Upper Cretaceous palynostratigraphy of the Dry Island areaThis article is one of a series of papers published in this Special Issue on the theme Albertosaurus.

2010 ◽  
Vol 47 (9) ◽  
pp. 1145-1158 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. B. Koppelhus ◽  
D. R. Braman

The overall palynology of the upper Horseshoe Canyon Formation to lower Scollard Formation within the Edmonton Group is reviewed providing new insights into biostratigraphic relationships for the interval, including the recognition of unconformities in the stratigraphic package. The palynomorph recovery from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation and overlying units documents a number of significant events that allow the subdivision of the section. The Albertosaurus bonebed occurs within the lower Maastrichtian portion of the Edmonton Group. The bonebed is situated just below the base of the Scollardia trapaformis Palynomorph Zone, an important marker assemblage that has been documented from areas of the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. This indicates that the bonebed lies at the top of the Mancicorpus vancampoi Zone. The transition between the zones is marked by a colour change in the sediments, the appearance of coals and organic-rich sediments above the transition, a decrease in numbers of vertebrate fossils, and the appearance of new pollen species. It is inferred that the observed changes reflect a climatic switch from dry to wetter conditions. At a large scale, palynomorph assemblages across this transition do not clearly indicate marked differences that can be attributed to the climatic change, with the exception of the appearance of Scollardia trapaformis and Mancicorpus gibbus in the assemblages. On a microscale of a few metres, there are changes in relative abundance of plant groups.

2010 ◽  
Vol 47 (9) ◽  
pp. 1263-1268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phil R. Bell

Over the past decade, excavations of a monodominant theropod bonebed from the lower Maastrichtian beds of the Horseshoe Canyon Formation have recovered a minimum number of 26 individuals of the tyrannosaur, Albertosaurus sarcophagus . Examination of skeletal elements from the bonebed revealed a small number of abnormalities from at least two individuals. These include bony spurs (enthesophytes) of unknown origin on three pedal phalanges. Well-healed fracture calluses are present on two rib shafts and a gastralia element. The left dentary of one adult preserves both healed and unhealed parallel bite marks and a perforative lesion attributable to a partially healed, mechanically induced puncture wound. Unfortunately, the limited range in the types and frequencies of pathological changes provides only little information on the distribution of such phenomena but may be suggestive of the overall “health” of the population.


2010 ◽  
Vol 47 (9) ◽  
pp. 1277-1289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip J. Currie ◽  
David A. Eberth

One century ago, a field party from the American Museum of Natural History discovered a bonebed in the Upper Cretaceous Horseshoe Canyon Formation of Alberta, Canada. Excavations by that museum, the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, and the University of Alberta have revealed the presence of at least a dozen individuals — represented by articulated partial skeletons, associated skeletons, and disarticulated isolated elements — of Albertosaurus sarcophagus . Tyrannosaurids dominate the bonebed assemblage, which also includes an adult Hypacrosaurus altispinus , two individuals of Albertonykus borealis , and numerous other, predominantly terrestrial, vertebrates. Skeletal morphology, phylogenetic inference, monodominant bonebeds, trackway sites, and ecological inferences support the notion that some non-avian theropods were gregarious animals. And specifically in the Albertosaurus bonebed, associated geologic and taphonomic evidence do not rule out a behavioural component in this catastrophic, mass-death assemblage.


2010 ◽  
Vol 47 (9) ◽  
pp. 1183-1196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael G. Newbrey ◽  
Alison M. Murray ◽  
Donald B. Brinkman ◽  
Mark V. H. Wilson ◽  
Andrew G. Neuman

