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Eyam Limestone

{{Short description|Geologic formation in England}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox rockunit

| name = Eyam Limestone

| image = File:Eyam Limestones - geograph.org.uk - 3178433.jpg

| caption = Eyam Limestone in Wirksworth

| type = Geological formation

| age = Early Carboniferous (Uppermost Viséan), {{fossilrange|336|326.4}}

| period = Carboniferous

| prilithology = Limestone

| otherlithology =

| namedfor = Eyam

| namedby =

| region = {{Flag|England}}

| country = {{UK}}

| coordinates =

| unitof = Peak Limestone Group

| subunits =

| underlies = Longstone Mudstone Formation

| overlies = Monsal Dale Limestone Formation

| thickness = 9 to 54 m

| extent = Peak District

| area = Derbyshire

| map =

| map_caption =

}}

The Eyam Limestone (formerly known as the Cawdor Group, Cawdor Limestone or Eyam Group) is a geologic formation in the Peak District, England. It preserves fossils dating back to the Viséan stage of the Carboniferous period, and represents a marine environment.{{Cite web |title=BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units - Result Details |url=https://webapps.bgs.ac.uk/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?pub=EYL |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=webapps.bgs.ac.uk}}

Depositional environment

At the time of deposition, Britain was just south of the equator (<5° S) and part of the Euramerica continent. Study of the growth rings of fossil wood from other localities indicate that the British Isles had a monsoonal climate during the early Carboniferous, with tropical rainfall seasonality.{{Cite journal |last=Falcon-Lang |first=H. J. |date=March 1999 |title=The Early Carboniferous (Courceyan–Arundian) monsoonal climate of the British Isles: evidence from growth rings in fossil woods |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/41816712 |journal=Geological Magazine |language=en |volume=136 |issue=2 |pages=177–187 |doi=10.1017/S0016756899002307 |bibcode=1999GeoM..136..177F |s2cid=130499005 |issn=0016-7568}} The Eyam Limestone was deposited on an extensive, thick carbonate ramp and platform on the northeast margin of the Widmerpool Gulf (an extensive basin which existed as an area of open water during the time of deposition). Reefs and their associated fore-reef and lagoonal environments are represented in the Eyam Limestone, with crinoids dominating the reef and providing habitats for other animals. The presence of photosymbiotic coral and micritic envelopes on some crinoid ossicles indicates the formation was deposited within the photic zone in a marine environment of normal salinity. The presence of the xenacanth Bransonella has been suggested to imply freshwater influence as xenacanths live mainly in freshwater habitats, however its presence in other marine formations suggests that Bransonella was a marine animal unlike its relatives.{{Cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Roy |last2=Martill |first2=David M. |last3=Duffin |first3=Christopher |date=2017-06-01 |title=The shark-beds of the Eyam Limestone Formation (Lower Carboniferous, Viséan) of Steeplehouse Quarry, Wirksworth, Derbyshire, UK |url=https://www.academia.edu/33671880 |journal=Proceedings of the Geologists' Association |volume=128 |issue=3 |pages=374–400 |doi=10.1016/j.pgeola.2017.04.004 |bibcode=2017PrGA..128..374S |issn=0016-7878}}

Apatite crystals formed by the recrystallization of phosphatic overgrowths are present on some conodont elements from the formation. As phosphatogenesis only occurs in the anoxic-oxic boundary while apatite precipitation occurs in the top few centimeters of the sediment column, this reveals that shallow sediment with low geothermal temperatures and dysoxic conditions were present in the Eyam Limestone.{{Cite journal |last1=Sanz-López |first1=Javier |last2=Blanco-Ferrera |first2=Silvia |date=2012-10-01 |title=Overgrowths of large authigenic apatite crystals on the surface of conodonts from Cantabrian limestones (Spain) |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-012-0295-3 |journal=Facies |language=en |volume=58 |issue=4 |pages=707–726 |doi=10.1007/s10347-012-0295-3 |bibcode=2012Faci...58..707S |s2cid=140725466 |issn=1612-4820}}

Fossil content

{{Paleobiota-key-compact}}

=Cartilaginous fish=

class="wikitable" align="center"
colspan="6" align="center" | Cartilaginous fish reported from the Eyam Limestone
GenusSpeciesPresence

!Material

NotesImages
Acanthorhachis

|A. cf. spinatus

|Steeplehouse Quarry.

|Basal body & spines.

|A listracanthid.

