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Horseshoe Canyon Formation

Coordinates: 51°25′24″N 112°53′18″W / 51.42333°N 112.88833°W / 51.42333; -112.88833 (Horseshoe Canyon)
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Horseshoe Canyon Formation
Stratigraphic range: Maastrichtian
~74–67 Ma [1]
Horseshoe Canyon Formation at Horsethief Canyon, near Drumheller. The dark bands are coal seams.
TypeGeological formation
Unit ofEdmonton Group
UnderliesWhitemud Formation
OverliesBearpaw Formation
Thickness227 m (745 ft)[2]
Lithology
PrimarySandstone
OtherShale, coal
Location
Coordinates51°25′24″N 112°53′18″W / 51.42333°N 112.88833°W / 51.42333; -112.88833 (Horseshoe Canyon)
Region Alberta
Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin
Country Canada
Type section
Named forHorseshoe Canyon
Named byE.J.W. Irish, 1970

The Horseshoe Canyon Formation is a stratigraphic unit of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in southwestern Alberta.[3][4] It takes its name from Horseshoe Canyon, an area of badlands near Drumheller.

The Horseshoe Canyon Formation is part of the Edmonton Group and is up to 230 metres (750 ft) thick. It is of Late Cretaceous age, Campanian to early Maastrichtian stage (Edmontonian Land-Mammal Age), and is composed of mudstone, sandstone, carbonaceous shales, and coal seams. A variety of depositional environments are represented in the succession, including floodplains, estuarine channels, and coal swamps, which have yielded a diversity of fossil material. Tidally-influenced estuarine point bar deposits are easily recognizable as Inclined Heterolithic Stratification (IHS). Brackish-water trace fossil assemblages occur within these bar deposits and demonstrate periodic incursion of marine waters into the estuaries.

The Horseshoe Canyon Formation crops out extensively in the area around Drumheller, as well as farther north along the Red Deer River near Trochu and along the North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton.[3] It is overlain by the Battle, Whitemud, and Scollard formations.[4] The Drumheller Coal Zone, located in the lower part of the Horseshoe Canyon Formation, was mined for sub-bituminous coal in the Drumheller area from 1911 to 1979, and the Atlas Coal Mine in Drumheller has been preserved as a National Historic Site.[5] In more recent times, the Horseshoe Canyon Formation has become a major target for coalbed methane (CBM) production.

Contact (red arrow) between the underlying marine shales of the Bearpaw Formation and the coastal Horseshoe Canyon Formation. Coal beds (black bands) are common in the Horseshoe Canyon Formation and were formed in coastal swamps.

Dinosaurs found in the Horseshoe Canyon Formation include Albertavenator, Albertosaurus, Anchiceratops, Anodontosaurus, Arrhinoceratops, Atrociraptor, Epichirostenotes, Edmontonia, Edmontosaurus, Hypacrosaurus, Ornithomimus, Pachyrhinosaurus, Parksosaurus, Saurolophus, and Struthiomimus. Other finds have included mammals such as Didelphodon coyi, non-dinosaur reptiles, amphibians, fish, marine and terrestrial invertebrates and plant fossils. Reptiles such as turtles and crocodilians are rare in the Horseshoe Canyon Formation, and this was thought to reflect the relatively cool climate which prevailed at the time. A study by Quinney et al. (2013) however, showed that the decline in turtle diversity, which was previously attributed to climate, coincided instead with changes in soil drainage conditions, and was limited by aridity, landscape instability, and migratory barriers.[6]

Oil/gas production

The Drumheller Coal Zone has been a primary coalbed methane target for industry. In the area between Bashaw and Rockyford, the Coal Zone lies at relatively shallow depths (about 300 metres) and is about 70 to 120 metres thick. It contains 10 to 20 metres of cumulative coal, in up to 20 or more individual thin seams interbedded with sandstone and shale, which combine to make an attractive multi-completion CBM drilling target. In total, it is estimated there are 14 trillion cubic metres (500 tcf) of gas in place in all the coal in Alberta.

