The Marshalltown Formation is a Mesozoic geologic formation . Dinosaur remains diagnostic to the genus level are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.
31-424: The famous Ellisdale Fossil Site , a konzentrat-lagerstätten which contains one of the most diverse Cretaceous vertebrate assemblages known from eastern North America (likely rapidly buried in a massive flood event), is an exposure of this formation. The Marshalltown Formation stretches across southern New Jersey, and is largely composed of marine sediments deposited off the eastern shore of Appalachia , although
62-594: A Konzentrat-Lagerstätten resulting from a prehistoric coastal storm. The Ellisdale site was discovered in 1980 by two avocational paleontologists, Robert K. Denton Jr. and Robert C. O'Neill, who brought it to the attention of David C. Parris, the Director of the Bureau of Natural History at the New Jersey State Museum . Parris encouraged the two collectors to continue monitoring the site, and within
93-669: A temperate climate, sun or part shade, and deep, fertile , well-drained and slightly acidic soil . Propagation is by seed or grafting . Plants grown from seed may take more than eight years to flower. Grafted plants flower depending on the age of the scion plant. The wood of the North American species (called poplar or tulipwood ) is fine grained and stable. It is easy to work and commonly used for cabinet and furniture framing, i.e. internal structural members and subsurfaces for veneering . Additionally, much inexpensive furniture, described for sales purposes simply as "hardwood",
124-476: A cross-cut notched or straight apex. Leaf size varies from 8–22 cm long and 6–25 cm wide. They are deciduous in the vast majority of cases for both species; however, each species has a semi-deciduous variety at the southern limit of its range in Florida and Yunnan respectively. The tulip tree is often a large tree, 18–60 m high and 60–120 cm in diameter. The stoutest well-authenticated Tulip tree
155-627: A few years hundreds of disarticulated bones of dinosaurs, crocodilians, turtles and fish had been donated to the New Jersey State Museum, which is the repository for the collection. The significance of the Ellisdale Site was recognized by the National Geographic Society which sponsored research under Society grants in 1986 and 1987. To date over 20,000 specimens have been collected. The Ellisdale Site
186-581: A lag deposit consisting of siderite pebbles, poorly graded sand, and lignite . The fossil layer is considered a single-event storm deposit based on sedimentology and stratigraphy. The upper (marine) member of the Marshalltown was formerly considered latest Campanian in age, due to the presence of the foraminifer Globotruncana calcarata ; however the G. calcarata zone has since been redated as Middle Campanian in age (75-76 Ma). Remains of animals from at least four paleoenvironments are represented at
217-408: A roughly tetrahedral seed with one edge attached to the central conical spike and the other edge attached to the wing. Liriodendron trees are also easily recognized by their general shape, with the higher branches sweeping together in one direction, and they are also recognizable by their height, as the taller ones usually protrude above the canopy of oaks, maples, and other trees—more markedly with
248-610: Is currently owned by Monmouth County Park System and is under the management of the New Jersey State Museum. Fossil collecting by the general public is prohibited. The Ellisdale site occurs within the basal portion of the Marshalltown Formation , of the Late Cretaceous Matawan Group of New Jersey. The exposures of the Marshalltown Formation at Ellisdale have basal lenticular bedded estuarine clays underlain by crossbedded coastal sands of
279-467: Is in fact primarily stained poplar. In the literature of American furniture manufacturers from the first half of the 20th century, it is often referred to as "gum wood". The wood is only moderately rot-resistant and is not commonly used in shipbuilding, but has found some recent use in light-craft construction. The wood is readily available, and when air dried, has a density around 24 lb/cu ft (0.38 g/cm ). The name canoewood probably refers to
310-538: Is known of the contemporaneous terrestrial fauna of the Appalachian subcontinent. The Ellisdale Site has provided the first detailed look at the terrestrial fauna of Appalachia, including the rare fossil remains of frogs, salamanders, lizards and mammals. It has been suggested that land animals may have migrated between Laramidia and Appalachia, and possibly even the European Archipelago, throughout
