The Waggoner Ranch 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 northern

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. It preserves

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 back to the

Artinskian In the geologic timescale, the Artinskian is an age or stage of the Permian. It is a subdivision of the Cisuralian Epoch or Series. The Artinskian likely lasted between and million years ago (Ma) according to the most recent revision of th ...

Kungurian In the geologic timescale, the Kungurian is an age or stage of the Permian. It is the latest or upper of four subdivisions of the Cisuralian Epoch or Series. The Kungurian lasted between and million years ago (Ma). It was preceded by the Art ...

stages of the

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Pale ...

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

.Waggoner Ranch Formation
at

Fossilworks Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database, a large relational database assembled by hundreds of paleontologists from around the world. History Fossilworks was cre ...

.org

Fossil content

The following fossils have been uncovered from the formation: ;Synapsids * ''

Dimetrodon limbatus ''Dimetrodon'' ( or ,) meaning "two measures of teeth,” is an extinct genus of non- mammalian synapsid that lived during the Cisuralian (Early Permian), around 295–272 million years ago (Mya). It is a member of the family Sphenacodont ...

'' * ''

Glaucosaurus megalops ''Glaucosaurus'' is an extinct genus of small edaphosaurids from the Early Permian. The type species, ''G. megalops'', was named in 1915.S. W. Williston. 1915. New genera of Permian reptiles. ''The American Journal of Science'', series 4 39(233): ...

''Williston, 1915 * '' Mycterosaurus longiceps'' * '' Ophiacodon major'' * ''

Secodontosaurus obtusidens ''Secodontosaurus'' (meaning "cutting-tooth lizard") is an extinct genus of " pelycosaur" synapsids that lived from between about 285 to 272 million years ago during the Early Permian. Like the well known ''Dimetrodon'', ''Secodontosaurus'' is a ...

'' * '' Varanosaurus wichitaensis''Romer & Price, 1940 * '' Dimetrodon sp.''Romer, 1928 * '' Ophiacodon sp.'' ;Temnospondyls * ''

Broiliellus texensis ''Broiliellus'' is an extinct genus of dissorophoid temnospondyl within the family Dissorophidae. ''Broiliellus'' is most closely related to the genus '' Dissorophus'', and both have been placed in the subfamily Dissorophinae. ''Broiliellus'' i ...

''Williston, 1914 * ''

Eryops megacephalus ''Eryops'' (; from Greek , , 'drawn-out' + , , 'face', because most of its skull was in front of its eyes) is a genus of extinct, amphibious temnospondyls. It contains the single species , the fossils of which are found mainly in early Permian ( ...

'' * '' Eryops sp.'' * '' Trimerorhachis sp.'' ;Reptiles * '' Araeoscelis casei''Vaughn, 1955 * ''

Captorhinus aguti ''Captorhinus'' (from el, καπτō , 'to gulp down' and el, ῥῑνός , 'nose') is an extinct genus of captorhinid reptiles that lived during the Permian period. Its remains are known from Oklahoma, Texas, Europe, India, the Pedra de F ...

'' * '' C. laticeps''Clark & Carroll, 1973Heaton, 1979 * ''

Pantylus cordatus ''Pantylus'' (from el, παν , 'all' and el, τύλος , 'knob') is an extinct lepospondyl amphibian from the Permian period of North America. ''Pantylus'' was probably a largely terrestrial animal, judging from its well-built legs. It was ...

'' * '' Protocaptorhinus cf. pricei''Fox & Bowman, 1966 * '' Reiszorhinus olsoni''Sumida et al., 2010 * '' Captorhinus sp.'' ;Cotylosauria * '' Diadectes sideropelicus'' * '' Diadectes sp.'' ;Amphibians * '' Diplocaulus sp.''

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * {{cite LSA , last=Williston , first=S. W , year=1914 , title=''Broiliellus'', a new genus of amphibians from the Permian of Texas , journal=

Journal of Geology ''The Journal of Geology'' publishes research on geology, geophysics, geochemistry, sedimentology, geomorphology, petrology, plate tectonics, volcanology, structural geology, mineralogy, and planetary sciences. Its content ranges from planetary evo ...

, volume=22 , pages=49–56 Geologic formations of Texas Permian System of North America Permian geology of Texas Artinskian Stage Kungurian Limestone formations of the United States Shale formations of the United States Permian northern paleotropical deposits Paleontology in Texas

Fossil content

See also

References

Bibliography