FPA General Site (LACM): Early/Lower Tithonian, Colorado
collected by G. L. Callison & party 1970 1980

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Reptilia - Camarasauridae
Camarasaurus sp. Cope 1877
Foster 2003 3 individuals
Reptilia
Apatosaurus sp. Marsh 1877
Foster 2003 1 individual
Diplodocus sp. Marsh 1878
Foster 2003 1 individual
Reptilia - Brachiosauridae
Brachiosaurus sp. Riggs 1903
Foster 2003 1 individual
Reptilia - Stegosauridae
Stegosaurus sp. Marsh 1877
Foster 2003 1 individual
Reptilia - Heterodontosauridae
Fabrosauridae indet. Galton 1972
Weishampel and Weishampel 1983 4 individuals
    = Echinodon sp. Owen 1861
Galton 2002
    = cf. Echinodon sp. Owen 1861
Foster 2003
    = Heterodontosauridae indet. Romer 1966
Galton 2007
    = Fruitadens haagarorum n. gen., n. sp. Butler et al. 2010
Butler et al. 2010
LACM 115747 (holotype), maxillae, partial R dentary & anterior L dentary, disarticulated vertebrae incl. 2 partial cervicals, 6 partial dorsals, 6 sacrals, & numerous caudals, prox R femur, prox & distal tibiae, partial metatarsal. LACM 120602, caudal vertebra, astragalus-calcaneum, partial metatarsus/pes. LACM 128258, R premaxilla, partial L maxilla, dentaries, dorsal vertebra, distal caudal vertebra. LACM 128303, partial L dentary
Reptilia - Theropoda
Theropoda indet. Marsh 1881
Foster 2003 4 individuals
includes tracks
Reptilia
Coelurosauria indet. Huene 1914
Rasmussen and Callison 1981 3 individuals
Reptilia - Pterosauria
Pterosauria indet. Kaup 1834
Foster 2003 1 individual
Reptilia - Shartegosuchidae
cf. Hallopus sp. Marsh 1881
Rasmussen and Callison 1981 1 individual
    = "Fruitachampsa" sp. Clark 2011
Foster 2003
Reptilia - Goniopholididae
Goniopholis sp. Owen 1842
Foster 2003 2 individuals
Reptilia
Macelognathus vagans Marsh 1884
Gohlich et al. 2005 2 specimens
LACM 4684/1282772 (L femur), 4684/133772 (cranial elements)
Sphenodontidae indet. Cope 1871
Rasmussen and Callison 1981 1 individual
new species
    = Opisthias sp. Gilmore 1909
Foster 2003
Squamata indet. (Oppel 1811)
Foster and Lockley 2006 1 specimen
lizard or sphenodontian track
Reptilia - Dorsetisauridae
Dorsetisaurus sp. Hoffstetter 1967
Evans 1996 1 specimen
LACM 5572/120504
Reptilia - Paramacellodidae
Paramacellodus sp. Hoffstetter 1967
Evans 1996 1 specimen
LACM 5573/135674
Saurillodon sp. Estes 1983
Evans 1996 2 specimens
LACM 5573/135517, 5573/120590
Reptilia - Serpentes
Serpentes indet. Linnaeus 1758
Foster 2003 1 individual
Reptilia
Parviraptor gilmorei n. sp. Evans 1996
Evans 1996 5 specimens
recombined as Diablophis gilmorei
LACM 4684/140572, 5572/120732, 5572/135535, 5572/135513, 5573/135533
Mammalia
Mammalia indet. Linnaeus 1758
Foster 2003 4 individuals
Mammalia - Dryolestidae
Eupantotheria indet. Kermack and Musset 1958
Rasmussen and Callison 1981 1 individual
new species
    = Dryolestidae indet. Marsh 1879
Foster 2003
Mammalia - Paurodontidae
Paurodontidae indet. Marsh 1887
Foster 2003 1 individual
Mammalia - Multituberculata
Multituberculata indet. Cope 1884
Rasmussen and Callison 1981 3 individuals
new species
Glirodon grandis Engelmann and Callison 1999
Engelmann and Callison 1999 2 specimens
LACM 120453 (partial skull), 120452 (mandible), 120688 (partial mandible), 120458 (maxilla)
Mammalia - Symmetrodonta
Symmetrodonta indet. Simpson 1925
Foster 2003 1 individual
Mammalia - Triconodonta
Triconodonta indet. Osborn 1888
Foster 2003 1 individual
see common names

