TAPHONOMIC ANALYSIS OF EARLY CRETACEOUS (APT.-ALB.) ANTLERS FORMATION FOSSIL SITES WITH COMMENTS ON SOUTHERN US PALEOENVIRONMENTS AND FAUNAL DIVERSITY
Academic Level at Time of Presentation
Graduate
Major
Environmental Geology
List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)
Dr. Katharine Loughney
Presentation Format
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Description
The Early Cretaceous marked a changing point in multiple aspects of Earth history. Continental geography shifted greatly with the continued splitting of the supercontinent Pangaea, isolating landmasses from one another with the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. This rifting led to the expansion of coastal ecosystems and the radiation of new organisms inhabiting them. The Trinity Group of Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas offers an intriguing opportunity to examine such Early Cretaceous ecosystems. The taphonomy of individual sites in the Antlers Formation has been previously evaluated but a formation-wide comparison of taphonomic characteristics has not yet been conducted. The Antlers Formation represents fluvial, deltaic, and strand plain environments occurring within a transgressive–regressive sequence which are interpreted as coastal environments with terrestrial–marginal marine facies present. Antlers Formation sites produce various sizes of organisms ranging from mammals to large dinosaurs and represent organisms that inhabit terrestrial and freshwater to marginal marine environments. Taphonomic patterns may underpin biogeography and diversity patterns. In understanding these patterns, important characteristics like endemism, connectivity, and richness can be discerned throughout the paleoecosystem. Documenting these features adds environmental framework for an important time in the Mesozoic, marking complete faunal turnovers and continental movement. Results will also enable comparison with other Cretaceous coastal fossil-bearing deposits to help identify similarities in their environments of preservation and faunal assemblages.
Spring Scholars Week 2026
Watershed Studies Institute Research Symposium
TAPHONOMIC ANALYSIS OF EARLY CRETACEOUS (APT.-ALB.) ANTLERS FORMATION FOSSIL SITES WITH COMMENTS ON SOUTHERN US PALEOENVIRONMENTS AND FAUNAL DIVERSITY
The Early Cretaceous marked a changing point in multiple aspects of Earth history. Continental geography shifted greatly with the continued splitting of the supercontinent Pangaea, isolating landmasses from one another with the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. This rifting led to the expansion of coastal ecosystems and the radiation of new organisms inhabiting them. The Trinity Group of Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas offers an intriguing opportunity to examine such Early Cretaceous ecosystems. The taphonomy of individual sites in the Antlers Formation has been previously evaluated but a formation-wide comparison of taphonomic characteristics has not yet been conducted. The Antlers Formation represents fluvial, deltaic, and strand plain environments occurring within a transgressive–regressive sequence which are interpreted as coastal environments with terrestrial–marginal marine facies present. Antlers Formation sites produce various sizes of organisms ranging from mammals to large dinosaurs and represent organisms that inhabit terrestrial and freshwater to marginal marine environments. Taphonomic patterns may underpin biogeography and diversity patterns. In understanding these patterns, important characteristics like endemism, connectivity, and richness can be discerned throughout the paleoecosystem. Documenting these features adds environmental framework for an important time in the Mesozoic, marking complete faunal turnovers and continental movement. Results will also enable comparison with other Cretaceous coastal fossil-bearing deposits to help identify similarities in their environments of preservation and faunal assemblages.