The Blueflower Formation is a

geologic formation 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 exp ...

in the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

, and is a part of the Rackla Group. It preserves

fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

dating back to the

Ediacaran The Ediacaran ( ) is a geological period of the Neoproterozoic geologic era, Era that spans 96 million years from the end of the Cryogenian Period at 635 Million years ago, Mya to the beginning of the Cambrian Period at 538.8 Mya. It is the last ...

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Period (punctuation) * Era, a length or span of time *Menstruation, commonly referred to as a "period" Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (o ...

Paleobiota

Unlike most other Ediacaran formations, the Blueflower Formation is unique in that is preserves shallow and deep-marine environments, and as it correlates with other Avalonian formations such as those in

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

, it allowed scientists to figure out whether the

Ediacaran Biota The Ediacaran (; formerly Vendian) biota is a taxonomic period classification that consists of all life forms that were present on Earth during the Ediacaran Period (). These were enigmatic tubular and frond-shaped, mostly sessile, organis ...

started out in deep-marine environments before making their way into shallower waters. The forms that can be found across the formation are the familiar

Petalonamae The petalonamids (Petalonamae) are an extinct group of archaic animals typical of the Ediacaran biota, also called frondomorphs, dating from approximately 635 million years ago to 516 million years ago. They are benthic and motionless animals, t ...

such as

Charniodiscus ''Charniodiscus'' is an Ediacaran fossil that in life was probably a stationary filter feeder that lived anchored to a sandy sea bed. The organism had a holdfast, stalk and frond. The holdfast was bulbous shaped, and the stalk was flexible. The ...

, including juvenile petalonamids from the Lower Member, and from the Upper Member tubular forms such as Annulatubus, and the enigmatic

Windermeria ''Windermeria aitkeni'' (named after Windermere, British Columbia, Canada) is a Precambrian organism from the Blueflower Formation of Sekwi Brook North, in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Only one specimen has been found. ''Windermeria'' ...

Proarticulata

Petalonamae

Cnidarian

''incertae sedis''

Flora

Ichnogenera

Undescribed

References

* Ediacaran Northwest Territories Geologic formations of the Northwest Territories Shale formations of Canada Mudstone formations of Canada Sandstone formations of Canada {{Northwest Territories-stub