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Stratigraphic Position of a Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) Bonebed, East-Central Saskatchewan I

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Stratigraphic Position of a Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) Bonebed, East-Central Saskatchewan I Stratigraphic Position of a Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) Bonebed, East-central Saskatchewan I Stephen L. Cumbaa 2 and Harold N. Bryant 3 Cumbaa, S.L. and Bryant, H.N. (2001): Stratigraphic position ofa Late Cretaceous (~ enomanian) bonebed, east-central . Saskatchewan: in Summary of Investigations 200 I, Volume I, Saskatchewan Geolog1cal Survey, Sask. Energy Mmes, M 1sc. Rep. 2001-4.1. 1. Introduction Determining the source and position of the bonebed fragments was important to our biostratigraphic Rocks exposed along river banks in the Pasquia Hills studies. From their distribution along the river bank, a of east-central Saskatchewan record a nearly complete source at or near McNeil and Caldwell's (1981) sequence of Middle to Late Cretaceous (Albian to "Outcrop Section 21 ", a 5 m outcrop of Ashville Campanian) marine sedimentation (McNeil and Formation, Belle Fourche Member, was indicated, but Caldwell, 1981 ). These hills are the northernmost could not be confirmed. extension of the Manitoba Escarpment, which forms the eastern erosional edge of the Western Interior Basin Subsequent fieldwork in 1995 and 1997 (Cumbaa and in mid-continental North America, a relic of the Tokaryk, 1999; Schroder-Adams et al., 1999; Collom, Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway (WIS). The WIS 2000) pinpointed the only possible location for the was a rich and productive marine environment bonebed "float", a 20 to 25 m exposure slightly (Russell, 1989), and its fossil vertebrate biota has been upstream from Outcrop Section 21. This exposure of the subject of a joint Royal Saskatchewan Museum the Ashville (Belle Fourche Member) and overlying (RSM}--Canadian Museum of Nature (CMN) study Favel Formation and Morden Shale is partly slumped, since 1991 (Cumbaa and Tokaryk, 1999). but preserves a Cenomanian to Coniacian record. A thin, but very concentrated vertebrate bonebed, in The exposure was given our field number BR-3 (RSM the form of a bioclastic conglomerate of Cenomanian locality number 63E09-0003). In measured sections age, was di scovered by Mr. Dickson Hardie along the (Schroder-Adams et al. , 1999; Collom, 2000), the Carrot River near Arborfield, Saskatchewan some bonebed was tentatively placed within the Belle years ago, and was the subject of our initial Fourche Member of the Ashville Formation, near the investigations. The age, the unique bird fauna base of the exposure on the basis of similarities in the (Tokaryk et al., 1997), and the diversity of this section to the lithology of non-calcareous shales bonebed were the impetus for our team to look farther adhering to chunks of recently-detached bonebed afield to see whether or not the formation of that "float", and micropaleontological evidence from the bonebed had been more than a local phenomenon. adhering shales. Cumbaa et al. ( 1997) and Cumbaa and Tokaryk () 999) 2. A Problematical Bonebed also suggested placement of the bonebed within the Belle Fourche Member. Their rationale was based on a) Discovery and Context fauna! content (primarily shark teeth of species known only from Albian and/or Cenomanian contexts), Jack of In 1994, Tim Tokaryk (RSM), Richard Day (CMN), any fragments of the distinctive bonebed above the and Cumbaa discovered a rich bioclastic conglomerate Ashville-Favel contact, and the lithology of adhering as "float" in the bed of the Bainbridge River, 100 km shales as described above. A general description of the northeast of the Carrot River locality, on the stratigraphy of the locality follows. northeastern slope of the Pasquia Hills. The individual pieces of"float", some exceeding 100 kg in mass, contained bones and teeth of birds, vertebrae and limb b) Stratigraphy of the Locality elements ofplesiosaurs, fragments of turtle, and Below a 2 to 3 m cap of churned and/or recently hundreds of sharks' teeth, as well as teeth, vertebrae deposited sediment, the exposure at BR-3 is and other elements of bony fishes. These pieces of approximately 23 m thick, the uppermost 5 m conglomeratic-looking bonebed were unlike any rock (approximate) of which are the slightly to non­ type seen in place within the stratified exposures along calcareous shales of the Morden Shale above the the river. Marco Calcarenite, a regional marker bed (McNeil and Caldwell, 1981 )(Figure I). I Research supported by a Canadian Museum of Nature Research Advisol)' Committee grant to Cumbaa and by Royal Saskatchewan Museum support to Bryant. 2 Canadian Museum of Nature, Paleobiology, P.O. Box 3443, Station D, Ottawa, ON KIP 6P4. ' Royal Saskatchewan Museum, Earth Sciences, 2340 Albert Street, Reg ina, SK S4P 3V7. Saskatchewan Geological Survey 121 Fourche Member of the Ashville ":'. -··.:.. .