Horseshoeichthys armaserratus , gen. et sp. nov., (Clupeomorpha: Ellimmichthyiformes: Sorbinichthyidae) is described from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation (Maastrichtian), Albertosaurus bonebed locality, Alberta, Canada. Horseshoeichthys armaserratus is classified as an ellimmichthyiform based on the following characters: the presence of a sixth infraorbital with a sensory canal that leads to the fifth infraorbital, absence of a supraorbital bone, subrectangular predorsal scutes, parietals in contact with each other at the midline, and two supramaxillae. The specimen is classified in the Sorbinichthyidae Family as it has abdominal ribs articulating in pits on the centra, posterior spines on predorsal scutes, and absence of a median spine on predorsal scutes. A new genus and species is proposed based on the presence of (anteriorly) Y-shaped mesethmoid, supraorbital, subrectangular predorsal scutes with coarse, rounded serrae on the posterior margin and a large anterior projection, scales with serrae on the circuli, and two postcleithra. This specimen represents the first freshwater ellimmichthyiform from the Upper Cretaceous of North America and the highest paleolatitude (59°N) occurrence known for the family. Furthermore, the dentary and centra have distinctive morphologies that are matched by specimens in microvertebrate localities from three underlying formations, including the Milk River Formation (Santonian), which indicates at least a 14 million year history for this lineage.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1961-1964
Author(s):  
Sami Muhaidat ◽  
Paschalis C. Sofotasios ◽  
Kaibin Huang ◽  
Muhammad Ali Imran ◽  
Zhiguo Ding ◽  
...  

2010 ◽  
Vol 47 (9) ◽  
pp. 1197-1211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darren H. Tanke ◽  
Philip J. Currie

After many years of taxonomic uncertainty, Albertosaurus was established as a new genus in 1905, the year Alberta became a province of Canada. Gorgosaurus is a closely related tyrannosaurid from the Judithian beds of southern Alberta that was subsequently synonymized with Albertosaurus. Although most researchers consider the genera as distinct, there has been considerable confusion over the temporal and geographic range of Albertosaurus. Albertosaurus sarcophagus is only known from 13 skulls and (or) skeletons of varying completeness, and one (possibly two) bonebeds, all from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation (Campanian–Maastrichtian) of Alberta. Many of the major Albertosaurus specimens are scientifically compromised due to poor collection techniques, incomplete locality and stratigraphic information, politics, vandalism, accidents, gunplay, and landowner issues. The background of each specimen is discussed to eliminate some of the sources of confusion and to document how much of each specimen is preserved.


2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (11) ◽  
pp. 1007-1016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mackenzie Baert ◽  
Michael E. Burns ◽  
Philip J. Currie

For fossil assemblages, quantitative size and shape studies are often complicated by diagenetic distortion. Different vertebrate elements, although subjected to similar burial stresses, exhibit deformations based upon their original shapes; this hypothesis is tested here by quantitatively comparing deformed humeri and femora from the Danek Bonebed (a monodominant Edmontosaurus regalis bonebed from the upper Campanian Horseshoe Canyon Formation in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) with samples of undeformed humeri and femora from modern and fossil assemblages. Analyses suggest that at the Danek Bonebed a strong relationship exists between element length and circumference despite being distorted by crushing deformation. Major and minor axes of the midshaft cross section, however, were not uniformly distorted. Although their anatomical position did not change, the major axis became longer relative to the minor axis in distorted specimens. A regression based on the undeformed humeri was not able to accurately predict circumference in the Danek humeri. Further study might quantify the deformation of other bones in the Danek Bonebed and could be extended to other assemblages and genera. Caution should be taken when conducting studies in which diagenetic crushing may have altered morphological features of fossil vertebrate remains.


2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (11) ◽  
pp. 1023-1033 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan Vanderven ◽  
Michael E. Burns ◽  
Philip J. Currie

The Danek Bonebed (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) is a monodominant Edmontosaurus regalis assemblage of the upper Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) Horseshoe Canyon Formation. Bone histology of humeri and femora are used in this paper to test hypotheses about the growth dynamics and palaeobiology of Edmontosaurus. The high number of elements collected from the Danek Bonebed allow for an expansion of the multi-element histological record for hadrosaurs. Results indicate that Edmontosaurus had a growth trajectory similar to other large-bodied dinosaurs and reached the onset of somatic maturity at about 10–15 years of age; however, even the largest elements to preserve lines of arrested growth do not have external fundamental systems. This timing of the onset of somatic maturity agrees with the estimated body size of Edmontosaurus relative to other dinosaurs for which life-history data are available. Vascularity patterns support the hypothesis that edmontosaurs preserved at the Danek Bonebed were not subject to the same extreme seasonal environmental shifts as congenerics preserved at higher latitudes, further supporting overwintering behaviour in the latter.


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