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Late Devonian paleontology and paleoenvironments at Red Hill and other fossil sites in the Catskill Formation of north-central Pennsylvania
Journal article

Late Devonian paleontology and paleoenvironments at Red Hill and other fossil sites in the Catskill Formation of north-central Pennsylvania

Edward B. Daeschler and Walter L. Cressler
Field Guide (Geological Society of America), v 20
Mar 2011
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1130/2011.0020(01)

Abstract

Allegheny Plateau Arthropoda Catskill Formation Chordata Clinton County Pennsylvania Devonian Duncannon Member faunal list faunal studies field trips floral list floral studies General paleontology Invertebrata Lycoming County Pennsylvania Paleozoic Pennsylvania Plantae Red Hill road log Tioga County Pennsylvania United States Upper Devonian Vertebrata
The stratified red beds of the Catskill Formation are conspicuous in road cut exposures on the Allegheny Plateau of north-central Pennsylvania. During this field trip we will visit and explore several fossil localities within the Catskill Formation. These sites have been central to recent investigations into the nature of Late Devonian continental ecosystems. By the Late Devonian, forests were widespread within seasonally well-watered depositional basins and the spread of plants on land from the late Silurian through the Devonian set the stage for the radiation of animals in both freshwater and terrestrial settings. A diverse assemblage of flora and fauna has been recovered from the Catskill Formation including progymnosperms, lycopsids, spermatophytes, zygopterid and stauripterid ferns, barinophytes, invertebrates and invertebrate traces, and vertebrates such as placoderms, acanthodians, chondrichthyans, actinopterygians, and a variety of sarcopterygians including early tetrapods. Since the early 1990s, highway construction projects along the Route 15 (Interstate 99) have provided a new opportunity for exploration of the Catskill Formation in Lycoming and Tioga counties. The faunas along Route 15 are dominated by Bothriolepis sp. and Holoptychius sp. and also include Sauripterus taylori and an assortment of other interesting records. The most productive Catskill site, and the source of early tetrapod remains, is Red Hill in Clinton County. Red Hill presents a diverse and unique flora and fauna that is distinct from Route 15 sites, and also provides a spectacular section of the alluvial plain deposits of the Duncannon Member of the Catskill Formation.

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