Mooreville Chalk

{{Short description|Geological formation in the United States of America}} {{Infobox Rockunit | name = Mooreville Chalk | image = | caption = | type = Geological formation | age = Upper Cretaceous | period = Late Cretaceous | prilithology = Chalk | otherlithology = | namedfor = | namedby = | region = Alabama, Mississippi | country = United States | coordinates = | unitof = Selma Group | subunits = Arcola Limestone Member | underlies = Demopolis Chalk Formation | overlies = Eutaw Formation | thickness = | extent = | area = | map = | map_caption = }}

The '''Mooreville Chalk''' is a geological formation in North America, within the U.S. states of Alabama and Mississippi, which were part of the subcontinent of Appalachia. The strata date back to the early Santonian to the early Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous.<ref name="cretaceousdistribution" /> The chalk was formed by pelagic sediments deposited along the eastern edge of the Mississippi embayment. It is a unit of the Selma Group and consists of the upper Arcola Limestone Member and an unnamed lower member.<ref name="NEWBIRD">{{cite journal |last=Chiappe |first=Luis |year=2002 |title=New enantiornithine bird from the marine Upper Cretaceous of Alabama|journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=170–174 |doi=10.1671/0272-4634(2002)022[0170:NEBFTM]2.0.CO;2 |last2=Lamb |first2=James P. |last3=Ericson |first3=PER G. P. }}</ref> Dinosaur, mosasaur, and primitive bird remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the Mooreville Chalk Formation.<ref name="cretaceousdistribution">Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous, North America)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 574-588. {{ISBN|0-520-24209-2}}.</ref><ref name="NEWBIRD"/><ref name="STRAT">{{cite journal |last=Kiernan |first=Caitlin R. |year=2002 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254314199 |title=Stratigraphic distribution and habitat segregation of mosasaurs in the Upper Cretaceous of western and central Alabama, with an historical review of Alabama mosasaur discoveries |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=91–103 |doi=10.1671/0272-4634(2002)022[0091:SDAHSO]2.0.CO;2 }}</ref>

==Fish==

===Cartilaginous fish=== {| class="wikitable" align="center" width="100%" |- ! colspan="7" align="center" |'''Cartilaginous fish of the Mooreville Chalk Formation''' |- ! Genus ! Species ! Location ! Stratigraphic position ! Abundance ! Notes ! Images |- | ''Cretolamna'' | ''C. appendiculata''<ref name="STRAT"/> | | | | A lamniform | rowspan="99" | thumb|center|280px|''Cretoxyrhina mantelli'' thumb|center|280px|''Squalicorax'' sp. |- | ''Cretoxyrhina'' | ''C. mantelli''<ref name="STRAT"/> | | | | A lamniform |- | rowspan="2" | ''Edaphodon'' | ''E. barberi''<ref name="SELMA">{{cite book |title=The Vertebrate Fauna of the Selma Formation of Alabama. Part VII. Part VIII. The Mosasaurs The Fishes |last=Applegate |first=Shelton P. |author2=Dale E. Russell |year=1970 |publisher=Field Museum of Natural History |location=Chicago |oclc=50419737 |pages=387–430 |url=https://archive.org/stream/vertebratefaunao38appl/vertebratefaunao38appl_djvu.txt }}</ref> | | | | Chimaeriforms |- | ''E. mirificus''<ref name="SELMA"/> | | | | |- | ''Ischyodus'' | ''I. williamsae''<ref name="SELMA"/> | | | | A chimaeriform |- | ''Odontaspis'' | ''O. cuspidata'' | | | | A lamniform |- | ''Propenser'' | ''P. hewletti''<ref name="SELMA"/> | | | | Lamniformes |- | rowspan="3" | ''Ptychodus'' | ''P. mammillaris''<ref name="SELMA"/> | | | | ?Neoselachian incertae sedis |- | ''P. mortoni''<ref name="STRAT"/> | | | | |- | ''P. polygyrus''<ref name="SELMA"/> | | | | |- | rowspan="2" | ''Pseudocorax'' | ''P. affinis''<ref name="SELMA"/> | | | | Lamniformes |- | ''P. laevis''<ref name="STRAT"/> | | | | |- | ''Serratolamna'' | ''S. serrata''<ref name="STRAT"/> | | | | A lamniform |- | rowspan="2" | ''Scapanorhynchus'' | ''S. rhaphiodon''<ref name="SELMA"/> | | | | Lamniformes |- | ''S. texanus''<ref name="STRAT"/> | | | | |- | rowspan="2" | ''Squalicorax'' | ''S. falcatus''<ref name="SELMA"/> | | | | Lamniformes |- | ''S. kaupi''<ref name="STRAT"/> | | | | |- |}

