Research on Taphonomy of Late Cretaceous Dinosaurs in Zhucheng, Eastern Shandong, China
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    Abstract:

    Resources of dinosaur fossils in China are the most abundant in the world. So far, Zhucheng City of China has become a significant Late Cretaceous locality of dinosaur fossils, represented by the large hadrosaurs. Based on investigation and research of taphonomy characteristics of dinosaur fossils from Late Cretaceous, this article systematically demonstrates the taphonomy characteristics of dinosaurs fossil bones from Late Cretaceous and analyzes the taphonomy geological background, the taphonomic sedimentary facies and paleocurrent, the distribution, modification and gathering characteristics of fossil bones and taxonomy, the micro fabric and taphonomic model for the bone fossils, etc. Dinosaur fossil clusters of Late Cretaceous (the dating of feldsparArAr age is 76 2~73 5 Ma) in Zhucheng City, are mostly buried in the alluvial fan debris flow(DF) and flood plain(FP) and the braided river channel(BRC). Fossils are densely distributed in stratification, which are of assorted sizes, non equidensity, singular species, and different in sizes, shapes and standards of residue bones. The majority of fossil bones are damaged without leaving intact fossil bones, being of the columnar and tabular shapes. Larger bones are arranged in certain direction, reflecting the features of dinosaur fossil clusters’ taphonomy and sedimentation undergoing the shortrange transport allochthonously and fast burial. The sedimentary petrology and the thin section analysis reveal that the geologic climate of Zhucheng under which the dinosaurs lived and the fossil bones buried is featured with semiaridarid condition. The taphonomypreservation pattern of dinosaurs can be summarized as: poor living environmentdinosaurs’ massive deathbodies’ decaybones’ washed out and transported by flood or debris flowfast burialshallow burial diagenesisexposure by the Crust uplift. The research on Late Cretaceous Dinosaur taphonomy of Zhucheng provide a series of evidences to better understand and reconstructure the Cretaceous paleogeography, Paleoclimate and paleoenvironment

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Kuang Hongwei.2014. Research on Taphonomy of Late Cretaceous Dinosaurs in Zhucheng, Eastern Shandong, China[J]. Acta Geologica Sinica,88(8):1353-1371

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History
  • Received:March 20,2013
  • Revised:January 20,2014
  • Adopted:September 12,2014
  • Online: October 10,2014
  • Published: