Dennis R. Braman

TERRESTRIAL PALYNOMORPHS OF THE UPPER SANTONIAN–?LOWEST CAMPANIAN MILK RIVER FORMATION, SOUTHERN ALBERTA, CANADA

The Milk River Formation, a prograding clastic wedge, outcrops in a limited area of southern Alberta, Canada. The indicated age of the formation is latest Santonian to possibly earliest Campanian; its upper contact with the Pakowki Formation is unconformable. The unit is comprised of three members: Telegraph Creek, Virgelle and Deadhorse Coulee. All three members yielded well-preserved terrestrial palynomorphs. The assemblages characterizing the formation contain an abundance of species, with Accuratipollis lactifluminis sp. nov., Brevimonosulcites corrugatus and Callialasporites dampieri being the more common characteristic types. Eighteen new species are described including: Accuratipollis lactifluminis , Annulispora salsa , Integricorpus scopulensis , Cupanieidites terrestris , Cupuliferoidaepollenites quietus , Diptycha badlandensis , Echinatisporis solaris , Enzonalasporites bojatus , Erdtmanipollis circulifer , Hedlundisporites tricrassus , Leptolepiditescrepitus , Micahoodooensis , Monosulcitesriparius , Periretisyncolpites chinookensis , Perotrilites monstrum , Satishia nigra , Trilobapollis laudabilis and Triquitrites absurdus . Seven new combinations are proposed including: Echinatisporis caudata (Krasnova), Foraminisporis simiscalaris (Paden Phillips & Felix), Integricorpus kokufuense (Takahashi & Shimono), Integricorpus protrusum (Takahashi & Shimono), Integricorpus teretes (Zhou & Wang), Zlivisporis cenomanianus (Agasie), and Zlivisporis simplex (Cookson & Dettmann). A new name, Tsugaepollenites stelmakii , is proposed.

A new centrosaurine from the Late Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada, and the evolution of parietal ornamentation in horned dinosaurs

In 1916, a centrosaurine dinosaur bonebed was excavated within the Campanian-aged deposits of what is now Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada. Specimens from this now-lost quarry, including two parietals, a squamosal, a skull missing the frill, and an incomplete dentary, were purchased by The Natural History Museum, London. The material was recently reprepared and identified herein as a previously unknown taxon, Spinops sternbergorum gen. et sp. nov. Based upon the available locality data and paleopalynology, the quarry lies in either the upper part of the Oldman Formation or the lower part of the Dinosaur Park Formation. The facial region of the partial skull is similar to putative mature specimens of Centrosaurus spp. and Styracosaurus albertensis, with short, rounded postorbital horncores and a large, erect nasal horncore. Parietal ornamentation is consistent on both known parietals and is unique among ceratopsids. Bilateral, procurved parietal hooks occupy the P1 (medial-most) position on the dorsal surface of the parietal and are very similar to those seen in Centrosaurus apertus. Epiparietals in the P2 or possibly P3 position (lateral to P1) manifest as extremely elongate, caudally directed spikes, unlike the condition in C. apertus, S. albertensis, or any other “derived” centrosaurine. Cladistic analysis suggests that S. sternbergorum is closely related to Centrosaurus and Styracosaurus. Historically, based upon the condition in Styracosaurus and related centrosaurines, it was assumed that the medial-most elongated spikes on centrosaurine parietals correspond to the P3 epiparietal position. The exception illustrated in the new taxon suggests that homologies of epiparietals among basal centrosaurines (e.g., Albertaceratops and Diabloceratops) and derived centrosaurines (e.g., Styracosaurus and “pachyrhinosaurs”) should be reconsidered. The medially-placed, caudally-directed “P3” process of basal centrosaurines may, in fact, be homologous with P2.

