Prince Creek Formation

Prince Creek Formation Stratigraphic range: Late Cretaceous-Paleocene, 80–60 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
General location of the Prince Creek Formation, in red
Type	Geological formation
Sub-units	Kikak-Tegoseak Quarry, Kogosukruk Tongue, Ocean Point, Coleville River Bluff
Underlies	Sagavanirktok Formation
Overlies	Schrader Bluff Formation
Lithology
Primary	sandstone, mudstone[1]
Other	siltstone, carbonaceous shale, ash-fall[1]
Location
Region	Alaska
Country	USA

The Prince Creek Formation is a geological formation in Alaska with strata from the early Campanian stage of the Upper Cretaceous to the Danian of the Paleocene, between 80 and 60 million years ago. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.^[2]

Age

The Prince Creek Formation aged from 80 to 60 million years ago. The Kikak-Tegoseak Quarry, where almost all of the dinosaur fossil are from, is located near the middle of the formation, and is about 70.6 to 69.1 million years ago.^[3][4] A lower section, the Kogosukruk Tongue, ages from 72 to 71 million years ago, in the latest Campanian.^[5] The youngest part of the formation is Ocean Point, which extends into the Paleogene, at the end of the Danian, based on the age of ostracods and mollusks.^[6] In the middle of the formation is the Coleville River Bluff, which extends from the Late Campanian to the Middle/Late Maastrichtian, in which pollen spores are common.^[7]

Habitat

During the time when the Prince Creek Formation was deposited, the earth was going through a greenhouse phase. The rocks in it are alluvial, and were, at the time of burial, on a muddy coastal plain. Leafy plants, roots and pollen are known from the formation, and they show that trampling by dinosaurs was common. It can be proven that during the Maastrichtian the Prince Creek Formation bordered a large body of water by the presence of gypsum and pyrite in nearby rock. Large amounts of plants material are represented by peridonoid dinocysts, algae, fungal hyphae, fern and moss spores, projectates, Wodehouseia edmontonicola, hinterland bisaccate pollen, and pollen from trees, shrubs, and herbs. Concluded on the large amounts of dinosaurs and flora, the Prince Creek Formation was likely a polar woodland lacking ground ice with dinosaurs dominating and angiosperms towering above them.^[1]

Vertebrate paleofauna

Dinosaurs

Theropods

Indeterminate tyrannosaurid remains present, mostly in the form of teeth. The teeth are from the Kikak-Tegoseak Quarry, Liscomb Quarry, and Byers Bed, totaling 8 teeth.^[8]

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 of the Prince Creek Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphic position	Abundance	Notes	Images
Dromaeosaurus[8][9]	D. cf albertensis[8][9]	Liscomb Quarry[8] Kikak-Tegoseak Quarry[8] Byers Bed[8]	Middle Maastrichtian[3]	Fossilized teeth[8]
Nanuqsaurus[3]	N. hoglundi[3]	Kikak-Tegoseak Quarry[3]	Middle Maastrichtian[3]	One partial skull including a bone near the front of the maxilla and the front of the lower jaw.[3]	Nanuqsaurus is a dwarf tyrannosaurid closely related to Lythronax, Tyrannosaurus, and Tarbosaurus.[3]
Saurornitholestes[8][9]	S. cf. langstoni[8][9]	Old Bone Beach[8]		Teeth[8]
Troodon[3]	T. sp[3]	Kikak-Tegoseak Quarry[3] Liscomb Quarry[8] Byers Bed[8] Magical Mystery Bar[10]	Middle Masstrichtian[3]	Dental remains,[3] including teeth.[8]	Remains of T. sp. are approximately 50% larger than specimens from Alberta and Montana.[3] Remains were previously assigned to T. formosus.[9] The most abundant theropod.[10]

Ornithischians

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.

Ornithischians of the Prince Creek Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphic position	Abundance	Notes	Images
Alaskacephale[11]	A. gangloffi[11]	Kogosukruk Tongue[12]	Late Campanian[5]	A squamosal, and the back of the dome.[5]	The first pachycephalosaurine from Alaska discovered.[5]
Pachyrhinosaurus[4][13]	P. perotorum[4][13]	Kikak-Tegoseak Quarry[4]	Early Maastrichtian, approximately 69 mya[4]	An abundance of skeletal remains,[4] including an immature juvenile.[13]	The youngest of the Pachyrhinosaurus species, found in one of the highest latitudes of centrosaurine discoveries.[4] A discovery in the Kikak-Tegoseak Quarry was identified in 2013 as a juvenile of Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum. This discovery shows that the crest started to develop in the front of the snout, then extending farther back until it reaches the eye.[13]
Parksosaurus?[14]	Indeterminate[14]			Teeth[14]	Remains previously attributed to Thescelosaurus.[14]
Ugrunaaluk[15]	U. kuukpikensis	Kikak-Tegoseak Quarry[4]	Early Maastrichtian	Juvenile specimens	An edmontosaurin saurolophine hadrosaur related to Edmontosaurus.
Indeterminate[14]	Indeterminate[14]			One tooth[14]	A single "hypsilophodontid" cheek tooth not attributable to Parksosaurus or Thescelosaurus.[14]

Birds

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.