|File:Acanthorhachis spinatus.png

style="background:#E6E6E6;"|Anachronistes

|style="background:#E6E6E6;"|A. fordi

|style="background:#E6E6E6;"|Steeplehouse Quarry.{{Cite journal |last1=Duffin |first1=Christopher |last2=Ward |first2=David |date=1983-01-01 |title=Neoselachian sharks' teeth from the Lower Carboniferous of Britain and the Lower Permian of the USA |url=https://www.academia.edu/2891464 |journal=Palaeontology}}

|style="background:#E6E6E6;"|Teeth.

|style="background:#E6E6E6;"|Junior synonym of Cooleyella.

|style="background:#E6E6E6;"|

Bransonella

|B. nebraskensis

|Steeplehouse Quarry & Cawdor Quarry.{{Cite journal |last1=Ginter |first1=Michał |last2=Duffin |first2=Christopher |last3=Dean |first3=Mark |last4=Korn |first4=Dieter |date=2014 |title=Late Viséan pelagic chondrichthyans from northern Europe |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274774718 |journal=Acta Palaeontologica Polonica |doi=10.4202/app.00084.2014|doi-access=free }}

|Teeth.

|A xenacanth.

|File:Bransonelliformes.jpg

Carcharopsis

|C. prototypus

|Steeplehouse Quarry & Coleshill Quarry.{{Cite journal |last=Cuny |first=Gilles |date=2008-01-01 |title=Carcharopsis prototypus and the adaptations of single crystallite enameloid in cutting dentitions |url=https://www.academia.edu/1391669 |journal=Acta Geologica Polonica}}

|Teeth.

|A squatinactiform.

|File:Carcharopsis.jpg

Cladodus

|C. sp.

|Steeplehouse Quarry.

|4 teeth.

|A cladoselachid.

|File:Siksika and Cladodus.png

Cooleyella

|C. fordi

|Steeplehouse Quarry & Cawdor Quarry.

|Teeth.

|An anachronistid.

|

"Ctenacanthus"

|"C." costellatus

|Steeplehouse Quarry.

|Partial tooth.

|A ctenacanth.

|

Ctenoptychius

|C. lobatus

|Steeplehouse Quarry.

|3 teeth.

|A petalodont.

|

Cypripediodens

|C. cristatus

|Once-a-week Quarry.{{Cite journal |last1=Duffin |first1=Christopher J. |last2=Ward |first2=David J. |date=2017-07-19 |title=A new janassid petalodont chondrichthyan from the Early Carboniferous of Derbyshire, UK |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318544690 |journal=Proceedings of the Geologists' Association |language=en |volume=128 |issue=5–6 |pages=809–814 |doi=10.1016/j.pgeola.2017.06.008|bibcode=2017PrGA..128..809D }}

|Teeth.

|A petalodont.

|

Denaea

|D. cf. fournieri

|Steeplehouse Quarry & Cawdor Quarry.

|Teeth.

|A falcatid.

|File:Denaea.jpg

Euchondrocephali gen. et. sp. indet.

|Indeterminate

|Cawdor Quarry.

|Teeth.

|Somewhat similar to orodontid teeth.

|

Euselachii gen. et. sp. indet.

|Indeterminate

|Cawdor Quarry.

|Tooth.

|An indeterminate euselachian.

|

Ginteria

|G. fungiforma

|Cawdor Quarry.

|Teeth.

|An anachronistid.

|

style="background:#f3e9f3;" |Lissodus

|style="background:#fbdddb;" |L. wirksworthensis

|style="background:#fbdddb;" |

|style="background:#fbdddb;" |Teeth.{{Cite journal |last=Duffin |first=C. |date=1985 |title=Revision of the hybodont selachian genus Lissodus BROUGH (1935) |journal=Palaeontographica Abteilung A|s2cid=233061921 }}

|style="background:#fbdddb;" |Reassigned to the genus Reesodus.

|style="background:#fbdddb;" |

Petalorhynchus

|P. psittacinus

|Steeplehouse Quarry.

|Crown & smaller tooth fragment.

|A petalodont.

|

Petrodus

|P. patelliformis

|Steeplehouse Quarry.

|Thousands of dermal denticles.

|A symmoriid and the most abundant vertebrate in the formation.

|

Reesodus

|R. wirksworthensis

|Steeplehouse Quarry.

|Tooth.

|A hybodont.

|

Saivodus

|S. striatus

|Steeplehouse Quarry.

|Tooth.

|A ctenacanth.

|File:Saivodus reconstruction.jpg

Squatinactis

|S. caudispinatus

|Cawdor Quarry.

|4 teeth.

|A squatinactiform.

|File:Squatinactis NT small.jpg

Thrinacodus

|T. dziki

|Steeplehouse Quarry & Cawdor Quarry.

|Teeth.

|A phoebodont.