Probable Gut Contents Within A Specimen Of Brachylophosaurus Canadensis (Dinosauria: Hadrosauridae) From the Upper Cretaceous Judith River Formation Of Montana

Abstract An exceptionally preserved subadult specimen (JRF 115H) of a hadrosaurid, Brachylophosaurus canadensis, from the Judith River Formation near Malta, Montana, contains abundant plant fragments concentrated within the body cavity. We examined the taphonomy of the carcass and analyzed the gut-region material to test whether the organic remains represent fossilized gut contents. The dinosaur was buried in a fluvial channel setting, and the excellent articulation, integument impressions, and lack of scavenging indicate rapid burial. The organic material occupies a volume of at least 5750 cm3, and comparable material is not found outside the carcass. The carcass contents include ∼63% clay, ∼16% undetermined matrix, ∼12% organic matter, and ∼9% larger inorganic clasts—mostly 50–100 μm quartz grains. Most of the organics appear to be mm-scale leaf fragments. The most parsimonious explanation for the presence and composition of the gut-region material is that much of the plant fossils represent reworked brachylophosaur ingesta influenced by flowing water that entered through openings in the carcass and introduced clay. The evidence strongly suggests that the hadrosaurid ate significant quantities of leaves and processed them into small pieces. This study provides baseline information for analyzing other cases of putative gut contents in herbivorous dinosaurs.

Biostratigraphically useful Late Cretaceous–Paleocene Terrestrial palynomorphs from the Canadian Western Interior Sedimentary Basin

The northern part of the North American Western Interior Sedimentary Basin has yielded well-preserved terrestrial palynomorphs whose occurrences allow the biostratigraphic characterization of the basin. Data have been compiled from sections that in composite span the latest Turonian to Paleocene. These data allow for the identification of species that are biostratigraphically useful within Alberta and adjacent portions of the basin. Progress has been made in establishing a stable biostratigraphic context for the basin using the first and last occurrences of 103 taxa. These palynomorphs provide a refined chronostratigraphic framework when combined with radiometric ages, polarity chronologies and ammonite biozonations. This framework has allowed the intrabasinal correlation of widely distributed sections in the Alberta and Montana portion of the basin and can be applied to stratigraphic problems in the more northern portion of the Western Interior Basin.

Magnetostratigraphic and Palynostratigraphic Correlation of Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian strata of the Bearpaw and Horseshoe Canyon formations between the CPOG Strathmore Corehole and the Red Deer Valley Section, Alberta, Canada

Abstract The Horseshoe Canyon and Bearpaw formations in the Canadian Pacific Oil and Gas Strathmore (CPOG) cored well (7-12-25-25W4M) in southern Alberta were sampled for magnetostratigraphy and palynostratigraphy. The studied interval begins in the continental upper Horseshoe Canyon Formation (early Maastrichtian) and continues to the base of the marine Bearpaw Shale (late Campanian) encompassing 358 m. A total of 152 horizons were sampled for magnetostratigraphy, and 48 horizons for palynostratigraphy. Four magnetozones (31r, 32n, 32r and 33n), 26 magnetosubzones and 8 cryptozones, a subdivision of a subzone, were identified. Most of the subzones had been previously identified in the Red Deer Valley outcrops. Magnetozone 32n in the CPOG core is only 70 per cent as thick as in the Red Deer Valley. Most of this difference occurs within the interval of coals 1 to 9 of the Red Deer Valley. The palynomorphs provide important information on the ranges of a number of key species that allow comparisons to other equivalent age sites in southern Alberta. These ranges indicate that the top of the CPOG Strathmore well is considerably younger than the top of Castor well as documented in Lerbekmo et al. (2003). The palynological results support the conclusions arrived at during the paleomagnetostratigraphic studies. The paleoecological inferences show similar oscillating marine and nonmarine conditions within the core developed by previous studies of the cored interval between the top of the Dinosaur Park and basal Horseshoe Canyon formations (Wall et al., 1971; Hills & Levinson, 1975).