Birds of the Prince Creek Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphic position	Abundance	Notes	Images
Gruipeda	G. vegrandiunis	Denali Park			Footprints from a small bird.

Plants

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.

Plants of the Prince Creek Formation[7]
Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphic position	Abundance	Notes	Images
Paxataxodium[12]	P. wigginsii[12]	Kogosukruk Tongue[12]	Late Campanian[5]		A conifer, one of two from the region.[12]
Hollickia[12]	H. quercifolia[12]	Kogosukruk Tongue[12]	Late Campanian[5]	Leaves[12]	An angiosperm, known from leaves.[12]
Quereuxia[12]	Q. angulata[12]	Kogosukruk Tongue[12]	Late Campanian[5]		An aquatic angiosperm.[12]
Equisetites[12]	E. sp.[12]	Kogosukruk Tongue[12]	Late Campanian[5]		A sphenophyte.[12]
Pulcheripollenites	P. krempii	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen spores	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
cf. Proteacidites	cf. P. sp.	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen spores	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
cf. Polycingulatisporites	cf. P. reduncus	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen spores	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Podocarpidites	P. sp.	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen spores	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Ovoidites	O.? sp.	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen spores	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
	O. sp.	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen spores	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
	O. parvus	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen spores	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
	O. arcticus	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen spores	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Osmundacidites	O. wellmanii	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen remains	Common in the Early Maastrichtian. Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Mantonisporites	M. sp. indet	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen remains	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Mancicorpus	M. pseudosenonicus	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen remains	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Lycopodiacidites	L. sp.	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen remains	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Lunatadinium	L. dissolutum	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen remains	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Indeterminate	Indeterminate	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Septate fungal hypha.	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Leosphaeridia	L. "stellata"	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen remains	Common in the Early Maastrichtian. Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Lairidordites	L. magnus	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen remains	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Laegivatosporites	L. spp.	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen remains	Indeterminate remains abundant in the Early Maastrichtian, and still numerous in the Late Maastrichtian. Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
	L. sp.	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen remains	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Kurtzipites	K. trispissatus	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen remains	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Integricorpus	I. sp.	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen remains	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Ischyosporites	I. sp.	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen remains	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Ischyosporites	I. sp.	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Samples of distinct pollen	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Inundatisporis	I. tappaniae	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Samples of distinct pollen	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Impardecispora	I. marylandensis	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Samples of distinct pollen	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Hannisporis	H. scollardensis	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Samples of distinct pollen	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
	H. amplus	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Samples of distinct pollen	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Gleicheniidites	G. senonicus	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Samples of distinct pollen	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Foveosporites	F sp.	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Samples of distinct pollen	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Foraminisporis	F. undulosus	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Samples of distinct pollen	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Fibulapollis	F. scabratus	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Samples of distinct pollen	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Expressipollis	cf. E. accuratus	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Samples of distinct pollen	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Erdtmannipollis	E. procumbentformis	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen spores	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Dictyophyllidites	D. sp.	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen remains	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Deltoidospora	D. spp.	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Late Maastrichtian	Preserved pollen samples	Very abundant in the early Maastrichtian and Indeterminate level of the formation, becoming rarer until the Middle/Late Maastrichtian. Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Cycadopites	C. fragilis	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Samples of distinct pollen	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Crassispora?	cf. C. apisulacea	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen samples	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
cf. Converrucosisporites	cf. C. sp.	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Specimens of preserved pollen spores	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Clavatisporites	C. sp.	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Preserved pollen samples	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Circulodinium	C. sp.	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen samples	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Cingutriletes	cf. C. congruens	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen remains	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Cingulizonates	C. bialatus	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen samples	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Cicatricosisporites	C. sp. 1	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Distinct pollen remains	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
	C. spp.	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Preserved pollen	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
	cf. C. dorogensis	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Fossilized pollen spores	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Cibotiumspora	C. sp.	Coleville Bluff Formation	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen spores	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Camarozonosporites	C. ambigens	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen specimens	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Botryococcus	B. braunii	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Indeterminate	Indeterminate	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Late Maastrichtian	Bissacate gymnosperm pollen	Common and abundant in the Early Maastrichtian, becoming rarer towards the Late Maastrichtian. Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Balmeisporites	B. sp.	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen spore remains	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Azonia	cf. A. cribrata	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Carbonized pollen	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Aquilapollenites	A. trialatus	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
	A. spp.	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
	A. sp.	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
	cf. A. dentatus	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
	A. amygdaloides	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen	Numerous in the Late Campanian, becoming abundant in the Maastrichtian. Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Annulispora	A. sp.	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Anacololsidites	A. sp. 1	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
	A. sp.	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Alete	A. clavate	Coleville River Formation	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Aequitriradites	cf. A. spinulosus	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.
Aequitriradite	A. sp.	Coleville River Bluff	Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian	Pollen	Also found in the Schrader Bluff Formation.

