Geological formation in Oregon, United States
John Day Fossil Beds map
The John Day Formation is a series of rock strata exposed in the Picture Gorge district of the John Day River basin and elsewhere in north-central Oregon in the United States. The Picture Gorge exposure lies east of the Blue Mountain uplift, which cuts southwest–northeast through the Horse Heaven mining district northeast of Madras . Aside from the Picture Gorge district, which defines the type , the formation is visible on the surface in two other areas: another exposure is in the Warm Springs district west of the uplift, between it and the Cascade Range , and the third is along the south side of the Ochoco Mountains . All three exposures, consisting mainly of tuffaceous sediments and pyroclastic rock rich in silica , lie unconformably between the older rocks of the Clarno Formation below and Columbia River basalts above.[ 1]
Stratigraphy The strata, which vary in age from 39 million years to 18 million years, were formed mainly from ashfalls from volcanoes due to a series of calderas now linked to the Yellowstone hotspot. Some of the major layers within the group exposed in the Picture Gorge district are the Big Basin Formation and Bridge Creek Beds (35 to 32 million years), the Turtle Cove Formation (30 to 28 million years), the Picture Gorge Ignimbrite (28.7 million years), the Kimberly Formation (28 to 25 million years), and the Haystack Formation (25 to 18 million years).[ 2]
Located in the general vicinity of what became the Cascade Range, the John Day volcanoes emitted large volumes of ash and dust, much of which settled in the John Day basin. The rapid deposition of the ash preserved the remains of plants and animals living in the region. Some of the solidified ash and the fossils they contain are found in the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument . Because ash and other debris fell during varied climatic and volcanic conditions and accumulated from many eruptions extending into the early Miocene (about 20 million years ago), the sediment layers in the fossil beds vary in their substance, chemical composition and color.[ 3] The lowermost layer contains red ash, such as that exposed in the Painted Hills Unit of the national monument.[ 4] The layer above it is mainly pea-green clay. On top of the pea-green layer are buff-colored layers.[ 3]
Paleontology
Color key
Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text ; crossed out taxa are discredited.
Fossils found in the John Day Formation include a wide variety of plants and more than 100 species of mammals, including dogs, cats, oreodonts , horses, camels, and rodents.[ 5] Among the notable plant fossils are Metasequoia (Dawn Redwood), a genus thought to have gone extinct worldwide until it was discovered alive in China in the early twentieth century.[ 6]
Among the paleobiota found in the formation is the Daeodon , whose type species, Daeodon shoshonensis , has been found in the formation.[ 7]
Panorama of some of the John Day Formation strata exposed in the Painted Hills Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
Mammals
Apatotheres
Carnivorans
Carnivorans reported from the John Day Formation
Genus
Species
Location
Stratigraphic position
Material
Notes
Images
Archaeocyon
A. pavidus
Picture Gorge 30, Blue Basin level 1.[ 9]
Turtle Cove Member.[ 9]
Maxillary & mandible fragments (UCMP 76652).[ 9]
A borophagine dog.
Cormocyon
C. copei
Wheeler & Grant counties, Oregon.[ 9]
Turtle Cove Member.[ 9]
Numerous specimens.[ 9]
A borophagine dog also known from the Troublesome Formation .
Corumictis
C. wolsani
Grant County, Oregon .[ 10]
Turtle Cove & Kimberly members.[ 10]
A nearly complete skull (JODA 8167) & a right dentary (JODA 396).[ 10]
A small mustelid .
Cynarctoides
C. lemur
Wheeler & Grant counties, Oregon.[ 9]
Turtle Cove Member.[ 9]
Skull & jaw elements.[ 9]
A borophagine dog also known from the Brule , Sharps & Browns Park formations.
Daphoenodon
D. robustum
Grant County, Oregon .[ 11]
Rose Creek Member.[ 11]
Teeth & astragalus .[ 11]
A bear-dog also found in the Runningwater & Zia Sand formations.
Desmocyon
D. thomsoni
Probably from the Haystack Valley Member.[ 9]
Isolated right molars (AMNH 7238).[ 9]
A borophagine dog also known from the Harrison Beds , Runningwater Formation & Zia Formation .
Dinaelurus
D. crassus
Turtle Cove Member.[ 12]
A mostly complete cranium .[ 12]
A nimravid .