The palynostratigraphy of the Edmonton Group (Upper Cretaceous) of Alberta, Canada

Palynological studies of the mainly terrestrial Edmonton Group in Alberta, Canada have been undertaken for the last 64 years. The Edmonton Group is of Late Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian) age and was deposited on the northwestern fringes of the regressing North American inland sea. Satish K. Srivastava initiated the detailed palynological study of the Edmonton Group, publishing many papers on the taxonomy and biostratigraphy of this unit. Subsequent palynological studies have produced significant additional information about the biostratigraphy of these strata. The accumulated data on lithostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy and radiometric dating have allowed for a better understanding of the group. Satish K. Srivastava formalized many species from the Edmonton Group and a list of type specimens is provided together with new curation information. All of the microscope slides have been transferred to the collections of the Royal Tyrrell Museum. Neotypes and lectotypes are herein designated and illustrated for 21 missing original type specimens. Wodehouseia edmontonicola is emended and new combinations are proposed for Expressipollis catterallii, Siberiapollis major and Corrugatisporites verrucosus. The ranges of selected species provide an updated biostratigraphy for the Edmonton Group.

Santonian To ?Earliest Campanian (Late Cretaceous) Fungi from the Milk River Formation, Southern Alberta, Canada

Abstract During a detailed palynological study of the Milk River Formation in southern Alberta, Canada, a diverse and well-preserved assemblage of fungi including dispersed fungal spores and isolated fragments of microthyriaceous fruiting bodies were encountered and these are described. Based on ammonites, magnetostratigraphy, and palynomorphs, these strata are dated as latest Santonian to ?earliest Campanian (Late Cretaceous). This palynomorph assemblage represents one of the few documented occurrences of fungi of this age. Eighteen genera of fungal spores and three of microthyriaceous thyriothecia, comprising 45 species are recorded. The fungal assemblage is characterized by species of toruloid spores in chains, and cylindrical spores belonging to Dicellaesporites, Diporicellaesporites, Pluricellaesporites, Reduviasporonites, and Scolecosporites that mainly occur as saprophytes today. Helicoid spores belonging to Involutisporonites and Paragranatisporites are also represented and these generally occur in marshy and swamp-like conditions in an open environment mainly characterized by taxodiaceous forest. Microthyriaceous thyriothecia are represented by several specimens of Asterothyrites menonii, Phragmothyrites eocaenicus, and Trichothyrites sp. Although the assemblage consists of diverse fungal taxa, the dispersed spores and fruiting structures are not abundant, and only a few scattered specimens for many species were recorded. One reason for the low frequency may have been the unfavorable paleoenvironmental conditions which prevailed in these marine to nearshore terrestrial depositional settings. In spite of the low abundances, it is thought that documentation of the fungal occurrences in these strata will be of importance in future biostratigraphic and evolutionary studies of fungi. Many of the fungal species encountered are distinctive and probably restricted stratigraphically, being different from those recorded from the better documented Paleogene/Neogene assemblages, and may prove to be biostratigraphically useful.

Depositional Environments and Stratigraphic Architecture of the Late Cretaceous Milk River and Eagle Formations, Southern Alberta and North-Central Montana: Relationships to Shallow Biogenic Gas

ABSTRACT The Milk River and Eagle formations in southern Alberta and north-central Montana form the core of the first Upper Cretaceous clastic wedge in this part of the Western Interior Foreland Basin. The wedge is a host for shallow biogenic gas in both Canada and the USA. Facies analysis in outcrop and cores shows two overall marine progradational successions with markedly differing depositional environments. The lower, Virgelle succession, is dominated by swaley and hummocky cross-stratification and represents a storm-dominated shoreface deposit. The upper, Upper Eagle succession, is dominated by a high mudstone content and has tidal indicators. Importantly, no abundant swaley or hummocky cross-stratifications can be found within the Upper Eagle succession, indicating deposition under dominantly fair-weather conditions in a restricted, probably deltaic environment. Down-dip correlation with 2760 wireline logs reveals that each succession consists of a series of three progradational allomembers separated by minor transgressions. The three Virgelle allomembers step consecutively farther basinward and were terminated by a regional transgression. The three Upper Eagle allomembers also step seaward in a shingled manner and were partly drowned before being terminated by the regional Pakowki/Claggett transgression. Production data indicates that only the Upper Eagle A, B and, when present, C allomembers are productive in the Bearpaw Mountains area. All Virgelle allomembers commonly test wet, probably due to a large amount of inter-connectivity among the coastal sandstones of the allomembers, which enabled the migration of hydrocarbons up structural dip. Unconventional reservoirs such as the Alderson Member of the southern Alberta Milk River Gas Pool are time equivalent to the Upper Eagle allomembers. Because deltaic sedimentation with little or no storm activity prevailed during Upper Eagle time, the Alderson fine-grained rocks could be the result of a plume of sediment of deltaic origin (pro-delta) being deposited on the shelf during prevailing fair-weather conditions. End_Page 155------------------------

