The Escuminac Formation is a geologic formation in Quebec. It preserves fossils dating back to the Frasnian, in the Devonian period.[2][3]

Escuminac Formation
Stratigraphic range: Devonian (Middle Frasnian) 385–374 Ma
TypeGeological formation
Unit ofMiguasha Group[1]
UnderliesBonaventure Formation[1]
OverliesFleurant Formation[1]
Location
RegionQuebec
CountryCanada

Description

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Miguasha National Park is located within this formation along the estuary of the Restigouche River on the south coast of the Gaspé Peninsula. The fossil biota from the Park is thus referred to as the Miguasha biota.[1] The main Miguasha exposures were named the 'René Bureau Cliffs' after the geologist and paleontologist.[1] This formation is sufficiently rich that some material could be sacrificed for microanatomical and histological study through thin sectioning; this was done, among others, for the actinopterygian Cheirolepis,[4] the actinistian Miguashaia[5] and the tetrapodomorph Euthenopteron.[6]

The formation's depositional environment has been variously considered as lacustrine, estuarine, coastal marine or marine, though evidence from the fossil assemblage, stratigraphic and sedimentological setting, and geochemistry of the sedimentary rocks and bones suggests an estuarine interpretation is most fitting.[1]

Fossil content

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Vertebrates

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Acanthodians

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Acanthodians
Genus Species Presence Material Notes Images
Diplacanthus D. ellsi [1] A diplacanthiform.
D. horridus [1] A diplacanthiform.
Homalacanthus H. concinnus [1]
Triazeugacanthus T. affinis Miguasha, Quebec.[1][7] Thousands of specimens representing multiple ontogenetic stages.[7]

Actinopterygians

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Actinopterygians
Genus Species Presence Material Notes Images
Cheirolepis C. canadensis [1]
 

Jawless fish

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Jawless fish
Genus Species Presence Material Notes Images
Endeiolepis E. aneri [1]
Escuminaspis E. laticeps [1]
Euphanerops E. longaevus Miguasha.[1][8] Over 3,500 specimens.[8] A euphaneropid.
Levesquaspis L. patteni [1]

Placoderms

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Placoderms
Genus Species Presence Material Notes Images
Bothriolepis B. canadensis [1] An antiarch.
 
Plourdosteus P. canadensis [1] An arthrodire.
 

Sarcopterygians

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Sarcopterygians
Genus Species Presence Material Notes Images
Callistiopterus C. clappi [1]
Elpistostege E. watsoni [1] A stegocephalian.
 
Eusthenopteron E. foordi [1] A tristichopterid.
 
Fleurantia F. denticulata [1] A lungfish.
Holoptychiidae Holoptychiidae nov. sp. [1] A porolepiform.
Holoptychius H. jarviki [1] A porolepiform.
Miguashaia M. bureaui Miguasha, Quebec.[1][9] A coelacanth.
 
Quebecius Q. quebecensis [1] A porolepiform.
Scaumenacia S. curta [1] A lungfish.
 

Invertebrates

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Arthropods

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Arthropods
Genus Species Presence Material Notes Images
Asmusia A. membranacea [1] A clam shrimp.
Pterygotus P. sp. [10] An eurypterid.
 
Petaloscorpio P. bureaui [1] A scorpion.
Zanclodesmus Z. willetti [1][11] A millipede.


Ctenophores

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Ctenophores
Genus Species Presence Material Notes Images
Daihuoides D. jakobvintheri Miguasha, Quebec.[12] MHNM 24–01.[12]