Dinictis
D. felina
Turtle Cove Member.[ 12]
A nimravid .
Enhydrocyon
E. basilatus
Grant & Wheeler counties.[ 13]
?Kimberly Member.[ 13]
Skull and jaws.[ 13]
A hesperocyonine dog also known from the Harrison Formation .
E. sectorius
Central Oregon, no detailed locality given.[ 13]
Fragment of right maxillary (AMNH 6905).[ 13]
A hesperocyonine dog.
E. stenocephalus
Grant County, Oregon .[ 13]
Turtle Cove Member.[ 13]
4 skulls.[ 13]
A hesperocyonine dog.
Hoplophoneus
H. cerebralis
Turtle Cove Member.[ 12]
A nimravid .
H. strigidens
Exact stratigraphic level unknown.[ 12]
AMNH 6942, medial fragment of an upper canine .[ 12]
A nimravid .
Leptocyon
L. douglassi
Between the Picture Gorge Ignimbrite & Deep Creek Tuff.[ 14]
Turtle Cove Member.[ 14]
Anterior part of skull (UCMP 79365).[ 14]
A canine dog also known from the Toston & Sharps formations.
L. mollis
Turtle Cove, John Day River , Grant County, Oregon .[ 14]
Turtle Cove Member.[ 14]
Skull (UCMP 90).[ 14]
A canine dog.
L. vulpinus
Wheeler County, Oregon .[ 14]
Haystack Valley Member.[ 14]
Fragment of right ramus .[ 14]
A canine dog also known from the Harrison & Runningwater formations.
Machaerodus
M. cerebralis
Turtle Cove Member.[ 12]
A mostly complete cranium .[ 12]
Reassigned to Hoplophoneus .
Mesocyon
M. brachyops
May be from the Turtle Cove Member.[ 13]
Skull elements & pelvis .[ 13]
A hesperocyonine dog.
M. coryphaeus
Turtle Cove Member.[ 13]
Numerous specimens.[ 13]
A hesperocyonine dog.
Nimravus
N. brachyops
Turtle Cove & Kimberly members.[ 12]
A nimravid .
Palaeogale
P. dorothiae
Kimberly Member.[ 15]
A left and a right dentary from separate individuals.[ 15]
A palaeogalid .
P. sp.
Turtle Cove Member.[ 15]
A largely complete cranium .[ 15]
A palaeogalid & the oldest known occurrence of the genus in the Pacific Northwest .[ 15]
Paradaphoenus
P. cuspigerus
Skull elements.[ 16]
A bear-dog .
Paraenhydrocyon
P. josephi
Grant County, Oregon .[ 13]
Turtle Cove Member.[ 13]
Skull elements.[ 13]
A hesperocyonine dog.
P. wallovianus
"John Day Badlands, Oregon".[ 13]
May be from the Turtle Cove Member.[ 13]
Crushed rostral part of skull (AMNH 6858).[ 13]
A hesperocyonine dog also known from the Marsland & Harrison formations.
Philotrox
P. condoni
Turtle Cove & Morgan Locality, Oregon.[ 13]
Turtle Cove Member.[ 13]
Skulls & vertebrae.[ 13]
A hesperocyonine dog also known from the Sharps Formation .
Phlaocyon
P. latidens
Grant & Wheeler counties, Oregon.[ 9]
Turtle Cove Member.[ 9]
Jaw elements.[ 9]
A borophagine dog.
Pogonodon
P. davisi
Turtle Cove & Kimberly members.[ 12]
Skull elements.[ 12]
A nimravid also known from the White River , Brule & Sharps formations.
P. platycopsis
Turtle Cove Member.[ 12]
Skull elements.[ 12]
A nimravid also found in the White River Group & Brule Formation .
Rhizocyon
R. oregonensis
Wheeler & Grant counties, Oregon.[ 9]
Turtle Cove Member.[ 9]
Skulls & jaw elements.[ 9]
A borophagine dog.
Eulipotyphlans
Rodents
Rodents reported from the John Day Formation
Genus
Species
Location
Stratigraphic position
Material
Notes[ 19]
Images
Allotypomys
A. pictus
Grant & Wheeler counties.[ 19]
Turtle Cove & possibly Kimberly members.[ 19]
Jaw elements & teeth.[ 19]
An eutypomyid .