Geography
Country:United States State/province:Colorado County:Mesa
Coordinates: 39.1° North, 108.8° West (view map)
Paleocoordinates:35.6° North, 56.1° West
Basis of coordinate:stated in text
Geographic resolution:outcrop
Time
Period:Jurassic Epoch:Late/Upper Jurassic
Stage:Tithonian 10 m.y. bin:Jurassic 6
Key time interval:Early/Lower Tithonian
Age range of interval:150.80000 - 145.00000 m.y. ago
Stratigraphy
Formation:Morrison Member:Brushy Basin
Stratigraphic resolution:group of beds
Stratigraphy comments: Base of the Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation immediately above the "clay change" horizon (see Kirkland 2006, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, 36:67-95, fig. 6, pg. 93). Turner & Peterson (1999, Vertebrate Paleontology in Utah, Utah Geol. Survey Misc. Publ. 99-1, 77-114) placed the Fruita localities (listed as CO-33 in their stratigraphic sections) within the Kimmeridgian, and within their "Dinosaur Zone 2" and "charophyte-ostracod Zone 4". Stratigraphic horizons closely equivalent to the Fruitadens quarries yield 40Ar/39Ar isotopic dates of 150.3 +/- 0.3 Ma and 150.2 +/- 0.5 Ma (see Turner & Peterson 1999). This would place the Fruita quarries within the early Tithonian on recent timescales.
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology: sandstone
Secondary lithology: siltstone
Includes fossils?Y
Includes fossils?Y
Environment:"floodplain"
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body,trace
Lagerst�tten type:concentrate
Degree of concentration:concentrated
Size of fossils:macrofossils,mesofossils
Preservation of anatomical detail:good
Associated major elements:some
Disassociated major elements:many
Disassociated minor elements:many
Fragmentation:occasional
Temporal resolution:snapshot
Collection methods and comments
Collection methods:bulk,selective quarrying,surface (float),surface (in situ),mechanical,field collection,survey of museum collection
Reason for describing collection:taxonomic analysis
Museum repositories:LACM
Collectors:G. L. Callison & party Collection dates:late 1970s to early 1980s
Metadata
Also known as:Fruita Paleontological Area, LACM Loc. 4684, 6174, CO-33
Database number:71476
Authorizer:M. Carrano, R. Benson Enterer:M. Carrano, R. Benson
Modifier:M. Carrano Research group:vertebrate
Created:2007-04-26 06:34:45 Last modified:2023-08-23 11:17:00
Access level:the public Released:2007-04-26 06:34:45
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:

63779. Anonymous. 1977. The Fruita Paleontological Report 1-82 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]

Secondary references:

31136ETE R. J. Butler, P. M. Galton, L. B. Porro, L. M. Chiappe, D. M. Henderson and G. M. Erickson. 2010. A new Upper Jurassic heterodontosaurid from North America: lower limits of ornithischian dinosaur body size inferred from North America. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 277:375-381 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/R. Butler]
71347 G. Callison and H. M. Quimby. 1984. Tiny dinosaurs: are they fully grown?. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 3(4):200-209 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
42336 G. F. Engelmann and G. Callison. 1999. Glirodon grandis, a new multituberculate mammal from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation. In D. D. Gilette (ed.), Vertebrate Paleontology of Utah 161-178 [R. Benson/R. Benson]
42614 S. E. Evans. 1996. Parviraptor (Squamata: Anguimorpha) and other lizards from the Morrison Formation at Fruita, Colorado. In M. Morales (ed.), The Continental Jurassic. Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin 60:243-248 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
15179ETE J. R. Foster. 2003. Paleoecological analysis of the vertebrate fauna of the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic), Rocky Mountain region, U.S.A. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 23:1-95 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
65404 J. R. Foster and M. G. Lockley. 2006. The vertebrate ichnological record of the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic, North America). In J. R. Foster, S. G. Lucas (eds.), Paleontology and Geology of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 36:203-216 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
82653 P. M. Galton. 2002. New material of ornithischian (?Heterodontosaurid) dinosaur Echinodon (Early Cretaceous, southern England) from the Late Jurassic of Fruita near Grand Junction, Colorado, USA. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 22(3 (suppl.)):55A-56A [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
24821ETE P. M. Galton. 2007. Teeth of ornithischian dinosaurs (mostly Ornithopoda) from the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) of the western United States. In K. Carpenter (ed.), Horns and Beaks: Ceratopsian and Ornithopod Dinosaurs 17-47 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
44051 U. B. Gohlich, L. M. Chiappe, J. M. Clark and H.-D. Sues. 2005. The systematic position of the Late Jurassic alleged dinosaur Macelognathus (Crocodylomorpha: Sphenosuchia). Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42:307-321 [P. Mannion/J. Tennant]
58788 J. I. Kirkland. 1997. Fruita Paleontological Area. In P. J. Currie & K. Padian (ed.), Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs 254-256 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
65150 J. I. Kirkland. 2006. Fruita Paleontological Area (Upper Jurassic, Morrison Formation), western Colorado: an example of terrestrial taphofacies analysis. In J. R. Foster & S. G. Lucas (ed.), Paleontology and Geology of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 36:67-95 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
24159ETE T. E. Rasmussen and G. Callison. 1981. A new species of triconodont mammal from the Upper Jurassic of Colorado. Journal of Paleontology 55(3):628-634 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
46030 G. W. Rougier, J. R. Wible, and J. A. Hopson. 1996. Basicranial anatomy of Priacodon fruitaensis (Triconodontidae, Mammalia) from the Late Jurassic of Colorado, and a reappraisal of mammaliaform interrelationships. American Museum Novitates 3183:1-38 [P. Mannion/J. Tennant]
13281ETE C. E. Turner and F. Peterson. 1999. Biostratigraphy of dinosaurs in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of the Western Interior, U.S.A. In D. D. Gillette (ed.), Vertebrate Paleontology in Utah, Utah Geological Survey Miscellaneous Publication 99-1:77-114 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
61518 D. B. Weishampel and J. B. Weishampel. 1983. Annotated localities of ornithopod dinosaurs: implications to Mesozoic paleobiogeography. The Mosasaur 1:43-87 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]