The Escuminac 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 ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. 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 in ...

dating back to the

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

Description

Miguasha National Park Miguasha Provincial Park (French: ''Parc national de Miguasha'') is a protected area near Carleton-sur-Mer on the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec in Canada. Created in 1985 by the Government of Quebec, Miguasha was designated a World Heritage Site in ...

is located within this formation along the estuary of the

Restigouche River The Restigouche River (french: Rivière Ristigouche) is a river that flows across the northwestern part of the province of New Brunswick and the southeastern part of Quebec. The river flows in a northeasterly direction from its source in the App ...

on the south coast of the

Gaspé Peninsula The Gaspé Peninsula, also known as Gaspesia (; ), is a peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River that extends from the Matapedia Valley in Quebec, Canada, into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. It is separated from New Brunswick o ...

. The fossil biota from the Park is thus referred to as the Miguasha biota. The main Miguasha exposures were named the 'René Bureau Cliffs' after the geologist and paleontologist. The formation's depositional environment has been variously considered as

lacustrine A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

estuarine An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

, 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.

Description

Fossil content

Vertebrates

Acanthodians

Actinopterygians

Jawless fish

Placoderms

Sarcopterygians

Invertebrates

Arthropods

Ctenophores

Plants

See also

References