The Cutoff Formation is a
geologic formation
A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics ( lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exp ...
in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
and
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex
, Offi ...
, US. It preserves
fossils
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
dating back to the
Permian
The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Pale ...
period.
Description
The Cutoff Formation consists of
feet of thin
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...
beds interbedded with dark
shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especia ...
and
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
. It grades northwards into the
San Andres Formation and is likely
correlative
In grammar, a correlative is a word that is paired with another word with which it functions to perform a single function but from which it is separated in the sentence.
In English, examples of correlative pairs are ''both–and, either–or, nei ...
with the upper part of the
Bone Spring Formation within the
Delaware Basin. In age, the formation straddles the
Cisuralian
The Cisuralian is the first series/epoch of the Permian. The Cisuralian was preceded by the Pennsylvanian and followed by the Guadalupian. The Cisuralian Epoch is named after the western slopes of the Ural Mountains in Russia and Kazakhstan and ...
-
Guadalupian
The Guadalupian is the second and middle series/ epoch of the Permian. The Guadalupian was preceded by the Cisuralian and followed by the Lopingian. It is named after the Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico and Texas, and dates between 272.95 ...
boundary.
It lies atop the
Victorio Peak or
Bone Spring Formation and is overlain by the
Brushy Canyon Formation The Brushy Canyon Formation is a Permian geologic unit in Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The formation contains fan sandstones that were deposited under ancient seawater during the Middle Permian
The Guadalupian is the second and middle seri ...
or
Cherry Canyon Formation
The Cherry Canyon Formation is a geologic formation found in the Delaware Basin of southeastern New Mexico and western Texas. It contains fossils characteristic of the Guadalupian Age of the Permian Period.Kues and Giles 2004, p.100
Descripti ...
. Both these formations fill
paleocanyons cut deeply in the Cutoff Formation, in some cases cutting clear through to the underlying Bone Springs or Victorio Peak beds.
The formation is interpreted as a deep basin formation deposited on a drowned shelf to basin topography. It contains numerous
turbidite
A turbidite is the geologic deposit of a turbidity current, which is a type of amalgamation of fluidal and sediment gravity flow responsible for distributing vast amounts of clastic sediment into the deep ocean.
Sequencing
Turbidites w ...
sequences.
Fossils
Limestone beds of the formation contain
chonetid brachiopods (''
Chonetes'') and
gastropods
The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda ().
This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. ...
. The formation includes a few massive limestone beds that contain a diverse assemblage of fossils, including
fusulinids,
corals
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secre ...
, and
crinoids
Crinoids are marine animals that make up the class Crinoidea. Crinoids that are attached to the sea bottom by a stalk in their adult form are commonly called sea lilies, while the unstalked forms are called feather stars or comatulids, which ar ...
. Other fossils include the shark ''
Helicoprion
''Helicoprion'' is an extinct genus of shark-like eugeneodont fish. Almost all fossil specimens are of spirally arranged clusters of the individuals' teeth, called "tooth whorls", which in life were embedded in the lower jaw. As with most exti ...
'', the
ammonoids
Ammonoids are a group of extinct marine mollusc animals in the subclass Ammonoidea of the class Cephalopoda. These molluscs, commonly referred to as ammonites, are more closely related to living coleoids (i.e., octopuses, squid and cuttlefi ...
''
Pseudogastrioceras'' and ''
Perrinites hilli'', the natiloid ''
Foordiceras
Koninckioceratidae is a family of nautilid genera, typically with more or less evolute shells with depressed whorl sections, that are combined as a family within the Tainocerataceae. As perceived, the Koninckioceratidae contains 11 genera and ...
'', and the fusulinid ''
Parafusulina''.
History of investigation
The unit was first designated as the Cutoff shaly member of the Bone Spring Limestone by P.B. King in 1942, for exposures on the west face of Cutoff Mountain near the
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex
, Offi ...
-
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
border.
See also
*
List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Texas
This article contains a list of fossil-bearing stratigraphic units in the state of Texas, U.S.
Sites
See also
* Paleontology in Texas
References
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Texas
Fossil
Texas
Te ...
*
Paleontology in Texas
Paleontology in Texas refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Texas. Author Marian Murray has remarked that "Texas is as big for fossils as it is for everything else." Some of the most impor ...
References
Permian geology of Texas
Permian formations of New Mexico
{{Permian-stub