===Bony fish=== {| class="wikitable" align="center" width="100%" |- ! colspan="7" align="center" |'''Bony fish of the Mooreville Chalk Formation''' |- ! Genus ! Species ! Location ! Stratigraphic position ! Abundance ! Notes ! Images |- | ''Albula'' | ''A. dunklei''<ref name="SELMA"/> | | | | An albuliform | rowspan="99" |

thumb|center|200px|''Enchodus petrosus''  thumb|center|200px|''Saurodon leanus'' thumb|center|200px|''Xiphactinus audax'' |- | ''Bananogmius'' | ''B. crieleyi''<ref name="SELMA"/> | | | | A tselfatiiform |- | ''Cimolichthys'' | ''C. nepaholica''<ref name="SELMA"/> | | | | An aulopiform |- | rowspan="2" | ''Enchodus'' | ''E. petrosus''<ref name="SELMA"/><ref name="STRAT"/> | | | | rowspan="2" | An aulopiform |- | ''E. saevus''<ref name="SELMA"/> | | | |- | ''Hoplopteryx'' | ''Hoplopteryx'' sp.<ref name="SELMA"/> | | | | A trachichthyiform |- | ''Ichthyodectes'' | ''I. ctenodon''<ref name="SELMA"/> | | | | An ichthyodectiform |- | ''Moorevillia'' | ''M. hardi''<ref name="SELMA"/> | | | | A tselfatiiform |- | ''Pachyrhizodus'' | ''P. caninus''<ref name="SELMA"/> | | | | A crossognathiform |- | ''Protosphyraena'' | ''P. gladius''<ref name="STRAT"/> | | | | A pachycormid |- | ''Saurodon'' | ''S. leanus''<ref name="SELMA"/> | | | | An ichthyodectiform |- | ''Stratodus'' | ''S. apicalis''<ref name="SELMA"/> | | | | An aulopiform |- | ''Xiphactinus'' | ''X. audax''<ref name="SELMA"/> | | | | An ichthyodectiform |- |}

==Reptiles==

===Dinosaurs=== Indeterminate hadrosaurid, nodosaurid, dinosaur egg, and ornithomimosaur fossils are known from Mooreville Chalk outcrops in Alabama.<ref name="cretaceousdistribution" /> The nodosaurid remains most likely belong to a new taxon.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Brownstein|first=Chase D.|date=2018-02-08|title=The biogeography and ecology of the Cretaceous non-avian dinosaurs of Appalachia|url=https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/2018/2123-appalachia-biogeography|journal=Palaeontologia Electronica|language=English|volume=21|issue=1|pages=1–56|doi=10.26879/801|issn=1094-8074|doi-access=free}}</ref> {{paleobiota-key-compact}} {| class="wikitable" align="center" width="100%" |- ! colspan="7" align="center" |'''Dinosaurs reported from the Mooreville Chalk Formation''' |- ! Genus ! Species ! Location ! Stratigraphic position ! Material ! width="33%"| Notes ! Images |- |style="background:#E6E6E6;" | ''Angelinornis'' |style="background:#fbdddb;" | ''A. antecessor'' |style="background:#fbdddb;" | |style="background:#fbdddb;" | |style="background:#fbdddb;" | |style="background:#fbdddb;" | ''A. antecessor'' was originally described as ''Plegadornis antecessor'', but the generic name ''Plegadornis'' was preoccupied, so the genus ''Angelinornis'' was erected to contain the species. It was later demonstrated that ''Angelinornis'' was a junior synonym of ''Ichthyornis'', although the new combination ''I. antecessor'' was held to be valid for a while following the sinking of ''Angelinornis'' into ''Ichthyornis''. Later the species would later be considered a junior synonym of the Ichthyornis type species, ''I. dispar''.<ref name="cretaceousdistribution" /> | rowspan="100" |thumb|center|200px|''Eotrachodon'' thumb|center|200px|''Ichthyornis dispar''thumb|''Saurornitholestes''

|- | ''Eotrachodon''<ref>Albert Prieto-Márquez, Gregory M. Erickson & Jun A. Ebersole, 2016, "A primitive hadrosaurid from southeastern North America and the origin and early evolution of ‘duck-billed’ dinosaurs", Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology DOI:10.1080/02724634.2015.1054495</ref> | ''E. orientalis'' | * Alabama. | | | A hadrosaurid known from a nearly complete skeleton and nearly complete skull.

