
  13. ^ a b Coombs, Margery Chalifoux (1979). "Tylocephalonyx, a new genus of North American dome-skulled chalicotheres (Mammalia, Perissodactyla)". Bulletin of the AMNH. 164 (1): 1–64. hdl:2246/1041.
  14. ^ a b Mayr, Gerald; Goedert, James L. (July 2017). "Oligocene and Miocene albatross fossils from Washington State (USA) and the evolutionary history of North Pacific Diomedeidae". The Auk. 134 (3): 659–671. doi:10.1642/AUK-17-32.1. ISSN 0004-8038. S2CID 89636332.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Welton, Bruce J. (October 1972). "Fossil Sharks in Oregon" (PDF). The Ore Bin. 34 (10): 161–172.
  16. ^ a b Welton, Bruce J. (2015-08-21). "A New Species of Late Early Miocene Cetorhinus (Lamniformes; Cetorhinidae) from the Astoria Formation of Oregon, and coeval Cetorhinus from Washington and California". Contributions in Science. 523: 67––89. doi:10.5962/p.241294. ISSN 0459-8113. S2CID 242792009.
  • Various Contributors to the Paleobiology Database. "Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database". Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  • Moore, E. (1963). "Miocene marine mollusks from the Astoria formation in Oregon". Professional Paper. doi:10.3133/PP419. S2CID 127613845. {{cite book}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  • "Stratigraphy and sedimentation of the Onion Peak area, Clatsop County, Oregon". 1974. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)