NEW VERTEBRATE MATERIAL FROM THE PEEDEE FORMATION OF ELIZABETHTOWN, NC AND THE SEVERN FORMATION OF BOWIE, MD AND THE SHALLOW MARINE VERTEBRATE FAUNA OF THE UPPER CAMPANIAN-UPPER MAESTRICHTIAN OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA

Material collected from the Peedee Formation (upper Campanian-upper Maestrichtian) at the Bladen County Landfill Annex (Elizabethtown Dump) in Elizabethtown, NC and the Severn Formation of Bowie, MD (Maestrichtian) allows comparison to known collections from Elizabethtown, as well as other contemporaneous eastern seaboard vertebrate localities. Fossils including Chondrichthyes, Osteichthyes, and Reptilia were collected from both localities with isolated shark teeth the most common fossils. Scapanorhyncus texanus and Squalicorax kaupi are the most common taxa at Elizabethtown, representing over half the specimens collected. This compares with published material from Phoebus Landing, NC where S. texanus was also the most common taxon, accounting for over 75% of the specimens collected. The Elizabethtown material contained a higher proportion of Squalicorax pristodontus, and a smaller proportion of ray material, than material previously reported from the locality. Notable osteichthyians from Elizabethtown include Enchodus sp., Trichiurides sp., and Sphyaena sp., which are present in small numbers. Reptilia is represented in the Elizabethtown material in the presence of two turtles (Osteopygis emarginatus and Trionyx sp.), several crocodile teeth and osteoderms, and a small theropod tooth. Material from Bowie, MD is dominated by Cretolamna appendiculata, Squalicorax kaupi, Squalicorax pristodontis, Odontaspis sp., and Enchodus sp. Cluster analysis of abundance data from Elizabethtown and Bowie with previously reported material from Phoebus Landing in North Carolina and Big Brook, NJ demonstrates greater similarity between the two North Carolina localities than to either the Maryland or New Jersey locality. Proximity of the localities, Elizabethtown and Phoebus Landing are approximately 6 km apart, may reflect biogeographic influence as these localities are at a more southern latitude than the Bowie and Big Brook faunas. These localities may also be slightly older than Severn and Big Brook, and differences may reflect faunal turnover. Finally, differences may reflect dissimilar environmental conditions. The increased abundance of terrestrial material from Elizabethtown supports this explanation.