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The Green River Formation is a geological formation located in the Intermountain West of the United States, in the states of Colorado , Utah , and Wyoming . It comprises sediments deposited during the Early Eocene in a series of large freshwater lakes: Lake Gosiute , Lake Uinta , and Fossil Lake (the last containing Fossil Butte National Monument ). It preserves a high diversity of freshwater fish, birds, reptiles, and mammals, with some sections of the formation (including Fossil Lake and the Parachute Creek member of Lake Uinta) qualifying as Konservat-Lagerstätten due to their extremely well-preserved fossils.
Genus
Species
Member
Abundance
Notes
Image
Asterotrygon
A. maloneyi
Fossil Lake
A stingray of uncertain affinities.[ 1]
Heliobatis
H. radians
A stingray of uncertain affinities.
Primarily based on Grande (2001), with changes where necessary:[ 2]
Genus
Species
Member
Abundance
Notes
Image
Eohiodon
E. falcatus
Fossil Lake
A hiodontid .
Genus
Species
Member
Abundance
Notes
Image
Phareodus
P. encaustus
Fossil Lake, Lake Gosiute
A bonytongue .
P. testis
Fossil Lake
Genus
Species
Member
Abundance
Notes
Image
Gosiutichthys
G. parvus
Lake Gosiute
A clupeiform .
Knightia
K. alta
Fossil Lake, Lake Gosiute & Lake Uinta
A clupeid .[ 4] The most commonly found articulated vertebrate fossil in the world.[ 5]
K. eocaena
The most common fish of the formation.
Genus
Species
Member
Abundance
Notes
Image
Amyzon
A. gosiutensis
Lake Gosiute
A sucker .
A. aggregatum , a related species
Genus
Species
Member
Abundance
Notes
Image
Astephus
A. antiquus
Lake Gosiute, Lake Uinta, Fossil Lake
Only one specimen known from Fossil Lake.
An ictalurid catfish .
Hypsidoris
H. farsonensis
Lake Gosiute
A hypsidorid catfish.
Genus
Species
Member
Abundance
Notes
Image
Amphiplaga
A. brachyptera
Fossil Lake
A relative of trout-perch .
Erismatopterus
E. levatus
Lake Gosiute, Lake Uinta
A relative of trout-perch.
Genus
Species
Member
Abundance
Notes
Image
Neanis
N. schucherti
Fossil Lake
A possible piciform of uncertain affinities.
Pristineanis
P. kistneri
A possible piciform of uncertain affinities.[ 16]
Genus
Species
Member
Abundance
Notes
Image
Foro
F. panarium
Fossil Lake
A stem-turaco .[ 21]
Genus
Species
Member
Abundance
Notes
Image
Limnofregata
L. azygosternon
Fossil Lake
An early frigatebird .
L. hasegawai
Genus
Species
Member
Abundance
Notes
Image
Vadaravis
V. brownae
Fossil Lake
Potentially a stem-ibis .[ 22]
Genus
Species
Member
Abundance
Notes
Image
Messelornis
M. nearctica
Fossil Lake
A messelornithid .
Specimen of a related species
Neoaves incertae sedis [ edit ]
Two other genera, Eoeurypyga (a stem-sunbittern ) and Wyomingcypselus (an early apodiform ) are mentioned only in a 2002 dissertation,[ 28] and are presently nomina nuda .
Partially based on Grande (1984). Aside from the few well-preserved mammals found in Fossil Lake, a majority of Green River mammals are based on isolated bones and teeth:[ 29]
Genus
Species
Member
Abundance
Notes
Image
Herpetotherium
H. innominatum
Lake Gosiute & Lake Uinta
An opossum -like basal metatherian . Originally placed in Peratherium .
H. huntii , a related species
H. knighti
Lake Gosiute
Genus
Species
Member
Abundance
Notes
Image
Nyctitherium
N. nitidum
Lake Gosiute
A nyctitheriid . Originally identified as Talpavus nitidus .
N. sp.
Lake Uinta
Genus
Species
Member
Abundance
Notes
Image
Hyopsodus
H. minusculus
Lake Gosiute & Lake Uinta
A hyopsodontid .
H. paulus (=H. vicarius )
Lake Uinta
H. wortmani
Fossil Lake
Lambdotherium
L. popoagicum
Fossil Lake
A small-sized basal brontothere .
Protorohippus
P. venticolus
2 skeletons.
An equid .
Tapiromorpha indet.
1 skeleton
A juvenile tapiromorph, the largest mammal specimen known from the formation. Initially identified as a Heptodon calciculus .[ 31]
Genus
Species
Member
Abundance
Notes
Image
Apatemys
A. chardini
Fossil Lake
1 skeleton.
An apatemyid .
