Wood Canyon Formation

The Wood Canyon Formation is a geologic formation in the northern Mojave Desert of Inyo County, California and Nye County and Clark County, Nevada.^[2][3]

It can be seen in the Panamint Range and Funeral Mountains adjoining Death Valley, within Death Valley National Park; and in the Spring Mountains in Clark County.^[2]

The 570+ million years old formation underlies the Zabriskie Quartzite Formation, and overlies the Stirling Quartzite Formation.^[2][4]

It has three unnamed Members, simply known as 'Upper', 'Middle', and 'Lower', that mainly consist of limestone, conglomerate rocks and dolostone respectively, with sandstone and siltstones found within the 'Upper' and 'Lower' Members, with the latter itself further containing quartzite and shales.^[1][2] The 'Upper' and 'Middle' Members are Cambrian in age, including the upper rocks of the 'Lower Member', whilst the rest of the 'Lower' Member is Ediacaran in age.^[1]

The Wood Canyon Formation spans from the late Ediacaran period of the Neoproterozoic Era into the Lower Cambrian Period of the Paleozoic Era.^[2][3][5] As for the fossils and biota found within the formation, the Cambrian strata is home to olenellid trilobites and archaeocyathid sponges,^[2] whilst the Ediacaran strata contains petalonamid forms like Pteridinium and ichnotaxon traces like Helminthoidichnites.^[1]

All the organisms and trace fossils from the Cambrian sections of the formation.

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Olenellidae indet.[2]	Unapplicable	Redlichiid trilobite arthropods.
Nevadia (?)[2]	N. gracile (?)	Redlichiid trilobite arthropods, from the family Nevadiidae. Misslabelled as Nevadella gracile, tentative assignment.

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Kutorgina (?)[2]	Kutorgina sp. (?)	Rhynchonelliform brachiopods, tentative assignment.

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Archaeocyatha indet.[2]	Unapplicable	Marine reef-building sponges.

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Helicoplacus[6]	H. gilberti	Oblong echinoderm.

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Swartpuntia[7]	S. germsi	Sessile frondose organism, although assignment has been questioned based on the possibility that know specimens could be referred to other known Cambrian frondose organisms.[8]

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Bergaueria[9]	Bergaueria isp.	Resting place of Cnidarians.
Conichnus[9]	Conichnus isp.	Burrows.
Cruziana[10]	C. pectinata C. tenella	Burrows.
Dolopichnus[9]	Dolopichnus isp.	Burrows.
Didymaulichnus[10]	D. miettensis	Burrows.
Psammichnites[10]	P. gigas	Burrows.
Rusophycus[10]	Rusophycus isp.	Burrows.
Skolithos[2][10]	S. linearis	Burrows.
Treptichnus[11]	T. pedum	Burrows.
Zoophycos[12]	Zoophycos isp.	Feeding trace of polychaete worms.

All the organisms and trace fossils from the Ediacaran sections of the formation.

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Charnia (?)[1]	Charnia sp. (?)	Sessile frondose organism, tentative assignment.
Ernietta[13][14]	E. plateauensis	Sessile bag-like frondose organism. Reclassified as Tulaneia.
Pteridinium[1]	Pteridinium sp.	Frondose organism.
Swartpuntia[13]	S. germsi	Sessile frondose organism, assignment has been questioned due to poor preservation.[8]
Tulaneia[15]	T. amabilia	Sessile bag-like frondose organism.

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Archaeichnium[13]	A. haughtoni	Tubular organism. A recent 2017 suggests reported specimens may instead be poorly preserved Gaojiashania specimens,[14] although future studies do not note this.
Costatubus[16]	C. bibendi	Tubular fossil, first occurrence in this formation and new species. A study done in the same year discovered some of the first remains of cloudinomorph soft-tissue material within the tubes, resembling bilaterian-like through-guts, which would also make them the oldest known guts in the fossil record.[17]
Cloundina[13]	Cloundina sp.	Tubular organism. A recent 2017 suggests reported specimens may instead be poorly preserved Gaojiashania specimens,[14] although future studies do not note this.
Conotubus[14]	Conotubus sp.	Tubular organism.
Corumbella[13][14]	Corumbella sp.	Tubular organism.
Gaojiashania[14]	Gaojiashania sp.	Tubular organism.
Saarina[16]	S. hagadorni	Tubular fossil, first occurrence in this formation and new species. A study done in the same year discovered some of the first remains of cloudinomorph soft-tissue material within the tubes, resembling bilaterian-like through-guts, which would also make them the oldest known guts in the fossil record.[17]
Nimbia (?)[13]	N. occlusa (?)	Discoid organism, tentative assignment.
Onuphionella[13]	Onuphionella sp.	Tubular organism, first known occurrence in Ediacaran aged rock. A recent 2017 suggests reported specimens may instead be poorly preserved Gaojiashania specimens,[14] although future studies do not note this.

• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in California
• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Nevada
• Paleontology in California
• Paleontology in Nevada