The Peedee Formation is a
geologic formation
A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics ( lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exp ...
in
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
and
South Carolina
South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
. A marine deposit representing an inner
neritic
The neritic zone (or sublittoral zone) is the relatively shallow part of the ocean above the drop-off of the continental shelf, approximately in depth.
From the point of view of marine biology it forms a relatively stable and well-illuminated ...
environment,
named for exposures along the Great
Peedee River, it preserves invertebrate (primarily
belemnites Belemnites may refer to:
*Belemnitida, an extinct order of cephalopods commonly known as "belemnites"
*Belemnites (genus), ''Belemnites'' (genus), a belemnite genus from the Early Jurassic
{{disambiguation ...
,
echinoderms
An echinoderm () is any animal of the phylum Echinodermata (), which includes starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sand dollars and sea cucumbers, as well as the sessile sea lilies or "stone lilies". While bilaterally symmetrical as larv ...
and
foraminifera
Foraminifera ( ; Latin for "hole bearers"; informally called "forams") are unicellular organism, single-celled organisms, members of a phylum or class (biology), class of Rhizarian protists characterized by streaming granular Ectoplasm (cell bio ...
) and vertebrate (primarily
shark
Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...
teeth, with some marine reptile remains)
fossils
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
dating to the
Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the more recent of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''cre ...
(
Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian ( ) is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age (uppermost stage (stratigraphy), stage) of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or Upper Cretaceous series (s ...
).
The formation is notable for its occurrence of ''
Belemnitella americana
''Belemnitella'' is a genus of belemnite from the Late Cretaceous of Europe and North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered t ...
'', known as the Pee Dee Belemnite (PDB), a long-standing standard in
stable carbon isotope research. A single
pterosaur
Pterosaurs are an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 million to 66 million years ago). Pterosaurs are the earli ...
femur
The femur (; : femurs or femora ), or thigh bone is the only long bone, bone in the thigh — the region of the lower limb between the hip and the knee. In many quadrupeds, four-legged animals the femur is the upper bone of the hindleg.
The Femo ...
, possibly an
Azhdarchid
Azhdarchidae (from the Persian word , , a dragon-like creature in Persian mythology) is a family of pterosaurs known primarily from the Late Cretaceous Period, though an isolated vertebra apparently from an azhdarchid is known from the Early Cre ...
, from the Peedee formation is one of the few pterosaur body fossils found in
Eastern North America.
The stratigraphy of the formation spans from the early Maastrichtian (in South Carolina)
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.
Based on its fauna, it appears to be roughly concurrent with the
Navesink Formation from
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
.
Vertebrate paleobiota
Cartilaginous fish
Based on Case ''et al.'' (2017):
Sharks
Rays
Bony fish
Reptiles
Pterosaurs
Crocodilians
Turtles
Plesiosaurs
Mosasaurs
Invertebrate paleobiota
Echinoderms
Echinoids
Sea stars
Crinoids
The Peedee Formation preserves some of the latest-occurring remains of the
Roveacrinida, an extinct order of minute,
pelagic
The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean and can be further divided into regions by depth. The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or water column between the sur ...
crinoids
Crinoids are marine invertebrates that make up the class Crinoidea. Crinoids that remain attached to the sea floor by a stalk in their adult form are commonly called sea lilies, while the unstalked forms, called feather stars or comatulids, are ...
.
Molluscs
Cephalopods
See also
*
List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in South Carolina
*
List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in North Carolina
References
External links
* {{cite web, title= Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database, author= ((Various Contributors to the Paleobiology Database)), url= https://www.fossilworks.org, access-date= 17 December 2021
Cretaceous geology of North Carolina
Cretaceous geology of South Carolina
Maastrichtian Stage of North America
Shallow marine deposits
Sandstone formations of the United States
Claystone formations
Limestone formations of the United States