US58, Ravenscrag Butte flora (Paleocene of Canada)

Where: Saskatchewan, Canada (49.5° N, 109.0° W: paleocoordinates 55.6° N, 85.6° W)

• coordinate stated in text

When: Ravenscrag Formation, Paleocene (66.0 - 56.0 Ma)

• The stratigraphic position of the collection is given relative to the No. 1 coal zone, which is approximately at the base of the formation. US58 is located 10 m above the No. 1 coal zone, west of US5 (west face).

Environment/lithology: terrestrial; sandstone

• During the early Tertiary, most of southern Saskatchewan was a broad alluvial plain dominated by meandering river systems. Locally, at the Ravenscrag Butte site, small lakes or ponds, sluggish streams, swamps and lowland forests successively dominated the area over a period of perhaps 2 million years.
• The Ravenscrag Formation consists of interbedded, nonmarine clays, silts, sands, and lignite. The measured section at the Ravenscrag Butte site is about 67 m thick, and lithologically, the formation in divided into two facies; the lower 38 metres comprises the grey facies, the upper 29 metres, the buff facies. At a distance, the two facies are easily distinguishable on the basis of colour. Commonly, the buff facies are less than 31 m thick in measured sections due to erosion or cover at the top. There are four conspicuous beds of coal or coaly shale in the sections at Ravenscrag Butte, including the No. 1 coal zone. The fourth coal zone marks the transition from grey to buff facies. Locality 58 is composed of buff clays and sands.

Size class: macrofossils

Preservation: adpression

Collection methods: salvage, surface (in situ),

Primary reference: E. E. McIver and J. F. Basinger. 1993. Flora of the Ravenscrag Formation (Paleocene), Southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada. Palaeontographica Canadiana 10:1-85 [R. Lupia/B. Wilborn/B. Wilborn]more details

Purpose of describing collection: paleoecologic analysis

PaleoDB collection 34421: authorized by Rick Lupia, entered by Brooke Wilborn on 31.08.2003

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Show authors, comments, and common names
Magnoliopsida
  -
"Trapago angulata" = Quereuxia, Dicotylophyllum anomalum
"Trapago angulata" = Quereuxia
Trapago angulata comb. nov.
Angiospermae
 Rosales - Rhamnaceae
Rhamnites cleburnii n. gen.
Rhamnites cleburnii n. gen. McIver and Basinger 1993 buckthorn
Rhamnites cleburnii comb. nov.
 Magnoliales - Myristicaceae
cf. Myristica catahoulensis
cf. Myristica catahoulensis Berry 1924 magnoliids
 Nymphaeales - Nymphaeaceae
Paranymphaea crassifolia
Paranymphaea crassifolia Newberry 1935 water lily
 Cornales - Cornaceae
Cornophyllum newberryi
Cornophyllum newberryi
Cornophyllum newberryi comb. nov.
 Dipsacales - Caprifoliaceae
Viburnum sp.
Viburnum sp. Linnaeus 1753 honeysuckle
fruits
 Saxifragales - Cercidiphyllaceae
Archeampelos acerifolia, cf. Cercidiphyllum sp., cf. Cercidiphyllum sp.
Archeampelos acerifolia Newberry 1868
Archeampelos acerifolia comb. nov.
cf. Cercidiphyllum sp. Siebold and Zuccarini 1846 katsura
cf. Cercidiphyllum sp. Siebold and Zuccarini 1846 katsura
staminate inflorescences
 Proteales - Platanaceae
cf. Platanus sp.
cf. Platanus sp. Linnaeus 1753 plane tree
reproductive organs
 Mesangiosperms - Araceae
Pistia corrugata
Pistia corrugata Lesquereux 1874 water cabbage