|File:Thrinacoselache gracia.jpg

=Conodonts=

class="wikitable" align="center"
colspan="6" align="center" | Conodonts reported from the Eyam Limestone
GenusSpeciesPresence

!Material

NotesImages
Gnathodus

|G. girtyi

|Steeplehouse Quarry.

|Partial S element.

|An idiognathodontid.

|File:Gnathodus elements.png

?Hindeodus

|?H. sp.

|Steeplehouse Quarry.

|P1 element fragment.

|An anchignathodontid.

|File:Hindeodus elements.jpg

?Idioprioniodus

|?I. sp.

|Steeplehouse Quarry.

|Two P1 element fragments.

|A prioniodinid.

|

Kladognathus

|K. sp.

|Steeplehouse Quarry.

|M element.

|A coelodontid.

|File:Kladognathus elements.png

rowspan="3" |Lochriea

|L. commutata

|Steeplehouse Quarry.

|Two P1 elements.

|A spathognathodontid.

|

L. mononodosa

|Steeplehouse Quarry.

|P1 element.

|A spathognathodontid.

|

L. sp.

|Steeplehouse Quarry.

|Two P2 elements.

|A spathognathodontid.

|

=Invertebrates=

==Arthropods==

class="wikitable" align="center"
colspan="6" align="center" | Arthropods reported from the Eyam Limestone
GenusSpeciesPresence

!Material

NotesImages
rowspan="3" |Cummingella

|C. cf. carringtonensis

|Monyash.{{Cite journal |last=Gutteridge |first=P. |date=May 1990 |title=The origin and significance of the distribution of shelly macrofauna in late Dinantian carbonate mud mounds of Derbyshire |url=https://www.lyellcollection.org/doi/10.1144/pygs.48.1.23 |journal=Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society |language=en |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=23–32 |doi=10.1144/pygs.48.1.23 |bibcode=1990PYGS...48...23G |issn=0044-0604}}

|

|A phillipsiid trilobite.

|

C. sampsoni

|Stoney Middleton & near Hassop.{{Cite journal |last=Tilsley |first=J. W. |date=December 1988 |title=New data on Carboniferous (Dinantian) trilobites from the Peak District, Derbyshire, England |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249557212 |journal=Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society |language=en |volume=47 |issue=2 |pages=163–176 |doi=10.1144/pygs.47.2.163 |bibcode=1988PYGS...47..163T |issn=0044-0604}}

|Multiple specimens.

|A phillipsiid trilobite.

|File:Cummingella belisama dorsal light2 CRF.jpg

C. cf. tuberculingenata

|Monyash.

|

|A phillipsiid trilobite.

|

Griffithides

|G. whitewatsoni

|Stoney Middleton.

|Multiple specimens.

|A proetid trilobite.

|File:Griffithides globiceps 432.JPG

==Brachiopods==

class="wikitable" align="center"
colspan="6" align="center" | Brachiopods reported from the Eyam Limestone
GenusSpeciesPresence

!Material

NotesImages
Acanthoplecta

|A. mesoloba

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

rowspan="2" |Alitaria

|A.? panderi

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

A. sp.

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

rowspan="5" |Antiquatonia

|A. hindi

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

A. cf. hindi

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

A. cf. insculpta

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

A. sulcata

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

A. sp.

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|File:Antiquatonia coloradoensis fossil brachiopod (Boggs Shale, Pottsville Group, Pennsylvanian; Blunt Run, Muskingum County, Ohio, USA) 3.jpg

rowspan="5" |Avonia

|A. aculeata

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

A. davidsoni

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

A. youngiana

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

A. cf. youngiana

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

A. sp.

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

rowspan="2" |Brachythyris

|B. ovalis

|Monyash.

|

|A spiriferid.

|

B. cf. ovalis

|Monyash.

|

|A spiriferid.

|

Buxtonia

|B. sp.

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

Coledium

|C. sp.

|Monyash.

|

|A rhynchonellid.

|

Dictyoclostus

|D. sp.

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|File:Dictyoclostus sp. (fossil brachiopod) (Byer Sandstone, Lower Mississippian; Chatham, Ohio, USA) 4.jpg

rowspan="2" |Echinoconchus

|E. punctatus

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

E. subelegans

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

rowspan="2" |Eomarginifera

|E. cf. lobata

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

E. longispinus

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

Fluctuaria

|F. undata

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

Fusella

|F. sp.

|Monyash.

|

|A spiriferid.

|

Girtyella

|G. sacculus

|Monyash.

|

|A terebratulid.

|

Hustedia

|H. ulothrix

|Monyash.

|

|An athyridid.

|File:Hustedia brentwoodensis opening.jpg

Kochiproductus

|K. sp.