Biostratigraphy

The timeline below follows syntheses presented by Arbour et al. 2009, Cullen et al. 2013[7] Larson et al. 2010,[8] Williamson & Carr 2002, Claessens & Loewen 2015,[1] and Funston & Currie (2016).[9]

Battle FormationScollard FormationStruthiomimusAtrociraptor marshalliAlbertonykus borealisParksosaurus warreniEotriceratops xerinsularisHypacrosaurus altispinusSaurolophus osborniAnodontosaurus lambeiAlbertosaurus sarcophagusEdmontonia longicepsEdmontosaurus regalisSphaerotholus edmontonensePachyrhinosaurus canadensisAnchiceratops ornatusEpichirostenotes currieiPachyrhinosaurus lakustaiDromiceiomimus brevitertiusOrnithomimus edmontonicusApatoraptor pennatusBattle FormationScollard Formation

Dinosaurs

Ankylosaurs

Ankylosaurids reported from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images

Anodontosaurus[10][11]

A. lambei[10][11]

Units 2-4

Edmontonia

Edmontonia

E. longiceps

Unit 2

Euoplocephalus

E. tutus

Walter Coombs (1971) synonymised Anodontosaurus lambei with E. tutus. However, recent studies suggest that Anodontosaurus is distinct enough from Euoplocephalus to be placed in its own genus and species.[10][12] Furthermore, all Horseshoe Canyon Formation ankylosaurine specimens were suggested to be reassigned to Anodontosaurus.[11]

Maniraptors

Maniraptors reported from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images

Albertavenator[13]

A. curriei

Frontals, type specimen

A troodontid

Albertonykus

A. borealis

Upper unit 4

Limb bones, type specimen

An alvarezsaurid

Albertonykus
Atrociraptor

Apatoraptor [9]

A. pennatus [9]

Unit 1 [9]

Partial skeleton and skull, type specimen [9]

A caenagnathid.[9]

Atrociraptor

A. marshalli

Upper unit 4

Partial skull, type specimen

A dromaeosaurid

Epichirostenotes

E. curriei[14]

Unit 1

Partial skeleton, type specimen

A caenagnathid

Marginocephalians

Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.
Marginocephalians reported from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images

Anchiceratops

A. ornatus

Units 1 & 2

Anchiceratops
Arrhinoceratops
Eotriceratops
Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai

Arrhinoceratops

A. brachyops

Units 1 & 2

"Complete skull."[15]

Eotriceratops

E. xerinsularis

Unit 5

Montanoceratops[16]

M. cerorhynchus[16]

Isolated braincase AMNH 5244.[16]

AMNH 5244 was probably left by an indeterminate leptoceratopsid.

Pachyrhinosaurus

P. canadensis

Upper unit 1

Ceratopsids

P. lakustai

Lower unit 1

?Sphaerotholus

S. edmontonense

Unit 1

?Prenocephale.

"Almond Formation" ceratopsid

Unnamed

Upper Unit 1, Horseshoe Canyon Formation, 72.2-71Ma ago).[17]

Misidentified as Anchiceratops, it is actually a new species, probably the same as a new Pentaceratops-like form from the Almond Formation of Wyoming [18]

Ornithomimids

Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.
Ornithomimids reported from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images

Dromiceiomimus

D. brevitertius

Type specimen

An ornithomimid

Ornithomimus
Struthiomimus

Ornithomimus

O. currelli

Junior synonym of O. edmontonicus

O. edmontonicus

Units 1-4

Several specimens, type specimen

An ornithomimid

Struthiomimus

Unnamed

Unit 4

An ornithomimid

Ornithopods

Ornithopods reported from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images

Edmontosaurus

E. regalis

Units 1-2

Edmontosaurus
Hypacrosaurus
Parksosaurus
Saurolophus

Hypacrosaurus

H. altispinus

Units 4-5

"[Five to ten] articulated skulls, some associated with postcrania, isolated skull elements, isolated postcranial elements, many individuals, embryo to adult."[19]

Parksosaurus

P. warreni

Unit 3

Saurolophus

S. osborni

Unit 4

"Complete skull and skeleton, [two] complete skulls."[19]

