42-6 Brachiopod diversity in the Upper Devonian West Falls Group of New York

Session: Paleozoic Events and Processes: Sedimentary Geology, Paleontology, and Geochemistry (Posters)

Presenting Author:

Authors:

Abstract:

Recent studies of the Late Devonian mass extinction have explored changes in rhynchonelliform brachiopod faunas among the Wiscoy, Canaseraga, and Caneadea formations of New York and equivalent strata in north-central Pennsylvania (e.g., Bush et al. 2023, doi: 10.32857/bap.2023.407.02). Based on new collections and museum specimens, we document the brachiopods from the Gardeau, West Hill, and Nunda formations of the West Falls Group, which underlie the aforementioned formations. Traditionally, the first pulse of the mass extinction (the Lower Kellwasser Event) has been correlated with the top of the Nunda, although some works have suggested otherwise. We examine changes in species occurrences across this transition, documenting which species persist, which disappear, and which newly appear above the boundary. Preliminary data indicate that approximately one third of rhynchonelliform species present in the West Hill, Gardeau, and Nunda formations do not persist into overlying strata. We present photographs of West Falls fossils and an updated range chart extending through the entirety of the biotic crisis interval.

© Copyright 2025 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved.