Beeman Formation | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: | |
Type | Formation |
Underlies | Holder Formation |
Overlies | Gobbler Formation |
Thickness | 350–500 ft (110–150 m) |
Lithology | |
Primary | Shale |
Other | Limestone, conglomerate |
Location | |
Coordinates | 32°49′48″N105°54′18″W / 32.83°N 105.905°W |
Region | New Mexico |
Country | United States |
Type section | |
Named for | Beeman Canyon |
Named by | L.C. Pray |
Year defined | 1954 |
The Beeman Formation is a geologic formation in the Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico. [1] [2] It preserves fossils dating back to the Kasimovian Age of the Pennsylvanian Period. [3]
The Beeman Formation consists of cyclic [4] shale and argillaceous limestone with some conglomerate. The thickness is 350–500 ft (110–150 m). [5] The formation overlies the Gobbler Formation and is overlain by the Holder Formation. [1]
The formation is interpreted as cyclic deposition on a continental shelf following rejuvenation of the Pedernal uplift of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains. [4]
The unit contains middle to upper Missourian (Kasimovian) fusulinids [5] and conodonts, including several species of the fusulinid Triticites and the conodont Idiognathodus symmetricus, related species, and species of Streptognathodus . These species indicate that the Beeman Formation is entirely Kasimovian in age. [3] The formation has a diverse coprofauna. [6] The formation has also produced a lacustrine fauna from one of its shell beds, including the horseshoe crab Euproops danae. [7]
The unit was first named by Lloyd C. Pray in 1954 [1] and a type section was designated in 1959. [5] Pray originally assigned the formation to the Magdalena Group, but the Magdalena Group has subsequently been abandoned. [8] [2]