Apeomys
A. whistleri
Campbell Ranch, Gilliam County, Oregon .[ 19]
Kimberly Member.[ 19]
Jaw elements & teeth.[ 19]
An eomyid .
Bursagnathus
B. aterosseus
Grant County, Oregon .[ 19]
Johnson Canyon & Rose Creek members.[ 19]
2 nearly-complete skulls.[ 19]
A perognathine .
Leptodontomys
L. sp.
Campbell Ranch, Gilliam County, Oregon .[ 19]
Kimberly Member.[ 19]
Partial right dentary (JODA 12699).[ 19]
An eomyid .
Microtheriomys
M. brevirhinus
Grant County, Oregon .[ 19]
Turtle Cove Member.[ 19]
Skull elements.[ 19]
A castorid .
Miosciurus
M. ballovianus
Grant , Wheeler & Gilliam counties, Oregon.[ 19]
Turtle Cove, Kimberly & Haystack Valley members.[ 19]
Jaw elements & crushed skulls.[ 19]
A squirrel .
M. covensis
Crook & Grant counties, Oregon.[ 19]
Turtle Cove Member.[ 19]
Jaw elements.[ 19]
A squirrel .
M. sp.
Hayes Haven, Grant County, Oregon .[ 19]
Turtle Cove Member.[ 19]
Right partial dentary & associated postcranial fragments (JODA 4447).[ 19]
A squirrel .
Mookomys
M. sp.
Wheeler County, Oregon .[ 19]
Haystack Valley Member.[ 19]
Partial maxilla & left distal femur (JODA 7900).[ 19]
A heteromyid .
Neoadjidaumo
N. arctozophus
Crook & Grant counties, Oregon.[ 19]
Turtle Cove Member.[ 19]
Left dentary (JODA 16005) & right dentary (JODA 3615).[ 19]
An eomyid .
Palaeocastor
P. fossor
Grant & Wheeler counties.[ 19]
Kimberly, Haystack Valley & possibly Johnson Canyon members.[ 19]
Skull elements.[ 19]
A castorid .
Petauristodon
P. sp.
Campbell Ranch, Gilliam County, Oregon .[ 19]
Kimberly Member.[ 19]
Left molar (JODA 12597).[ 19]
A flying squirrel .
Plesiosminthus
P. fremdi
Campbell Ranch, Gilliam County, Oregon .[ 19]
Kimberly Member.[ 19]
Jaw elements.[ 19]
A sicistine .
Proapeomys
P. condoni
Grant & Crook counties, Oregon.[ 19]
Turtle Cove Member.[ 19]
Dentary & teeth.[ 19]
An eomyid .
?P. lulli
Hayes Haven, Grant County, Oregon .[ 19]
Turtle Cove Member.[ 19]
Partial dentary (YPM 10573) & dentary fragment (JODA 16002).[ 19]
An eomyid originally reported as Florentiamys lulli & Jimomys lulli .
Proheteromys
P. latidens
Gilliam County, Oregon .[ 19]
Kimberly Member.[ 19]
Multiple specimens.[ 19]
A heteromyid .
P. thorpei
Grant & Gilliam counties, Oregon [ 19]
Turtle Cove & Kimberly members.[ 19]
Partial dentaries & teeth.[ 19]
A heteromyid .
Protosciurus
P. mengi
Grant , Gilliam & Wheeler counties, Oregon.[ 19]
Turtle Cove, Kimberly & Haystack Valley members.[ 19]
Multiple specimens.[ 19]
A squirrel .
P. rachelae
Grant , Gilliam & Wheeler counties, Oregon.[ 19]
Turtle Cove & Kimberly members.[ 19]
A nearly complete skull (UCMP 86367) & several teeth.[ 19]
A squirrel .
Tenudomys
T. sp.
Grant County, Oregon .[ 19]
Haystack Valley Member.[ 19]
Left dentary (JODA 3548).[ 19]
A geomyoid .
Trogomys
T. oregonensis
Hayes Haven, Grant County, Oregon .[ 19]
Turtle Cove Member.[ 19]
Left dentary (JODA 4534).[ 19]
A heteromyid .