See also

• List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations

Footnotes

1. Flaig, P.P.; McCarthy, P.J.; Fiorillo, A.R. (2013). Driese, S.G.; Nordt, L.C., eds. "New Frontiers in Paleopedology and Terrestrial Paleoclimatology: Paleosols and Soil Surface Analog Systems". SEPM Special Publication 104: 179–230. doi:10.2110/sepmsp.104.14. |chapter= ignored (help)
2. Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous, North America)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 574-588. ISBN 0-520-24209-2.
3. Fiorillo, A. R.; Tykoski, R. S. (2014). Dodson, Peter, ed. "A Diminutive New Tyrannosaur from the Top of the World". PLoS ONE 9 (3): e91287. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0091287.
4. Fiorillo, A.R. and Tykoski, R.S.T., 2012. "A new species of the centrosaurine ceratopsid Pachyrhinosaurus from the North Slope (Prince Creek Formation: Maastrichtian) of Alaska." Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, available online 26 Aug 2011. doi:10.4202/app.2011.0033
5. Gangloff, R.A.; Fiorillo, A.R.; Norton, D.W. (2005). "The First Pachycephalosaurine (Dinosauria) from the Paleo-Arctic of Alaska and its Paleogeographic Implications". Journal of Paleontology 79 (5): 997–1001. doi:10.1666/0022-3360(2005)079[0997:tfpdft]2.0.co;2.
6. Marincovich, L.; Brouwers, E. M.; Carter, L. D. (1985). "Early Tertiary marine fossils from northern Alaska: Implications for Arctic Ocean paleogeography and faunal evolution". Geology 13 (11): 770. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1985)13<770:ETMFFN>2.0.CO;2.
7. Flores, R.M.; Myers, M.D.; Houseknecht, D.W.; Stricker, G.D.; Brizzolara, D.W.; Ryherd, T.J.; Takahashi, K.I. (2007). "Stratigraphy and Facies of Cretaceous Schrader Bluff and Prince Creek Formations in Colville River Bluffs, North Slope, Alaska" (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1748: 52.
8. Fiorillo, A.R.; Gangloff, R.A. (2000). "Theropod Teeth from the Prince Creek Formation (Cretaceous) of Northern Alaska, with Speculations on Arctic Dinosaur Paleoecology". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 20 (4): 675–682. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2000)020[0675:ttftpc]2.0.co;2.
9. "3.33 Alaska, United States; 3. Prince Creek Formation," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 587.
10. Fiorillo, A.R.; Tykoski, R.S.; Currie, P.J.; Mccarthy, P.J.; Flaig, P. (2009). "Description of two partial Troodon braincases from the Prince Creek Formation (Upper Cretaceous), North Slope Alaska". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 29 (1): 178–187. doi:10.1080/02724634.2009.10010370.
11. Sullivan, R.M., 2006. A taxonomic review of the Pachycephalosauridae (Dinosauria: Ornithischia). New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 35: 347-365.
12. Spicer, R.A.; Parrish, J.T. (1987). "Plant Megafossils, Vertebrate Remains, and Paleoclimate of the Kogosukruk Tongue (Late Cretaceous), North Slope, Alaska". In Hamilton, Thomas D.; Galloway, John P. Geologic Studies in Alaska. U.S. Geological Survey circular. pp. 47–48.
13. Fiorillo, A.R.; Tykoski, R.S. (2013). Farke, Andrew A., ed. "An Immature Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum (Dinosauria: Ceratopsidae) Nasal Reveals Unexpected Complexity of Craniofacial Ontogeny and Integument in Pachyrhinosaurus". PLoS ONE 8 (6): e65802. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0065802. PMC 3686821. PMID 23840371.
14. Brown, C.M. and Druckenmiller, P. (2011). "Basal ornithopod (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) teeth from the Prince Creek Formation (early Maastrichtian) of Alaska." Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (advance online publication) doi:10.1139/e11-017
15. Hirotsugu Mori, Patrick S. Druckenmiller, and Gregory M. Erickson, 2015. A new Arctic hadrosaurid from the Prince Creek Formation (lower Maastrichtian) of northern Alaska. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica (in press) doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.4202/app.00152.2015 http://app.pan.pl/article/item/app001522015.html

References

• Flaig, P.P. (2010). "Depositional Environments of the Late Cretaceous (Maaastrichtian) Dinosaur-Bearing Prince Creek Formation: Colville River Region, North Slope, Alaska". Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertations, The University of Alaska-Fairbanks: 311.
• Flaig, P.P.; McCarthy, P.J.; Fiorillo, A.R. (2011). "From River to Rock Record: The Preservation of Fluvial Sediments and their Subsequent Interpretation". SEPM Special Publication 97: 233–264. |chapter= ignored (help)
• Flaig, P.P., Fiorillo, A.R., and McCarthy, P.J., 2014, Dinosaur-bearing hyperconcentrated flows of Cretaceous Arctic Alaska—Recurring catastrophic event beds on a distal paleopolar coastal plain: Palaios, v. 29, no. 11, p. 594–611.
• Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. 861 pp. ISBN 0-520-24209-2.