Luning Formation, Pilot Mountains (Triassic of the United States)

Where: Nevada (38.3° N, 117.9° W: paleocoordinates 15.0° N, 54.1° W)

• coordinate stated in text

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: Luning Formation, Lacian (221.5 - 215.6 Ma)

• group of beds-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: reef, buildup or bioherm; lithified, tabular framestone

• Setting: inner to middle ramp or deep lagoon
• The Luning Formation at its type locality contains a mixture of limestone, dolomite and conglomeratic sandstone. There are four distinct biofacies within the reef facies: 1) sponge framestone-bindstone, 2) coral-spongiomorph framestone-bindstone, 3) mollusk-echinoderm-coral grainstone, 4) pelletoidal oolitic grainstone.

•Martindale et al.: Dominance of platy corals

Size class: macrofossils

Primary reference: N. M. Fraser. 1997. Large epifaunal bivalves from Mesozoic buildups of Western North America. [D. Bottjer/C. Powers/C. Jamet]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 33439: authorized by David Bottjer, entered by Catherine Powers on 30.07.2003, edited by Wolfgang Kiessling and Matthew Clapham

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Bivalvia
 Ostreida - Ostreidae
Ostrea sp. Linnaeus 1758 oyster
Hydrozoa
 Spongiomorphida - Spongiomorphidae
Spongiomorpha sp.2 Frech 1890
Anthozoa
 Hexacorallia -
Scleractinia indet.1 Bourne 1900 stony coral
 Scleractinia - Coryphylliidae
Nevadoseris punctata3 Roniewicz and Stanley 2013 stony coral
 Scleractinia - Reimaniphylliidae
Retiophyllia sp. Cuif 1966 stony coral
 Scleractinia - Astraeomorphidae
Astraeomorpha confusa2 Winckler 1861 stony coral
 Scleractinia - Pamiroseriidae
"Thamnasteria rectilamellosa" = Pamiroseris rectilamellosa Winckler 1861 stony coral
Crassistella juvavica2 Frech 1890 stony coral
Ceriostella martini2 Smith 1927 stony coral
 Scleractinia - Curtoseriidae
"Curtoseries parva" = Curtoseris2
"Curtoseries parva" = Curtoseris2 stony coral
misspelled as Curtoseris parva
Demospongiae
 Verticillitida - Verticillitidae
Nevadathalamia cylindrica2, "Ascosymplegma expansum" = Cinnabaria expansa
Nevadathalamia cylindrica2 Seilacher 1962 demosponge
"Ascosymplegma expansum" = Cinnabaria expansa Seilacher 1962 demosponge
 Lithistida - Anthaspidellidae
Stromatomorpha cf. califormica2 Smith 1927 demosponge