Ungulates
Reptiles
Squamates
Squamates reported from the John Day Formation
Genus
Species
Location
Stratigraphic position
Material
Notes
Images
Dyticonastis
D. rensbergeri
North-central Oregon.[ 30] [ 31]
Uppermost Turtle Cove Member.[ 31]
UCMP 76878-76883.[ 30]
A worm lizard .
References
^ Woodburne, M.O.; Robinson, P.T. (July 1977). "A New Late Hemingfordian Mammal Fauna from the John Day Formation, Oregon, and its Stratigraphic Implications". Journal of Paleontology . 51 (4). The Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists: 750–57. JSTOR 1303741 .
^ "The Geologic Formations of the John Day Basin" (PDF) . Oregon Paleo Lands Institute. Retrieved September 23, 2011 .
^ a b Orr, pp. 30–31
^ Orr, pp. 30–31, 46
^ "Geology Fieldnotes" . National Park Service. Archived from the original on July 5, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2011 .
^ Orr, p. 46
^ "John Day Fossil Beds National Monument" (PDF) . NPShistory . US Department of the Interior. Retrieved 10 August 2022 .
^ a b c Samuels, Joshua X. (2021-08-21). "The first records of Sinclairella (Apatemyidae) from the Pacific Northwest, USA" . PaleoBios . 38 (1). doi :10.5070/p9381053299 . ISSN 2373-8189 . S2CID 236332341 .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Wang, Xiaoming; Tedford, Richard H.; Taylor, Beryl E. (1999). "Phylogenetic systematics of the Borophaginae (Carnivora, Canidae). Bulletin of the AMNH ; no. 243" . Bulletin of the AMNH (243). hdl :2246/1588 .
^ a b c Peterson, Ryan; Samuels, Joshua; Rybcznskyi, Natalia; Ryan, Michael J; Maddin, Hillary C (April 2020). "The earliest mustelid in North America" . Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society . 188 (4): 1318–1339.
^ a b c Hunt, Robert M. (2009). "Long-legged pursuit carnivorans (Amphicyonidae, Daphoeninae) from the early Miocene of North America" . Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History (318). hdl :2246/5948 .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barrett, Paul Z. (2016-02-09). "Taxonomic and systematic revisions to the North American Nimravidae (Mammalia, Carnivora)" . PeerJ . 4 : e1658. doi :10.7717/peerj.1658 . ISSN 2167-8359 . PMC 4756750 . PMID 26893959 .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Wang, Xiaoming (1994). "Phylogenetic systematics of the Hesperocyoninae (Carnivora, Canidae)" . Bulletin of the AMNH (221): 6–207. hdl :2246/829 .
^ a b c d e f g h i Tedford, Richard H.; Wang, Xiaoming; Taylor, Beryl E. (2009). Phylogenetic systematics of the North American fossil Caninae (Carnivora, Canidae). (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, no. 325) . [New York] : American Museum of Natural History. hdl :2246/5999 .
^ a b c d e Famoso, Nicholas A.; Orcutt, John D. (2022). "First occurrences of Palaeogale von Meyer, 1846 in the Pacific Northwest, United States" . Geodiversitas . 44 (14): 427–436. doi :10.5252/geodiversitas2022v44a14 . S2CID 248235332 .
^ Hunt, Robert M. (2001). "Small Oligocene amphicyonids from North America (Paradaphoenus, Mammalia, Carnivora)" . American Museum Novitates (3331): 1–20. doi :10.1206/0003-0082(2001)330<0001:BAOTLL>2.0.CO;2 . hdl :2246/2884 . S2CID 83979855 .
^ a b c Stirton, R. A.; Rensberger, John M. (1964). "Occurrence of the insectivore genus Micropternodus in the John Day formation of Central Oregon" . Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences . 63 : 57–80.
^ a b Korth, William W. (1994). "Middle Tertiary Marsupials (Mammalia) from North America" . Journal of Paleontology . 68 (2): 376–397. Bibcode :1994JPal...68..376K . doi :10.1017/S0022336000022952 . ISSN 0022-3360 . JSTOR 1306077 . S2CID 130386546 .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl Korth, W.; Samuels, J. (2015). "New Rodent Material from the John Day Formation (Arikareean, Middle Oligocene to Early Miocene) of Oregon" . Annals of Carnegie Museum . 83 (1): 19–84. doi :10.2992/007.083.0102 . S2CID 85780261 .
