Turners Falls Formation
TypeGeological formation
Unit ofNewark Supergroup
Location
Region Massachusetts
Country United States

The Turners Falls Formation or Turners Falls Sandstone is an Early Jurassic geological formation in Massachusetts. Various reptile tracks and footprints are known from this strata. These include Antipus flexiloquus, which has been interpreted as belonging to a small quadrupedal reptile[1] or a pterosaur,[2] though it is most likely a crocodylomorph.[3]

The formation is thought to represent the distal zones of three alluvial fans flowing west into a semiarid rift valley formed by a Mesozoic graben.[4] These deposits represent the first infilling of the lowland that would one day become the Connecticut River Valley.[4]

In addition to trace fossils, the Turners Falls Formation bears some of the most well-preserved specimens of armored mud balls in the world.[4][5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Coombs, Walter P. (1996). "Redescription of the ichnospecies Antipus flexiloquus Hitchcock, from the Early Jurassic of the Connecticut Valley". Journal of Paleontology. 70 (2): 327–331. doi:10.1017/S0022336000023416. ISSN 0022-3360. S2CID 132779327.
  2. ↑ Rainforth, E.C. (2006). "Antipus flexiloquus – the earliest pterosaur tracks from North America?". Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. 38 (2): 82.
  3. ↑ Whyte, M. A.; Romano, M. (2014-05-01). "First record of the pterosaur footprint Pteraichnus from the Saltwick Formation (Aalenian) of the Cleveland Basin, Yorkshire, UK". Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society. 60 (1): 19–27. doi:10.1144/pygs2014-338. ISSN 0044-0604.
  4. 1 2 3 Little, Richard D. (1982). "Lithified Armored Mud Balls of the Lower Jurassic Turners Falls Sandstone, North-Central Massachusetts". The Journal of Geology. 90 (2): 203–207. doi:10.1086/628665. ISSN 0022-1376. JSTOR 30070759. S2CID 140571464.
  5. ↑ Little, R. D. (2020). Exploring Franklin County, Western Massachusetts: Your Guide to Amazing Stories in Rocks & Landscapes. Easthampton, MA: Earth View LLC.

References


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