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Paleobiota of the Latah Formation

The paleobiota of the Latah Formation encompasses both floral and faunal elements preserved in temporary lacustrine environments formed between eruptive phases of the Columbia River Basalts in central to east Eastern Washington and central to north Idaho. The Latah Formation is centered around the greater Spokane area, with a western extent outcropping at Grand Coulee and the eastern margins as far southeast as the area of White Bird, Idaho. Dating of the core Spokane sites is based on the host Grande Ronde Basalts which give an age range of 16.5 to 16.1 million years ago. The Clarkia fossil beds lagerstätte site are slightly younger, being interbedded in the Wanapum Basalts Priest Rapids Member with an age constraint of 16.1 to 15.9 million years ago, or Early Barstovian in age.

Plants
The initial taxonomic work on the flora was undertaken by Frank Knowlton with assistance from diatom specialist Albert Mann and bryologist Elizabeth Britton. Their combined work was published as a supplemental chapter to the initial 1926 descriptive work by Joseph Pardee and Kirk Bryan. After Knowlton's death in November 1926, his revision of the Latah flora was taken over by Edward W. Berry who also erroneously included strata of the much older Klondike Mountain Formation around Republic, Washington. This error was noted and corrected in later works by Roland W. Brown. Ralph W. Cheney and Daniel I. Axelrod broke the Latah into four major florules, Grand Coulee and Spokane in Washington plus Coeur d'Alene and White Bird in Idaho, while noting several "miscellaneous" sites as well. Modern works have concentrated more on single taxa and certain florules. Mosses Lycopods Ferns Ginkgos Conifers Basal dicots Monocots Magnoliids Ceratophyllales Basal eudicots Superasterids - basal Superasterids Superrosids - Basal Superrosids - Fabids Superrosids - Malvids incertae sedis ==Fungi==
Fungi
The Clarkia outcrops is noted for exceptionally good palynological preservation, with a number of fungal palynomorphs preserved at the sites. ==Insects==
Algae
An initial survey of Latah Formation diatoms was conduced by Albert Mann at the behest of Frank Hall Knowlton. Based on sample material recovered from a well west of Mica, Washington, itself southeast of Spokane, Mann identified a large number of diatomaceous species, including 10 new species. Mann noted the diatoms appear to have lived under stressed conditions caused by caustic water, with many of the specimens showing malformed shapes or blurred ornamentations. The typical cause of this in diatoms is a high concentration of dissolved mineral salts in the water body. ==References==
Source: Wikipedia ↗
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