Ferguson Hill section, Unit 88, New York Canyon area (Triassic of the United States)

Where: Mineral County, Nevada (38.5° N, 118.1° W: paleocoordinates 18.1° N, 55.7° W)

• coordinate estimated from map

• small collection-level geographic resolution

When: Muller Canyon Member (Gabbs Formation), Rhaetian (208.5 - 201.3 Ma)

• lower part of Muller Canyon member; latest Rhaetian; unit 88 (total thickness: 30cm)

• bed-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: transition zone or lower shoreface; lithified, sandy limestone and lithified siltstone

• depositional paleoenvironments at Ferguson Hill section were all normal marine environments below wave base, these strate were thus deposited as part of a shelfal terrane along a subsiding continental margin in which there was significant variation in subsidence rates. According to Laws (1982) and Taylor et al. (1983), the sediments of the Gabbs Fm. were deposited in a shallow marine environment, the lower part of the Mt Hyatt member was interpreted as shallow subtidal. Lucas et al. conclude that Muller Canyon member deposition took place on a fairly narrow shelf along the backarc seaway... this paleoenvironment is probably best described as a middle to outer shelf environment.
• sandy limestone - siltstone, medium gray, wackestone ledge

Size classes: macrofossils, microfossils

Collection methods: bulk, peel or thin section,

Primary reference: S. G. Lucas, D. G. Taylor, J. Guex, L. H. Tanner, and K. Krainer. 2007. The proposed global stratotype section and point for the base of the Jurassic system in the New York Canyon area, Nevada, USA. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin (40)139-168 [M. Aberhan/S. Nurnberg/S. Nurnberg]more details

Purpose of describing collection: biostratigraphic analysis

PaleoDB collection 76610: authorized by Martin Aberhan, entered by Sabine Nürnberg on 26.11.2007

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• focus on ammonoids and bivalves
Protozoa
  -
Foraminifera
 Foraminiferida -
"Foraminiferida indet." = Foraminifera
"Foraminiferida indet." = Foraminifera Eichwald 1830 foram
unclassified
  -
Porifera indet. Grant 1836
spicules
Bivalvia
  -
Bivalvia indet. Linnaeus 1758 clam
microbivalves
 Pectinida - Pectinoidae
Chlamys sp. Röding 1798 scallop
Gastropoda
  -
Gastropoda indet. Cuvier 1795 snail
microgastropodes
Cephalopoda
 Ceratitida - Choristoceratidae
Choristoceras crickmayi Tozer 1979 ceratite
 Nautilida -
Nautilida indet. Agassiz 1847 nautiloid
nautiloids
unclassified
  -
Chordata indet. Haeckel 1874
ichthyoliths
Conodonta
  -
Reptilia
 Ichthyosauria -