The Fox Hills Formation is a Cretaceous geologic formation in the northwestern Great Plains of North America. It is present from Alberta on the north to Colorado in the south.
Fossil remains of dinosaurs, including tyrannosaurs, as well as large marine reptiles, such as mosasaurs, have been recovered from the formation.
Lithology The Fox Hills Formation consists of marginal marine yellow to grey sandstone with shale interbeds. It was deposited as a regressive sequence of barrier islands during the retreat of the Western Interior Seaway in Late Cretaceous time. In its eastern extent, the formation is underlain by the marine Pierre Shale in the United States and by the equivalent Bearpaw Formation in Canada, while in western ranges in Montana and Wyoming it overlies the Lewis Shale. The Fox Hills is overlain by continental sediments of the Laramie Formation in Colorado and the Lance Formation in Wyoming, the latter being the equivalent of the overlying Hell Creek Formation in Montana.
Fossil content
Plants
Taxa Species Locality Material Notes ImagesMarmarthiaM. johnsonii Belongs to Lauraceae, similar to Lindera.Mesocyparis M. borealisBelongs to Cupressaceae, similar to Thuja.Nilssoniocladus N. comtulaA Cycaceoid.N. yukonensis PaloreodoxitesP. plicatusIncertae sedis, a palm-like monocot. Rhamnus R. salicifoliusSimilar to R. caroliniana.ZingiberopsisZ. magnifolia Belongs to Zingiberaceae, related to Alpinia.CornusC. spA Dogwood.CercidiphyllumC. ellipticumA katsura.AsiminaA. knowltoniaA pawpaw.Paranymphaea P. hastataA water lily.Platanites P. marginataA sycamore (plane tree). MetasequoiaM. spA Dawn redwood.GlyptostrobusG. spA Swamp Cypress.TaxodiumT. olrikiiA bald cypress, also found in Hell Creek.Osmunda O. hollickiA royal fern.
Mollusks
Taxa Species Locality Material Notes ImagesPalaeocypraeaP.squyeri
See also
List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations List of stratigraphic units with indeterminate dinosaur fossils
References