If yon do not need this report after it has served your purpose, please return it to the Geological Survey, using the official mailing label at the end UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Harold L. Ickes, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY W. C. Mendenhall, Director Professional Paper 186—M A REDESCRIPTION OF FERDINAND ROEMER'S PALEOZOIC TYPES FROM TEXAS BY JOSIAH BRIDGE AND GEORGE H. GIRTY Shorter contributions to general geology, 1936 (Pages 239-271) UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1937 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. ----- - Price 10 cents CONTENTS Page Abstract _-___----_--___________-_________________________________________-__________--_____....___..-_..-_____ 239 Acknowledgments -__-_.---_-_____----_______________._______-_____-_________--___-___--_-_-_-_-_-___-_--.__ 239 History....._____._.___________.___________________________________________________„____________________.___ 239 Roemer's localities._----_--__---_--__.__._________________._-_________-_-____--_--___-______-_-_-.__-__-___-_ 241 Roemer's observations on the Paleozoic stratigraphy of Texas. ___._____-___-_-____--.-_-_--____--_-.__-__--_-_----_ 242 Description of species._______________________________________________________________________________________ 244 Cambrian species, by Josiah Bridge--___-_____________________________-______-_____---_-_-_--_---_-_-_--_._ 244 Brachiopoda ________________________________________________________________________________________ 244 Trilobita__..___._.___._____..._______.____.________._._._.___________.„______.___._.__________._.___ 246 Ordovician species, by Josiah Bridge_------_-_-___-__.-__---_-____---_---_---_----------_---_---_--_------- 257 Gastropoda _____-_-_-_-_-____„_________________._____________________._._______________-_______.____ 257 Carboniferous species, by George_H. Girty._________________________________________________________________ 261 ILLUSTRATIONS Page PLATE 66. A, Ruins of the Mission San Saba, "the old Spanish fort" of Roemer, about a mile west of Menard, Tex.; B, Lower part of the Wilberns formation on north bank of San Saba River at ford half a mile east of high­ way bridge at Camp San Saba.________________________-_--_____-______--_._--_-_--___-___---_- 244 PLATES 67-70. Ferdinand Roemer's Paleozoic types from Texas and specimens compared with them___________________ 267 A REDESCRIPTION OF FERDINAND ROEMER'S PALEOZOIC TYPES FROM TEXAS By JOSIAH BRIDGE and GEORGE H. GIRTY ABSTRACT the American Journal of Science,2 makes no mention of This paper presents a redescription of the types of the Paleozoic Paleozoic rocks, but he comments on specimens of fossils from the Central Mineral Region of Texas originally granite which had been brought to him from outcrops described by Ferdinand Roemer in 1849 and 1852, which have north of Fredericksburg. long been, inaccessible to American students. These descrip­ A second preliminary paper, written after his return tions are accompanied by new figures which include the type specimens, topotypes now in the United States National to Europe,3 gives a brief account of his trip to the San Museum, and the types of several other species that are now Saba River, describes the route traveled, notes the considered to be synonyms. The localities that furnished the occurrence of granite, Lower Silurian (so designated original specimens have been reestablished within fairly narrow by him) and Carboniferous rocks, and gives brief limits, and the stratigraphic horizons have been accurately descriptions of them. He mentions the occurrence of determined. The type material has been compared with mate­ rial from other parts of the United States, and the geographic Asaphus, Bronteus, Euomphalus, Spirijer, Productus, range of several of the forms has been greatly extended. and Terebratula but gives no descriptions. In 1849 he published a comprehensive report on his travels in ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Texas,4 a popular account intended primarily for The authors are deeply indebted to Dr. N. Tilman, German emigrants. The greater portion of the book curator of the Museum of Geology and Paleontology, consists of the journal of his trip, together with many of the University of Bonn, Germany, for the loan of the observations about the country, its resources and inhab­ type material and for the information furnished with it. itants. Chapters 19 to 22 describe his journey into They are also indebted to Prof. A. K. Miller, of the the Central Mineral Region. Besides the narrative, State University of Iowa, for the loan of a large number there is an introductory chapter which gives a brief of specimens from the Deadwood formation of the summary of the history of the State, an account