Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Coprolites from the Maastrichtian Whitemud Formation of southern Saskatchewan: Morphological classification and interpretation on diagenesis

  • Published:
Paläontologische Zeitschrift Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Kurzfassung

Tonsteine der oberkretazischen Whitemud-Formation (Süd-Saskatchewan, Kanada) enthalten neben Pflanzenresten eine Vielzahl unterschiedlich geformter Koprolithen. Eisenkarbonate und Eisenhydroxide bestimmen deren chemische Zusammensetzung. Aufgrund der äußeren Form, der Größe und feinmorphologischer Kriterien wurden die fossilen Kotballen in neun morphologische Grup-pen eingeordnet. Alternativ zu früheren Annahmen, die als Erzeuger dieser Koprolithen Fische ansahen, werden Reptilen als deren Produzenten diskutiert. Die ausgezeichnete Erhaltung der Koprolithen ist das Resultat einer frühdiagenetischen Mineralisation, ausgelöst durch bakterielle Metabolite während des mikrobiellen Abbaus organischer Substanz.

Abstract

Alluvial floodplain mudstones of the late Maastrichtian Whitemud Formation of southern Saskatchewan contain abundant vertebrate faecal remains preserved as siderite and Fe-hydroxides. The coprolites are grouped into nine morphological classes on the basis of style of coiling, shape, size, and striations. Their morphology is consistent with deposition of the faeces by terrestrial reptiles and not by fish as previously reported. The excellent preservation of the fossils can be attributed to early diagenetic precipitation of Fe CO3 in loci where faecal matter was still bacterially fermenting.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Amstutz, G. C. 1958. Coprolites: A review of the literature and a study of specimens from southern Washington. - Journal of Sedimentary Petrology28: 498–508, Tulsa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berner, R. A. 1981. Authigenic mineral formation resulting from organic matter decomposition in modern sediments. -Fortschritte der Mineralogie59(1): 117–135, Stuttgart.

    Google Scholar 

  • BiNDA, P. L. 1968. A new species ofSpermatites from the Upper Cretaceous of southern Alberta. - Revue de Micropaleontologie11: 137–142, Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • - 1970. Sedimentology and micropaleontology of the rocks associated with the Cretaceous Kneehills Tuff of Alberta. - Thesis, University Alberta, Edmonton: 273 pp. [Unpubl.]

  • Binda, P. L. &Lerbekmo, J. F. 1973. Grain-size distribution and depositional environment of Whitemud sandstones, Edmonton Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Alberta, Canada. - Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology21: 52–80, Calgary.

    Google Scholar 

  • Binda, P. L. &Nambudiri, E. M. V. 1983. Fossil seed cuticles from the Upper Cretaceous Whitemud bed of Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada. - Canadian Journal of Botany61: 2717–2728, Ottawa.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • —— &Nambudiri, E. M. V. 1988. Two new species ofErlansonisporites from the Whitemud Formation (Maastrichtian), Alberta, Canada. - Pollen et Spores30 (2): 231–242, Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Binda, P. L. 1991. The Battle Formation: a lacustrine episode in the late Maastrichtian of western Canada. - [In:] Mateer, N. J. & Chen, P. L. (eds): Aspects of non-marine Cretaceous Geology. - China Ocean Press: 202–217, Beijing.

  • Broughan, F. M. 1984. Paleoenvironment of the Eastend, Whitemud (Maastrichtian), and Ravenscrag (Paleocene) Formations, eastern Cypress Hills, Saskatchewan. - Thesis, University Saskatoon: 178 pp. [Unpubl.]

  • Broughton, P. L. 1981. Casts of vertebrate internal organs from the Upper Cretaceous of western Canada. - Journal of Geology89: 741–749, Chicago.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Broughton, P. L;Simpson, F. &Whitaker, S. H. 1978. Late Cretaceous coprolites from western Canada. - Palaeontology21 (2): 443–453, Dundee.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buckland, W. 1829. On the discovery of coprolites, or fossil faeces in the Lias of Lyme Regis, and other formations. - Transactions of the Geological Society of London, Second Series 3:223–236, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell, W. G. E. 1982. The Cretaceous System in the Williston Basin - a modern appraisal. - [In:] Christopher, J. E. & Kaldi, J. (eds) Fourth International Williston Basin Symposium, Regina, Saskatchewan. - Geological Society of America, Special Publication 6: 295–321, Boulder.