-:.. - 22 --· ·· --- fz,:c:,:,~ cJ shale Fonnation. Thus, the base of the Q) -~ <ii 10( 'll 'X101 bentof111e Favel Fonnation is placed at the .c 21 top of the " X'' bentonite (McNeil (/) :: :-::_:-: I I I J p Umastcne c and Caldwell, 1981; Schroder­ Q) 20 'E Adams et al., 1999). 0 ~ 19 18 m Macco •-~~- ~::: 3. 2000 Field Season ;~~!: bioetastic 17 ~~~~r;;;;;,i;;;;i;;;;g Calcarenite - - - conglomerate In July 2000, Bryant and Cumbaa 1111')( (bonebed) visited several of the Pasquia Q) 16 .0 ~ ' ~ bi oturbation Hills localities. The Bainbridge E Q) 15 River locality was our principal c:: ~ objective, in hopes that spring Cl) Q) 14 ·2: ·ac flooding had eroded the slumped ....0 .0 base of the exposure enough to c ·c 13 ~ .Q 'iii clear it off and reveal the rJ) bonebed layer. Fortunately, that ni ~ 12 E proved to be the case and we u..0 11 were able to locate the bonebed ai in situ and re-measure the lower > - 10 Laurier u.."' J:;l~~~:c:J:::::z::i Limestone part of the section (Figure I). ... 9 Q) A puzzling question for the .0 E 8 research teams over the years had - Q) ~ been the inability to find the c:: ')('JI')( Cl) 'O 7 bonebed in situ on the cliff face, ·c in that the specimens detached as Cl) ~ 6 E "float" are common, sizeable, and 0 c:: 5 ·x· Bentonite among the hardest rocks in the (I) Q) () c .0 sequence. This elusiveness, and 0 (I) E 4 the shape of some of the " float" ~ Q) iii ~ pieces eventually convinced us _J E Q) 3 .9 u..0 .c that the " bonebed" had fonned as (I) e 2 isolated lenses. This appears to ~ :::, 'o 5 0 have been a reasonable inference, -0 .c u.. rJ) ~ as can be seen in Figure 2. There ::E ~ ai al were two "chunks'' ofbonebed in 0 place in the lower Ashville; both were thin and lenticular and in vft mc,,_0 s andstone r1;'li the same stratigraphic position, ~ but separated horizontally by ~<:J &<::' several barren metres. The top of the bonebed was 2.02 m below Figure 1 -Simplified stratigraphic diagram oft he section at field locality BR-3 the base of the "X" bentonite, and Bainbridge River, Pasquia Hills, Saskatchewan. Modified from Schroder-Ada/tis et al. its base was only 5 cm above the (19?9). Collom (2000) notes the position ofinoceramid marker species in his Figure 3, which corresponds in general terms to the stratigraphic relationships presented here. 5 cm thick Ostrea heloiti lag deposit. A thin (I cm) but Below the Morden Shale, most of the upper three­ persistent bentonite is exposed quarters of the exposure are relatively resistant, approximately 30 cm below the Ostrea beloiri lag. calcareous shales of the Favel Fonnation, and represent deposition during the peak of the Greenhorn Cyclothem. The Laurier Limestone, another regional 4. Discussion marker (McNeil and Caldwell, 1981 ), separates the two members of the Favel Formation (Figure I). a) Deposition of the Bonebed A 3 1 to 33 cm thick bentonite is clearly visible about Similarities between the Ostrea beloiti layer and the 5 m above the base of the exposure, and is thought to bonebed strongly suggest their development as lag represent the "X" bentonite which is widespread across deposits in shallow water, under tidal influence. Both the Western Interior Basin. The "X'' bentonite has a layers have relatively smooth, fl at to undulating upper 40Ar/ 39Ar age of93.3 Ma (Cadrin, 1992; Obradovich, surfaces, which suggest broad wave or ripple marks. 1993). The ''X" bentonite and the Ostrea be/oiti bed The oysters in the lower layer are closely packed, below it are markers for the upper part of the Belle disarticulated and randomly oriented; the bonebed is more than 60% coprolites, bones, and teeth, all 122 Summary of Investigations 200 I, Volume I b) Vertebrate Fauna and Paleoenvironment An overview of the faunal assemblage and aspects of the paleoenvironment have been presented in several preliminary papers (Cumbaa et al., 1997; Cumbaa, 1999; and Cumbaa and Tokaryk, 1999). Vertebrate Update J.O. Stewart (Natural History Museum, Los Angeles County) and Cumbaa are preparing a paper comparing the fauna of the Bainbridge and Carrot River bonebeds with that of two Graneros Shale localities in Kansas collected by Stewart. These localities are Cenomanian and stratigraphically below the ''X" bentonite. The Figure 2 - lens of bioc/astic conglomerate (bonebed) in Belle Fourche Member of the Ashville Formation situ. Note speckles ofbentonite dropped down from eroding " ... correlates biostratigraphically with the Graneros "X" bentonite 2 m above top of bonebed. The Ostrea beloili Shale of the standard section, although the part above layer is prominent underneath the ho11ebed at left ce11ter of the 0. beloiti beds may equate to the lowest part of the photograph. Scale for reference is 5 cm. Part ofthe Lincoln Limestone Member of the Greenhorn bonehed lens 011 the right ofthe photo has broken offand has been lost to erosio11, as has any portio11 which may Fonnation" (McNeil and Caldwell, 1981 , p5 I). have exte11ded outfrom the face ofthe exposure. The lens extended an unknown distance back into the exposure; the The Graneros Shale in Kansas also includes bonebeds, portion retrieved was approximately 60 cm in length.
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