Mall Bay Formation | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: Ediacaran | |
Type | Formation |
Unit of | Conception Group |
Underlies | Gaskiers Formation [1] |
Lithology | |
Primary | Siliciclastic siltstones |
Location | |
Region | Newfoundland |
Country | Canada |
Outcrop distribution on Avalon peninsula, Newfoundland |
The Mall Bay Formation is an Ediacaran formation, cropping out in Newfoundland and possibly elsewhere. It is part of the Conception Group, underlying the Gaskiers Formation. [1]
The Ediacaran is a geological period of the Neoproterozoic Era that spans 96 million years from the end of the Cryogenian Period at 635 Mya to the beginning of the Cambrian Period at 538.8 Mya. It is the last period of the Proterozoic Eon as well as the last of the so-called "Precambrian supereon", before the beginning of the subsequent Cambrian Period marks the start of the Phanerozoic Eon, where recognizable fossil evidence of life becomes common.
The Avalon Peninsula is a large peninsula that makes up the southeast portion of the island of Newfoundland in Canada. It is 9,220.61 square kilometres (3,560.10 sq mi) in size.
Aspidella is an Ediacaran disk-shaped fossil of uncertain affinity. It is known from the single species A. terranovica.
Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve is a wilderness area and a UNESCO World Heritage Site located at the southeastern tip of Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The reserve is home to the namesake Mistaken Point Formation, which contains one of the most diverse and well-preserved collections of Precambrian fossils in the world. Ediacaran fossils discovered at the site constitute the oldest known remnants of multicellular life on Earth.
The Chapel Island Formation is a sedimentary formation from the Burin Peninsula, Newfoundland, Canada. It is a succession of siliciclastic deposits, over 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) thick, that were deposited during the latest Ediacaran and earliest Cambrian.
The Briscal Formation is a geologic formation in Newfoundland and Labrador. It preserves fossils dating back to the Ediacaran period.
The Drook Formation is a geologic formation in Newfoundland and Labrador. It preserves fossils dating back to the Ediacaran period. It contains a stratum dated to 575.8 ± 0.5 million years ago.
The Gaskiers Formation is a geologic formation in Newfoundland and Labrador. It preserves fossils dating back to the Ediacaran period.
The Mistaken Point Formation is a geologic formation in Newfoundland and Labrador. It is recognized as a Lagerstätte preserving fossils dating back to the Ediacaran period. It contains a stratum dated to 565 ± 3 million years ago.
The Fermeuse Formation is a fossil-bearing Ediacaran geologic formation in Newfoundland.
The Renews Head Formation is a geologic formation in Newfoundland and Labrador. It preserves fossils dating back to the Ediacaran period.
The Trepassey Formation is a geologic formation that crops out in Newfoundland. It preserves fossils dating back to the Ediacaran period.
The Conception Group is a geologic group in Newfoundland and Labrador. It preserves fossils dating back to the Ediacaran period. It mainly contains turbidites, but is interrupted by a glacial diamictite, and tops out with sand and siltstones. It corresponds to the lower portion of the Connecting Point Group.
The St John's Group is a fossiliferous shale-dominated Ediacaran geologic group in Newfoundland and Labrador, younger than 565 ± 3 million years ago.
Haootia quadriformis is an extinct animal belonging to the Ediacaran biota. Estimated to be about 560 million years old, H. quadriformis is identified as a cnidarian polyp, and represents the earliest known evidence for muscle tissue in an animal. Discovered in 2008 from Newfoundland in eastern Canada, it was formally described in 2014. It is the first Ediacaran organism discovered to show fossils of muscle fibres. Structural examination of the muscles and morphology indicate that the animal is a cnidarian, though, which class H. quadriformis belongs to was undetermined until a 2024 study found it to be a staurozoan.
The Random Formation is a rock unit in Newfoundland dating to the early Cambrian period, dominated by tidal quartz arenites deposited in a near-shore environment, but also incorporating intertidal and open-shelf deposits, including glauconitic and mud-cracked mudstones, and red channel sandstones. It was deposited quickly and is approximately 175 m (574 ft) thick. The Blue Pinion Formation was originally recognized as a separate formation, but is now interpreted as an expression of the Random Formation.
Parviscopa is a genus of frondose forms characterized in 2008 based on specimens from Newfoundland, Canada. Parviscopa is a member of the Ediacaran biota, and is more specifically part of the Avalon type assemblage, which is from the older part of the Ediacaran and is characterized by deep water deposits.
Frondophyllas is an extinct, monotypic animal genus in the clade Rangeomorpha. It was found at the Mistaken Point on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland, Canada in 2008 by Bamforth and Anderson. The single species is Frondophyllas grandis and as of 2021 only two specimens have been discovered. Both specimens are incomplete, but one extends to one meter long, making it one of the largest Ediacaran macrofossils. The species name: grandis, comes from its size, and the genus name: Frondophyllas means "frond with leaves". The organism has a base structure with numerous fronds attached to it. It is the only Ediacaran organism to have distinct leaflets. Evidence suggests that F. grandis may have been tethered to the seafloor and used these leaflets to "filter feed", or live off nutrients provided by a current. One of the reasons fossils of this species are so rare is because it was a soft-bodied organism. It is believed that F. grandis was preserved because it was caught beneath quickly solidifying volcanic ash. Many of the Mistaken Point fossils were preserved this way.
Hadrynichorde is a frondose organism from the Ediacaran period discovered in Newfoundland, Canada. It is a sessile, benthic marine organism. resembling modern sea whips.
Gigarimaneta samsoni is a species of epifaunal Petalonamid from the Ediacaran deposits of the Canadian Mistaken Point Formation. G. samsoni grew is a similar manner to Fractofusus and/or Beothukis and grew slightly into the substrate.