Two chimaerid (Chondrichthyes: Holocephali)) egg cases from the (Upper Cretaceous) Cliff House Sandstone of the Mesaverde Group at Mesa Verde National Park: With comments on the classification of eggs.
Harrison W, Kirkland J, Fischer J, San Miguel G, Wood J, Santucci VL. 2020. Two chimaerid (Chondrichthyes: Holocephali)) egg cases from the (Upper Cretaceous) Cliff House Sandstone of the Mesaverde Group at Mesa Verde National Park: With comments on the classification of eggs.. Pages 113-120. In Fossil Record #7: New Mexico Museum of Nature and Science Bulletin. New Mexico Museum of Nature and Science. Albuquerque, NM. 82
In 2015, two fossil chimaeroid egg cases preserved as external molds were identified from the coastal facies of the middle Campanian (Late Cretaceous) Cliff House Sandstone at the top of the Mesaverde Group in Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado. The more complete specimen was unearthed earlier that year, while a fragmentary specimen containing only the tail was discovered in the repository and re-identified. Both specimens are most similar to a specimen collected in 1905 from the Lower Campanian Eagle Sandstone of the Mesaverde Group in Wyoming and described as Elasmodus? gilli Hay, 1929. Due to their characteristics, shapes and sizes, the new finds are assigned to the fossil egg case ichogenus and taxon Chimaerotheca gilli (Hay, 1929), expanding our knowledge of the chondrichthyan fauna of the Late Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway. The distinct corresponding producer is still unknown.
- Type
- Book Chapter
- Authors
- Harrison, William; Kirkland, Jim; Fischer, Jan; San Miguel, George; Wood, John; Santucci, Vincent
- Units
- MEVE
- Keywords
- chondrichthyan, egg case, fossils, paleontology
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Paleontology | Paleontology