Wood Canyon Formation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Geologic formation in the northern Mojave Desert
Sub-units'Upper', 'Middle' and 'Lower' members [1]
UnderliesZabriskie Quartzite
OverliesStirling Quartzite
| Wood Canyon Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Ediacaran – Cambrian 540–532.83 Ma | |
 A view of Wood Canyon from the south, the locality after which the formation is named. | |
| Type | Geologic formation |
| Sub-units | 'Upper', 'Middle' and 'Lower' members [1] |
| Underlies | Zabriskie Quartzite |
| Overlies | Stirling Quartzite |
| Thickness | 0–4,000 feet (0–1,219 m)[2] |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Sandstone |
| Other | Limestone, Siltstone, Quartzite, Shale, Dolostone, Conglomerate |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 36°25′N 116°04′W / 36.42°N 116.07°W / 36.42; -116.07[3] |
| Region | Mojave Desert, California and Nevada |
| Country | United States |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Wood Canyon |
  Wood Canyon Formation Wood Canyon Formation (Nevada) | |
The Wood Canyon Formation is a geologic formation in the northern Mojave Desert of Inyo County, California and Nye County and Clark County, Nevada.[4][5]
It can be seen in the Panamint Range and Funeral Mountains adjoining Death Valley, within Death Valley National Park; and in the Spring Mountains in Clark County.[4]
The 570+ million years old formation underlies the Zabriskie Quartzite Formation, and overlies the Stirling Quartzite.[4][6]
It has three unnamed members, simply known as 'Upper', 'Middle', and 'Lower', that mainly consist of limestone, conglomerate rocks and dolostone respectively, with sandstone and siltstones found within the 'Upper' and 'Lower' members, with the latter itself further containing quartzite and shales.[1][4] The 'Upper' and 'Middle' members are Cambrian in age, including the upper rocks of the 'Lower' member, whilst the rest of the 'Lower' member is Ediacaran in age.[1]
Paleobiota
The Wood Canyon Formation spans from the late Ediacaran period of the Neoproterozoic Era into the Lower Cambrian Period of the Paleozoic Era.[4][5][7] As for the fossils and biota found within the formation, the Cambrian strata is home to olenellid trilobites and archaeocyathid sponges,[4] whilst the Ediacaran strata contains petalonamid forms like Pteridinium and ichnotaxon traces like Helminthoidichnites.[1]
Color key
|
Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; |
Cambrian
All the organisms and trace fossils from the Cambrian sections of the formation.
Arthropoda
| Genus | Species | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olenellidae indet.[4] |
|
Redlichiid trilobite arthropods. |  |
| Nevadia (?)[4] |
|
Redlichiid trilobite arthropods, from the family Nevadiidae. Misslabelled as Nevadella gracile, tentative assignment. Some studies also note this to possibly be Judomia.[2] |  |
Lophotrochozoa
| Genus | Species | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kutorgina (?)[4] |
|
Rhynchonelliform brachiopods, tentative assignment. |  |
| Hyolithes (?)[4][2] |
|
Lophotrochozoan Hyolith, tentative assignment. | |
Porifera (Sponges)
| Genus | Species | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cordilleracyathus (?)[8] |
|
Archeocyathid sponge. | |
| Archaeocyathus (?)[8] |
|
Archeocyathid sponge. | |
Echinodermata
| Genus | Species | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helicoplacus[9] |
|
Oblong echinoderm. |  |
Petalonamae
| Genus | Species | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swartpuntia[10] |
|
Sessile frondose organism, although assignment has been questioned based on the possibility that known specimens could be referred to other known Cambrian frondose organisms.[11] |  |
incertae sedis
| Genus | Species | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harlaniella[12] |
|
Ribbon-like organism. | |
| Tirasiana (?)[10] |
|
Discoidal organism, tentative assignment. Possibly junior synonym of Aspidella. | |
Ichnogenera
| Genus | Species | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bergaueria[13] |
|
Resting place of Cnidarians. |  |
| Conichnus[13] |
|
Burrows. | |
| Cruziana[14] |
|
Burrows. |  |
| Dolopichnus[13] |
|
Burrows. | |
| Didymaulichnus[14] |
|
Burrows. | |
| Psammichnites[14] |
|
Burrows. | |
| Rusophycus[14] |
|
Burrows. |  |
| Skolithos[4][14] |
|
Burrows. |  |
| Treptichnus[15] |
|
Burrows. |  |
| Zoophycos[16] |
|
Feeding trace of polychaete worms. |  |
Ediacaran
All the organisms and trace fossils from the Ediacaran sections of the formation.
