Waboomberg Formation (4th Shale), Tafelberg (Devonian of South Africa)

Where: South Africa (33.0° S, 19.4° E: paleocoordinates 65.4° S, 153.9° W)

• coordinate stated in text

• local area-level geographic resolution

When: Waboomberg Formation (Bokkeveld Group), Eifelian (393.3 - 387.7 Ma)

• Upper Eifelian. Age call from ref. 9618.

• formation-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: marine; bioturbated, intraclastic siltstone and bioturbated, intraclastic mudstone

• Ref. 9618 gives interpretation of Bokkeveld Group as a series of shallowing-upward packages, with argillaceous unit below and arenaceous unit above. Waboomberg Formation is the "fourth shale", i.e. the fourth argillaceous unit. The shallowing upward sequence is interpreted as representing environments from the shelf up to deltaic systems. Most fossils come from lower mudstones, often in lenses.
• Ref. 9616 refers only to "shale". Ref. 9617, for formation as a whole, cites "Siltstone and mudstone, rare thin bedded sandstone, massive or horizontal and ripple laminated, intraclast lenses bioturbated, fossiliferous lenses"

Primary reference: R. D. F. Oosthuizen. 1984. Preliminary catalogue and report on the biostratigraphy and palaeogeographic distribution of the Bokkeveld fauna. Transactions of the Geological Society of South Africa 87:125-140 [M. Foote/M. Foote/M. Foote]more details

Purpose of describing collection: biostratigraphic analysis

PaleoDB collection 35597: authorized by Michael Foote, entered by Michael Foote on 30.12.2003, edited by Pete Wagner

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Show authors, comments, and common names
Trilobita
 Phacopida - Calmoniidae
Metacryphaeus ? tuberculatus
Metacryphaeus ? tuberculatus Kozlowski 1923 trilobite
Polyplacophora
 Multiplacophora - Strobilepidae
Hannestheronia australis n. gen. n. sp.2
Hannestheronia australis n. gen. n. sp.2 Vinther et al. 2012 chiton
specific shale not given.
Lophophorata
 Tentaculitida - Tentaculitidae
Tentaculites ? jaculus
Rhynchonellata
  - Tropidoleptidae
? Tropidoleptus "sp. (a)"
Lingulata
 Lingulida - Lingulidae
Lingula "sp. (B)"
Lingula "sp. (B)" Bruguiére 1797
Bryozoa
  -
Bryozoa indet.
Bryozoa indet. Ehrenberg 1831
unclassified
  -
Echinodermata indet.
Echinodermata indet. Klein 1754
listed as carpoid
Asteroidea
 Hadrosida - Urasterellidae
Ulrichaster macrodentatus n. sp.1
Ulrichaster macrodentatus n. sp.1 Jell and Theron 1999 sea star
Hexactinellida
  -
? Hexactinellida indet.
? Hexactinellida indet. Schmidt 1870 glass sponge
listed as glass sponges?
Rhyniaceae
  - Rhyniaceae
Palaeostigma sewardi
Palaeostigma sewardi Kraeusel and Dolianiti 1957
Lycopsida
  -
Lycopsida indet.
Lycopsida indet.
listed as Lycopod sp. (a)
Psilophytopsida
  -
? Psilophytopsida indet.
? Psilophytopsida indet. Kidston and Lang 1917
listed as Psilophyte? [Genus ? (a)]
 Psilophytales -
Dutoitia ? alfreda
1Jell and Theron 1999; 2Vinther et al. 2012