Primarily based on Bechly et al (2020):[ 35]
Based on Grande (1984):[ 29] [ 41]
^ De Carvalho, Marcelo R.; Maisey, John G.; Grande, Lance (June 2004). "Freshwater Stingrays of the Green River Formation of Wyoming (Early Eocene), With the Description of a New Genus and Species and an Analysis of Its Phylogenetic Relationships (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatiformes)" . Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History . 284 : 1–136. doi :10.1206/0003-0090(2004)284<0001:FSOTGR>2.0.CO;2 . ISSN 0003-0090 .
^ Grande, Lance (2001), Gunnell, Gregg F. (ed.), "An Updated Review of the Fish Faunas From the Green River Formation, the World's Most Productive Freshwater Lagerstätten" , Eocene Biodiversity: Unusual Occurrences and Rarely Sampled Habitats , Topics in Geobiology, vol. 18, Boston, MA: Springer US, pp. 1–38, doi :10.1007/978-1-4615-1271-4_1 , ISBN 978-1-4615-1271-4 , retrieved 2024-08-17
^ Schwartz, Frank J. (2011-10-01). "An Emperical Synthetic Pattern Study of Gars (Lepisosteiformes) and Closely Related Species, Based Mostly on Skeletal Anatomy the Resurrection of Holostei" . Journal of North Carolina Academy of Science . 127 (3): 219. doi :10.7572/2167-5880-127.3.219 . ISSN 2167-5880 .
^ Near, Thomas J.; Thacker, Christine E. (2024-04-18). "Phylogenetic Classification of Living and Fossil Ray-Finned Fishes (Actinopterygii)" . Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History . 65 (1). doi :10.3374/014.065.0101 . ISSN 0079-032X .
^ a b c d e "Fossil Fish - Fossil Butte National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)" . www.nps.gov . Retrieved 2024-08-17 .
^ Grande, Lance (2001), Gunnell, Gregg F. (ed.), "An Updated Review of the Fish Faunas From the Green River Formation, the World's Most Productive Freshwater Lagerstätten" , Eocene Biodiversity: Unusual Occurrences and Rarely Sampled Habitats , Topics in Geobiology, vol. 18, Boston, MA: Springer US, pp. 1–38, doi :10.1007/978-1-4615-1271-4_1 , ISBN 978-1-4615-1271-4 , retrieved 2024-02-25
^ Henrici, Amy C.; Báez, Ana M.; Grande, Lance (2013). "Aerugoamnis paulus , New Genus and New Species (Anura: Anomocoela): First Reported Anuran from the Early Eocene (Wasatchian) Fossil Butte Member of the Green River Formation, Wyoming" . Annals of Carnegie Museum . 81 (4): 295–309. doi :10.2992/007.081.0402 . ISSN 0097-4463 .
^ Scarpetta, Simon G. (2024). "A Palaeogene stem crotaphytid ( Aciprion formosum ) and the phylogenetic affinities of early fossil pleurodontan iguanians" . Royal Society Open Science . 11 (1). Bibcode :2024RSOS...1121139S . doi :10.1098/rsos.221139 . ISSN 2054-5703 . PMC 10776235 . PMID 38204790 .
^ "PBDB Taxon" . paleobiodb.org . Retrieved 2024-08-17 .
^ Carpenter, Kenneth (2018-10-18). "Soft-bodied fossil of a lizard from the Parachute Creek Member, Green River Formation (Eocene), Utah" . Geology of the Intermountain West . 5 : 263–269. doi :10.31711/giw.v5.pp263-269 . ISSN 2380-7601 .
^ Brochu, Christopher A. (2010-07-14). "A new alligatorid from the lower Eocene Green River Formation of Wyoming and the origin of caimans" . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 30 (4): 1109–1126. Bibcode :2010JVPal..30.1109B . doi :10.1080/02724634.2010.483569 . ISSN 0272-4634 .
^ Vlachos, Evangelos (2020-07-17). "The turtles from 'Gilmore's slab': evolution and diversity of the extinct turtle Echmatemys (Testudines: Testudinoidea: Geoemydidae) from the central United States" . Journal of Systematic Palaeontology . 18 (14): 1193–1216. Bibcode :2020JSPal..18.1193V . doi :10.1080/14772019.2020.1754938 . ISSN 1477-2019 .
^ Musser, Grace; Clarke, Julia A. (2024-07-30). "A new Paleogene fossil and a new dataset for waterfowl (Aves: Anseriformes) clarify phylogeny, ecological evolution, and avian evolution at the K-Pg Boundary" . PLOS ONE . 19 (7): e0278737. Bibcode :2024PLoSO..1978737M . doi :10.1371/journal.pone.0278737 . ISSN 1932-6203 . PMC 11288464 . PMID 39078833 .
