REVISITING THE COON CREEK FORMATION OF TENNESSEE: A CRETACEOUS LAGERSTÄTTE

The Western Interior Seaway and Gulf Coast Cretaceous are well studied using modern principles of sequence stratigraphy, evolutionary paleoecology, and geochemistry; the Mississippi Embayment region has received less attention. The Upper Cretaceous Coon Creek Formation became internationally recognized for its abundant and diverse biota of invertebrates, vertebrates and rare plants with Bruce Wade's now classic USGS Professional Paper 137 in 1926; however, study since has been confined mostly to gastropod taxonomy and geologic mapping. Taxonomically and taphonomically (e.g., unaltered shell mineralogy, ease of extraction, absence of compaction, lack of extensive reworking) the Coon Creek biota fits the definition of a lagerstätte. This biotic character is preserved within a complex mosaic of Upper Cretaceous nearshore to offshore shelf lithofacies in the northern Mississippi Embayment. The Coon Creek Formation’s unique fossil and sedimentary record are coupled with the type locality’s rich educational opportunities. The opening of the Coon Creek Science Center in 1990 has established the Coon Creek Formation as the logical necessary focal point for educational programs and renewed scientific studies of the Cretaceous in the Mississippi Embayment of Tennessee.