Dry Mesa Quarry [BYU] (Jurassic to of the United States)

Also known as CO-58, DMDQ, DMQ

Where: Montrose County, Colorado (38.6° N, 108.4° W: paleocoordinates 34.7° N, 55.4° W)

• coordinate stated in text

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: Brushy Basin Member (Morrison Formation), Late/Upper Kimmeridgian to Late/Upper Kimmeridgian (155.7 - 145.0 Ma)

• upper part of Morrison, near base of member; 30-45 m below base of overlying Cedar Mountain Fm.

•The base of the quarry is about 1 metre above the "clay change". "Sediments near the clay change were dated at 150.3 +/- 0.26 Ma based on Ar40/Ar39 data from plagioclase crystals. Therefore the quarry must be younger than that, close to 150.2 +/- 0.5 Ma. More recent U-Pb dates from this part of the Morrison resulted in 151.2 +/- 1.2 Ma" (Smith et al. 2010. JVP 30:1466). These radiometric dates bracket the Kimmeridgian/Tithonian boundary, and so a late Kimmeridgian-early Tithonian age is entered.

• bed-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: "channel"; medium-grained, coarse, conglomeratic sandstone

• "a shallow but wide braided stream"
• "a fine to coarse grained lenticular sandstone"

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Collected by E. Jones, V. Jones, J. Jensen in 1971–1990

Collection methods: quarrying, surface (float), surface (in situ), mechanical,

• discovered summer, 1971 by Eddie & Vivian Jones

Primary reference: Anonymous. 1973. The Great Dinosaur DIscovery. 1-8 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Uhen]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 45975: authorized by Matthew Carrano, entered by Matthew Carrano on 16.12.2004, edited by Richard Butler, Roger Benson and Jonathan Tennant

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Osteichthyes
 Palaeonisciformes - Palaeoniscidae
Amphibia
  -
? Amphibia indet.10 Linnaeus 1758 tetrapod
BYU 9513, vertebral centrum
Reptilia
 Archosauria -
Archosauria indet.10 archosaur
BYU 9514-9516
 Pterosauria -
? Pterodactyloidea indet.10 Plieninger 1901 pterosaur
BYU 9509, 9510, femora
Mesadactylus ornithosphyos n. gen. n. sp.10 Jensen and Padian 1989 pterosaur
BYU 2024, synsacrum. BYU 2025, left femur
? Dsungaripteroidea indet.15 pterosaur
BYU 2500, first left wing-phalanx
 Theropoda -
Allosaurus jimmadseni3 Chure et al. 2006 allosauroid
MNI = 4
 Theropoda - Megalosauridae
Torvosaurus tanneri n. gen. n. sp.5
Torvosaurus tanneri n. gen. n. sp.5 Galton and Jensen 1979 tetanuran theropod
67 specimens
 Theropoda - Piatnitzkysauridae
Marshosaurus sp.12 Madsen 1976 tetanuran theropod
 Avetheropoda -
Carnosauria indet.10 carnosaur
 Theropoda -
cf. Coelurus sp.12 Marsh 1879 coelurosaur
Maniraptora indet.10 Gauthier 1986 maniraptoran
BYU 2023, right femur
Palaeopteryx thomsoni n. gen. n. sp.7 maniraptoran
BYU 2022 (holotype), identified as proximal left tibiotarsus
 Theropoda - Dromaeosauridae
? Dromaeosauridae indet.2 Colbert and Russell 1969 maniraptoran
 Theropoda - Compsognathidae
? Ornitholestes sp.2 Osborn 1903 compsognathid
 Theropoda -
Stokesosaurus sp.12 Madsen 1974 coelurosaur
Ceratosaurus sp.12 Marsh 1884 ceratosaur
 Saurischia -
Haplocanthosaurus sp.4 Hatcher 1903 sauropod
BYU 9194, 11506, 17530, 17531, 17689, 12865
 Saurischia - Diplodocidae
Apatosaurus sp.2, "Supersaurus vivianae n. gen. n. sp." = Supersaurus vivianae9, "Ultrasaurus macintoshi n. gen. n. sp." = Supersaurus vivianae9, "Dystylosaurus edwini n. gen. n. sp." = Supersaurus vivianae9, Barosaurus sp.2, Diplodocus sp.2
Apatosaurus sp.2 Marsh 1877 diplodocid
BYU 5065, 11420
"Supersaurus vivianae n. gen. n. sp." = Supersaurus vivianae9 Jensen 1985 diplodocine
"Ultrasaurus macintoshi n. gen. n. sp." = Supersaurus vivianae9 Jensen 1985 diplodocine
BYU 5000 (type) plus BYU 5001, 5002, and 5003
"Dystylosaurus edwini n. gen. n. sp." = Supersaurus vivianae9 Jensen 1985 diplodocine
BYU 5750
Barosaurus sp.2 Marsh 1890 diplodocine
BYU 11617
Diplodocus sp.2 Marsh 1878 diplodocine
BYU 12155, 12604
 Saurischia - Camarasauridae
Camarasaurus sp.2 Cope 1877 camarasaurid
BYU VP 8967, 13007, 16953, 17465, 12852, 12853, 13286, 17352
 Saurischia - Brachiosauridae
Brachiosaurus sp.4 Riggs 1903 brachiosaurid
rt. scapulocoracoid (BYU 9462), sacral complex with three articulated caudal vertebrae (BYU 11434)
 Ornithischia -
? Othnielia sp.2 Galton 1977 ornithopod
 Ornithischia - Dryosauridae
Dryosaurus altus6 Marsh 1878 ornithopod
MOR-90-03-Jr-H; BYU 13050, 725/13252, 883
 Ornithischia -
Camptosaurus sp.2 Marsh 1885 ornithopod
MNI = 1
Ankylosauria indet.11 ankylosaur
 Ornithischia - Stegosauridae
Stegosaurus sp.2 Marsh 1877 ornithischian
 Loricata - Goniopholididae
Eutretauranosuchus delfsi14 Mook 1967 crocodilian
BYU 17628, complete skull and mandibles
 Crocodylia - Crocodylidae
 Eosuchia -
 Testudinata - Pleurosternidae
Glyptops sp.2 Marsh 1890 turtle
Dinochelys whitei1 Gaffney 1979 turtle
BYU 13099, skeleton exposed in dorsal and ventral views
Mammalia
  -
Mammalia indet.13 Linnaeus 1758 mammal
BYU 2026, distal end of a right humerus
 Prototheria -
Prototheria indet.2 Gill 1872 mammal
 Allotheria -
Multituberculata indet.8 Cope 1884 multituberculate
Osteichthyes
 Dipnoi - Ceratodontidae
Ceratodus sp.2 Agassiz 1838 lungfish