Beartooth Butte Formation

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Beartooth Butte Formationmap

The Beartooth Butte Formation is a geologic formation in Wyoming. It preserves fossils dating back to the Devonian period.[1]

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Beartooth Butte Formation
Stratigraphic range: Lochkovian-Emsian
~419–394 Ma
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Fossil fish from the Beartooth Butte Formation
TypeFormation
Sub-unitsCottonwood Canyon Member
Lithology
PrimaryMudstone, sandstone
OtherShale, limestone
Location
Coordinates44°57′N 109°37′W
Approximate paleocoordinates28.2°S 47.1°W / -28.2; -47.1
RegionWyoming
Country United States
Type section
Named forBeartooth Butte
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Beartooth Butte Formation (the United States)
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Beartooth Butte Formation (Wyoming)
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Description

The formation contains a basal limestone conglomerate overlain by evenly bedded red or gray limestones (more accurately, limy mudstones) and calcareous shales. It is a lenticular, channel-fill deposit which is some 2,500 feet (760 m) wide and 250 feet (76 m) thick at maximum. Most collections are from the talus slope. Stable oxygen and isotope data (Poulson in Fiorillo, 2000) indicate that the Beartooth Butte Formation was deposited in an estuarine environment, with the Cottonwood Canyon section being slightly less saline than the type section.

Fossil content

The following fossils have been reported from the formation:[1]

Fish
Arthropods
  • Acanthoscorpio mucronatus
  • Branchioscorpio richardsoni
  • Hydroscorpius denisoni
  • Praearcturus sp.
Flora
Invertebrates

See also

References

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