Marble Canyon (Canadian Rockies)
Introduction 219x219px'''Marble Canyon''' is a canyon surrounding Tokumm Creek just above its confluence with the Vermilion River, at the north end of Kootenay National Park in the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, Canada. South of Marble Canyon on Highway 93 is Numa Falls on the Vermillion River.As described by ''Canadian Alpine Journal'' in 1913, "Tokumm Creek joins Vermillion River through a magnificent gorge, or box canyon, so narrow that at several places the fissure, for it seems little more than a crack in the rock strata, is bridged by great boulders that have become wedged across it. It was a feature well worth seeing."
Cambrian Lagerstatte A major new find was announced in early 2014 of fossilized Cambrian soft-bodied organisms in or near Marble Canyon that rival or even surpass the nearby Burgess Shale fossil site in size and preservation. The report said that 22% of the observed species found in the initial excavation were new to science. Additionally, several species previously known only from Chinese Lagerstätten, created millions of years earlier, were also found at the site. The exact location of the site was kept confidential to avoid damage to the site.
Species discoveries ''Cambroraster falcatus''''Tokummia katalepsis''''Fibulacaris nereidis''''Balhuticaris voltae''''Yawunik kootenayi''''Metaspriggina walcotti''Based on Caron ''et al.'' (2014) unless otherwise noted. Fossils first described from Marble Canyon are written as bold. * '''''Cambroraster falcatus'''''* '''''Titanokorys gainesi'''''* ''Hurdia''* '''''Tokummia katalepsis'''''* ''Branchiocaris'' sp. * ''Perspicaris''* '''''Fibulacaris nereidis'''''* '''''Pakucaris apatis'''''* '''''Balhuticaris voltae'''''* ''Tuzoia cf. burgessensis''* '''''Surusicaris elegans'''''* '''''Yawunik kootenayi''''' (178 specimens as 2020)* ''Alalcomenaeus'' sp. * '''''Mollisonia plenovenatrix''''' (=''M. symmetrica'' in Caron ''et al.'' 2014)* ''Sidneyia inexpectans'' (252 specimens as 2020)* ''Liangshanella cf. burgessensis''* ''Naraoia compacta''* '''''Naraoia''''' ('''''Misszhouia''''') '''''canadensis''''' (=''M. cf. longicaudata'' in Caron ''et al.'' 2014)* ''Elrathina cf. marginalis''* ''Bathyuriscus'' sp. * ''Kootenia cf. burgessensis''* ''Zacanthoides'' sp. * ''Ehmaniella''* ''Itagnostus interstrictus''* ''Ptychagnostus cf. praecurrens''* ''Peronopsis'' (2707 specimens as 2020)* ''Marrella splendens''* ''Primicaris cf. larvaformis'' (119 specimens as 2020)* ''Molaria spinifera''* ''Selkirkia'' tubes* ''Metaspriggina walcotti'' (235 specimens as 2020)* ''Banffia''* ''Oesia disjuncta'' (''Margaretia dorus'') (3373 specimens as 2020)* '''''Kootenayscolex barbarensis''''' (=''Burgessochaeta cf. setigera'' in Caron ''et al.'' 2014) (833 specimens as 2020)* '''''Ursactis comosa''''' (>580 specimens as 2023)* ''Prototreta'' n. sp. aff. ''P. interrupta''* ''Eoobolus'' sp. * ''Linnarssonia'' sp. * ''Mellopegma'' sp. aff. ''M. georginense''* ''Haplophrentis cf. carinatus'' (3694 specimens as 2020)
References