CW 86-09, Cape Wiman (Eocene of Antarctica)

Where: Antarctica (64.2° S, 56.6° W: paleocoordinates 63.4° S, 63.7° W)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: La Meseta Formation, Ypresian (56.0 - 47.8 Ma)

• Location places it within Telm1-Telm2.

• group of beds-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: prodelta; siliciclastic sediments

• According to Stillwell & Zinsmeister (1992), "Telm2 strata are typically very fine grained. These strata were deposited below wave base or in a protected embayment as shown by the lack of current ripples, scour features, or evidence of reworking. Localized shell banks with a bioclastic fabric indicate occasional higher current energy and some distance of transport, although the distance of transport was minimal. The presence of local slump structures indicates that deposition of Telm2 may have occurred on a sloping unstable surface." These characteristics suggest a prodelta is the best interpretation.

Size class: macrofossils

Primary reference: D. B. Blake and R. B. Aronson. 1998. Eocene stelleroids (Echinodermata) at Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Journal of Paleontology 72(2):339-353 [L. Ivany/E. Kowalski/L. Villier]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 203480: authorized by Matthew Clapham, entered by Matthew Clapham on 17.08.2019

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Asteroidea
 Forcipulatida - Zoroasteridae
Zoroaster cf. fulgens Thomson 1873 sea star
 Paxillosida - Astropectinidae
Ctenophoraster downeyae Blake and Zinsmeister 1979 sea star