Tensleep_Sandstone

Tensleep Sandstone

Tensleep Sandstone

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The Tensleep Sandstone is a geological formation of Pennsylvanian to very early Permian age in Wyoming.[2]

Quick Facts Type, Underlies ...

The formation is composed of fine- to medium-grained sandstone, light gray and yellowish gray; generally slightly to moderately calcareous; some dolomite and sandy dolomite beds; mostly thick to massive sets of low-angle, wedge-planar crossbeds of dunes. Forms cliffs 61-91m (200-300 feet) thick.[3]

Trace fossils

Hylonomus

In 1932 Edward Branson and Maurice Mehl reported the discovery of a fossil trackway in the formation.[4] A new ichnospecies, Steganoposaurus belli, was erected for these footprints.[4] The tracks were probably made by a web-footed animal slightly less than three feet long.[4] This creature was originally presumed to be an amphibian, but the toe prints it left behind were pointed like a reptile's rather than round like an amphibians. The actual trackmaker may have been similar to the genus Hylonomus.[5] The ichnogenus Tridentichnus are similar footprints preserved in the Supai Formation of Arizona.[6]


References

  1. Darton, N.H., 1904, Comparison of the stratigraphy of the Black Hills, Bighorn Mountains, and Rocky Mountain Front Range: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 15, p. 379-448
  2. U.S. Geological Survey. "Geologic Unit: Tensleep". Retrieved 2014-12-23.
  3. Maughan, E.K. 1972. Geologic map of the Wedding of the Waters Quadrangle, Hot Springs County, Wyoming. US Geological Survey Map GQ-1042
  4. "Western Traces in the 'Age of Amphibians'," Lockley and Hunt (1995); page 34.
  5. "Western Traces in the 'Age of Amphibians'," Lockley and Hunt (1995); page 35.
  6. "Western Traces in the 'Age of Amphibians'," Lockley and Hunt (1995); pages 34-35.

Bibliography


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