# Bladen Formation

The Bladen Formation is a geologic formation from the Late Cretaceous (middle Campanian) of North Carolina and South Carolina, USA. It is known for a plethora of terrestrial and aquatic vertebrate fossils, including dinosaurs and mosasaurs. It appears to be roughly concurrent with the Tuscaloosa Formation of Alabama.
Unlike many other Cretaceous geologic formations from eastern North America, which were deposited in entirely marine environments, the Bladen Formation appears to have been deposited in a former river delta in an estuarine habitat, allowing for a mixture of freshwater, terrestrial, and marine fauna. An important locality is the former Bladen County landfill annex in Elizabethtown, North Carolina, which contains the richest known fauna from the formation. Another notable locality is near Quinby in Florence County, South Carolina, which also appears to have been deposited in a nonmarine environment with minor marine influence.
It is deposited as a thin layer over the Tar Heel/Coachman Formation, which is often confused with. In North Carolina, it underlies the Maastrichtian-aged Peedee Formation, while in South Carolina it underlies the slightly younger Campanian-aged Donoho Creek Formation.

## Vertebrate paleobiota

Based on Crane (2011), Schwimmer et al (2015) and the Paleobiology Database:

### Cartilaginous fish

Based on Crane (2011) and Case et al (2019):
The chondrichthyan biota closely resembles that of the Aguja Formation from Texas.

#### Hybodonts

Hybodonts of the Bladen Formation :
| Genus | Species | Location | Notes |
| Lonchidion | L. babulskii | Elizabethtown, NC | A lonchidiid. |
| Meristodonoides | M. novojerseyensis | Elizabethtown, NC | A hybodontid. |
| Meristodonoides | M. sp. | Elizabethtown, NC | A hybodontid. |

#### Sharks

Sharks of the Bladen Formation :
| Genus | Species | Location | Notes |
| Archaeolamna | A. kopingensis | Elizabethtown, NC | An archaeolamnid mackerel shark. |
| Cantioscyllium | C. clementsi | Elizabethtown, NC | A nurse shark. Type locality of this species. |
| Cretalamna | C. appendiculata | Elizabethtown, NC | A megatooth shark. |
| Cretalamna | C. sp. | Elizabethtown, NC | A megatooth shark. |
| Cretorectolobus | C. sp. | Elizabethtown, NC | A wobbegong. |
| Galeorhinus | G. sp. | Elizabethtown, NC | A relative of the school shark. |
| Plicatoscyllium | P. globidens | Elizabethtown, NC | A nurse shark. |
| Protolamna | P. borodini | Elizabethtown, NC | An eoptolamnid mackerel shark. |
| Scapanorhynchus | S. texanus | Elizabethtown, NC | A goblin shark. |
| Squalicorax | S. kaupi | Elizabethtown, NC | A crow shark. |
| Squalicorax | S. cf. S. pristodontus | Elizabethtown, NC | A crow shark. |
| Squatina | S. sp. | Elizabethtown, NC | An angelshark. Sometimes assigned to the dubious species S. hassei. |

#### Rays

Rays of the Bladen Formation :
| Genus | Species | Location | Notes |
| Anoxypristis | A. sp. | Elizabethtown, NC | A sawfish. |
| Borodinopristis | B. schwimmeri | Elizabethtown, NC | A sclerorhynchid sawskate. Type locality of B. shannoni. |
| Borodinopristis | B. shannoni | Elizabethtown, NC | A sclerorhynchid sawskate. Type locality of B. shannoni. |
| Brachyrhizodus | B. wichitaensis | Elizabethtown, NC | An eagle ray. |
| Dasyatis | D. cf. commercensis | Elizabethtown, NC | A whiptail stingray. |
| Ischyrhiza | I. avonicola | Elizabethtown, NC | A sclerorhynchid sawskate. |
| Ischyrhiza | I. mira | Elizabethtown, NC | A sclerorhynchid sawskate. |
| Onchopristis | O. sp. | Elizabethtown, NC | An onchopristid sawskate. |
| Ptychotrygon | P. triangularis | Elizabethtown, NC | A ptychotrygonid sawskate. |
| Ptychotrygon | P. vermiculata | Elizabethtown, NC | A ptychotrygonid sawskate. |
| Protoplatyrhina | P. sp. | Elizabethtown, NC | A hypsobatid ray. |
| Pseudohypolophus | P. ellipsis | Elizabethtown, NC | A guitarfish. |
| Rhinobatos | R. casieri | Elizabethtown, NC | A guitarfish. |
| Rhombodus | R. binkhorsti | Elizabethtown, NC | A rhombodontid ray. |
| Rhombodus | R. laevis | Elizabethtown, NC | A rhombodontid ray. |
| Schizorhiza | S. sp. | Elizabethtown, NC | A schizorhizid sawskate. |

