Earth:Beartooth Butte Formation

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Beartooth Butte Formation
Stratigraphic range: Lochkovian-Emsian
~419–394 Ma
Cosmaspis transversa (Beartooth Butte Formation, Lower Devonian; Cottonwood Canyon, east of Lovell, Wyoming, USA) 4 (33446628334).jpg
Fossil fish from the Beartooth Butte Formation
TypeFormation
Sub-unitsCottonwood Canyon Member
Lithology
PrimaryMudstone, sandstone
OtherShale, limestone
Location
Coordinates [ ⚑ ] : 44°57′N 109°37′W / 44.95°N 109.617°W / 44.95; -109.617
Paleocoordinates [ ⚑ ] 28°12′S 47°06′W / 28.2°S 47.1°W / -28.2; -47.1
RegionWyoming
Country United States
Type section
Named forBeartooth Butte
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The Beartooth Butte Formation is a geologic formation in Wyoming. It preserves fossils dating back to the Devonian period.[1]

Description

The formation contains a basal limestone conglomerate overlain by evenly bedded red or gray limestones (more accurately, limy mudstones) and calcareous shales. It is a lenticular, channel-fill deposit which is some 2,500 feet (760 m) wide and 250 feet (76 m) thick at maximum. Most collections are from the talus slope. Stable oxygen and isotope data (Poulson in Fiorillo, 2000) indicate that the Beartooth Butte Formation was deposited in an estuarine environment, with the Cottonwood Canyon section being slightly less saline than the type section.

Fossil content

The following fossils have been reported from the formation:[1]

Fish


Insects
  • Acanthoscorpio mucronatus
  • Branchioscorpio richardsoni
  • Hydroscorpius denisoni
  • Praearcturus sp.
Flora
Invertebrates

See also

  • List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Wyoming
  • Paleontology in Wyoming

References

Bibliography

  • Stein, W. E. 2002. SUNY-Binghamton Paleobiology Collection, .. _.
  • Kjellesvig-Waering, E. N. 1986. A restudy of the fossil Scorpionida of the world. Palaeontographica Americana 55. 1-287.