341-741: Is the Sag Branch Giant, which has a trunk and limb volume approaching 4,000 cu ft (110 m ). Liriodendrons have been reported as fossils from the Late Cretaceous and early Tertiary of North America and central Asia. They are known widely as Tertiary-age fossils in Europe and well outside their present range in Asia and North America, showing a once- circumpolar northern distribution. Like many "Arcto-Tertiary" genera, Liriodendron apparently became extinct in Europe due to
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#1732775270659372-632: The American species. Appalachian cove forests often contain several tulip trees of height and girth not seen in other species of eastern hardwoods. In the Appalachian cove forests, trees 150 to 165 ft in height are common, and trees from 166 to nearly 180 ft are also found. More Liriodendron over 170 ft in height have been measured by the Eastern Native Tree Society than for any other eastern species. The current tallest tulip tree on record has reached 191.9 ft,
403-504: The Ellisdale Site: marine, lagoonal/backbay, estuarine /freshwater, and terrestrial. Mixed faunal assemblages of this type are typically associated with transgressive lag deposits, and result from the slow accumulation of transported skeletal remains in tidal channels, backbays, and lagoons. Wave action and storms relocated the bones of marine animals to shallow water, while river currents and flooding events transported and deposited
434-478: The Ellisdale fauna has revealed two distinctly different types of preservation. Bones of both marine and upland terrestrial animals are typically broken, heavily worn, and missing the outermost layer of compact bone ( periosteum ). In contrast, the bones of microvertebrates such as amphibians, lizards and mammals are much more complete, with delicate processes and the periosteum intact. The small animal fauna of
465-688: The Ellisdale site represents a deltaic or estuarine environment, and thus has more of a terrestrial influence. Dinosaurs known from the formation: This article about a specific stratigraphic formation in the United States is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Ellisdale Fossil Site The Ellisdale Fossil Site is located near Ellisdale in the valley of the Crosswicks Creek , in Monmouth County , New Jersey , United States. The site has produced
496-537: The Englishtown Formation. The estuarine clays are overlain by well-sorted, crossbedded sand and offshore glauconites , respectively. The entire sequence is interpreted as preserving the landward migration of a barrier beach/backbay/estuarine/deltaic complex during the Marshalltown transgression. Vertebrate fossils are concentrated with rip-up clasts near the base of the estuarine clay sequence in
527-549: The European archipelago did take place via a North Atlantic route, it could not have happened until near the close of the Cretaceous Period, based on paleogeographic and paleontologic studies. Liriodendron Liriodendron ( / ˌ l aɪ r i ə ˈ d ɛ n d r ən , ˌ l ɪr -, - i oʊ -/ ) is a genus of two species of characteristically large trees, deciduous over most of their populations, in
558-552: The Late Cretaceous; however the presence of an endemic "Ellisdalean" land fauna does not support this hypothesis. The Ellisdale fauna together with geological data suggest that eastern North America was an isolated continent from the Turonian Stage of the Late Cretaceous onward, and thus may have become a refugium for relatively underived Early Cretaceous taxa that underwent vicariant speciation. If dispersal to
589-554: The North American species may reach as much as 58.5 m (192 ft) in height. The North American species is commonly used horticulturally , the Chinese species is increasing in cultivation, and hybrids have been produced between these two allopatrically distributed species. Various extinct species of Liriodendron have been described from the fossil record. Liriodendron trees are easily recognized by their leaves , which are distinctive, having four lobes in most cases and
620-461: The base in L. tulipifera and L. x sinoamericanum . They start forming after around 15 years and are superficially similar to a tulip in shape, hence the tree's name. Flowers of L. tulipifera have a faint cucumber odor. The stamens and pistils are arranged spirally around a central spike or gynaecium ; the stamens fall off, and the pistils become the samaras . The fruit is a cone-like aggregate of samaras 4–9 cm long, each of which has
651-444: The base of the tree—a common error made by the users employing only clinometers / hypsometers when measuring height. Maximum circumferences for the species are between 24 and 30 ft at breast height, although a few historical specimens may have been slightly larger. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has the greatest population of tulip trees 20 ft and over in circumference. The largest-volume tulip tree known anywhere