|- | ''Halimornis''<ref name="cretaceousdistribution" /><ref name="NEWBIRD"/> | ''H. thompsoni''<ref name="cretaceousdistribution" /><ref name="NEWBIRD"/> | * Alabama.<ref name="cretaceousdistribution" /> | | "Vertebrae and limb elements."<ref name="table-11-1-213">"Table 11.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 213.</ref> | An enantiornithine |- | rowspan="2" | ''Ichthyornis''<ref name="cretaceousdistribution" /><ref name="NEWBIRD"/> |style="background:#E6E6E6;" | ''I. antecessor'' |style="background:#E6E6E6;" | |style="background:#E6E6E6;" | |style="background:#E6E6E6;" | |style="background:#E6E6E6;" | The species ''I. antecessor'' was made the type species of the genus ''Angelinornis'' in 1962. Later, ''I. antecessor'' and ''Angelinornis'' were shown to be junior synonyms of the ''Ichthyornis'' type species, ''I. dispar''<ref name="cretaceousdistribution" /> |- | ''I. dispar''<ref name="cretaceousdistribution" /><ref name="NEWBIRD"/> | * Alabama.<ref name="cretaceousdistribution" /> | | | An ichthyornithine. |- | ''Lophorhothon''<ref name="cretaceousdistribution" /><ref name="STRAT"/> | ''L. atopus''<ref name="cretaceousdistribution" /><ref name="STRAT"/> | * Alabama.<ref name="cretaceousdistribution" /> | | | A primitive species of hadrosaurid known from only a few skull fragments.<ref name="cretaceousdistribution" /> |- |''Saurornitholestes''<ref name=":0" /> |''S.'' sp. | | | |A dromaeosaurid. |- |style="background:#fbdddb;" | ''Plegadornis'' |style="background:#fbdddb;" | ''P. antecessor'' |style="background:#fbdddb;" | |style="background:#fbdddb;" | |style="background:#fbdddb;" | |style="background:#fbdddb;" | The name ''Plegadornis antecessor'' was applied to a fossil believed to represent a new bird species, but the generic name ''Plegadornis'' was preoccupied, so the genus ''Angelinornis'' was erected to contain the "new" species. It was later demonstrated that ''Angelinornis'' was a junior synonym of ''Ichthyornis'', although the new combination ''I. antecessor'' was held to be valid for a while following the sinking of ''Angelinornis'' into ''Ichthtyornis''. Later the species would later be considered a junior synonym of the Ichthyornis type species, ''I. dispar''.<ref name="cretaceousdistribution" /> |- |}

