Eastover Formation
| Eastover Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: | |
| Type | Formation |
| Unit of | Chesapeake Group |
| Sub-units | Claremont Manor Member, Cobham Bay Member |
| Underlies | Yorktown Formation |
| Overlies | St. Marys Formation |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Extent | Virginia and North Carolina |
The Eastover Formation[1] is a geologic formation in Virginia, and North Carolina. It preserves fossils dating back to the Messinian stage of the Late Miocene Epoch, between 7 to 6 million years ago.[2]
Fossils
Marine mammals
The fossil iniid dolphins Meherrinia and Isoninia are both likely from the Eastover Formation (although they may potentially date to the overlying Yorktown Formation)[3][4], as well as the earless seals Terranectes and Virginiaphoca.[5][6]
Fossil plants
The flora of the Eastover Formation consists mostly of lignitized plant remains and a documented palynoflora record. The terrestrial palynoflora represented in the Eastover Formation consisted primarily of temperate -warm temperate taxa.[7]
Known taxa
- Quercus (Oak)
- Alnus (Alder)
- Pinus (Pine)
- Betula (Birch)
- Taxodium (Cypress)
- Ulmus (Elm)
- Liquidambar (Sweetgum)
- Poaceae (Grasses)
- Cyperaceae (sedges)
- Amaranthaceae
- Asteraceae
References
- ^ Stratigraphic revision of upper Miocene and lower Pliocene beds of the Chesapeake Group, middle Atlantic Coastal Plain (Report). US Geological Survey. 1980. doi:10.3133/b1482d.
- ^ Godfrey, Stephen J., ed. (2018-09-25). "The Geology and Vertebrate Paleontology of Calvert Cliffs, Maryland, USA". Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology (100): 2–274. doi:10.5479/si.1943-6688.100. ISSN 1943-6688.
- ^ Geisler, Jonathan H.; Godfrey, Stephen J.; Lambert, Olivier (2012). "A new genus and species of late Miocene inioid (Cetacea, Odontoceti) from the Meherrin River, North Carolina, U.S.A.". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (1): 198–211. Bibcode:2012JVPal..32..198G. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.629016. ISSN 0272-4634.
- ^ Godfrey, Stephen J.; Gutstein, Carolina S.; Morgan III, Donald J. (2021-09-02). "A new odontocete (Inioidea, Odontoceti) from the late Neogene of North Carolina, USA". Fossil Record. 24 (2): 275–285. Bibcode:2021FossR..24..275G. doi:10.5194/fr-24-275-2021. ISSN 2193-0066.
- ^ S.J. Rahmat; I.A. Koretsky; J.E. Osborne; A.A. Alford (2017). "New Miocene Monachinae from the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay (Maryland, USA)". Vestnik Zoologii. 51 (3): 221–242. doi:10.1515/vzoo-2017-0029 (inactive 19 February 2026). S2CID 90197324.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of February 2026 (link) - ^ Dewaele, Leonard; Peredo, Carlos Mauricio; Meyvisch, Pjotr; Louwye, Stephen (2018). "Diversity of late Neogene Monachinae (Carnivora, Phocidae) from the North Atlantic, with the description of two new species". Royal Society Open Science. 5 (3) 172437. Bibcode:2018RSOS....572437D. doi:10.1098/rsos.172437. ISSN 2054-5703. PMC 5882749. PMID 29657825.
- ^ Weems, Robert E.; Edwards, Lucy E.; Landacre, Bryan (2017), Geology and biostratigraphy of the Potomac River cliffs at Stratford Hall, Westmoreland County, Virginia, Field Guides, vol. 47, Geological Society of America, pp. 125–152, Bibcode:2017brbg.book..125W, doi:10.1130/2017.0047(05), ISBN 978-0-8137-0047-2
- Various Contributors to the Paleobiology Database. "Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database". Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2021.