    Google Scholar 

  • Commission on Stratigraphic Nomenclature 1983. North American Stratigraphie Code. - American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin67: 841–875, Tulsa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Etheridge, R. 1904. On the occurrence of the genusPtychocems (?) and other additional fossils in the Cretaceous of the northern Territory of south Australia. - Australian Museum Record 5, pt. 2: 8, Sydney.

    Google Scholar 

  • Folinsbee, R. E.; Baadsgaard, H.; Cumming, G. L.; Nascimbene, J. & Shafiqullah, M. 1966. Late Cretaceous radiometric dates from the Cypress Hills of western Canada. - Alberta Society of Petrology and Geology. 15th Annals Field Conference Guidebook, Part 1, Cypress Hills Plateau: 162–174, Calgary.

  • Fritz, P.;Binda, P. L.;Folinsbee, R. E. &Krouse, H. R. 1971. Isotopic composition of diagenetic sid- erites from Cretaceous sediments in western Canada. - Journal of Sedimentary Petrology41: 282–288, Tulsa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hàntzschel, W.; El-Baz, F. & Amstutz, G. C. 1968. Coprolites an annotated Bibliography. - Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 108: 121 pp., Boulder.

  • Heizer, R. F. &Napton, L. K. 1969. Biological and cultural evidence from prehistoric human coprolites. -Science165: 563–568, Washington.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jain, S. L. 1983. Spirally coiled “coprolites” from the Upper Triassic Maleri Formation, India. -Palaeontology26 (4): 813–829, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, J. H. 1934. A coprolite horizon in the Pennsylvanian of Chaffee and Parc Counties, Colorado. - Journal of Paleontology8: 477–479, Tulsa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelso, G. K. &Solomon, A. M. 1976. Pollen analysis of human coprolites; implications of experimental evidence from modern fecal samples. - Annals of the Quatarian Association, National Conference, Abstracts4: 142, Tucson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kupsch, W. O. 1956. Geology of western Cypress Hills.- Report of the Saskatchewan Department of Mineralogy and Resources20: 30 pp., Regina.

  • Lang, A. 1985. Spuren und Fährten unserer Tiere. - 127 pp., BLV Verlagsgesellschaft, München.

    Google Scholar 

  • Langston, W. Jr. 1965. Pre-Cenozoic vertebrate paleontology in Alberta: its past and future. - Vertebrate Paleontology in Alberta, University of Alberta:9–31, Edmonton.

  • Lensch, G. 1967. Geochemie und Sulfidvererzung der Tonsteine - Septarien aus den Lebacher Schichten des saarländischen Unterrotliegenden. - Universität Saraviensis Annales, Berlin-Nikolassee 5: 131–172, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lerbekmo, J. F. 1985. Magnetostratigraphic and biostratigraphic correlations of Maastrichtian to early Paleocene strata between south-central Alberta to southwest Saskatchewan. - Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology33: 213–226, Calgary.

    Google Scholar 

  • McAllister, J. A. 1985. Réévaluation of the formation of spiral coprolites. - University of Kansas, Pa-leontological Contributions114: 1–12, Lawrence.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nambudiri, E. M. V. &Binda, P. L. 1989. Dicotyledonous fruits associated with coprolites from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Whitemud Formation, Southern Saskatchewan, Canada. - Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 59: 57–66, Amsterdam.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neumayer, L. 1904. Die Koprolithen des Perm von Texas. - Palaeontographica51: 121–128, Cassel.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinna, G. 1985. Exceptional preservation in the Jurassic of Osteno. - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society London311: 171–180, London.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Postma, D. 1981. Formation of siderite and vivianite and the pore-water composition of a Recent bog se- diment in Denmark. -Chemical Geology31: 225–244, Amsterdam.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • — 1982. Pyrite and siderite formation in brackish and freshwater swamp sediments. - American Jour- nal of Science282: 1151–1183, New Haven.

