Pitkin Formation | |
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Stratigraphic range: Upper Visean-Serpukhovian [1] | |
Type | Formation |
Sub-units | Imo Shale |
Underlies | Hale Formation |
Overlies | Fayetteville Formation |
Thickness | up to and over 400 feet [2] |
Lithology | |
Primary | Limestone [1] |
Other | Shale |
Location | |
Region | Arkansas |
Country | United States |
Type section | |
Named for | Pitkin post office, Washington County, Arkansas [3] |
Named by | George Irving Adams and Edward Oscar Ulrich |
The Pitkin Formation, or Pitkin Limestone, is a fossiliferous geologic formation in northern Arkansas that dates to the Chesterian Series of the late Mississippian. [4] This formation was first named the "Archimedes Limestone" by David Dale Owen in 1858, but was replaced in 1904. [3] The Pitkin conformably overlies the Fayetteville Shale and unconformably underlies the Pennsylvanian-age Hale Formation. Some workers have considered the shales at the top of the Pitkin Formation to be a separate formation called the Imo Formation. More recently, others have considered the Imo to be informal member of the Pitkin Formation.
Early work aimed at creating a comprehensive list for all fossils found in the Pitkin Formation was done by Easton in 1943. [1] Unless otherwise stated, all species below can be found in his 'Fauna of the Pitkin Formation.'
This group was originally place under Stelleroidia in early studies. [1]
Previous studies have grouped these diverse animals into a single, obsolete taxon: Vermes. [1]
Stereo image | |||
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Fossilized skeleton of Archimedes Bryozoan. |
This group was also referred to by another name in earlier studies: Pelecypoda . [1]
"Encrusting Algae" has been reported but not assigned to any genus. [1]
Following is a list of fossils also found in the Pitkin by Easton in 1943 that have gone unidentified. [1]
The Fayetteville Shale is a geologic formation of Mississippian age composed of tight shale within the Arkoma Basin of Arkansas and Oklahoma. It is named for the city of Fayetteville, Arkansas, and requires hydraulic fracturing to release the natural gas contained within.
Caninia is an extinct genus of rugose coral. Its fossils occur worldwide from the Devonian to the Permian periods.
Paleontology in Oklahoma refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Oklahoma has a rich fossil record spanning all three eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Oklahoma is the best source of Pennsylvanian fossils in the United States due to having an exceptionally complete geologic record of the epoch. From the Cambrian to the Devonian, all of Oklahoma was covered by a sea that would come to be home to creatures like brachiopods, bryozoans, graptolites and trilobites. During the Carboniferous, an expanse of coastal deltaic swamps formed in areas of the state where early tetrapods would leave behind footprints that would later fossilize. The sea withdrew altogether during the Permian period. Oklahoma was home a variety of insects as well as early amphibians and reptiles. Oklahoma stayed dry for most of the Mesozoic. During the Late Triassic, carnivorous dinosaurs left behind footprints that would later fossilize. During the Cretaceous, however, the state was mostly covered by the Western Interior Seaway, which was home to huge ammonites and other marine invertebrates. During the Cenozoic, Oklahoma became home to creatures like bison, camels, creodonts, and horses. During the Ice Age, the state was home to mammoths and mastodons. Local Native Americans are known to have used fossils for medicinal purposes. The Jurassic dinosaur Saurophaganax maximus is the Oklahoma state fossil.
The Bluestone Formation is a geologic formation in West Virginia. It is the youngest unit of the Upper Mississippian-age Mauch Chunk Group. A pronounced unconformity separates the upper boundary of the Bluestone Formation from sandstones of the overlying Pennsylvanian-age Pocahontas Formation.
The Batesville Sandstone is a geologic formation in northern Arkansas, United States, that dates to the Chesterian Series of the late Mississippian. The base of the Batesville Sandstone, named the Hindsville Limestone Member, unconformably lies on the Moorefield Formation.
The Hale Formation is a geologic formation in northern Arkansas that dates to the Morrowan Series of the early Pennsylvanian. The Hale Formation has two named members: the Cane Hill and the Prairie Grove Members. The lower member is the Cane Hill, a primarily sandstone and shale interval that unconformably overlies the Mississippian-age Pitkin Formation. The upper member, the Prairie Grove Member, is predominately limestone and conformably underlies the Bloyd Formation.
