UPDATES TO THE BIOTA OF THE LATE CRETACEOUS COLERAINE FORMATION OF NORTHERN MINNESOTA

The Coleraine Formation is a Late Cretaceous age deposit comprised of conglomerates, shales, and sandstones laid down by the eastern margin of the Western Interior Seaway in northern Minnesota. Roughly 90 million years old, these Cenomanian deposits hold clues to the ecological diversity of the western Appalachian coast. With fewer than 30 scientific articles in more than 100 hundred years of its known existence, this formation is understudied and not well known. Work by the Hill Annex Paleontology Project over the last eight (8) years has led to revelations in the diversity of flora and fauna that were previously undescribed. This presentation will detail some of the new insights for both invertebrate and vertebrate animals, along with select plant additions.

Hill Annex Paleontology Project is a citizen science oriented group based at the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm, Minnesota. The Project's research focus is centered on the Cretaceous deposits of the Minnesota region.