Petalonamae
| Genus | Species | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charnia (?)[1] |
|
Sessile frondose organism, tentative assignment. |  |
| Ernietta[17][18] |
|
Sessile bag-like frondose organism. Reclassified as Tulaneia. |  |
| Pteridinium[1] |
|
Frondose organism. |  |
| Swartpuntia[17] |
|
Sessile frondose organism, assignment has been questioned due to poor preservation.[11] | |
| Tulaneia[19] |
|
Sessile bag-like frondose organism. | |
incertae sedis
| Genus | Species | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archaeichnium[17] |
|
Tubular organism. A recent 2017 suggests reported specimens may instead be poorly preserved Gaojiashania specimens,[18] although future studies do not note this. | |
| Costatubus[20] |
|
Tubular fossil, first occurrence in this formation and new species. A study done in the same year discovered some of the first remains of cloudinomorph soft-tissue material within the tubes, resembling bilaterian-like through-guts, which would also make them the oldest known guts in the fossil record.[21] | |
| Cloundina[17] |
|
Tubular organism. A recent 2017 suggests reported specimens may instead be poorly preserved Gaojiashania specimens,[18] although future studies do not note this. |  |
| Conotubus[18] |
|
Tubular organism. | |
| Corumbella[17][18] |
|
Tubular organism. |  |
| Gaojiashania[18] |
|
Tubular organism. | |
| Saarina[20] |
|
Tubular fossil, first occurrence in this formation and new species. A study done in the same year discovered some of the first remains of cloudinomorph soft-tissue material within the tubes, resembling bilaterian-like through-guts, which would also make them the oldest known guts in the fossil record.[21] |  |
| Nimbia (?)[17] |
|
Discoid organism, tentative assignment. |  |
| Onuphionella[17] |
|
Tubular organism, first known occurrence in Ediacaran aged rock. A recent 2017 suggests reported specimens may instead be poorly preserved Gaojiashania specimens,[18] although future studies do not note this. | |
Ichnogenera
| Genus | Species | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helminthoidichnites[14] |
|
Burrows. | |
| Palaeophycus[14] |
|
Burrows. | |
| Planolites[14] |
|
Burrows. | |
| Bilobate trails[14] |
|
Trails, bears similarities with the ichnogenus Scolicia. | |
Undescribed
| Genus | Species | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conical calcareous fossils[17] |
|
Calcareous fossils that are conical in shape, although their poor preservation hinders any proper assignments. They have been suggested to represent the well-known and common organism Cloudina, the small shelly fossil Wyattia, or even a new genus. | |
| Enigmatic tubular fossils[18] |
|
Various pyritized tubular forms ranging from 0.3 to 7 cm in length and 1 to 5 mm in diameter. | |
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Evans, Scott D.; Smith, Emily F.; Vayda, Prescott; Nelson, Lyle L.; Xiao, Shuhai (October 2024). "The Ediacara Biota of the Wood Canyon formation: Latest Precambrian macrofossils and sedimentary structures from the southern Great Basin". Global and Planetary Change. 241 104547. Bibcode:2024GPC...24104547E. doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2024.104547.
- 1 2 3 Stewart, J. H. "Upper Precambrian and Lower Cambrian Strata, in the Southern Great Basin California and Nevada" (PDF). U.S. Geological Survery. Geological Survey Professional.
- ↑ Runnegar, Bruce; Horodyski, Robert J.; Gehling, James G.; Jensen, Sören; Bengtson, Stefan; Peterson, Kevin J.; Saltzman, Matthew R.; Vendrasco, Michael J. (November 2024). "Tulaneia amabilia n. gen. n. sp.: a new erniettomorph from the Wood Canyon Formation, Nevada and the age of the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition in the Great Basin". Journal of Paleontology. 98 (6): 929–951. doi:10.1017/jpa.2024.45.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Hunt, C B; Mabey, D (1966). "Stratigraphy and structure, Death Valley, California". Geological Survey Professional Paper. Bibcode:1966usgs.rept...12H. doi:10.3133/pp494A.
- 1 2 Digital-desert.com: "Death Valley Geology - Wood Canyon Formation"
- ↑ Springer.com: "Tidal Deposits in the Zabriskie Quartzite (Cambrian), Eastern California and Western Nevada"; John J. Barnes, George deVries Klein.
- ↑ Various Contributors to the Paleobiology Database. "Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database". Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
- 1 2 Pruss, Sara B.; Smith, Emily F.; Zhuravlev, Andrey Yu; Nolan, Rhiannon Z.; McGann, Tessa C. (June 2025). "Rise and fall of archaeocyath reefs shaped early Cambrian skeletal animal abundance". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 667 112852. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.112852.
- ↑ Durham, J. W. (1993). "Observations on the Early Cambrian Helicoplacoid Echinoderms". Journal of Paleontology. 67 (4): 590–604. Bibcode:1993JPal...67..590D. doi:10.1017/S0022336000024938. ISSN 0022-3360. JSTOR 1305933.