    Google Scholar 

  • Postma, D. &Brockenhuus-Schack, B. S. 1987. Diagenesis of iron in postglacial sand deposits of late- and post- Weichsehan age. - Journal of Sedimentary Petrology57 (6): 1040–1053, Tulsa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, L. S. 1983. Evidence for an unconformity at the Scollard-Battle contact, Upper Cretaceous strata, Alberta. -Canadian Journal of Earth Science20: 1219–1231, Ottawa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sawyer, G. T. 1981. A study of a crocodilian coprolite from Wannagan Creek Quarry (Paleocene North Dakota). Ichnofossils II. -Scientific Publications of the Science Museum of Minnesota 5 (2): 4–29, St. Paul.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmitz, M. 1989. Die Koprolithen mitteleozäner Vertebraten aus der Grube Messel bei Darmstadt. - Thesis, University of Frankfurt, West-Germany, 199 pp.

  • Schmitz-Münker, M. &Franzen, J. L. 1988. Die Rolle von Bakterien im Verdauungstrakt mitteleozäner Vertebraten aus der Grube Messel bei Darmstadt und ihr Beitrag zur Fossil-Diagenese. - Courier Forschungs-Institut Senckenberg107: 129–146, Frankfurt.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro, J. A. 1988. Bakterien als Vielzeller. - Spektrum der Wissenschaft8: 52–59, Heidelberg.

    Google Scholar 

  • Srivastava, S. K. 1970. Pollen biostratigraphy and paleoecology of the Edmonton Formation (Maastrichtian), Alberta, Canada. -Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology and Palaeoecology7: 221–276, Amsterdam.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • — 1978. The Cretaceous megaspore genusGhoshispora. - Palaeontographica (B)167: 175–184, Stuttgart.

    Google Scholar 

  • Srivastava, S. K. &Binda, P. L. 1969. Megaspores of the genusBalmeisporites from the Upper Cretaceous of Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada. - Revue de Micropaleontologie11: 205–209, Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steward, D. J. 1978. Enterospirae (Fossil Intestines) from the Upper Cretaceous Niobrara Formation of Western Kansas. -University of Kansas, Palaeontological Contributions89: 16, Lawrence.

    Google Scholar 

  • Storer, J. 1989. Geological History of Saskatchewan. - Saskatchewan Museum of Natural History: 91 pp., Regina.

  • Teichmüller, M. 1988. Zur chemischen und mikroskopischen Zusammensetzung vermutlicher Kroko- dils-Koprolithe aus dem eozänen ölschiefer von Messel. - Courier Forschungs-Institut Senckenberg107: 147–161, Frankfurt.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vogeltanz, R. 1965. Austrocknungsstrukturen bei Koprolithen. - Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie Monatshefte: 362-371, Stuttgart.

  • Waldmann, M. 1970. Comments on a Cretaceous coprolite from Alberta, Canada. - Canadian Journal of Earth Science7 (3): 1008–1012, Ottawa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, M. E. 1972. The origin of “spiral coprolites”. - University of Kansas, Paleontological Contributions 59: 1–19, Lawrence.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wuttke, M. 1988. Erhaltung - Lösung - Umbau - Zum Verhalten biogener Stoffe bei der Fossilisation. - [In:] Schaal, S. & Ziegler, W. (eds) Messel - Ein Schaufenster in die Geschichte der Erde und des Lebens: -Senckenberg-Buch64: 265–275, Waldemar Kramer, Frankfurt.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geologisch-Paläontologische & Mineralogische Abteilung des Hessischen Landesmuseums Darmstadt, Friedensplatz 1, 6100, Darmstadt, West Germany

    Michael Schmitz

  2. Geology Department, University of Regina, S4S 0 A2, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

    Pier L. Binda

Authors
  1. Michael Schmitz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Pier L. Binda
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Schmitz, M., Binda, P.L. Coprolites from the Maastrichtian Whitemud Formation of southern Saskatchewan: Morphological classification and interpretation on diagenesis. Paläontol. Z. 65, 199–211 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02985784

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02985784

Keywords

Search

Navigation