Beacon Hill Formation

Beacon Hill Formation
Stratigraphic range: Ediacaran
Beacon Hill, which gave the name to the formation, which itself can be found here.
TypeFormation
Unit ofMaplewell Group
Sub-unitsOld John, Outwoods, Buck Hills, Sandhills Lodge, Beacon Tuffs, Charnwood Lodge, Benscliffe Members
UnderliesBradgate Formation[2]
OverliesBlackbrook Reservoir Formation[2]
Thickness1,119 m (3,671 ft)[2]
Lithology
PrimaryTuff
OtherPelite, Greywacke, Breccia
Location
RegionLeicestershire
CountryUnited Kingdom
Type section
Named forBeacon 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.

Dating

At the top and base of the Beacon Hill Formation, zircon samples were collected to take U-Pb dating on them and determine the overall age of the formation and fossils. The zircon sample JNC 912, from the top of the formation, returned a date of 561.85±0.33 Ma. Meanwhile a zircon sample, JNC 846, collected from the base of the formation yielded a date of 569.1±0.9 Ma, which would constrain the Beacon Hill Formation entirely within the Avalon assemblage, and correlating it roughly with the Mistaken Point Formation.[1]

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]

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

References

  • Various Contributors to the Paleobiology Database. "Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database". Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  1. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b Bowers, Aron. "Further Precambrian (Ediacaran) fossil discoveries in Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire" (PDF). Monash University. Mercian Geologist. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  5. ^ a b c 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.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.