The Peedee Formation is a geologic formation in North and South Carolina . A marine deposit, named for exposures along the Great Peedee River , it preserves invertebrate (primarily belemnites , echinoderms and foraminifera ) and vertebrate (primarily shark teeth, with some marine reptile remains) fossils dating to the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian ).[ 1]
The formation is notable for its occurrence of Belemnitella americana , known as the Pee Dee Belemnite (PDB), a long-standing standard in stable carbon isotope research. A single pterosaur femur , possibly an Azhdarchid , from the Peedee formation is one of the few pterosaur body fossils found in Eastern North America .[ 2]
The stratigraphy of the formation spans from the early Maastrichtian (in South Carolina)[ 3] to the late Maastrichtian shortly before the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event . The formation is divided into several members, including the early-mid Maastrichtian Rocky Point Member and the late Maastrichtian Island Creek Member.[ 4] Based on its fauna, it appears to be roughly concurrent with the Navesink Formation from New Jersey .[ 2]
Vertebrate paleobiota
edit
Bsaed on Case et al (2017):[ 4]
Genus
Species
Location
Member
Notes
Images
Anomotodon
A. cf. toddi
Martin-Marietta Castle Hayne Quarry, North Carolina
Island Creek
A goblin shark .
Archaeolamna
A. kopingensis
Duplin County, North Carolina
An archaeolamnid mackerel shark .
Cantioscyllium
C. cf. meyeri
Martin-Marietta Castle Hayne Quarry, North Carolina
Island Creek
A nurse shark .
Carcharias
C. cf. samhammeri
Martin-Marietta Castle Hayne Quarry, North Carolina
Island Creek
A sand shark , related to the modern sand tiger shark .
Cretalamna
C. maroccana
Martin-Marietta Castle Hayne Quarry, North Carolina
Island Creek
A megatooth shark .
Heterodontus
H. granti
Martin-Marietta Castle Hayne Quarry, North Carolina
Island Creek
A bullhead shark .
"Hybodus "
"H ." sp.
Duplin County, North Carolina
A hybodont shark.
Notidanodon
N. sp.
Martin-Marietta Castle Hayne Quarry, North Carolina
Island Creek
A cow shark . Teeth damaged but resemble those of the widespread species N. dentatus .
Odontaspis
O. aculeatus
Martin-Marietta Castle Hayne Quarry, North Carolina
Island Creek
A sand shark.
Palaeogaleus
P. sp.
Martin-Marietta Castle Hayne Quarry, North Carolina
Island Creek
A houndshark .
Plicatoscyllium
P. antiquum
Martin-Marietta Castle Hayne Quarry, North Carolina
A nurse shark.
P. derameei
Pseudocorax
P. cf. affinis
Martin-Marietta Castle Hayne Quarry, North Carolina
Island Creek
A pseudocoracid mackerel shark.
Scapanorhynchus
S. texanus
Duplin County, North Carolina
A goblin shark.
Serratolamna
S. serrata
Martin-Marietta Castle Hayne Quarry, North Carolina
Island Creek
A serratolamnid mackerel shark.
Squalicorax
S. kaupi
Martin-Marietta Castle Hayne Quarry, North Carolina
Island Creek
A crow shark .
S. pristodontus
Squalus
S. huntensis
Martin-Marietta Castle Hayne Quarry, North Carolina
Island Creek
A spurdog .
Genus
Species
Location
Member
Notes
Images
cf. Azhdarchidae indet.
East Coast Limestone Quarry
Rocky Point
A potential azhdarchid , known from a femur closely resembling that of Azhdarcho .[ 2]
Genus
Species
Location
Member
Notes
Images
Cimoliasaurus
C. magnus
East Coast Limestone Quarry, North Carolina
Rocky Point
An elasmosaurid .[ 2]
Invertebrate paleobiota
edit
Genus
Species
Location
Member
Notes
Images
Cardiaster
C. leonensis
East Coast Limestone Quarry, North Carolina
Rocky Point
A holasterid .
Catopygus
C. mississippiensis
East Coast Limestone Quarry, North Carolina
A cassidulid .
Hardouinia
H. aequoria
Wadsworth Marl Pit, North Carolina
Niels Eddy Landing, North Carolina
East Coast Limestone Quarry, North Carolina
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
A cassiduloid .
H. kellumi
H. mortonia
Faujasia
F. chelonium
East Coast Limestone Quarry, North Carolina
A sand dollar .
Lefortia
L. trojana
East Coast Limestone Quarry, North Carolina
A sand dollar.
Linthia
L. variabilis
East Coast Limestone Quarry, North Carolina
A schizasterid heart urchin .
Porosoma
P. sp.
East Coast Limestone Quarry, North Carolina
A phymosomatid .
Genus
Species
Location
Member
Notes
Images
Aldebarania
A. arenitea
Martin-Marietta Castle Hayne Quarry, North Carolina
Rocky Point
An astropectinid .[ 6]
The Peedee Formation preserves some of the latest-occurring remains of the Roveacrinida , an extinct order of minute, pelagic crinoids .[ 7]
Genus
Species
Location
Member
Notes
Images
Belemnitella
B. americana
East Coast Limestone Quarry, North Carolina
Black Rock Landing, North Carolina
Rocky Point
A belemnite , source of the famous "Pee Dee Belemnite".
Sphenodiscus
S. lobatus
East Coast Limestone Quarry, North Carolina
Rocky Point
A sphenodiscid ammonite .
^ a b USGS Peedee Formation South Carolina and USGS Peedee Formation North Carolina
^ a b c d e f Parris, David, C.; Smith Grandstaff, Barbara; Clements, Donald (August 2004). "A Pterosaur Femur from the Upper Cretaceous of North Carolina" . Southeastern Geology . 43 (1): 51–55. {{cite journal }}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link )
^ a b c d Schwimmer, David R.; Sanders, Albert E.; Erickson, Bruce R.; Weems, Robert E. (2015). "A Late Cretaceous Dinosaur and Reptile Assemblage from South Carolina, Usa" . Transactions of the American Philosophical Society . 105 (2): i–157. ISSN 0065-9746 .
^ a b Case, Gerard R.; Cook, Todd D.; Saford, Eric M.; Shannon, Kevin R. (2016). "A late Maastrichtian selachian assemblage from the Peedee Formation of North Carolina, USA" . Vertebrate Anatomy Morphology Palaeontology . 3 . doi :10.18435/B5T88N . ISSN 2292-1389 .
^ a b c d Rempert, Trevor H.; Martens, Brennan P.; Vinkeles Melchers, Alexander P. M. (2024). "Mosasaurs (Squamata: Mosasauridae) from the Late Cretaceous (Late Maastrichtian) of North Carolina, USA" . Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS . 328 (3): 384–391. doi :10.31610/trudyzin/2024.328.3.384 .
^ Blake, Daniel B.; Sturgeon, Keith (1995). "Aldebarania arenitea, a new genus and species of Astropectinidae (Asteroidea; Echinodermata) from the Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) Peedee Formation of North Carolina" . Journal of Paleontology . 69 (2): 376–380. doi :10.1017/S0022336000034697 . ISSN 0022-3360 .
^ Gale, Andrew S.; Sadorf, Eric; Jagt, John W. M. (2018-05-01). "Roveacrinida (Crinoidea, Articulata) from the upper Maastrichtian Peedee Formation (upper Cretaceous) of North Carolina, USA – The last pelagic microcrinoids" . Cretaceous Research . 85 : 176–192. doi :10.1016/j.cretres.2018.01.008 . ISSN 0195-6671 .