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#1732775270659682-455: The east-west orientation of its mountains that blocked southward migration during the large-scale glaciation and aridity of climate during glacial phases. The genus name should not be confused with an extinct genus known only through fossils. That is Lepidodendron , which entails an important group of long-extinct pteridophytes in the phylum Lycopodiophyta that are well known Paleozoic coal-age fossils). Liriodendron trees prefer
713-410: The environment was freshwater, as amphibians are salt-intolerant. The disarticulated bones which accumulated in the lagoonal backbays by river transport, and in the shallow marine environment offshore, would have been mixed with the skeletal remains of the animals that lived within the delta as the storm surge swept over the estuary. Return flooding from the overfilled lagoons and estuarine channels after
744-534: The largest and most diverse fauna of Late Cretaceous terrestrial animals from eastern North America , including the type specimens of the teiid lizard Prototeius stageri and the batrachosauroidid salamander Parrisia neocesariensis . The site occurs within the basal portion of the Marshalltown Formation , and dates from the Campanian Stage of the Late Cretaceous . The site is classified as
775-599: The magnolia family ( Magnoliaceae ). These trees are widely known by the common name tulip tree or tuliptree for their large flowers superficially resembling tulips . It is sometimes referred to as tulip poplar or yellow poplar , and the wood simply as "poplar", although not closely related to the true poplars . Other common names include canoewood, saddle-leaf tree, and white wood. The two extant species are Liriodendron tulipifera , native to eastern North America , and Liriodendron chinense , native to China and Vietnam . Both species often grow to great size;
806-456: The remains of freshwater and upland terrestrial animals such as crocodilians and dinosaurs. Megafossils of at least three different types of plants have been found at the site: Liriodendron , Metasequoia , and Picea . In addition, possible remains of Mangrove roots have been found encased in siderite concretions. Amber has been found at the site occurring in small droplets, generally less than 5 millimeters in size. Taphonomic analysis of
837-403: The site probably represents a "proximal" assemblage that lived at or near the final point of deposition, while the heavily worn bones represent a "distal" fauna. It is thought that the proximal fauna may have lived within a freshwater deltaic estuary that was affected by a coastal storm surge or a possible tsunami . The presence of numerous well-preserved amphibian fossils support the idea that
868-505: The species; the petiole is 4–18 cm long. Leaves on young trees tend to be more deeply lobed and larger in size than those on mature trees. In autumn, the leaves turn yellow, or brown and yellow. Both species grow rapidly in rich, moist soils of temperate climates. They hybridize easily, producing L. x sinoamericanum cultivars. Flowers are 3–10 cm in diameter and have nine tepals — three green outer sepals and six inner petals which are yellow-green, with an orange flare at
899-543: The storm's passage would have subsequently filled with debris, resulting in the mixed assemblage of animal and plant remains that are found at the site today. During Late Cretaceous times, the North American Continent was divided by an inland sea into two subcontinents: a western continent now known as " Laramidia ", and an eastern continent named " Appalachia ". Although a rich and diverse assemblage of taxa has been found from Laramidia , little
930-479: The tallest native angiosperm tree known in North America. The tulip tree is rivaled in eastern forests only by white pine , loblolly pine , and eastern hemlock . Reports of tulip trees over 200 ft have been made, but none of the measurements has been confirmed by the Eastern Native Tree Society. Most reflect measurement errors attributable to not accurately locating the highest crown point relative to
961-659: Was the Liberty Tree in Maryland which was 21.5 feet (6.6 meters) in circumference. It died in 1999. The tree is known to reach the height of 191.8 feet (58.5 meters), in groves where they compete for sunlight, somewhat less if growing in an open field. Its trunk is usually columnar, with a long, branch-free bole forming a compact, rather than open, conical crown of slender branches. It has deep roots that spread widely. Leaves are slightly larger in L. chinense, compared to L. tulipifera , but with considerable overlap between