The Hindsville Formation, or Hindsville Limestone Member of the Batesville Formation, is a geologic unit in northern Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma that dates to the Chesterian Series of the late Mississippian. Named for the town of Hindsville in Madison County, Arkansas, this unit is recognized as a member of the Batesville Formation in Arkansas and a geologic formation in Oklahoma. Although, some workers have proposed raising the rank of this interval in Arkansas to formation status. Both the Batesville and Hindsville Formations overlie the Moorefield Formation and underlie the Fayetteville Shale.
The Imo Formation, or Imo Shale, is a geologic unit in northern Arkansas that dates to the Chesterian Series of the late Mississippian. The Imo is considered to be a member of the upper Pitkin Formation, and is the most recent Mississippian age rock in Arkansas. The Imo Shale unconformably underlies the Pennsylvanian age Hale Formation
The Moorefield Formation, or Moorefield Shale, is a geologic formation in northern Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma that dates to the Meramecian Series of the middle Mississippian. In Arkansas, this formation is generally recognized to have one member, the Ruddell Shale, in the upper Moorefield Formation.
The Bloyd Formation, or Bloyd Shale, is a geologic formation in Arkansas. It preserves fossils dating back to the Carboniferous period.
The Pahasapa Formation is a geological unit of primarily limestone and dolomite that is exposed in the Black Hills of South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming, and underlies parts of Nebraska, in the United States. Also referred to as the Pahasapa Limestone, this unit is analogous to the Madison Limestone, the Lodgepole Limestone, and the Burlington Limestone, other Mississippian-aged limestones and dolomites in the midwestern United States. Some recent literature has grouped stretches of the Pahasapa into the Madison Group. The formation is of local importance, as it contains the Madison aquifer, and two of the ten longest caves in the world.
The Johns Valley Formation is a geologic formation in Arkansas and Oklahoma. It preserves fossils dating back to the Carboniferous period.
Named after Atoka County, Oklahoma, the Atoka Formation is a geologic formation in central and western Arkansas, eastern Oklahoma, central and western Texas, and eastern New Mexico. It is the surface rock of the Boston Mountains and dominates exposures in the Frontal Ouachita Mountains of the Arkansas River Valley.
The Helms Formation is a geologic formation in Texas and New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the Chesterian (Serpukhovian) Age of the Carboniferous period.
The Arkoma Basin is a peripheral foreland basin that extends from central west Arkansas to south eastern Oklahoma. The basin lies in between the Ozark Uplift and Oklahoma Platform to the north and Ouachita Mountains to the south and with an area of approximately 33,800 mi2. Along the southern edge of the basin, the Choctaw Fault is the boundary that separates the mountains from the basin itself. This basin is one of seven that lie along the front of the Ouachita and Appalachian mountain systems. This basin is Oklahoma's fourth largest in terms of natural gas production. Oil has been extracted locally, but not on a commercial scale. Coal was the first natural resource used commercially within the basin. Surface mapping of coal seams in the early part of the 20th century lead to the discovery of sub-surface features that indicated the presence of natural gas. Mansfield, Arkansas was the site of the first natural gas discovery in 1902.
Phestia is an extinct genus of clam belonging to order Nuculanida and family Nuculanidae.
Diaphragmus is an extinct genus of brachiopod belonging to the order Productida and family Linoproductidae. Specimens have been found in Carboniferous beds in North America.
Pugnoides is an extinct genus of brachiopod belonging to the order Rhynchonellida and family Petasmariidae. Specimens have been found in Devonian to Permian beds in North America, Asia, Europe, western Australia, New Zealand,and New Zealand. The genus was particularly widespread in the Visean.
Amphissites is an extinct genus of ostracod belonging to the suborder Beyrichicopina and family Amphissitinae. Species belonging to the genus lived from the Devonian to the Permian in Europe, North America, Australia, and east Asia. The genus were likely deposit-feeders, and may have survived briefly into the Triassic.