Beacon Hill Formation

Beacon Hill Formation
Stratigraphic range: Ediacaran 569–561  Ma [1] PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Beacon Hill, which gave the name to the formation, which itself can be found here.
Type	Formation
Unit of	Maplewell Group
Sub-units	Old John, Outwoods Member, Buck Hills, Sandhills Lodge, Beacon Tuffs, Charnwood Lodge, Benscliffe Members
Underlies	Bradgate Formation [2]
Overlies	Blackbrook Reservoir Formation [2]
Thickness	1119 m (3,671 ft) [2]
Lithology
Primary	Tuff
Other	Pelite, Greywacke, Breccia
Location
Region	Leicestershire
Country	United Kingdom
Type section
Named for	Beacon Hill

The Beacon Hill Formation is a geologic formation in Leicestershire, and lies within the wider Beacon Hill area. It preserves fossils dating back to the Lower Ediacaran period.

Paleobiota

The Beacon Hill Formation contains the oldest best preserved fossils within the Charnian Supergroup, most of which can be found in the Outwoods Member, with some found in the overlying and underlying members. ^{[3] [4]}

Color key Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon		Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.

Petalonamae

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Charnia [4]	C. masoni	Sessile frondose organism.

incertae sedis

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Aspidella [1] [5]	Aspidella sp.	Enigmatic discoidal fossil.
Cyclomedusa [5]	C. davidi	Enigmatic discoidal fossil.
Hiemalora [5]	Hiemalora sp.	Discoid organism, possibly holdfasts of petalonamids.

Ivesheadiomorph

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Pseudovendia [6]	P. charnwoodensis	Poorly preserved organism, originally thought to be an early arthropod.

See also

• Earth sciences portal
• United Kingdom portal
• Paleontology portal

• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in the United Kingdom

References

• Various Contributors to the Paleobiology Database. "Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database" . Retrieved 17 December 2021.

1. Noble, Stephen R.; Condon, Daniel J.; Carney, John N.; Wilby, Philip R.; Pharaoh, Timothy C.; Ford, Trevor D. (January 2015). "U-Pb geochronology and global context of the Charnian Supergroup, UK: Constraints on the age of key Ediacaran fossil assemblages". Geological Society of America Bulletin. 127 (1–2): 250–265. doi:10.1130/B31013.1.
2. Moseley, John; Ford, Trevor. "The Sedimentology of the Charnian Supergroup" (PDF). Mercian Geologist.
3. Kenchington, Charlotte G.; Harris, Simon J.; Vixseboxse, Philip B.; Pickup, Chris; Wilby, Philip R. (June 2018). "The Ediacaran fossils of Charnwood Forest: Shining new light on a major biological revolution". Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. 129 (3): 264–277. doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2018.02.006.
4. Bowers, Aron. "Further Precambrian (Ediacaran) fossil discoveries in Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire" (PDF). Monash University. Mercian Geologist. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
5. Wilby, Philip R.; Carney, John N.; Howe, Michael P.A. (1 July 2011). "A rich Ediacaran assemblage from eastern Avalonia: Evidence of early widespread diversity in the deep ocean". Geology. 39 (7): 655–658. doi:10.1130/G31890.1.
6. H. E. Boynton, T. D. Ford (1979). "Pseudovendia charnwoodensis — A new Precambrian arthropod from Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire". Mercian Geologist. 7: 175–177.