Late Cretaceous vertebrate faunal assemblages of the Manitoba escarpment, Canada: Implications for Western Interior Seaway provinciality and biodiversity

• Published in: Palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology, 2022-09, Vol.601, p.111119, Article 111119
• Main Authors: Kilmury, Aaron A., Brink, Kirstin S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biogeography; Biostratigraphy; Community similarity; Marine biofacies; Preservational bias; Zones
• ISSN: 0031-0182; 1872-616X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2022.111119

Community zonation of the Late Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway (WIS) has been suggested for bivalves, cephalopods, foraminifera, gastropods, and tetrapods. Most proposed WIS community zones consist of a northern and southern subprovince with a gradational boundary across central or south-central North America. Since it has been over three decades since the WIS community zonation hypothesis has been investigated for vertebrates, recent radiometric age determinations, taxonomic revisions, additional specimen discoveries, and recently available online museum specimen catalogues allow for an updated description of Manitoba (MB) escarpment faunal assemblages and testing of the community zonation hypothesis. Nine time bins were used to represent nine Upper Cretaceous lithostratigraphic units of the MB escarpment to test the zonation hypothesis consistency for nearly the entire Late Cretaceous (~71–95 Ma). Relatively high genus-level community similarity values (25–50%) of south-central WIS localities and low values (