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Cutoff Formation
The Cutoff Formation is a geologic formation in Texas and New Mexico, US. It preserves fossils dating back to the Permian period. Description The Cutoff Formation consists of feet of thin limestone beds interbedded with dark shale and sandstone. It grades northwards into the San Andres Formation and is likely correlative with the upper part of the Bone Spring Formation within the Delaware Basin. In age, the formation straddles the Cisuralian - Guadalupian boundary. It lies atop the Victorio Peak or Bone Spring Formation and is overlain by the Brushy Canyon Formation or Cherry Canyon Formation. Both these formations fill paleocanyons cut deeply in the Cutoff Formation, in some cases cutting clear through to the underlying Bone Springs or Victorio Peak beds. The formation is interpreted as a deep basin formation deposited on a drowned shelf to basin topography. It contains numerous turbidite sequences. Fossils Limestone beds of the formation contain chonetid brachiopods ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Formation (stratigraphy)
A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics (lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exposed in a geographical region (the stratigraphic column). It is the fundamental unit of lithostratigraphy, the study of strata or rock layers. A formation must be large enough that it can be mapped at the surface or traced in the subsurface. Formations are otherwise not defined by the thickness of their rock strata, which can vary widely. They are usually, but not universally, tabular in form. They may consist of a single lithology (rock type), or of alternating beds of two or more lithologies, or even a heterogeneous mixture of lithologies, so long as this distinguishes them from adjacent bodies of rock. The concept of a geologic formation goes back to the beginnings of modern scientific geology. The term was used by Abraham Gottlob We ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Andres Formation, United States
The San Andres Formation is a geologic formation found in New Mexico and Texas. It contains fossils characteristic of the late Leonardian (Kungurian) Age) of the Permian Period. The formation is the most widely exposed Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ... formation in the state of New Mexico, cropping out in a zone wide that extends from west Texas to central New Mexico and with additional exposures in the Zuni Mountains and Sangre de Cristo Mountains. It is also prominent in the subsurface in the San Juan Basin and in eastern New Mexico. Description The formation consists mostly of massive marine limestone. The limestone is typically cherty and poorly fossiliferous, but fossils are locally abundant. The total thickness is up to . The formation is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pseudogastrioceras
Pseudogastrioceratinae is one of two subfamilies of the Paragastrioceratidae family. They are an extinct group of ammonoid, which are shelled cephalopods related to squids, belemnites, octopuses, and cuttlefish, and more distantly to the nautiloid Nautiloids are a group of marine cephalopods (Mollusca) which originated in the Late Cambrian and are represented today by the living ''Nautilus'' and '' Allonautilus''. Fossil nautiloids are diverse and speciose, with over 2,500 recorded specie ...s. References The Paleobiology Databaseaccessed on 10/01/07 Paragastrioceratidae Prehistoric animal subfamilies {{Goniatitida-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ammonoids
Ammonoids are a group of extinct marine mollusc animals in the subclass Ammonoidea of the class Cephalopoda. These molluscs, commonly referred to as ammonites, are more closely related to living coleoids (i.e., octopuses, squid and cuttlefish) than they are to shelled nautiloids such as the living ''Nautilus'' species. The earliest ammonites appeared during the Devonian, with the last species vanishing during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. Ammonites are excellent index fossils, and linking the rock layer in which a particular species or genus is found to specific geologic time periods is often possible. Their fossil shells usually take the form of planispirals, although some helically spiraled and nonspiraled forms (known as heteromorphs) have been found. The name "ammonite", from which the scientific term is derived, was inspired by the spiral shape of their fossilized shells, which somewhat resemble tightly coiled rams' horns. Pliny the Elder ( 79 AD near Pomp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helicoprion
''Helicoprion'' is an extinct genus of shark-like eugeneodont fish. Almost all fossil specimens are of spirally arranged clusters of the individuals' teeth, called "tooth whorls", which in life were embedded in the lower jaw. As with most extinct cartilaginous fish, the skeleton is mostly unknown. Fossils of ''Helicoprion'' are known from a 20 million year timespan during the Permian period from the Artinskian stage of the Cisuralian (Early Permian) to the Roadian stage of the Guadalupian (Middle Permian). The closest living relatives of ''Helicoprion'' (and other eugeneodonts) are the chimaeras, though their relationship is very distant. The unusual tooth arrangement is thought to have been an adaption for feeding on soft bodied prey, and may have functioned as a deshelling mechanism for hard bodied cephalopods such as nautiloids and ammonoids. In 2013, systematic revision of ''Helicoprion'' via morphometric analysis of the tooth whorls found only ''H. davisii, H. bessonowi' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crinoids