^ Weidig, Ilka (2006). "The first New World occurrence of the Eocene birdPlesiocathartes (Aves: ?Leptosomidae)" . Paläontologische Zeitschrift . 80 (3): 230–237. Bibcode :2006PalZ...80..230W . doi :10.1007/BF02988439 .
^ Clarke, Julia A.; Ksepka, Daniel T.; Smith, N. Adam; Norell, Mark A. (2009-10-26). "Combined phylogenetic analysis of a new North American fossil species confirms widespread Eocene distribution for stem rollers (Aves, Coracii): NEW SPECIES FROM THE EOCENE GREEN RIVER FORMATION" . Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society . 157 (3): 586–611. doi :10.1111/j.1096-3642.2009.00550.x .
^ Mayr, Gerald; Kitchener, Andrew C. (2024-06-01). "The Picocoraciades (hoopoes, rollers, woodpeckers, and allies) from the early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze" . PalZ . 98 (2): 291–312. Bibcode :2024PalZ...98..291M . doi :10.1007/s12542-024-00687-9 . ISSN 1867-6812 .
^ Ksepka, Daniel T.; Clarke, Julia A.; Nesbitt, Sterling J.; Kulp, Felicia B.; Grande, Lance (2013-06-22). "Fossil evidence of wing shape in a stem relative of swifts and hummingbirds (Aves, Pan-Apodiformes)" . Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences . 280 (1761): 20130580. doi :10.1098/rspb.2013.0580 . ISSN 0962-8452 . PMC 3652446 . PMID 23760643 .
^ Nesbitt, Sterling J.; Ksepka, Daniel T.; Clarke, Julia A. (2011-11-30). "Podargiform Affinities of the Enigmatic Fluvioviridavis platyrhamphus and the Early Diversification of Strisores ("Caprimulgiformes" + Apodiformes)" . PLOS ONE . 6 (11): e26350. Bibcode :2011PLoSO...626350N . doi :10.1371/journal.pone.0026350 . ISSN 1932-6203 . PMC 3227577 . PMID 22140427 .
^ Mayr, Gerald; Kitchener, Andrew C. (2024-06-07). "The non-apodiform Strisores (potoos, nightjars and allied birds) from the early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze" . Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments . Bibcode :2024PdPe..tmp...21M . doi :10.1007/s12549-024-00610-9 . ISSN 1867-1608 . {{cite journal }}
: CS1 maint: bibcode (link )
^ Mayr, Gerald (2005). "The Palaeogene Old World potoo Paraprefica Mayr, 1999 (Aves, Nyctibiidae): Its osteology and affinities to the New World Preficinae Olson, 1987" . Journal of Systematic Palaeontology . 3 (4): 359–370. Bibcode :2005JSPal...3..359M . doi :10.1017/S1477201905001653 . ISSN 1477-2019 .
^ Field, Daniel J.; Hsiang, Allison Y. (2018-06-25). "A North American stem turaco, and the complex biogeographic history of modern birds" . BMC Evolutionary Biology . 18 (1): 102. Bibcode :2018BMCEE..18..102F . doi :10.1186/s12862-018-1212-3 . ISSN 1471-2148 . PMC 6016133 . PMID 29936914 .
^ Smith, Nathan D.; Grande, Lance; Clarke, Julia A. (2013). "A new species of Threskiornithidae-like bird (Aves, Ciconiiformes) from the Green River Formation (Eocene) of Wyoming" . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 33 (2): 363–381. Bibcode :2013JVPal..33..363S . doi :10.1080/02724634.2012.722898 . ISSN 0272-4634 .
^ Olson, Storrs L. (2014). "Tracks of a Stilt-Like Bird from the Early Eocene Green River Formation of Utah: Possible Earliest Evidence of the Recurvirostridae (Charadriiformes)" . Waterbirds . 37 (3): 340–345. doi :10.1675/063.037.0313 . ISSN 1524-4695 .
^ Ksepka, Daniel T.; Grande, Lance; Mayr, Gerald (2019). "Oldest Finch-Beaked Birds Reveal Parallel Ecological Radiations in the Earliest Evolution of Passerines" . Current Biology . 29 (4): 657–663.e1. Bibcode :2019CBio...29E.657K . doi :10.1016/j.cub.2018.12.040 . ISSN 0960-9822 . PMID 30744971 .
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^ a b c d e P Selden; Yinan Wang (2014). Fossil spiders (Araneae) from the Eocene Green River Formation of Colorado .
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^ a b c "Abstract: NONMARINE MOLLUSKS OF THE GREEN RIVER FORMATION (EARLY EOCENE), WESTERN INTERIOR, USA (2002 Denver Annual Meeting (October 27-30, 2002))" . gsa.confex.com . Retrieved 2024-09-03 .