Percha Formation

The Percha Formation is a geologic formation in southern New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the Famennian Age of the late Devonian period.[1]

Percha Formation Stratigraphic range: Famennian
Type	Formation
Underlies	Lake Valley Limestone, Caballero Formation, Escabrosa Limestone
Overlies	Fusselman Formation, Sly Gap Formation, Onate Formation
Thickness	132 feet (40 m)
Lithology
Primary	Shale
Other	Limestone
Location
Coordinates	32.9159°N 107.5267°W
Region	New Mexico
Country	United States
Type section
Named for	Percha Creek
Named by	G.H. Gordon
Year defined	1907
Percha Formation (New Mexico)

Description

The formation consists mostly of black to gray shale and minor limestone.[2][1] It rests on a regional unconformity, so that the underlying formation may be the Fusselman Formation,[3] the Sly Gap Formation, or the Onate Formation.[1] It underlies the Lake Valley Limestone,[3] Caballero Formation, Escabrosa Limestone, or other Mississippian formations.[1] Total thickness is about 132 feet (40 m).[3]

The formation is divided into two members. The lower Ready Pay Member is mostly black fissile shale nearly devoid of fossils and with a total thickness of about 132 feet (40 m).[1] The upper Box Member, which is much less limited in areal extent,[3] is about 47 feet (14 m) of gray to green calcareous shale with limestone nodules and beds. It is highly fossiliferous.[1]

Fossils

The base of the formation contains fossils of arthrodiran fish, shark teeth, late Fammenian conodonts, brachiopods, and corals. The Box Member contains fossils of brachiopods, crinoids, bryozoans, sponges, corals, and late Fammenian conodonts.[4]

History of investigation

The formation was first named as the Percha Shale by C.H. Gordon in 1907 for exposures at Percha Creek.[2] However, a type section was not designated until 1945, by F.V. Stevenson. Stevenson also divided the formation into the lower Ready Pay Member and the upper Box Member.[3][5] Schumacher et al. mapped the formation into southeastern Arizona and renamed it the Percha Formation in 1976.[4]

See also

• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in New Mexico
• Paleontology in New Mexico

Footnotes

1. Kues 2004, pp. 65-67
2. Gordon 1907
3. Stevenson 1945
4. Schumacher et al. 1976
5. Kues 2004, p.65

References

• Gordon, C.H. (1907). "Mississippian (Lower Carboniferous) Formations in the Rio Grande Valley, New Mexico". American Journal of Science. 24 (139).
• Kues, B.S. (2004). "Devonian of New Mexico". In Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A. (eds.). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history: New Mexico Geological Society Special Volume 11. pp. 59–75. ISBN 9781585460106.
• Schumacher, D.; Witter, D.P.; Meader, S.J.; Keith, S.B. (1976). "Late Devonian tectonism in southeastern Arizona" (PDF). Arizona Geological Society Digest. 10: 59–70. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
• Stevenson, Frank V. (July 1945). "Devonian of New Mexico". The Journal of Geology. 53 (4): 217–245. doi:10.1086/625283.