^ a b Lucas, Spencer G.; Emry, Robert J.; Foss, Scott E. (1998). "Taxonomy and distribution of Daeodon, an Oligocene-Miocene entelodont (Mammalia: Artiodactyla) from North America" . Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington . 111 : 425–435. ISSN 0006-324X .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Schultz, C. Bertrand (Charles Bertrand); Falkenbach, Charles H.; Laboratories, American Museum of Natural History Frick; Museum, University of Nebraska State (1954). "Desmatochoerinae, a new subfamily of oreodonts. article 2" . Bulletin of the AMNH . 105 . hdl :2246/424 .
^ a b c Stilson, Kelsey; Hopkins, Samantha; Davis, Edward Byrd (February 2016). "Osteopathology in Rhinocerotidae from 50 Million Years to the Present" . PLOS ONE . 11 (2): e0146221. Bibcode :2016PLoSO..1146221S . doi :10.1371/journal.pone.0146221 . PMC 4739690 . PMID 26840633 .
^ a b c d Stilson, Kelsey T.; Hopkins, Samantha S. B.; Davis, Edward Byrd (2016-08-02). "Correction: Osteopathology in Rhinocerotidae from 50 Million Years to the Present" . PLOS ONE . 11 (8): e0160793. Bibcode :2016PLoSO..1160793S . doi :10.1371/journal.pone.0160793 . ISSN 1932-6203 . PMC 4970714 . PMID 27483016 .
^ a b c Marriott, Katherine; Prothero, Donald R.; Beatty, Brian (August 2022). "Systematics of the nothokemadine camels (Artiodactyla: Camelidae)" . New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin . 89 : 295–302.
^ a b c d e f g h i PROTHERO, DONALD R. (2021-05-28). THE SYSTEMATICS OF NORTH AMERICAN PECCARIES (MAMMALIA: ARTIODACTYLA: TAYASSUIDAE) . New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.
^ a b Prothero, D. (2016). "A new genus of hesperhyine peccary (Artiodactyla: Tayassuidae) from the late Oligocene of Oregon". New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin . 74 : 205–211. S2CID 6287992 .
^ a b Coombs, Margery C.; Hunt, Robert M.; Stepleton, Ellen; Albright, L. Barry; Fremd, Theodore J. (2001). "Stratigraphy, Chronology, Biogeography, and Taxonomy of Early Miocene Small Chalicotheres in North America" . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 21 (3): 607–620. doi :10.1671/0272-4634(2001)021[0607:SCBATO]2.0.CO;2 . ISSN 0272-4634 . JSTOR 20061990 . S2CID 131128421 .
^ a b Coombs, Margery C.; Hunt Jr, Robert M. (2015). "New material of Moropus (Perissodactyla, Chalicotheriidae, Schizotheriinae) from the early Hemingfordian Rose Creek Member of the John Day Formation, Oregon, U.S.A." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 35 (6): e1009992. Bibcode :2015JVPal..35E9992C . doi :10.1080/02724634.2015.1009992 . S2CID 129074972 .
^ a b c d e Schultz, C. Bertrand (Charles Bertrand); Falkenbach, Charles H. (1947). "Merychyinae, a subfamily of oreodonts. article 4" . Bulletin of the AMNH . 88 : 165–285. hdl :2246/396 .
^ a b Hembree, Daniel I. (April 30, 2007). "Phylogenetic revision of Rhineuridae (Reptilia: Squamata: Amphisbaenia) from the Eocene to Miocene of North America" . The University of Kansas Paleontological Contributions (15): 1–20. doi :10.17161/PCNS.1808.3763 . hdl :1808/3763 . S2CID 59354440 .
^ a b Berman, David S. (1976). "A New Amphisbaenian (Reptilia: Amphisbaenia) from the Oligocene-Miocene John Day Formation, Oregon" . Journal of Paleontology . 50 (1): 165–174. ISSN 0022-3360 . JSTOR 1303648 .
Bibliography Orr, Elizabeth L., and Orr, William N. (1999). Geology of Oregon , 5th ed. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company. ISBN 0-7872-6608-6.