Eastover Formation

Geologic formation in Virginia and North Carolina, United States

Sub-unitsClaremont Manor Member, Cobham Bay Member

Eastover Formation
Stratigraphic range: Late Miocene (Messinian) PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Type	Formation
Unit of	Chesapeake Group
Sub-units	Claremont Manor Member, Cobham Bay Member
Underlies	Yorktown Formation
Overlies	St. Marys Formation
Location
Country	United States
Extent	Virginia and North Carolina

The Eastover Formation^[1] is a geologic formation in Virginia, and North Carolina. It preserves fossils dating back to the Messinian stage of the Late Miocene Epoch, between 7 to 6 million years ago.^[2]

Marine mammals

The fossil iniid dolphins Meherrinia and Isoninia are both likely from the Eastover Formation (although they may potentially date to the overlying Yorktown Formation)^[3]^[4], as well as the earless seals Terranectes and Virginiaphoca.^[5]^[6]

Fossil plants

The flora of the Eastover Formation consists mostly of lignitized plant remains and a documented palynoflora record. The terrestrial palynoflora represented in the Eastover Formation consisted primarily of temperate -warm temperate taxa.^[7]

Known taxa

Quercus (Oak)
Alnus (Alder)
Pinus (Pine)
Betula (Birch)
Taxodium (Cypress)
Ulmus (Elm)
Liquidambar (Sweetgum)
Poaceae (Grasses)
Cyperaceae (sedges)
Amaranthaceae
Asteraceae

References

↑ Stratigraphic revision of upper Miocene and lower Pliocene beds of the Chesapeake Group, middle Atlantic Coastal Plain (Report). US Geological Survey. 1980. doi:10.3133/b1482d.
↑ Godfrey, Stephen J., ed. (2018-09-25). "The Geology and Vertebrate Paleontology of Calvert Cliffs, Maryland, USA". Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology (100): 2–274. doi:10.5479/si.1943-6688.100. ISSN 1943-6688.
↑ Geisler, Jonathan H.; Godfrey, Stephen J.; Lambert, Olivier (2012). "A new genus and species of late Miocene inioid (Cetacea, Odontoceti) from the Meherrin River, North Carolina, U.S.A.". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (1): 198–211. Bibcode:2012JVPal..32..198G. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.629016. ISSN 0272-4634.
↑ Godfrey, Stephen J.; Gutstein, Carolina S.; Morgan III, Donald J. (2021-09-02). "A new odontocete (Inioidea, Odontoceti) from the late Neogene of North Carolina, USA". Fossil Record. 24 (2): 275–285. Bibcode:2021FossR..24..275G. doi:10.5194/fr-24-275-2021. ISSN 2193-0066.
↑ S.J. Rahmat; I.A. Koretsky; J.E. Osborne; A.A. Alford (2017). "New Miocene Monachinae from the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay (Maryland, USA)". Vestnik Zoologii. 51 (3): 221–242. doi:10.1515/vzoo-2017-0029 (inactive 19 February 2026). S2CID 90197324.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of February 2026 (link)
↑ Dewaele, Leonard; Peredo, Carlos Mauricio; Meyvisch, Pjotr; Louwye, Stephen (2018). "Diversity of late Neogene Monachinae (Carnivora, Phocidae) from the North Atlantic, with the description of two new species". Royal Society Open Science. 5 (3) 172437. Bibcode:2018RSOS....572437D. doi:10.1098/rsos.172437. ISSN 2054-5703. PMC 5882749. PMID 29657825.
↑ Weems, Robert E.; Edwards, Lucy E.; Landacre, Bryan (2017), Geology and biostratigraphy of the Potomac River cliffs at Stratford Hall, Westmoreland County, Virginia, Field Guides, vol. 47, Geological Society of America, pp. 125–152, Bibcode:2017brbg.book..125W, doi:10.1130/2017.0047(05), ISBN 978-0-8137-0047-2

Various Contributors to the Paleobiology Database. "Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database". Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2021.

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Fossil plants

Known taxa

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