Plants

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Plants
Genus Species Presence Material Notes Images
Archaeopteris A. halliana [1]
Barynophyton [1]
Flabellofolium [1]
Protobarynophyton [1]
Spermasporites [1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah Cloutier, Richard (2013-08-24). "Great Canadian Lagerstätten 4. The Devonian Miguasha Biota (Québec): UNESCO World Heritage Site and a Time Capsule in the Early History of Vertebrates". Geoscience Canada. 40 (2): 149. doi:10.12789/geocanj.2013.40.008. ISSN 1911-4850.
  2. ^ Cloutier, Richard; Loboziak, Stanislas; Candilier, Anne-Marie; Blieck, Alain (October 1996). "Biostratigraphy of the Upper Devonian Escuminac Formation, eastern Québec, Canada: a comparative study based on miospores and fishes". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 93 (1–4): 191–215. doi:10.1016/0034-6667(95)00126-3.
  3. ^ Matton, Olivier; Cloutier, Richard; Stevenson, Ross (November 2012). "Apatite for destruction: Isotopic and geochemical analyses of bioapatites and sediments from the Upper Devonian Escuminac Formation (Miguasha, Québec)". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 361–362: 73–83. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.08.004.
  4. ^ Zylberberg, Louise; Meunier, François; Laurin, Michel (2015). "A microanatomical and histological study of the postcranial dermal skeleton of the Devonian actinopterygian Cheirolepis canadensis". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. doi:10.4202/app.00161.2015. ISSN 0567-7920.
  5. ^ Mondéjar‐Fernández, Jorge; Meunier, François J.; Cloutier, Richard; Clément, Gaël; Laurin, Michel (August 2021). "A microanatomical and histological study of the scales of the Devonian sarcopterygian Miguashaia bureaui and the evolution of the squamation in coelacanths". Journal of Anatomy. 239 (2): 451–478. doi:10.1111/joa.13428. PMC 8273612. PMID 33748974.
  6. ^ Zylberberg, Louise; Meunier, François J.; Laurin, Michel (September 2010). "A Microanatomical and Histological Study of the Postcranial Dermal Skeleton in the Devonian Sarcopterygian Eusthenopteron foordi". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 55 (3): 459–470. doi:10.4202/app.2009.1109. S2CID 56446998.
  7. ^ a b Chevrinais, Marion; Cloutier, Richard; Sire, Jean-Yves (February 2015). "The revival of a so-called rotten fish: the ontogeny of the Devonian acanthodian Triazeugacanthus". Biology Letters. 11 (2): 20140950. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2014.0950. ISSN 1744-9561. PMC 4360106. PMID 25694507.
  8. ^ a b Chevrinais, Dr Marion; MOREL, Miss CATHERINE; Renaud, Dr Claude B.; CLOUTIER, Dr RICHARD (9 December 2022). "Ontogeny of Euphanerops longaevus from the Upper Devonian Miguasha Fossil-Fish-Lagerstätte and comparison with the skeletogenesis of the Sea Lamprey Petromyzon marinus". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 60 (3): 350–365. doi:10.1139/cjes-2022-0062. S2CID 254529477. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  9. ^ Fernández, Jorge Mondéjar; Meunier, François J.; Cloutier, Richard; Clément, Gaël; Laurin, Michel (2022-04-06). "Life history and ossification patterns in Miguashaia bureaui reveal the early evolution of osteogenesis in coelacanths". PeerJ. 10: e13175. doi:10.7717/peerj.13175. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 8994491. PMID 35411253.
  10. ^ Copeland, Murray John; Bolton, Thomas E. (1960). "The Eurypterida of Canada". Canadian Fossil Arthropoda, Eurypterida, Phyllocarida and Decapoda (PDF). Queen's Printer.
  11. ^ Wilson, Heather M.; Daeschler, Edward B.; Desbiens, Sylvain (July 2005). "New Flat-Backed Archipolypodan Millipedes from the Upper Devonian of North America". Journal of Paleontology. 79 (4): 738–744. doi:10.1666/0022-3360(2005)079[0738:NFAMFT]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0022-3360. S2CID 140190612.
  12. ^ a b Klug, Christian; Kerr, Johanne; Lee, Michael S. Y.; Cloutier, Richard (2021-09-24). "A late-surviving stem-ctenophore from the Late Devonian of Miguasha (Canada)". Scientific Reports. 11 (1): 19039. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-98362-5. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 8463547. PMID 34561497.