Miguasha National Park Canada

Miguasha National Park is a palaeontological site of Miguasha National Park, in south-eastern Quebec on the southern coast of the Gaspe Peninsula, is considered to be the world's most outstanding illustration of the Devonian Period known as the 'Age of Fishes'. Dating from 370 million years ago, the Upper Devonian Escuminac Formation represented here contains five of the six fossil fish groups associated with this period. Its significance stems from the discovery there of the highest number and best-preserved fossil specimens of the lobe-finned fishes that gave rise to the first four-legged, air-breathing terrestrial vertebrates – the tetrapods.

Continent: North America

Country: Canada

Category: Natural

Criterion: (VIII)

Date of Inscription: 1999

The Tetrapodes

The representation of vertebrate life, Miguasha is the most outstanding fossil site in the world for illustrating the Devonian as the "Age of Fishes". The area is of paramount importance in having the greatest number and best preserved fossil specimens found anywhere in the world of the lobe-finned fishes that gave rise to the first four-legged, air-breathing terrestrial vertebrates - the tetrapodes.

Fossil Fishes

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Grey Rock Sediments

1 km wide formation extends for a distance of 8 km along the north shore of the Ristigouche River. The formation, extending 300-600 m underground, is represented by four distinct outcrops. The most important of these extends for a distance of 3 km and basically constitutes the park. Constituted essentially of grey rock sediments, the Escuminac Formation (dating from 350-375 million years ago) is composed of alternating layers of thick sandstone, silt and calcareous schists.

The Fleurant Formation is found at the base of the Formation, while the summit is lined by the carboniferous Bonaventure Formation, whose reddish colour is the origin of the word Miguasha in the language of the Micmacs.

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