Waaipoort Formation
Geologic formation in South Africa
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The Waaipoort Formation is a geologic formation in South Africa. It preserves fossils dating back to the Visean, in the Carboniferous period.[1]
| Waaipoort Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Carboniferous (Visean) | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Unit of | Witteberg Group[1] |
| Overlies | Floriskraal Formation[1] |
| Location | |
| Country | South Africa |
Geology
The Waaipoort formation consists of mudstones, siltstones, and fine sandstones and is around 35 meters thick. Fish-bearing localities are common and in most of these, the fish are present in calcitic or phosphatic nodules. At the Schiethoogte locality in the Eastern Cape, a 15 cm thick black layer made up of siltstone and fine sandstone contains two horizons where actinopterygian fossils are closely packed. These are thought to represent mass mortality events.[1]
Paleoenvironment
The Waaipoort formation has most commonly been interpreted as a marginal marine environment, possibly a lagoon or a delta. The fauna, composed mostly of paleoniscoids, is a large divergence from the predominantly placoderm- and sarcopterygian- dominated faunas of previous Witteberg Group formations like the Witpoort Formation.[1]
Fossil content
Color key
|
Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; |
Acanthodians
| Acanthodians | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Clade | Images |
| Gyracanthides[1][2] | G. sp. | Climatiiformes |  |
Chondrichthyes
| Chondrichthyes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Clade | Images |
| ?Protacrodontidae[2] | Protacrodontidae indet. | ?Protacrodontidae | |
| ?Plesioselachus[1] | ?Plesioselachus indet. | ||
Palaeonisciformes
| Palaeonisciformes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Clade | Images |
| Willowmorichthys[1][2][3] | W. striatulus | Willowmorichthyidae | |
| Mentzichthys[1][3] | M. walshi | Rhadinichthyidae | |
| M. jubbi | |||
| M. maraisi | |||
| M. theroni | |||
| Australichthys[1][3] | A. longidorsalis | Holuridae | |
| Aesturichthys[1][3] | A. fulcratus | Atherstoniidae | |
| Adroichthys[1][3] | A. tuberculatus | Amphicentridae | |
| Sundayichthys[1][3] | S. elegantulus | Canobiidae | |
| Soetendalichthys[1][3] | S. cromptoni | Platysomidae | |
| Dwykia[1][3] | D. analensis | Dwykiidae | |
Eurypterids
| Eurypterida | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Clade | Images |
| Hibbertopterus[4] | C. wittebergensis | Hibbertopteroidea |  |
Bivalves
Flora
| Flora | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Clade | Images |
| Praeramunculus[2] | P. striatiramus | ?Progymnospermopsida | |
| Archaeosigillaria[2] | A. caespitosa | Lycopodiopsida | |