Crinoids are marine animals that make up the class Crinoidea. Crinoids that are attached to the sea bottom by a stalk in their adult form are commonly called sea lilies, while the unstalked forms are called feather stars or comatulids, which are members of the largest crinoid order, Comatulida. Crinoids are echinoderms in the phylum Echinodermata, which also includes the starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins and sea cucumbers. They live in both shallow water and in depths as great as . Adult crinoids are characterised by having the mouth located on the upper surface. This is surrounded by feeding arms, and is linked to a U-shaped gut, with the anus being located on the oral disc near the mouth. Although the basic echinoderm pattern of fivefold symmetry can be recognised, in most crinoids the five arms are subdivided into ten or more. These have feathery pinnules and are spread wide to gather planktonic particles from the water. At some stage in their lives, most crinoids have a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corals
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton. A coral "group" is a colony of very many genetically identical polyps. Each polyp is a sac-like animal typically only a few millimeters in diameter and a few centimeters in height. A set of tentacles surround a central mouth opening. Each polyp excretes an exoskeleton near the base. Over many generations, the colony thus creates a skeleton characteristic of the species which can measure up to several meters in size. Individual colonies grow by asexual reproduction of polyps. Corals also breed sexually by spawning: polyps of the same species release gametes simultaneously overnight, often around a full moon. Fertilized eggs form planulae, a mobile early form of the coral polyp which, when mat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fusulinids
The Fusulinida is an extinct order within the Foraminifera in which the tests are traditionally considered to have been composed of microgranular calcite. Like all forams, they were single-celled organisms. In advanced forms the test wall was differentiated into two or more layers. Loeblich and Tappan, 1988, gives a range from the Lower Silurian to the Upper Permian, with the fusulinid foraminifera going extinct with the Permian–Triassic extinction event. While the latter is true, a more supported projected timespan is from the Mid-Carboniferous period. Taxonomy Thirteen superfamilies are presently recognised, based on taxa (families) included in the three superfamilies given in the Treatise. Three are based on families in the Parathuramminacea, 1964, and 2.9 million families in the Endothyracea, 1964. The Fusulinacea remains the same in both sources (Treatise 1964 and Loeblich and Tappan, 1988). The term fusulinata has traditionally been used to refer to all palaeozoic for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gastropods
The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. There are many thousands of species of sea snails and slugs, as well as freshwater snails, freshwater limpets, and land snails and slugs. The class Gastropoda contains a vast total of named species, second only to the insects in overall number. The fossil history of this class goes back to the Late Cambrian. , 721 families of gastropods are known, of which 245 are extinct and appear only in the fossil record, while 476 are currently extant with or without a fossil record. Gastropoda (previously known as univalves and sometimes spelled "Gasteropoda") are a major part of the phylum Mollusca, and are the most highly diversified class in the phylum, with 65,000 to 80,000 living snail and slug species. The anatomy, behavior, feeding, and repro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chonetes
''Chonetes'' is an extinct genus of brachiopods. It ranged from the Late Ordovician to the Middle Jurassic. Species The following species of ''Chonetes'' have been described: * ''C. (Paeckelmannia)'' * ''C. baragwanathi'' * ''C. billingsi'' (Floresta Formation The Floresta Formation ( es, Formación Floresta, Df) is a geological formation of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The sequence of siltstones, shales, coquinas and sandstone beds dates to the Devonia ..., Colombia)Floresta Fauna at Fossilworks.org * ''C. burlingtonensis'' * ''C. chamishkjensis'' * ''C. chaoi'' * ''C. cherokeensis'' * ''C. chesterensis'' * ''C. compressa'' * ''C. comstockii'' (Florest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chonetidina
A suborder of brachiopods containing the families: * Family Strophochonetidae * Family Chonostrophiidae * Family Anopliidae * Family Eodevonariidae * Family Chonetidae * Family Rugosochonetidae Rugosochonetidae is an extinct family of brachiopods in the extinct order Productida Productida is an extinct order of brachiopods in the extinct class Strophomenata. Members of Productida first appeared during the Silurian. They represented ... * Family Daviesiellidae References Strophomenata {{Brachiopod-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turbidite
A turbidite is the geologic deposit of a turbidity current, which is a type of amalgamation of fluidal and sediment gravity flow responsible for distributing vast amounts of clastic sediment into the deep ocean. Sequencing Turbidites were first properly described by Arnold H. Bouma (1962), who studied deepwater sediments and recognized particular "fining-up intervals" within deep water, fine-grained shales, which were anomalous because they started at pebble conglomerates and terminated in shales. This was anomalous because within the deep ocean it had historically been assumed that there was no mechanism by which tractional flow could carry and deposit coarse-grained sediments into the abyssal depths. Bouma cycles begin with an erosional contact of a coarse lower bed of pebble to granule conglomerate in a sandy matrix, and grade up through coarse then medium plane parallel sandstone; through cross-bedded sandstone; rippled cross-bedded sand/silty sand, and finally la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