Tyrannosaurs

Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.
Theropods reported from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images

Albertosaurus

A. arctunguis

Junior synonym of A. sarcophagus

Albertosaurus

A. sarcophagus

Units 2-5

Several skeletons and partial skeletons, type specimen

A tyrannosaurid

Daspletosaurus[20]

D. sp.[20]

Bonebed, Toothmarks on Saurolophus and Edmontosaurus

A tyrannosaurid. A specimen of Edmontosaurus regalis and Saurolophus osborni have toothmarks from a species of Daspletosaurus.[20]


Other Animals

Mammals

Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.
Mammals reported from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images

Didelphodon[21]

D. coyi

a stagodontid metatherian

Other Reptiles

Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.
Reptiles reported from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images

Stangerochampsa[22]

S. mccabei

"a skull, partial lower jaws, and partial postcranial skeleton"

An alligatoroid

Champsosaurus[23]

C. albertensis

"partial skeleton with partial skull"

a choristodere

Leurospondylus[24]

L. ultimus

"a partial skeleton"

a plesiosaur of uncertain classification

Basilemys[25]

B. morrinensis

"nearly complete shell"

a nanhsiungchelyid turtle

Fish

Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.
Fish reported from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images

Horseshoeichthys[26]

H. armaserratus

An ellimmichthyiform

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Claessens, L. & Mark A. Loewen, M.A. (2015). A redescription of Ornithomimus velour Marsh, 1890 (Dinosauria, Theropoda). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology (advance online publication). doi:10.1080/02724634.2015.1034593
  2. ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geological Units. "Horseshoe Canyon Formation". Retrieved 2009-02-06.
  3. ^ a b Prior, G. J., Hathaway, B., Glombick, P.M., Pana, D.I., Banks, C.J., Hay, D.C., Schneider, C.L., Grobe, M., Elgr, R., and Weiss, J.A. (2013). "Bedrock Geology of Alberta. Alberta Geological Survey, Map 600". Archived from the original on 2013-07-05. Retrieved 2013-08-13. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ a b Mossop, G.D. and Shetsen, I., (compilers), Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists (1994). "The Geological Atlas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, Chapter 24: Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary strata of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin". Archived from the original on 2013-07-21. Retrieved 2013-08-01. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "Mine History". Atlas Coal Mine National Historic Site. Archived from the original on 23 August 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Quinney, Annie; Therrien, François; Zelenitsky, Darla K.; Eberth, David A. (2013). "Palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstruction of the Upper Cretaceous (late Campanian–early Maastrichtian) Horseshoe Canyon Formation, Alberta, Canada". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 371: 26–44. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.12.009.
  7. ^ Cullen, T. M.; Ryan, M. J.; Schröder-Adams, C.; Currie, P. J.; Kobayashi, Y. (2013). "An Ornithomimid (Dinosauria) Bonebed from the Late Cretaceous of Alberta, with Implications for the Behavior, Classification, and Stratigraphy of North American Ornithomimids". PLOS ONE. 8 (3): e58853. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0058853. PMC 3595220. PMID 23554938.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  8. ^ Larson, D. W.; Brinkman, D. B.; Bell, P. R. (2010). "Faunal assemblages from the upper Horseshoe Canyon Formation, an early Maastrichtian cool-climate assemblage from Alberta, with special reference to the Albertosaurus sarcophagus bonebed This article is one of a series of papers published in this Special Issue on the theme Albertosaurus". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 47 (9): 1159–1181. doi:10.1139/e10-005.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Gregory F. Funston; Philip J. Currie (2016). "A new caenagnathid (Dinosauria: Oviraptorosauria) from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation of Alberta, Canada, and a reevaluation of the relationships of Caenagnathidae". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Online edition: e1160910. doi:10.1080/02724634.2016.1160910.
