Deep Spring Formation

Deep Spring Formation
Deep Spring Formation
Stratigraphic range: Ediacaran – Cambrian 540–527 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Type	Geological Formation
Sub-units	Dunfee, Esmeralda and Gold Point Members
Underlies	Campito Formation
Overlies	Reed Dolomite
Thickness	549 m (1800 ft)
Lithology
Primary	Limestone
Other	Quartzite, Siltstone
Location
Region	Nevada
Country	United States

The Deep Spring Formation is a geologic formation in Nevada. It preserves fossils dating back to the Ediacaran and Cambrian periods, like Wutubus and Elainabella.^[3]^[4] It is also currently the only known Ediacaran Lagerstätten in the Southwestern United States.^[3]

Paleobiota

The first organism to be described from the Deep Spring Formation in 2014 was Elainabella in the Esmeralda Member, an enigmatic alga with similarities to green algae, suggesting that part of the formation was at one point a shallow marine environment or a microbial reef community.^[4] More organisms would be described in 2016, most of which are ichnogenus' like Planolites, and even some tubular forms, like Wutubus, expanding not only the stratigraphic range of some of these forms, but also their biogeographic range.^[3]

Color key

Taxon	Reclassified taxon	Taxon falsely reported as present	Dubious taxon or junior synonym	Ichnotaxon	Ootaxon	Morphotaxon

Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; ~~crossed out~~ taxa are discredited.

Paleobiota
Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Costatubus^[5]	C. bibendi	Tubular fossil, first occurrence in this formation and new species.
Conotubus	Conotubus sp.	Non-biomineral tubular fossil.
Gaojiashania	Gaojiashania sp.	Worm-like organism.
Saarina^[5]	S. hagadorni	Tubular fossil, first occurrence in this formation and new species.
Wutubus	W. annularis	Tubular fossil.
Elainabella^[4]	E. deepspringensis	Enigmatic filamentous multicellular alga.
Bergaueria?	Bergaueria sp.	Resting place of Cnidarians.
Neonereites?	Neonereites sp.	Burrows.
Planolites	Planolites sp.	Burrows.
Scolicia?	Scolicia sp.	Burrows.

References

^ Smith, Emily F.; Nelson, Lyle L.; O’Connell, Nizhoni; Eyster, Athena; Lonsdale, Mary C. (22 September 2022). "The Ediacaran−Cambrian transition in the southern Great Basin, United States". GSA Bulletin. doi:10.1130/B36401.1.
^ ^a ^b Edwin H. McKee (1968). "Geology of the Magruder Mountain area, Nevada-California" (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin: H7. doi:10.3133/B1251H. ISSN 8755-531X. Wikidata Q57805921.
^ ^a ^b ^c Smith, E.F.; Nelson, L.L.; Strange, M.A.; Eyster, A.E.; Rowland, S.M.; Schrag, D.P.; Macdonald, F.A. (1 November 2016). "The end of the Ediacaran: Two new exceptionally preserved body fossil assemblages from Mount Dunfee, Nevada, USA". Geology. 44 (11): 911–914. doi:10.1130/G38157.1.
^ ^a ^b ^c Rowland, Stephen M.; Rodriguez, Margarita G. (March 2014). "A Multicellular Alga with Exceptional Preservation from the Ediacaran of Nevada". Journal of Paleontology. 88 (2): 263–268. doi:10.1666/13-075. ISSN 0022-3360. S2CID 129796477.
^ ^a ^b Selly, Tara; Schiffbauer, James D.; Jacquet, Sarah M.; Smith, Emily F.; Nelson, Lyle L.; Andreasen, Brock D.; Huntley, John Warren; Strange, Michael A.; O’Neil, Gretchen R.; Thater, Casey A.; Bykova, Natalia; Steiner, Michael; Yang, Ben; Cai, Yaoping (16 February 2020). "A new cloudinid fossil assemblage from the terminal Ediacaran of Nevada, USA". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 18 (4): 357–379. doi:10.1080/14772019.2019.1623333.