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

Krotovia

|K. spinulosa

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

Linoproductoidea indet.

|Indeterminate

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

Linoprotonia

|L. sp.

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

Marginicinctus

|M. sp.

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

Marginiferoidea indet.

|Indeterminate

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

Martinia

|M. sp.

|Monyash.

|

|A spiriferid.

|

Orthoidea indet.

|Indeterminate

|Monyash.

|

|An orthid.

|

Overtonia

|O. fimbriata

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

rowspan="2" |Pleuropugnoides

|P. pleurodon

|Monyash.

|

|A rhynchonellid.

|

P. sp.

|Monyash.

|

|A rhynchonellid.

|

rowspan="2" |Productina

|P. margaritacaea

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

P. sp.

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

rowspan="2" |Productus

|P. productus

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

P. sp.

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|File:Productus Fossil - geograph.org.uk - 3670308.jpg

rowspan="2" |Pugilis

|P. cf. pugilis

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

P. sp.

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

rowspan="5" |Pugnax

|P. acuminatus

|Monyash.

|

|A rhynchonellid.

|

P.cordiformis

|Monyash.

|

|A rhynchonellid.

|

P. pseudopugnus

|Monyash.

|

|A rhynchonellid.

|

P. cf. pugnoides

|Monyash.

|

|A rhynchonellid.

|

P. sp.

|Monyash.

|

|A rhynchonellid.

|

Pustula

|P. sp.

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

Rugosochonetes

|R. sp.

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

rowspan="2" |Schizophoria

|S. resupinata

|Monyash.

|

|An orthid.

|

S. sp.

|Monyash.

|

|An orthid.

|File:Schizophoria.jpg

rowspan="2" |Sinuatella

|S. cf. sinuata

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

S. sp.

|Monyash.

|

|A productid.

|

rowspan="4" |Spirifer

|S. bisulcatus

|Monyash.

|

|A spiriferid.

|

S. cf. bisulcatus

|Monyash.

|

|A spiriferid.

|

S. planicostus

|Monyash.

|

|A spiriferid.

|

S. triangularis

|Monyash.

|

|A spiriferid.

|

Spiriferoidea indet.

|Indeterminate

|Monyash.

|

|A spiriferid.

|

==Bryozoans==

class="wikitable" align="center"
colspan="6" align="center" | Bryozoans reported from the Eyam Limestone
GenusSpeciesPresence

!Material

NotesImages
Fenestelloidea

|Indeterminate

|Monyash.

|

|

|

==Cnidarians==

class="wikitable" align="center"
colspan="6" align="center" | Cnidarians reported from the Eyam Limestone
GenusSpeciesPresence

!Material

NotesImages
Diphyphyllum

|D. sp.

|Monyash.

|

|A horn coral.

|

==Echinoderms==

class="wikitable" align="center"
colspan="6" align="center" | Echinoderms reported from the Eyam Limestone
GenusSpeciesPresence

!Material

NotesImages
Crinoidea indet.

|Indeterminate

|Monyash.

|

|

|

==Molluscs==

class="wikitable" align="center"
colspan="6" align="center" | Molluscs reported from the Eyam Limestone
GenusSpeciesPresence

!Material

NotesImages
Aviculopecten

|A. interstitialis

|Monyash.

|

|A bivalve.

|File:Aviculopecten subcardiformis01.JPG

Aviculopinna

|A. mutica

|Monyash.

|

|A pinnid bivalve.

|

Bivalvia indet.

|Indeterminate

|Monyash.

|

|A bivalve.

|

Conocardium

|C. sp.

|Monyash.

|

|A rostroconch.

|File:Conocardiumkonincki.jpg

Girtypecten

|G. stellaris

|Monyash.

|

|A bivalve.

|

Leiopteria

|L. sp.

|Monyash.

|

|A bivalve.

|

Parallelodon

|P. sp.

|Monyash.

|

|A parallelodontid bivalve.

|File:Museo delle Grigne - EL70 - Parallelodon (Beushausenia) esinensis.jpg

Pinna

|P. flabelliformis

|Monyash.

|

|A pinnid bivalve.

|

See also

{{Portal|Earth sciences|England|Paleontology}}

References

{{reflist}}

  • {{cite web|title= Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database|author= ((Various Contributors to the Paleobiology Database))|url= https://www.fossilworks.org|access-date= 17 December 2021|archive-date= 25 March 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220325060448/http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?action=home|url-status= live}}

Category:Carboniferous System of Europe

Category:Carboniferous England

Category:Limestone formations of the United Kingdom

Category:Carboniferous southern paleotropical deposits