The Witts Springs Formation is a sandstone

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 ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

with thin layers of limestone, shale, and siltstone. 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

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...

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 ...

Paleontology

Bivalve Bivalvia () or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class (biology), class of aquatic animal, aquatic molluscs (marine and freshwater) that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed b ...
s

*'' Aviculopecten'' :''A. arkansanus'' *'' Conocardium'' *'' Myalina'' *''

Pleurophorus ''Pleurophorus'' is a genus of aphodiine dung beetles in the family Scarabaeidae. There are more than 30 described species in ''Pleurophorus''. Species These 37 species belong to the genus ''Pleurophorus'': * '' Pleurophorus africanus'' Pittino ...

'' *''

Posidonia ''Posidonia'' is a genus of flowering plants. It contains nine species of marine plants ("seagrass"), found in the seas of the Mediterranean and around the south coast of Australia. The APG system (1998) and APG II system (2003) accept this ge ...

'' *'' Sphenotus''

Brachiopod Brachiopods (), phylum (biology), phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear e ...
s

*'' Antiquatonia'' :''A. morrowensis'' *'' Composita'' :''C. ozarkana'' *'' Juresania'' *''

Linoproductus ''Linoproductus'' is an extinct genus of brachiopod belonging to the order Productida and family Linoproductidae. Specimens have been found in Carboniferous to Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigra ...

'' *'' Schizophoria'' :''S. altirostris'' *''

Spirifer ''Spirifer'' is a genus of marine brachiopods belonging to the order Spiriferida and family Spiriferidae. Species belonging to the genus lived from the Middle Ordovician (Sandbian) through to the Late Triassic (Carnian) with a global distribut ...

Cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan Taxonomic rank, class Cephalopoda (Greek language, Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral symm ...
s

*''

Gastrioceras ''Gastrioceras'' is a goniatitid genus in the family Gastrioceratidae that lived during the late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian and for most of the Permian. Taxonomy ''Gastrioceras'' is assigned to the Gastrioceratidae, a family that makes up par ...

'' :''G. adaense'' *'' Glaphyrites'' :''G. globosus'' :''G. morrowensis'' :''G. oblatus'' *'' Mooreoceras'' *'' Pygmaeoceras'' *'' Stenopronorites'' :''S. arkansiensis''

Coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

*'' Michelinia''

Gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...
s

*''

Bellerophon Bellerophon or Bellerophontes (; ; lit. "slayer of Belleros") or Hipponous (; lit. "horse-knower"), was a divine Corinthian hero of Greek mythology, the son of Poseidon and Eurynome, and the foster son of Glaukos. He was "the greatest her ...

'' *'' Donaldina'' *''

Euphemites ''Euphemites'' is an extinct genus of gastropod belonging to order Bellerophontida and family Euphemitidae Euphemitidae is an extinct family (biology), family of Paleozoic fossil molluscs of uncertain position. They have isostrophically coil ...

'' *'' Glabrocingulum'' *'' Knightites (Retispira or Cymatospire)''

Scaphopod Scaphopoda (plural scaphopods , from Ancient Greek σκᾰ́φης ''skáphē'' "boat" and πούς ''poús'' "foot"), whose members are also known as tusk shells or tooth shells, are a class (biology), class of shelled Marine life, marine inve ...
s

*'' Laevidentalium''

Trilobite Trilobites (; meaning "three-lobed entities") are extinction, extinct marine arthropods that form the class (biology), class Trilobita. One of the earliest groups of arthropods to appear in the fossil record, trilobites were among the most succ ...
s

*''

Paladin The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers (), are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, wh ...

References

* Pennsylvanian Arkansas Carboniferous southern paleotropical deposits Sandstone formations of the United States Limestone formations of the United States Shale formations of the United States Siltstone formations of the United States Geologic formations of Arkansas {{Carboniferous-stub

Paleontology

Bivalve Bivalvia () or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class (biology), class of aquatic animal, aquatic molluscs (marine and freshwater) that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed b ...s

Brachiopod Brachiopods (), phylum (biology), phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear e ...s

Cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan Taxonomic rank, class Cephalopoda (Greek language, Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral symm ...s

Coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

Gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...s

Scaphopod Scaphopoda (plural scaphopods , from Ancient Greek σκᾰ́φης ''skáphē'' "boat" and πούς ''poús'' "foot"), whose members are also known as tusk shells or tooth shells, are a class (biology), class of shelled Marine life, marine inve ...s

Trilobite Trilobites (; meaning "three-lobed entities") are extinction, extinct marine arthropods that form the class (biology), class Trilobita. One of the earliest groups of arthropods to appear in the fossil record, trilobites were among the most succ ...s