The Fermeuse Formation is a fossil-bearing

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 ...

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 ...

Newfoundland 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 population ...

Depositional environment

On Bonavista Peninsula the

depositional environment In geology, depositional environment or sedimentary environment describes the combination of physical, chemical, and biological processes associated with the deposition of a particular type of sediment and, therefore, the rock types that will b ...

was a

slope In mathematics, the slope or gradient of a Line (mathematics), line is a number that describes the direction (geometry), direction of the line on a plane (geometry), plane. Often denoted by the letter ''m'', slope is calculated as the ratio of t ...

and outer shelf–below

photic zone The photic zone (or euphotic zone, epipelagic zone, or sunlight zone) is the uppermost layer of a body of water that receives sunlight, allowing phytoplankton to perform photosynthesis. It undergoes a series of physical, chemical, and biological ...

Turbidites A turbidite is the geologic Deposition (geology), 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 ...

probably were the dominant

sediment transport Sediment transport is the movement of solid particles (sediment), typically due to a combination of gravity acting on the sediment, and the movement of the fluid in which the sediment is entrained. Sediment transport occurs in natural systems wh ...

ers. It is predominantly

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension (chemistry), suspension with water. Silt usually ...

s and sands, in contrast to underlying

Trepassey Formation The Trepassey Formation is a Formation (geology), geologic formation that crops out in Newfoundland, which consists of gray sandstones and tuffaceous rocks. It preserves fossils dating back to the Ediacaran Period (geology), period. Paleobiota ...

, which is mostly dark grey

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of Clay mineral, clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g., Kaolinite, kaolin, aluminium, Al2Silicon, Si2Oxygen, O5(hydroxide, OH)4) and tiny f ...

s. There is a coarsening up sequence throughout the two formations, such that the top of the Fermeuse is predominantly

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

s. On Avalon Peninsula there were much shallower waters, particularly than in underlying Mistaken Point Formation and

. It is indicated by sandy channel fills, slumping, occasional silts. There is a possible delta front and shallow slope setting.

Paleobiota

Avalon Peninsula The Avalon Peninsula () is a large peninsula that makes up the southeast portion of the island of Newfoundland in Canada. It is in size. The peninsula is home to 270,348 people, about 52% of the province's population, according to the 2016 Ca ...

there is low diversity, and includes rare

trace fossil A trace fossil, also called an ichnofossil (; ), is a fossil record of biological activity by lifeforms, but not the preserved remains of the organism itself. Trace fossils contrast with body fossils, which are the fossilized remains of part ...

s, ''

Palaeopascichnus ''Palaeopascichnus'' is an Ediacaran fossil comprising a series of lobes, first originating before the Gaskiers glaciation; it is plausibly a protozoan, but probably unrelated to the classical 'Ediacaran biota'. Once thought to represent a trac ...

'', and ''

Aspidella :Aspidella'' is also a homonym for the mushroom genus '' Saproamanita. ''Aspidella'' is an Ediacaran disk-shaped fossil of uncertain affinity. It is known from the single species ''A. terranovica''. Morphology ''Aspidella'' consists of disk-s ...

'' discs, sometimes in great concentrations. On

Bonavista Peninsula The Bonavista Peninsula is a large peninsula on the east coast of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It consists of 50 incorporated towns/unincorporated communities which have a population of 12,176 ...

there is higher diversity, including more fronds (

rangeomorph The rangeomorphs are a group of Ediacaran Ediacaran biota, fossils. Ediacarans are the oldest large fossil organisms on earth, and many are not self-evidently related to anything else that has ever lived. However, some Ediacarans clearly resemble ...

s) and better preserved than on Avalon Peninsula.

Petalonamae

Cnidaria

''incertae sedis''

Ivesheadiomorphs

Ichnogenera

References

* Ediacaran Newfoundland and Labrador Geologic formations of Newfoundland and Labrador Shale formations of Canada Sandstone formations of Canada Siltstone formations of Canada {{Canada-geologic-formation-stub