### Bony fish

Bony fish of the Bladen Formation :
| Genus | Species | Location | Notes |
| Albula | A. sp. | Elizabethtown, NC | A bonefish. |
| Anomoeodus | A. phaseolus | Elizabethtown, NC | A pycnodontid pycnodont. |
| Cylindracanthus | C. sp | Elizabethtown, NC | A fish of uncertain affinities. |
| Enchodus | E. cf. petrosus | Elizabethtown, NC | An enchodontid aulopiform. |
| Hadrodus | H. priscus | Elizabethtown, NC | A hadrodontid fish (considered a pycnodont or a semionotiform) |
| Lepisosteus | L. sp. | Elizabethtown, NC | A gar. |
| Paralbula | P. casei | Elizabethtown, NC | A phyllodontid elopomorph. |
| Protosphyraena | P. sp. | Elizabethtown, NC | A pachycormid. |
| Xiphactinus | X. vetus | Elizabethtown, NC | An ichthyodectid ichthyodectiform. |

### Amphibians

Amphibians of the Bladen Formation :
| Genus | Species | Location | Notes | Images |
| Albanerpetontidae indet. | | Elizabethtown, NC | An albanerpetontid. | |

### Reptiles
#### Dinosaurs

Based on Brownstein (2018):
Dinosaurs of the Bladen Formation :
| Genus | Species | Location | Notes |
| "Coelosaurus" (="Ornithomimus") | "C." sp. | Elizabethtown, NC | An ornithomimosaur. |
| Hadrosauridae indet. | | Elizabethtown, NC | A hadrosaur. |
| Tyrannosauroidea indet. | | Elizabethtown, NC | A tyrannosauroid. |

#### Crocodylomorphs

Crocodylomorphs of the Bladen Formation :
| Genus | Species | Location | Notes |
| Borealosuchus | B. sp. | Elizabethtown, NC Quinby, SC | A eusuchian. |
| Deinosuchus | D. rugosus | Elizabethtown, NC Quinby, SC | An alligatoroid, one of the largest known crocodilians. |
| Gavialoidea indet. | | Quinby, SC | A gavialoid. |

#### Turtles

Turtles of the Bladen Formation :
| Genus | Species | Location | Notes |
| Bothremys | B. sp. | Elizabethtown, NC | A bothremydid side-necked turtle. |
| Chedighaii | C. sp. | Elizabethtown, NC | A bothremydid side-necked turtle. |
| Euclastes | E. wielandi | Quinby, SC | A pancheloniid sea turtle. |
| "Trionyx" | "T." halophilus | Quinby, SC | A stem-softshell turtle, likely not an actual member of the genus Trionyx. Species names are nomina dubia. |
| "Trionyx" | "T." priscus | Quinby, SC | A stem-softshell turtle, likely not an actual member of the genus Trionyx. Species names are nomina dubia. |
| "Trionyx" | "T." sp. | Elizabethtown, NC | A stem-softshell turtle, likely not an actual member of the genus Trionyx. Species names are nomina dubia. |

#### Plesiosaurs

Plesiosaurs of the Bladen Formation :
| Genus | Species | Location | Notes | Images |
| Elasmosauridae indet. | | Elizabethtown, NC Quinby, SC | An elasmosaurid. | |

#### Squamates

Squamates of the Bladen Formation :
| Genus | Species | Location | Notes | Images |
| Coniophis | C. sp. | Elizabethtown, NC | An aquatic snake. | |
| Tylosaurus | T. sp. | Elizabethtown, NC | A tylosaurine mosasaur. | |

### Mammals

Mammals of the Bladen Formation :
| Genus | Species | Location | Notes | Images |
| Cimolomys | C. sp. | Elizabethtown, NC | A multituberculate. | |