Passaic Formation (NJ) - (Lower Jurassic and Upper Triassic) Olsen, P.E., 1980a[1] - Interbedded sequence of reddish-brown, and less often maroon or purple, fine- to coarse-grained sandstone, siltstone, shaly siltstone, silty mudstone, and mudstone. Reddish-brown sandstone and siltstone are thin- to medium-bedded, planar to cross-bedded, micaceous, and locally mudcracked and ripple cross-laminated. Root casts and load casts are common. Shaly siltstone, silty mudstone, and mudstone are fine-grained, very thin to thin-bedded, planar to ripple cross-laminated, locally fissile, bioturbated, and contain evaporite minerals. They form rhythmically fining-upward sequences as much as 15 ft. thick. Several inches of unit have been thermally metamorphosed along contact with Orange Mountain Basalt (Jo). Unit is barely exposed in southwestern part of the map area, but regionally is as much as 11,480 ft. thick.
All footprints here are from the late Triassic Period (215 mya) from the Passaic Formation. The slabs here are red, blue, brown, and olive-green sandstones which were deposited during the formation of the Newark rift basin. Typical ichnotaxon list: Anchisauripus tuberosus (small to medium sized theropod dinosaur), Apatopus sp. (phytosaur), Atreipus sp. (ornithischian dinosaur), Batrachopus gracilis (crocodylomorph), Brachychirotherium (rauisuchian crurotarsan), Chirotherium lulli (crurotarsan, possibly aetosaurid), Eubrontes giganteus (large theropod dinosaur), Grallator parallelus (small theropod dinosaur), Gwyneddichnium sp. (tanystropheid), Rhynchosauroides sp. (lepidosauromorphs), Procolophonichnium sp. (procolophonid parareptile), and others.
(small to medium sized theropod dinosaur)
(phytosaur)
(ornithischian dinosaur)
SECOND ROW: 7-11) One slab with three prints, Grallator and Atreipus, 3.5 to 4.5 inches from heel to claw, on desiccation cracks. Photos show the front and back of the slab.
THIRD and FOURTH ROWS: 12-23) Great slabs with well preserved Atreipus prints. Note that some of the prints have well preserved two circular marks beneath of below the paw of the prints.
FIFTH ROW: 24-25) A hand print (manus) of the Atreipus and a close-up photo. 26-27) More manus prints of the Atreipus. 28) A great slab with a possible body or tail drag, a metatarsal, and multiple Atreipus prints.
(crocodylomorph)
SECOND ROW: 7) Batrachopus trackway with some small Grallator tracks in shale from the upper horizons of the Passaic formation just below the Orange Mountain basalt. This stratigraphic position is just about at the Triassic/Jurassic boundary. Tracks have been outlined in chalk. [7] Mr. Dave W., ChroLithix.com[7]
ROWS 3-8: All photos are from The Kreider Collection found in the Paterson Quarry kreiderenterprises.741.com [8]
(rauisuchian crurotarsan)
(crurotarsan, possibly aetosaurid)
(large theropod dinosaur)
(small theropod dinosaur)
SECOND ROW: 7) A Grallator from Montclair, NJ. 8) Scott's collapsed Grallator print from Flemington, NJ. 9) Scott's slab with 4 Grallator prints. 10) A close-up of Scott's slab with one Grallator print. 11-12) Two Grallators from the ??? museum. These two came from the Patterson Quarry.
THIRD ROW: 13-14) Well defined, well centered Grallator and other Grallators at the edge. 15 cm in length, in shale from the upper horizons of the Passaic formation just below the Orange Mountain basalt. This stratigraphic position is just about at the Triassic/Jurassic boundary. Both positive and negative impressions. [7] Mr. Dave W., ChroLithix.com[7] 15) A print missing the tip of the middle toe, 2.5 inches. 16) A possible Grallator. 17-18) Scott finds a Grallator (not collected). Note there is a smaller faint print underneath it.
FOURTH ROW: 19) A juvenile Grallator or possibly Atreipus print and close-up. 20) Probable Grallator trackway. 21-24) Photos are from The Kreider Collection found in the Paterson Quarry kreiderenterprises.741.com [8]
FIFTH ROW: 25-26) Photos are from The Kreider Collection found in the Paterson Quarry kreiderenterprises.741.com [8] 27) A 6 inch long Grallator with a Batrachopus print at the tip of the middle toe
(tanystropheid)
(crocodylomorph)
(procolophonid parareptile)
(lepidosauromorphs)
SECOND ROW: 7) Rhynchosauroides Photos 5-7 [Division of Vertebrate Paleontology, YPM. ŠPeabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. All rights reserved.] 8-9) Rhynchosauroides prints and close-ups. 10) Rhynchosauroides print with scale impressions.
(tiny creatures)
(large creatures)
SECOND ROW: 7-12) Closer shots.
THIRD ROW: 13-16) Various prints.
FOURTH ROW: Strata with ripples.
and Body & Tail Drags
SECOND ROW: 7-12) Possibly skin impressions and close-ups.
THIRD ROW: 13-18) I always wondered what those parallel marks on the bubbly mud layer where made by. The answer became obvious after finding these fossils. They appear to be tail drags.
FOURTH ROW: 19-22) More tail or body drags and close-ups. 23) Unknown track with a nice metatarsal impression. 24) Possible tail drag.
FIFTH ROW: 25-26) Possible body drag and close-up. 27-29) A great slab with a possible body or tail drag, a metatarsal, and multiple Atreipus prints. 30) Three slabs with possible tail drag marks.
SIXTH ROW: 25-26) A tail impression and close-ups. 27-28) A possible body drag and a likely insect trail. 29) Likely skin impression because the "scales" are arranged in rows. 30) ???
SEVENTH ROW: 31-36) Detailed skin impression located top center part of the slab and on some of the damaged footprints.
EIGHT ROW: 37-42) Skin "scrapping" marks as the foot cut through the mud, impressions where made by the outer most scales of the foot.
(Animal waste)
(ripples, desiccation cracks, etc)
SECOND ROW: 7) Scott's slab with possible roots or burrows. 8) Scott's slab with multiple faint prints. 9) A sample of algae mat. 10) Formation from mud and ripple rock. 11-12) Unknown markings and a close-up.
THIRD ROW: 13-14) Henry's ripples. 15-17) Henry's huge slab with prints. 18) ???
FOURTH ROW: 19-22) Concretions or an egg nest? 23-24) ???
FIFTH ROW: 26-31) Various plant fossils which where found in the same site but different strata as the Atreipus prints listed on this webpage. 32) Possible insect trail.
SIXTH ROW: 32-33) All photos are from The Kreider Collection found in the Paterson Quarry kreiderenterprises.741.com [8]