Methane Seeps in the Late Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway, USA

Landman, Neil H.; Cochran, J. Kirk; Brezina, Jamie; Larson, Neal L.; Garb, Matthew P.; Meehan, Kimberly C.; Myers, Christopher W.

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-05623-9_15

Cited by 1 publication

(4 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…These low δ 13 C values alone are insufficient to support that AMNH IP loc. 3529 is a methane seep, but the abundant presence of carbonates in the shale in conjunction with typical seep fauna such as lucinid bivalves at this site, in accordance with Landman et al (2022) support a methane seep hypothesis.…”

Section: Carbon and Oxygen Isotopessupporting

confidence: 69%

“…(Landman et al, 2018a. The fauna recently reported from this locality includes ammonites, bivalves, gastropods, sea stars, crinoids, decapod crustaceans, bryozoans, corals, serpulid annelids, and fish remains (Cochran et al, 2015;Blake et al, 2018;Brezina et al, 2022;Klompmaker et al, 2022;Landman et al, 2022). Decapod crustaceans found here, but not scanned for internal anatomy, include Protocallianassa?…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…Upper Cretaceous carbonates associated with cold seeps such as methane seeps in the Western Interior Seaway of the USA have received increased attention over the last decade (e.g., Landman et al, 2022). They range in age from the middle Campanian to the earliest Maastrichtian and are found in Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, and Kansas thus far (Landman et al, 2022). Seep carbonates vary in size and shape and can form mounds.…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Seep carbonates vary in size and shape and can form mounds. Jointly, these carbonates contain a diverse fauna of invertebrates, vertebrates, and trace fossils (e.g., Bishop and Williams, 2000;Landman et al, 2012Landman et al, , 2022Hunter et al, 2016;Rowe et al, 2020;Klompmaker and Landman, 2021;Brezina et al, 2022) at a higher concentration than in the adjacent, contemporaneous rocks. These hotspots of diversity in the Western Interior Seaway may have acted as refuges during times of ash fall and as sources for repopulating other parts of the seaway (Brophy et al, 2022).…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Internal anatomy of a brachyuran crab from a Late Cretaceous methane seep and an overview of internal soft tissues in fossil decapod crustaceans

Klompmaker,

Kloess,

Jauvion

et al. 2023

Palaeontol Electron

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Cretaceous-aged methane seep carbonates in the Western Interior Seaway, USA, have yielded a relatively high diversity and concentration of fossils, including decapod crustaceans, compared to their surrounding, contemporaneous sediments. With technological advances in non-destructive imaging techniques, the internal anatomy of decapods can be studied in remarkable detail. Here, we present a brachyuran crab specimen from an upper Campanian methane seep carbonate in South Dakota, USA. While the external morphology of the crab is insufficient for species identification (Secretanella sp.), remarkable details of the internal morphology are preserved including soft tissues. Four phyllobranchiate gills are visible due to a broken cuticle. A µCTscan revealed parts of the digestive tract including the esophagus and the cardiac stomach (foregut), and possible anterior gastric muscles. An esophagus has not been reported previously in a fossil decapod. We also found mandibles and their apodemes. Because of soft tissue preservation, the South Dakotan locality may be a candidate Konservat-Lagerstätte. To our knowledge, the studied crab contains the first preserved animal soft tissue reported from an ancient methane seep. Our new overview of internal soft tissues preserved in fossil decapod crustaceans shows that, besides muscles reported previously, gills and remains of the digestive tract are most often reported (8 and 13 occurrences, respectively). Reproductive organs, nerve chords, and the heart are only known from one or two occurrences. Although reports of soft internal anatomy preservation remain relatively rare, continued application of µCT-scans to fossil decapods has the potential to illuminate our knowledge of the evolution of internal decapod anatomy.

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Section: Carbon and Oxygen Isotopessupporting

confidence: 69%