Geology and Paleontology of the Upper Jurassic (Morrison Formation: Brushy Basin Member) Peterson Quarry, Central New Mexico
- ASU Author/Contributor (non-ASU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Andrew B. Heckert Ph.D., Professor (Creator)
- Institution
- Appalachian State University (ASU )
- Web Site: https://library.appstate.edu/
Abstract: The Upper Jurassic Peterson quarry, located in Bernalillo County, central New Mexico, is New Mexico’s most extensive and
productive Jurassic dinosaur locality. The quarry is developed in the upper part of the Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation, approximately 26 m below its contact with the overlying Jackpile Member. Fossil bones occur low in a 1.1-m-thick sequence of well-indurated, trough-crossbedded, subarkosic sandstone. Preserved elements range from scattered bones to articulated assemblages of bones from a single individual, and the long bones are preferentially oriented along a generally east-west-trending axis. The occurrence of associated-to-articulated bones in a trough-crossbedded sandstone underlying a fl oodplain mudstone suggest deposition of the fossils in the mixed fi ll of an abandoned channel in a typical Brushy Basin Member fl uvial system. Particularly important dinosaurs from the Peterson quarry include a large (1100 mm estimated femoral length) Saurophaganax-like allosaurid theropod and the anterior portion of a sauropod skull and lower jaws similar to Diplodocus. Camarasaurid teeth are also relatively common at the quarry and some can be assigned to Camarasaurus. Excavations at the quarry are an excellent example of partnerships between the Bureau of Land Management and a natural history museum. To date at least 6000 volunteer hours have been donated excavating the quarry, and volunteer preparation may double that total.
Geology and Paleontology of the Upper Jurassic (Morrison Formation: Brushy Basin Member) Peterson Quarry, Central New Mexico
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Created on 4/14/2011
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Heckert, A.B., Zeigler, K.E., Lucas, S.G., Spielmann, J.A., Hester, P.M., Peterson, R.E., Peterson, R.E., and D’Andrea, N.V. (2003), Geology and Paleontology of the Upper Jurassic (Morrison Formation: Brushy Basin Member) Peterson quarry, central New Mexico: New Mexico Geological Society Guidebook 54, p. 315-324. Archived in NCDOCKS with permission of the editor. Version of record available at: http://nmgs.nmt.edu/publications/guidebooks/54/
- Language: English
- Date: 2003