The Stanley Glacier locality in
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
is an exposure of the "thin"
Stephen formation
The Stephen Formation is a geologic formation exposed in the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia and Alberta, on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It consists of shale, thin-bedded limestone, and siltstone that was deposite ...
exhibiting soft-tissue preservation.
Fossils were discovered by a hiker who reported the find to
Parks Canada; this brought the site to the attention of scientists who were able to study the site and describe the new biota.
The discovery of
Burgess Shale-type preservation in the thin Stephen was unexpected, given the absence of the
Cathedral escarpment in the area.
[ Several new species, including '']Stanleycaris
''Stanleycaris'' is an extinct, monotypic genus of hurdiid radiodont from the middle Cambrian (Miaolingian). The type species is ''Stanleycaris hirpex''. ''Stanleycaris'' was described from the Stephen Formation near the Stanley Glacier and Bu ...
'', have already been found in exploratory excavations at the site.[
]
References
Glaciers of British Columbia
{{BritishColumbia-geo-stub