Peedee Formation

The Peedee Formation is a geologic formation in North and South Carolina. A marine deposit representing an inner neritic environment,^[2] named for exposures along the Great Peedee River, it preserves invertebrate (primarily belemnites, echinoderms and foraminifera) and vertebrate (primarily shark teeth, with some marine reptile remains) fossils dating to the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian).^[1]

The formation is notable for its occurrence of Belemnitella americana, known as the Pee Dee Belemnite (PDB), a long-standing standard in stable carbon isotope research. A single pterosaur femur, possibly an Azhdarchid, from the Peedee formation is one of the few pterosaur body fossils found in Eastern North America.^[3]

The stratigraphy of the formation spans from the early Maastrichtian (in South Carolina)^[4] to the late Maastrichtian shortly before the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. The formation is divided into several members, including the early-mid Maastrichtian Rocky Point Member and the late Maastrichtian Island Creek Member.^[2] Based on its fauna, it appears to be roughly concurrent with the Navesink Formation from New Jersey.^[3]

Vertebrate paleobiota

Cartilaginous fish

Based on Case et al. (2017):^[2]

Sharks

Rays

Bony fish

Reptiles

Pterosaurs

Crocodilians

Turtles

Plesiosaurs

Mosasaurs

Invertebrate paleobiota

Echinoderms

Echinoids

Sea stars

Crinoids

The Peedee Formation preserves some of the latest-occurring remains of the Roveacrinida, an extinct order of minute, pelagic crinoids.^[7]

Molluscs

Cephalopods

See also

• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in South Carolina
• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in North Carolina

References

1. ^ USGS Peedee Formation South Carolina and USGS Peedee Formation North Carolina
2. ^ Case, Gerard R.; Cook, Todd D.; Saford, Eric M.; Shannon, Kevin R. (2016). "A late Maastrichtian selachian assemblage from the Peedee Formation of North Carolina, USA.". Vertebrate Anatomy Morphology Palaeontology. 3. doi:10.18435/B5T88N. ISSN 2292-1389
3. ^ Parris, David, C.; Smith Grandstaff, Barbara; Clements, Donald (August 2004). "A Pterosaur Femur from the Upper Cretaceous of North Carolina". Southeastern Geology. 43 (1): 51-55.
4. ^ Schwimmer, David R.; Sanders, Albert E.; Erickson, Bruce R.; Weems, Robert E. (2015). "A Late Cretaceous Dinosaur and Reptile Assemblage from South Carolina, Usa". Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. 105 (2): i–157. ISSN 0065-9746
5. ^ Rempert, Trevor H.; Martens, Brennan P.; Vinkeles Melchers, Alexander P. M. (2024). "Mosasaurs (Squamata: Mosasauridae) from the Late Cretaceous (Late Maastrichtian) of North Carolina, USA". Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS. 328 (3): 384–391. doi:10.31610/trudyzin/2024.328.3.384
6. ^ Blake, Daniel B. & Sturgeon, Keith (1995). "Aldebarania arenitea, a new genus and species of Astropectinidae (Asteroidea; Echinodermata) from the Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) Peedee Formation of North Carolina". Journal of Paleontology. 69 (2): 376–380. doi:10.1017/S0022336000034697. ISSN 0022-3360
7. ^ Gale, Andrew S.; Sadorf, Eric; Jagt, John W. M. (2018-05-01). "Roveacrinida (Crinoidea, Articulata) from the upper Maastrichtian Peedee Formation (upper Cretaceous) of North Carolina, USA – The last pelagic microcrinoids". Cretaceous Research. 85: 176–192. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2018.01.008. ISSN 0195-6671

External links

• ((Various Contributors to the Paleobiology Database)). "Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database". Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2021.