Road River Formation, Northern Cordillera (Devonian of Canada)

Where: Northwest Territories, Canada (64.0° N, 133.0° W)

• Paleocoordinates: 0.8° S, 79.3° W (Wright 2013)

• coordinate estimated from map

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: Road River and /or Delorme Formation, Pragian (410.8 - 407.6 Ma)

• Listed as Upper Pragian/Zlichovian. Skenidioides-Spirigerina-Vagrania community

• formation-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: deep subtidal shelf; lithified, shelly/skeletal limestone and poorly lithified, calcareous shale

• Notes that no species is dominant; "deep water facies"
• Dark, platy to thick-bedded, fossiliferous limestones and calcareous shales

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Primary reference: A.C. Lenz. 1976. Lower Devonian brachiopod communities of the northern Canadian Cordillera. Lethaia 9:19-27 [P. Novack-Gottshall/P. Hearn]more details

Purpose of describing collection: biostratigraphic analysis

PaleoDB collection 75582: authorized by Phil Novack-Gottshall, entered by Paul Hearn on 18.10.2007

Creative Commons license: CC0 (CC0)

Taxonomic list

• Skenidioides-Spirigerina-Vagrania community; Primarily focused on brachiopods, but notes that "gastropods are quite common throughout the sequence, while colonial corals and bivalves, though present, are relatively rare"
Show authors, comments, and common names
Anthozoa
  -
Anthozoa indet.
Anthozoa indet. Ehrenberg 1834
"Though present, are relatively rare"
Strophomenata
 Strophomenida - Strophochonetidae
Strophochonetes sp., Parachonetes sp.
Strophochonetes sp. Muir-Wood 1962
 Strophomenida - Leptostrophiidae
Leptostrophia sp.
Leptostrophia sp. Hall and Clarke 1892
"Rare"
 Strophomenida - Leptaenoideidae
Leptaenisca sp.
Leptaenisca sp. Beecher 1890
 Strophomenida - Rafinesquinidae
Leptaena sp.
Leptaena sp. Dalman 1828
"Most common"
 Strophomenida - Strophonellidae
Strophonella sp.
Strophonella sp. Hall 1879
"Large"; "rare"
 Strophomenida - Douvillinidae
Phragmostrophia merriami
Phragmostrophia merriami Harper et al. 1967
 Strophomenida - Strophodontidae
Megastrophia iddingsi
Megastrophia iddingsi Merriam 1940
"Most common"
 Productida - Productellidae
Spinulicosta sp.
Spinulicosta sp.
Productoids are rare among brachiopods
Rhynchonellata
 Protorthida - Skenidiidae
Skenidioides sp.
Skenidioides sp. Schuchert and Cooper 1931
"Most common"
 Atrypida - Atrypidae
""Sibirispira" sp." = Spinatrypina, Atrypa cf. nevadana
""Sibirispira" sp." = Spinatrypina Rzhonsnitskaya 1964
Atrypa cf. nevadana Merriam 1940
 Atrypida - Karpinskiidae
Vagrania sp.
Vagrania sp.
"very coarse ribbing". Pedunculate
 Atrypida - Carinatinidae
Biconostrophia sp., Carinatina sp.
Biconostrophia sp.
"Very rare". Pedunculate
 Rhynchonellida - Septalariidae
Athyrhynchus sp.
Athyrhynchus sp. Johnson 1973
"Very rare". Incurved beak
 Orthida - Schizophoriidae
Schizophoria cf. nevadensis
Schizophoria cf. nevadensis
Pedunculate dalmanellinidan orthids
 Orthida - Mystrophoridae
Mystrophora sp.
Mystrophora sp.
Pedunculate orthids typically attached to hard substrata
 Orthida - Dalmanellidae
Cortezorthis maclareni
 Orthida - Dicoelosiidae
Dicoelosia indet.
Bivalvia
  -
Bivalvia indet.
Bivalvia indet. Linnaeus 1758 clam
"Though present, are relatively rare"
Gastropoda
  -
Gastropoda indet.
Gastropoda indet. Cuvier 1795 snail
"Quite common throughout the sequence"