Fossils of trilobites and Marocella mira and Dailyatia have been found in the formation, named after Ernest Shackleton, who led a failed expedition into Antarctica.

At time of deposition, the Antarctic Plate has been established to be just south of the equator as part of the supercontinent Pannotia, contrasting with its present position at 82 degrees southern latitude.

[2] Paleontological data and carbon isotope stratigraphy indicate that the Shackleton Limestone ranges from lower Atdabanian through upper Botomian.

[4] The abrupt transition from the Shackleton Limestone to a large-scale, upward coarsening siliciclastic succession records deepening of the outer platform and then deposition of an eastward-prograding molassic wedge.

[5] The sandstone-rich lower member of the Shackleton Limestone is exposed at Cotton Plateau beneath Panorama Point, where it consists of up to 133 metres (436 ft) of interbedded white- to cream-weathering, vitreous, quartz sandstone and brown-weathering, white, fine-grained dolomitic grainstone.