===Mosasaurs=== {| class="wikitable" align="center" width="100%" |- ! colspan="7" align="center" |'''Mosasaurs of the Mooreville Chalk Formation''' |- ! Genus ! Species ! Location ! Stratigraphic position ! Abundance ! Notes ! Images |- | rowspan="3" | ''Clidastes'' | ''C. liodontus''<ref name="SELMA"/> | | | | Mosasaurines | rowspan="100" | thumb|center|200px|''Clidastes propython'' thumb|center|200px|''Eonatator sternbergii'' thumb|center|200px|''Globidens alabamaensis'' thumb|center|200px|''Platecarpus tympaniticus'' thumb|center|200px|''Selmasaurus russelli'' thumb|center|200px|''Tylosaurus proriger'' |- | ''C.'' "moorevillensis"<ref name="STRAT"/> | | | | |- | ''C. propython''<ref name="SELMA"/><ref name="STRAT"/> | | | | |- |''Ectenosaurus'' |''E. shannoni''<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kiernan |first=Caitlin R. |last2=Ebersole |first2=Jun A. |date=2023 |title=Two new plioplatecarpine mosasaurs (Mosasauridae; Plioplatecarpinae) of the genus Ectenosaurus from the Upper Cretaceous of North America |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6jk04749 |journal=PaleoBios |language=en |volume=40 |issue=13 |doi=10.5070/P9401362375 |issn=0031-0298|doi-access=free }}</ref> | | | |A plioplatecarpine |- | rowspan="2" | ''Eonatator'' | ''E. sternbergi'' (sic)<ref name="STRAT"/><ref>{{cite journal|author1=Kejiri, T.|author2=Ebersole, J.A.|author3=Blewitt, H.L.|author4=Ebersole, S.M.|year=2013|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272508435|title=An Overview of Late Cretaceous Vertebrates from Alabama|journal=Bulletin of the Alabama Museum of Natural History|volume=31|issue=1|pages=46–71}}</ref> | | | | A halisaurine ''E. sternbergii'' was formerly classified as ''Halisaurus sternbergii''<ref name="BARDET">{{cite journal |year=2005 |title=A new species of ''Halisaurus'' from the Late Cretaceous phosphates of Morocco, and the phylogenetical relationships of the Halisaurinae (Squamata: Mosasauridae) |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society|volume=143 |pages=447–472 |vauthors=Bardet N, Suberbiola P, Iarochene M, Bouyahyaoui F, Bouya B, Amaghzaz M |doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.2005.00152.x |issue=3 |doi-access=free }}</ref> |- | ''E. zangerli''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/3725966/The_relationships_of_Alabama_halisaurine_mosasaurs|title=The relationships of Alabama halisaurine mosasaurs|website=Academia.edu|access-date=10 December 2021}}</ref> | | | | |- | ''Globidens'' | ''G. alabamaensis''<ref name="STRAT"/> | | | | A mosasaurine |- | ''Mosasaurus'' | ''M. missouriensis''<ref name="STRAT"/> | | | | A mosasaurine |- | ''Platecarpus'' | ''P. tympaniticus''<ref name="STRAT"/> | | | | A plioplatecarpine |- | ''Prognathodon'' | ''P. rapax''<ref name="SELMA"/> | | | | A mosasaurine |- | ''Selmasaurus'' | ''S. russelli''<ref name="STRAT"/> | | | | A plioplatecarpine |- | ''Tylosaurus'' | ''T. proriger''<ref name="SELMA"/> | | | | A tylosaurine |- |}

===Plesiosaurs=== Very rare elasmosaurs are present in this formation.<ref name="STRAT"/> {| class="wikitable" align="center" width="100%" |- ! colspan="7" align="center" |'''Plesiosaurs of the Mooreville Chalk Formation''' |- ! Genus ! Species ! Location ! Stratigraphic position ! Abundance ! Notes ! Images |- | ''Trinacromerum'' | ''Trinacromerum'' sp.<ref name="STRAT"/> | | | | Polycotylids | rowspan="99" | thumb|center|200px|''Trinacromerum'' sp. |- | ''Polycotylus''<ref>{{Cite journal |last=O'Keefe |first=F. Robin |date=2004-06-11 |title=On the cranial anatomy of the polycotylid plesiosaurs, including new material of Polycotylus latipinnis, Cope, from Alabama |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1671/1944 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=326–340 |doi=10.1671/1944 |issn=0272-4634|url-access=subscription }}</ref> | ''Polycotylus latipinnis'' | Alabama | | | Polycotylids |- |}

===Pterosaurs=== {| class="wikitable" align="center" width="100%" |- ! colspan="7" align="center" |'''Pterosaurs of the Mooreville Chalk Formation''' |- ! Genus ! Species ! Location ! Stratigraphic position ! Abundance ! Notes ! Images |- | ''Pteranodon'' | ''Pteranodon'' sp.<ref name="STRAT"/> | | | | Pteranodontids. | rowspan="99" | thumb|center|200px|''Pteranodon'' sp. |- |}

===Turtles=== {| class="wikitable" align="center" width="100%" |- ! colspan="7" align="center" |'''Turtles of the Mooreville Chalk Formation''' |- ! Genus ! Species ! Location ! Stratigraphic position ! Abundance ! Notes ! Images |- | ''Bothremys'' | ''B. barberi''<ref name="STRAT"/> | | | | A pelomedusid. | rowspan="99" | thumb|center|200px|''Protostega gigas'' |- | ''Corsochelys'' | ''C. haliniches'' | | | | A dermochelyid. |- | ''Protostega'' | ''P. gigas''<ref name="STRAT"/> | | | | A protostegid. |- | ''Toxochelys'' | ''T. moorevillensis''<ref name="STRAT"/> | | | | A toxochelyid. |- |}

== See also == {{Portal|Dinosaurs|Paleontology}} * List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations * List of fossil sites

== References == {{Reflist}}

Category:Mooreville Chalk Category:Upper Cretaceous Series of North America Category:Geologic formations of Alabama Category:Geologic formations of Mississippi Category:Chalk formations