- 1 2 Hagadorn, James W.; Fedo, Christopher M.; Waggoner, Ben M. (2000). "Early Cambrian Ediacaran-Type Fossils from California". Journal of Paleontology. 74 (4): 731–740. doi:10.1666/0022-3360(2000)074<0731:ECETFF>2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0022-3360. JSTOR 1306951.
- 1 2 Runnegar, Bruce; Gehling, James G.; Jensen, Sören; Saltzman, Matthew R. (October 2024). "Ediacaran paleobiology and biostratigraphy of the Nama Group, Namibia, with emphasis on the erniettomorphs, tubular and trace fossils, and a new sponge, Arimasia germsi n. gen. n. sp". Journal of Paleontology. 98 (S94): 1–59. Bibcode:2024JPal...98S...1R. doi:10.1017/jpa.2023.81.
- ↑ Signor, P.W. (1994). "Proterozoic-Cambrian boundary trace fossils: biostratigraphic significance of Harlaniella in the Lower Cambrian Wood Canyon Formation, Death Valley, California". New York State Stratigraphy and Paleontology. 481: 347–361.
- 1 2 3 Mata, Scott A.; Corsetti, Cara L.; Corsetti, Frank A.; Awramik, Stanley M.; Bottjer, David J. (2012). "Lower Cambrian Anemone Burrows from the Upper Member of the Wood Canyon Formation, Death Valley Region, United States: Paleoecological and Paleoenvironmental Significance". PALAIOS. 27 (9/10): 595–607. Bibcode:2012Palai..27..594M. doi:10.2110/palo.2012.p12-016r. ISSN 0883-1351. JSTOR 23362118.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Jensen, S; Droser, M; Heim, N. "Trace fossils and ichnofabrics of the Lower Cambrian Wood Canyon Formation, southwest Death Valley area". ResearchGate. Pacific Section SEPM. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ↑ Corsetti, Frank A.; Hagadorn, James W. (2000). "Precambrian-Cambrian transition: Death Valley, United States". Geology. 28 (4): 299. Bibcode:2000Geo....28..299C. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(2000)28<299:PTDVUS>2.0.CO;2.
- ↑ Sappenfield, Aaron; Droser, Mary; Kennedy, Martin; Mckenzie, Ryan (November 2012). "The oldest Zoophycos and implications for Early Cambrian deposit feeding". Geological Magazine. 149 (6): 1118–1123. Bibcode:2012GeoM..149.1118S. doi:10.1017/S0016756812000313.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hagadorn, James W.; Waggoner, Ben (2000). "Ediacaran Fossils from the Southwestern Great Basin, United States". Journal of Paleontology. 74 (2): 349–359. Bibcode:2000JPal...74..349H. doi:10.1666/0022-3360(2000)074<0349:EFFTSG>2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0022-3360. JSTOR 1306912.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Smith, E. F.; Nelson, L. L.; Tweedt, S. M.; Zeng, H.; Workman, J. B. (12 July 2017). "A cosmopolitan late Ediacaran biotic assemblage: new fossils from Nevada and Namibia support a global biostratigraphic link". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 284 (1858) 20170934. Bibcode:2017RSPSB.284....1S. doi:10.1098/rspb.2017.0934. PMC 5524506. PMID 28701565.
- ↑ Runnegar, Bruce; Horodyski, Robert J.; Gehling, James G.; Jensen, Sören; Bengtson, Stefan; Peterson, Kevin J.; Saltzman, Matthew R.; Vendrasco, Michael J. (November 2024). "Tulaneia amabilia n. gen. n. sp.: a new erniettomorph from the Wood Canyon Formation, Nevada and the age of the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition in the Great Basin". Journal of Paleontology. 98 (6): 929–951. Bibcode:2024JPal...98..929R. doi:10.1017/jpa.2024.45.
- 1 2 Selly, Tara; Schiffbauer, James D.; Jacquet, Sarah M.; Smith, Emily F.; Nelson, Lyle L.; Andreasen, Brock D.; Huntley, John Warren; Strange, Michael A.; O'Neil, Gretchen R.; Thater, Casey A.; Bykova, Natalia; Steiner, Michael; Yang, Ben; Cai, Yaoping (16 February 2020). "A new cloudinid fossil assemblage from the terminal Ediacaran of Nevada, USA". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 18 (4): 357–379. Bibcode:2020JSPal..18..357S. doi:10.1080/14772019.2019.1623333.
- 1 2 Schiffbauer, James D.; Selly, Tara; Jacquet, Sarah M.; Merz, Rachel A.; Nelson, Lyle L.; Strange, Michael A.; Cai, Yaoping; Smith, Emily F. (10 January 2020). "Discovery of bilaterian-type through-guts in cloudinomorphs from the terminal Ediacaran Period". Nature Communications. 11 (1): 205. Bibcode:2020NatCo..11..205S. doi:10.1038/s41467-019-13882-z. PMC 6954273. PMID 31924764.