Magnetostratigraphic and palynostratigraphic correlation of late Campanian strata of the Bearpaw and Horseshoe Canyon formations of the RCA Castor corehole to the Red Deer valley, Alberta

ABSTRACT The Research Council of Alberta stratigraphic corehole near Castor, Alberta (RCA Castor 13-34-37-13W4) was cored to a depth of 181.7 m (596 ft.) in 1967. The corehole was spudded in the basal Horseshoe Canyon Formation and continued into the top of the Dinosaur Park Formation. Fifty-six samples were studied for palynology and 44 stratigraphic levels were sampled for magnetostratigraphy. An additional 3 outcrop samples were taken for magnetostratigraphy near Castor to supplement an interval of no recovery in the core. The recovered palynomorphs and their relationship to the magnetostratigraphy support regional correlations developed previously for the Red Deer Valley to Cypress Hills area of southern Alberta. The close magnetostratigraphic correlation between the Castor core and Red Deer Valley sections has enabled the recognition of polarity subchrons 32n.5n to 33n.3n in the Castor core. A hiatus of some 0.3 m.y. occurs below the Horseshoe Canyon Formation in the Castor core. The base of the Horseshoe Canyon Formation is shown to be a little younger in the Castor area than in the Red Deer Valley (32n.6n vs. 32r.1r), suggesting progradation from the west rather than northwest. The Second Castor Sandstone correlates to the Dorothy Sandstone of the Red Deer Valley. End_Page 70-------------------------

TAPHONOMY OF A MONODOMINANT CENTROSAURUS APERTUS (DINOSAURIA: CERATOPSIA) BONEBED FROM THE UPPER OLDMAN FORMATION OF SOUTHEASTERN ALBERTA

Abstract The horned dinosaur Centrosaurus apertus from the Belly River Group (Campanian) is represented by multiple articulated skulls and skeletons, and is particularly notable for its occurrence in dozens of large-scale monodominant bonebeds, which have been found in the Dinosaur Park Formation across southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. Here we present a detailed taphonomic analysis of the first large-scale Centrosaurus apertus bonebed (McPheeters bonebed) from the Oldman Formation of southeastern Alberta. The McPheeters bonebed rivals the richest bonebeds in the Dinosaur Park Formation in terms of bone density and size, and the complete disarticulation of elements. The bonebed occurs in an overbank facies and is dominated by small bone clasts, suggesting that only low energy water current contributed to the formation of the bonebed before its final burial event. Patterns of taphonomic modification suggest that bones experienced little weathering, breakage, or scavenging. In turn, these conclusions are compatible with an overall interpretation of rapid burial in humid conditions after the disarticulation of elements. These taphonomic features are virtually identical to those seen in the well-documented bonebeds of this species in the Dinosaur Park Formation, which are interpreted to represent mass death events caused by seasonal tropical storms and associated large-scale flooding. Late Cretaceous dinosaur species typically have small geographic and stratigraphic ranges defined by the extent of single geological formations. The new bonebed extends the distribution of Centrosaurus apertus to the upper Oldman Formation, which is interpreted as more inland than the coastally influenced Dinosaur Park Formation, and suggests that mass death events related to seasonal tropical storms occurred over a broader geographic area and in a greater range of paleoenvironments than previously documented.