  10. ^ a b c Penkalski, P. (2013). "A new ankylosaurid from the late Cretaceous Two Medicine Formation of Montana, USA". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. doi:10.4202/app.2012.0125.
  11. ^ a b c Arbour, Victoria (2010). "A Cretaceous armoury: Multiple ankylosaurid taxa in the Late Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada and Montana, USA". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 30 (Supplement 2): 55A. doi:10.1080/02724634.2010.10411819.
  12. ^ Penkalski, P.; Blows, W. T. (2013). "Scolosaurus cutleri (Ornithischia: Ankylosauria) from the Upper Cretaceous Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta, Canada". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 50: 130110052638009. doi:10.1139/cjes-2012-0098.
  13. ^ Evans, D.C., Cullen, T.M., Larson, D.W., and Rego, A. “A new species of troodontid theropod (Dinosauria: Maniraptora) from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation (Maastrichtian) of Alberta, Canada.” Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences Early Online: 813-826. DOI: dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2017-0034
  14. ^ Robert M. Sullivan; Steven E. Jasinski; Mark P.A. Van Tomme (2011). "A new caenagnathid Ojoraptorsaurus boerei, n. gen., n. sp. (Dinosauria, Oviraptorosauria), from the Upper Ojo Alamo Formation (Naashoibito Member), San Juan Basin, New Mexico" (PDF). Fossil Record 3. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 53: 418–428.
  15. ^ "Table 23.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 495.
  16. ^ a b c "Abstract," Makovicky (2001); page 243.
  17. ^ Arbour, V. M.; Burns, M. E.; Sissons, R. L. (2009). "A redescription of the ankylosaurid dinosaur Dyoplosaurus acutosquameus Parks, 1924 (Ornithischia: Ankylosauria) and a revision of the genus". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 29 (4): 1117–1135. doi:10.1671/039.029.0405.
  18. ^ Farke, A. A. "Cranial osteology and phylogenetic relationships of the chasmosaurine ceratopsid Torosaurus latus", pp. 235-257. In K. Carpenter (ed.). Horns and Beaks: Ceratopsian and Ornithopod Dinosaurs. Indiana Univ. Press (Bloomington), 2006.
  19. ^ a b "Table 20.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 441.
  20. ^ a b c "City Site Was Dinosaur Dining Room". ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily. 2007-07-03. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
  21. ^ R. C. Fox and B. G. Naylor. 1986. A new species of Didelphodon Marsh (Marsupialia) from the Upper Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada: paleobiology and phylogeny. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen 172(3):357-380 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/M. Carrano]
  22. ^ X.-C. Wu, D. B. Brinkman, and A. P. Russell. 1996. A new alligator from the Upper Cretaceous of Canada and the relationships of early eusuchians. Palaeontology 39(2):351-375 [P. Mannion/P. Mannion]
  23. ^ K. -Q. Gao and R. C. Fox. 1998. New choristoderes (Reptilia: Diapsida) from the Upper Cretaceous and Palaeocene, Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada, a phylogenetic relationships of Choristodera. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 124:303-353 [R. Benson/R. Benson]
  24. ^ B. Brown. 1913. A new plesiosaur, Leurospondylus, from the Edmonton Cretaceous of Alberta. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 32(40):605-615 [M. Carrano/H. Street]
  25. ^ Jordan C. Mallon; Donald B. Brinkman (2018). "Basilemys morrinensis, a new species of nanhsiungchelyid turtle from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation (Upper Cretaceous) of Alberta, Canada". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Online edition: e1431922. doi:10.1080/02724634.2018.1431922.
  26. ^ Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 2010, 47(9): 1183-1196, [[1]]

Bibliography

  • Makovicky, P. J., 2001, A Montanoceratops cerorhynchus (Dinosauria: Ceratopsia) braincase from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation of Alberta: In: Mesozoic Vertebrate Life, edited by Tanke, D. H., and Carpenter, K., Indiana University Press, pp. 243–262.
  • Varricchio, D. J. 2001. Late Cretaceous oviraptorosaur (Theropoda) dinosaurs from Montana. pp. 42–57 in D. H. Tanke and K. Carpenter (eds.), Mesozoic Vertebrate Life. Indiana University Press, Indianapolis, Indiana.
  • Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. 861 pp. ISBN 0-520-24209-2.
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