Deep Spring Formation
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| Deep Spring Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Ediacaran - Cambrian [1] | |
| Type | Geological Formation |
| Sub-units | Dunfee, Esmeralda and Gold Point Members |
| Underlies | Campito Formation[2] |
| Overlies | Reed Dolomite[2] |
| Thickness | 549 m (1800 ft) |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Limestone |
| Other | Quartzite, Siltstone |
| Location | |
| Region | Nevada |
| Country | United States |
The Deep Spring Formation is a geologic formation in Nevada. It preserves fossils dating back to the Ediacaran and Cambrian periods, like Wutubus and Elainabella.[3][4] It is also currently the only known Ediacaran Lagerstätten in the Southwestern United States.[3]
Paleobiota
[edit]The first organism to be described from the Deep Spring Formation in 2014 was Elainabella in the Esmeralda Member, an enigmatic alga with similarities to green algae, suggesting that part of the formation was at one point a shallow marine environment or a microbial reef community.[4] More organisms would be described in 2016, most of which are ichnogenus' like Planolites, and even some tubular forms, like Wutubus, expanding not only the stratigraphic range of some of these forms, but also their biogeographic range.[3]
Color key
| Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; |
| Paleobiota | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Notes | Images | |
| Conotubus |
| Non-biomineral tubular fossil. | ||
| Gaojiashania |
| Worm-like organism. | ||
| Wutubus |
| Tubular fossil. |  | |
| Elainabella[4] |
| Enigmatic filamentous multicellular alga. |  | |
| Bergaueria? |
| Resting place of Cnidarians. |  | |
| Neonereites? |
| Burrows. |  | |
| Planolites |
| Burrows. |  | |
| Scolicia? |
| Burrows. |  | |
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ Smith, Emily F.; Nelson, Lyle L.; O’Connell, Nizhoni; Eyster, Athena; Lonsdale, Mary C. (22 September 2022). "The Ediacaran−Cambrian transition in the southern Great Basin, United States". GSA Bulletin. doi:10.1130/B36401.1.
- ^ a b Edwin H. McKee (1968). "Geology of the Magruder Mountain area, Nevada-California" (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin: H7. doi:10.3133/B1251H. ISSN 8755-531X. Wikidata Q57805921.
- ^ a b c Smith, E.F.; Nelson, L.L.; Strange, M.A.; Eyster, A.E.; Rowland, S.M.; Schrag, D.P.; Macdonald, F.A. (1 November 2016). "The end of the Ediacaran: Two new exceptionally preserved body fossil assemblages from Mount Dunfee, Nevada, USA". Geology. 44 (11): 911–914. doi:10.1130/G38157.1.
- ^ a b c Rowland, Stephen M.; Rodriguez, Margarita G. (March 2014). "A Multicellular Alga with Exceptional Preservation from the Ediacaran of Nevada". Journal of Paleontology. 88 (2): 263–268. doi:10.1666/13-075. ISSN 0022-3360. S2CID 129796477.
- Various Contributors to the Paleobiology Database. "Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database". Retrieved 17 December 2021.
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