The Ganigobis Formation is a
Late Carboniferous
Late may refer to:
* LATE, an acronym which could stand for:
** Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, a proposed form of dementia
** Local-authority trading enterprise, a New Zealand business law
** Local average treatment effe ...
(
Gzhelian
The Gzhelian ( ) is an age in the ICS geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the youngest stage of the Pennsylvanian, the youngest subsystem of the Carboniferous. The Gzhelian lasted from to Ma. It follows the Ka ...
) to
Early Permian 01 or '01 may refer to:
* The year 2001, or any year ending with 01
* The month of January
* 1 (number)
Music
* 01'' (Richard Müller album), 2001
* ''01'' (Son of Dave album), 2000
* ''01'' (Urban Zakapa album), 2011
* ''O1'' (Hiroyuki Sawano ...
(
Artinskian
In the geologic timescale, the Artinskian is an age or stage of the Permian. It is a subdivision of the Cisuralian Epoch or Series. The Artinskian likely lasted between and million years ago (Ma) according to the most recent revision of th ...
) geologic
formation
Formation may refer to:
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* Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes
* Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes
Mathematics and science
* Cave formation or speleothem, a secondary ...
of the
Dwyka Group
The Dwyka Group is one of four geological groups that compose the Karoo Supergroup. It is the lowermost geological group and heralds the commencement of sedimentation of the Karoo Supergroup. Based on stratigraphic position, lithostratigraphic co ...
in the
ÇKaras Region
The ÇKaras Region (pronounced , with a lateral click) is the southernmost and least densely populated of the 14 regions of Namibia; its capital is Keetmanshoop. The name assigned to the region reflects the prominence of the Karas mountain rang ...
of southeastern
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and e ...
and the
Northern Cape
The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi ...
of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
. The widespread formation was deposited in the
Aranos and
Karoo Basins of southern Africa.
Description
The Ganigobis Formation is an extensive unit with a maximum thickness of evidenced in the Vreda borehole.
[Bangert et al., 2000, p.266] The
conglomerates,
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
s,
shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especia ...
s and
tuff
Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock ...
of the formation were deposited in a
glacio-
lacustrine
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...
to marine
environment
Environment most often refers to:
__NOTOC__
* Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally
* Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...
.
[Bangert, 2000, p.21] The Ganigobis Formation provides fossil fish as well as
bivalve
Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, biv ...
s (e.g. ''
Nuculopsis''),
gastropods (e.g. ''
Peruvispira''),
scyphozoa (e.g. ''
Conularia''),
crinoid
Crinoids are marine animals that make up the Class (biology), 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 coma ...
stalks,
foraminifera
Foraminifera (; Latin for "hole bearers"; informally called "forams") are single-celled organisms, members of a phylum or class of amoeboid protists characterized by streaming granular ectoplasm for catching food and other uses; and commonly ...
(''
Hyperammina'', ''
Ammodiscus'', ''
Glomospira'', ''
Ammobacculites'' and ''
Spiroplectammina''),
[Bangert, 2000, p.60] sponge
Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate throug ...
s and sponge spicules,
radiolaria,
coprolite
A coprolite (also known as a coprolith) is fossilized feces. Coprolites are classified as trace fossils as opposed to body fossils, as they give evidence for the animal's behaviour (in this case, diet) rather than morphology. The name is de ...
s and permineralised wood.
[Bangert, 2000, p.3]
Zircon
Zircon () is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates and is a source of the metal zirconium. Its chemical name is zirconium(IV) silicate, and its corresponding chemical formula is Zr SiO4. An empirical formula showing some of th ...
s of the Ganigobis Shale Member yield SHRIMP-ages of 302-300 Ma. This dates the uppermost part of the second deglaciation sequence in southern Namibia to the
Late Carboniferous (Gzelian) and provides a minimum age for the onset of Karoo-equivalent marine deposition. The age of the uppermost argillaceous part of the third deglaciation sequence (297 Ma) was determined from zircons of a
tuff
Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock ...
aceous bed sampled in a roadcut in the Western Cape Province, South Africa.
[
]
Fossil content
Among others, the following fossils are reported from the formation:Ganigobis, near Tses Station
at Fossilworks
Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database, a large relational database assembled by hundreds of paleontologists from around the world.
History
Fossilworks was cre ...
.org
;Fish
* ''
Acrolepis addamsi''
* ''
Namaichthys schroederi''
* ''
Watsonichthys lotzi''
See also
*
List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Namibia
*
List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in South Africa
*
Geology of Namibia
*
Geology of South Africa
*
Irati Formation
Irati Formation is the name of a geological formation of the Paraná Basin in Brazil. It has previously been dated as Late Permian using palynomorphs, but is now dated as Early Permian using zircon ages obtained from bentonite layers. The base of ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
Further reading
* B. G. Gardiner. 1962. ''Namaichthys schroederi'' Gürich and other Palaeozoic Fishes from South Africa. Palaeontology 5(1):9-21
{{Geology of South Africa, formations
Geologic formations of Namibia
Geologic formations of South Africa
Carboniferous System of Africa
Permian System of Africa
Carboniferous South Africa
Permian South Africa
Artinskian Stage
Gzhelian
Shale formations
Conglomerate formations
Sandstone formations
Tuff formations
Glacial deposits
Lacustrine deposits
Shallow marine deposits
Carboniferous southern paleotemperate deposits
Permian southern paleotemperate deposits
Paleontology in Namibia
Paleontology in South Africa
Geography of ÇKaras Region
Geography of the Northern Cape
Karoo