Abstract
Trace fossils produced by insects, annelids, molluscs, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fish are diverse in the Green River and roughly correlative formations, and provide clues to interpret sedimentary environments, stratigraphy, and paleoecology of continental organisms during the Early to middle Eocene (~53–43 Ma). The Green River Formation represents an excellent case study to better understand the composition and distribution of trace fossil assemblages in continental lake basins with dynamic tectonic and climatic histories. Bioturbation representing the subaerial exposure and pedogenesis of lacustrine and lake-margin sediments is useful for the recognition of mappable stratigraphic surfaces. The traces are mainly produced by air-breathing organisms in lake-margin terrestrial environments. In shallow water deposits of the freshwater and saline Green River lakes, trace fossil assemblages include simple trails and burrows, and are generally low diversity and have high bioturbation intensities. In saline to hypersaline lakes, moderate to high diversity assemblages are concentrated in areas with freshwater input to lake-margin settings, such as the distal delta plain or shallow water areas lakeward of fluvial input. In hypersaline lake sediments deposited in shallow littoral areas and mudflats, trace fossils are typically associated with subaerial exposure, and include meniscate backfilled burrows that that cross-cut sediments deposited in shallow water. Vertebrate trace fossils are most commonly preserved in mudflat environments of the saline lakes, and include footprints of birds, mammals, and reptiles.
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Acknowledgments
This work has benefited from discussions and/or fieldwork with Arvid Aäse, Kevin Bohacs, Luis Buatois, Paul Buchheim, Alan Carroll, Terri Graham, Leroy Leggitt, Martin Lockley, Gabriela Mángano, Tony Martin, Robin Renaut, Balazs Töro, and Eric Williams. We are very grateful for their contributions. J.J.S. was supported by NSERC grants to Robin Renaut (Research Grant RG629-03) and Luis Buatois (Discovery Grant # 311726–05 and −08), a NSERC PGS-D scholarship and a NSERC Post-Doctoral Fellowship, by graduate student field research grants from the AAPG, GSA, and IAS, and by a research grant from Mount Royal University. National Science Foundation grants EAR-0230123, EAR-0114055 and EAR-0516760, the Donors of the Petroleum Research Fund of the American Chemical Society, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, summer research grants from GSA, AAPG, and Sigma Xi, and the Bailey Distinguished Graduate Research Fellowship provided funding for M.E. Smith. We are grateful for the comments and suggestions by reviewer Tony Ekdale, which improved the text, content, and presentation of the manuscript.
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Scott, J.J., Smith, M.E. (2015). Trace Fossils of the Eocene Green River Lake Basins, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. In: Smith, M., Carroll, A. (eds) Stratigraphy and Paleolimnology of the Green River Formation, Western USA. Syntheses in Limnogeology, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9906-5_12
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