A unique monospecific bonebed of rhinophrynid anurans was recently discovered in the Wagon Bed Fo... more A unique monospecific bonebed of rhinophrynid anurans was recently discovered in the Wagon Bed Formation (Middle Eocene, Uintan), Hot Springs County, Wyoming. The bonebed occurs on a single bedding plane within a thin sandstone layer. This unit is part of a nearshore facies of a calcium carbonate-rich lake in which the water was warm, shallow, and quiet at the site of the mortality layer.A representative area of this bonebed, approximately 450 square centimeters in size, provides the basis for this taphonomic and paleoecologic study. This area contains approximately 600 bones and at least 19 individuals are represented. Skeletons are nearly completely disarticulated but somewhat associated, bone modification features are absent, a slight preferred orientation of the linear bones is present, and many of the lighter, less dense skeletal elements are underrepresented. Scavengers probably contributed to disarticulation of the skeletons. Bone depletion occurred by a combination of the ac...
The Prince Creek Formation of Alaska, a rock unit that represents lower coastal plain and delta d... more The Prince Creek Formation of Alaska, a rock unit that represents lower coastal plain and delta deposits, is one of the most important formations in the world for understanding vertebrate ecology in the Arctic during the Cretaceous. Here we report on an isolated cranial material, supraoccipital, of a lambeosaurine hadrosaurid from the Liscomb Bonebed of the Prince Creek Formation. The lambeosaurine supraoccipital has well-developed squamosal bosses and a short sutural surface with the exoccipital-opisthotic complex, and is similar to lambeosaurine supraoccipitals from the Dinosaur Park Formation in having anteriorly positioned squamosal bosses. Affinities with Canadian lambeosaurines elucidate more extensive faunal exchange between the Arctic and lower paleolatitudes which was previously suggested by the presence of Edmontosaurus, Pachyrhinosaurus, tyrannosaurids, and troodontids in both regions. The presence of one lambeosaurine and nine hadrosaurine supraoccipitals in the Liscomb ...
As a key tool for understanding how animals lived in the past, paleopathology informs us about th... more As a key tool for understanding how animals lived in the past, paleopathology informs us about the lives and deaths of fossil animals. We identify paleopathologies within an assemblage of bones of the pachyrostran centrosaurine Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum, an Arctic ceratopsian. More than 1,000 bones of this dinosaur were collected from the Prince Creek Formation of North Slope, Alaska from fossil sites along the Colville River. Our survey shows the occurrence of paleopathology to be very low and comparable to other populations of horned dinosaurs from the lower latitudes, suggesting that the ancient Arctic environment did not impose intense hardships on these dinosaurs greater than in other environments, as expressed by paleopathological modification of the skeleton. This result may be due to the more equable mean annual temperatures in the Arctic region during the Cretaceous. Also of interest, the frequency of occurrence of paleopathology in the Arctic Pachyrhinosaurus population i...
A unique monospecific bonebed of rhinophrynid anurans was recently discovered in the Wagon Bed Fo... more A unique monospecific bonebed of rhinophrynid anurans was recently discovered in the Wagon Bed Formation (Middle Eocene, Uintan), Hot Springs County, Wyoming. The bonebed occurs on a single bedding plane within a thin sandstone layer. This unit is part of a nearshore facies of a calcium carbonate-rich lake in which the water was warm, shallow, and quiet at the site of the mortality layer.A representative area of this bonebed, approximately 450 square centimeters in size, provides the basis for this taphonomic and paleoecologic study. This area contains approximately 600 bones and at least 19 individuals are represented. Skeletons are nearly completely disarticulated but somewhat associated, bone modification features are absent, a slight preferred orientation of the linear bones is present, and many of the lighter, less dense skeletal elements are underrepresented. Scavengers probably contributed to disarticulation of the skeletons. Bone depletion occurred by a combination of the ac...
The Prince Creek Formation of Alaska, a rock unit that represents lower coastal plain and delta d... more The Prince Creek Formation of Alaska, a rock unit that represents lower coastal plain and delta deposits, is one of the most important formations in the world for understanding vertebrate ecology in the Arctic during the Cretaceous. Here we report on an isolated cranial material, supraoccipital, of a lambeosaurine hadrosaurid from the Liscomb Bonebed of the Prince Creek Formation. The lambeosaurine supraoccipital has well-developed squamosal bosses and a short sutural surface with the exoccipital-opisthotic complex, and is similar to lambeosaurine supraoccipitals from the Dinosaur Park Formation in having anteriorly positioned squamosal bosses. Affinities with Canadian lambeosaurines elucidate more extensive faunal exchange between the Arctic and lower paleolatitudes which was previously suggested by the presence of Edmontosaurus, Pachyrhinosaurus, tyrannosaurids, and troodontids in both regions. The presence of one lambeosaurine and nine hadrosaurine supraoccipitals in the Liscomb ...
As a key tool for understanding how animals lived in the past, paleopathology informs us about th... more As a key tool for understanding how animals lived in the past, paleopathology informs us about the lives and deaths of fossil animals. We identify paleopathologies within an assemblage of bones of the pachyrostran centrosaurine Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum, an Arctic ceratopsian. More than 1,000 bones of this dinosaur were collected from the Prince Creek Formation of North Slope, Alaska from fossil sites along the Colville River. Our survey shows the occurrence of paleopathology to be very low and comparable to other populations of horned dinosaurs from the lower latitudes, suggesting that the ancient Arctic environment did not impose intense hardships on these dinosaurs greater than in other environments, as expressed by paleopathological modification of the skeleton. This result may be due to the more equable mean annual temperatures in the Arctic region during the Cretaceous. Also of interest, the frequency of occurrence of paleopathology in the Arctic Pachyrhinosaurus population i...
Alaska Dinosaurs: an ancient Arctic world will publish in January, 2018. The book sheds light on ... more Alaska Dinosaurs: an ancient Arctic world will publish in January, 2018. The book sheds light on a dinosaurian world that once was, and provide insight into what might be ahead for the Arctic. It is available for order now through these two websites.
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Papers by Anthony Fiorillo
insight into what might be ahead for the Arctic.
It is available for order now through these two websites.
https://www.routledge.com/Alaska-Dinosaurs-An-Ancient-Arctic-World/Fiorillo/p/book/9781138060876
https://www.amazon.com/Alaska-Dinosaurs-Ancient-Arctic-World/dp/1138060879
The flyer is the pre-publication discount through CRC Press.