Emu Bay Shale
The Emu Bay Shale is a geological formation in Emu Bay, South Australia, containing a major Konservat-Lagerstätte (fossil beds with soft tissue preservation). It is one of two in the world containing Redlichiidan trilobites. The Emu Bay Shale is dated as Cambrian Series 2, Stage 4, correlated with the upper Botomian Stage of the Lower Cambrian.
| Emu Bay Shale | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: | |
North Coast of Kangaroo Island, Emu Bay | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Unit of | Kangaroo Island Group |
| Underlies | Boxing Bay Formation |
| Overlies | Marsden Sandstone (unconformity) |
| Thickness | 78 m (256 ft), of which the lowest 10 m are fossiliferous |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Shale |
| Other | Sandstone |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 35°35′S 137°30′E |
| Approximate paleocoordinates | 12.5°N 161.2°W |
| Region | The north coast of Kangaroo Island, around Emu Bay and Cape D'Estaing, South Australia |
| Country | Australia |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Emu Bay |
Its mode of preservation is the same as the Burgess shale, but the larger grain size of the Emu Bay rock means that the quality of preservation is lower. More than 50 species of trilobites, non-biomineralized arthropods, palaeoscolecids, a lobopodian, a polychaete, vetulicolians, nectocaridids, hyoliths, brachiopods, sponges, chancelloriids, and a chelicerate are known from the Emu Bay Shale.
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