ammonites
Suzma (Ediacaran of Russian Federation)

Where: Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation (64.7° N, 39.0° E: paleocoordinates 62.0° S, 21.5° E)

• coordinate estimated from map

When: White Sea other zone, Verkhovka Formation, Ediacaran (635.0 - 542.0 Ma)

Environment/lithology: prodelta; lithified sandstone and lithified shale

• This assemblage comprises greenish-gray, fine-grained, thin-bedded, crossbedded, and planar-laminated sandstones. The sandstones are channel fills that appear in lenses and laterally discontinuous packages (0.3–1.8 m thick and up to 10 m wide) with convex downward bases and nearly flat upper surfaces. These lenses occur on surfaces that are characterized by numerous sand-filled scour casts. Cross-bedded sandstone units tend to consist of multistoried cross-laminations. Individual sandstone beds (0.1–0.4 m) are another element of stratification. They record strong current influence and exhibit a variety of sole marks, including load casts, chevron, drag, and flute marks, current crescents, and gutter casts.

•This assemblage comprises packages (1.0–1.5 m) of gray and yellowishgray, fine-grained, thin-bedded sandstone units (0.1–0.5 m) interbedded with intervals (0.3–0.5 m up to 2 m thick) of graded siltstoneshale couplets and abundant gutter casts. The sandstone beds have sharp bases, fine upwards, and have rippled tops. Thinner beds tend to consist of fine horizontal laminations. Some of them contain gently curved laminasets which probably represent hummocky stratification. However, thicker units exhibit fining-upward textures, convoluted laminations, amalgamation surfaces, ball-and-pillow structure, isolated shale clasts, and wave ripple laminations.

Preservation: mold/impression

Primary reference: D. Grazhdankin. 2004. Patterns of distribution in the Ediacaran biotas: facies versus biogeography and evolution. Paleobiology 30(2):203-221 [M. Laflamme/M. Laflamme] more details

Purpose of describing collection: general faunal/floral analysis

PaleoDB collection 91643: authorized by Marc Laflamme, entered by Marc Laflamme on 10.10.2009