Ross Fm., upper Birdsong Shale Mbr. (Bryozoan zone), Benton Quarry, Tennessee (Devonian of the United States)

Where: Benton County, Tennessee (35.9° N, 88.1° W: paleocoordinates 36.1° S, 49.0° W)

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: Birdsong Shale Member (Ross Formation), Lochkovian (419.2 - 410.8 Ma)

• Ross Fm., upper portion of Birdsong Shale Mbr. (Bryozoan zone)

• group of beds-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: deep subtidal shelf; lithified, argillaceous, calcareous limestone and shale

• Interbedded bioclastic argillaceous limestones and calcareous shale, with a diverse and normal-marine fauna, especially of abundant ramose bryozoans and echinoderm fragments; below normal wave base in quiet marine water with rare storm deposition

Preservation: replaced with calcite

Primary reference: J. K. Rigby and C. R. Clemont. 1995. Demosponges and hexactinellid sponges from the Lower Devonian Ross Formation of west-central Tennessee. Journal of Paleontology 69(2):211-231 [A. Miller/P. Novack-Gottshall/J. Alroy]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 3599: authorized by Arnold Miller, entered by Phil Novack-Gottshall on 05.08.1999

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• Sponge systematics
Show authors, comments, and common names
unclassified
  -
Tentaculida indet., Porifera indet.
Porifera indet. Grant 1836
Root tufts
Hexactinellida
  -
Hexactinellida indet.
Hexactinellida indet. Schmidt 1870 glass sponge
 Amphidiscosa - Pelicaspongiidae
Stiodermiella amanita, Stiodermiella tetragona
Stiodermiella amanita glass sponge
originally entered as "Stiodermella amanita"
Stiodermiella tetragona glass sponge
originally entered as "Stiodermella tetragona"
unclassified
  -
Echinodermata indet.