of its Black Hills, South Dakota. geography, climate, agricultural and mineral resources, The relocation of some of the type localities and the the history of the German settlements within the State, collection of some of the topotype material was done and a bibliography of books and other published articles by Josiah Bridge in 1934 in the course of an investiga­ relating to Texas.4a tion aided by a grant from the Penrose Bequest of the At the end of the book there is a scientific appendix Geological Society of America. in which his geologic, zoologic, and botanic observations are collected and summarized. The Paleozoic strata HISTORY of the Central Mineral Region and 11 species of fossils In 1845, 1846, arid 1847 Dr. Ferdinand Roemer, a found in them are described. This constitutes the noted German geologist and paleontologist, spent about first published report on the Paleozoic stratigraphy and 17 months traveling in the then newly annexed State of paleontology of Texas. He lists the following Paleozoic Texas, gathering scientific data, and also visiting the species, and describes those preceded by an asterisk. various German settlements to obtain information of The age designations in this list are his. general interest to emigrants. The greater part of this 1. *Lingula acutangula, n. sp. Silurian. time was spent in the Coastal Plain and the Edwards 2. Orthis, sp. ind. Silurian. Plateau, which at that time were the settled portions of 3. Orthis umbraculum L. v. Buch. Carboniferous. 4. Terebratula pugnus Sowerby. Carboniferous. the State. In the course of this trip he spent about a 5. *Spirifer meusebachianus, n. sp. Carboniferous. month in the Central Mineral Region, which was then 6. *Productus, sp. ind. Carboniferous. Indian country, and he seems to have been the first 7. *Productus, sp. ind. Carboniferous. geologist to recognize and describe the Paleozoic rocks 8. *Euomphalus polygyratus, n. sp. Silurian. in that region.1 2 Roemer, F., A sketch of the geology of Texas: Am. Jour. Sci., 2d ser., vol. 2, pp. Roemer's first account of the geology of Texas, con­ 358-365, 1846. 3 Roemer, F., Contributions to the geology of Texas: Am. Jour. Sci., 2d ser., vol. 6, tained in a letter written from the field to the editor of pp. 21-28, 1848. 4 Roemer, F., Texas, mit besonderer Rucksicht auf deutsche Auswanderung und i See Hill, R. T., The present condition of knowledge of the geology of Texas: die physischen Verhaltnisse des Landes, xiv, 464 pp., Bonn, 1849. U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 45, pp. 15-18, 1887. Comstock, T. B., Texas Geol. Survey 4a In 1935 a translation of these portions of the work, by Oswald Mueller, was 1st Ann. Rept, pp. 240-241, 1889 [1890]. published in San Antonio. 239 240 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1936 9. *Euomphalus sanctisabae, n. sp. Silurian. He now compared the trilobites and the Lingvla, de­ 10. *Pterocephalia sanctisabae, n. sp. Silurian. scribed by Roemer with those figured by Owen and 11. *Pygidium of a trilobite, gen. and sp. unknown. Silurian. Hall, noted the similarity of their stratigraphic position, The report is accompanied by a hand-colored re­ and concluded that Roemer had found the Primordial connaissance map, which shows his interpretation of fauna in Texas and that it was the equivalent of the the geology of the State and also his approximate route lowermost Paleozoic in Wisconsin and New York. from Fredericksburg to the San Saba River and return.41* He also observed that the various species of Euomphalus In 1852 Roomer's monumental work on the Creta­ which Roemer had described had not been found in ceous formations of Texas was published.5 Although association with the trilobites and correctly concluded devoted primarily to the description of the Cretaceous that they indicated a younger fauna. rocks and fossils, it contains an appendix in which, Roemer's two reports have been of great value to among other things, are descriptions of the Paleozoic students of Texas geology, but they are among the strata and fossils. In all, he describes 12 species from rarities of early American geologic literature. As the the Lower Silurian (so designated by him) and Car­ types of the Cretaceous and Paleozoic species described boniferous. He redescribes the five new species of the in them are preserved in the Geological and Paleonto- previous report and adds a sixth, assigns four forms to logical Museum of the University of Bonn and are previously described species, and describes two trilobites therefore not readily accessible to American students, without referring them to a genus. These descriptions the precise identification of many of the species has long are accompanied by a lithographed plate on which all been a difficult matter. Notwithstanding these diffi­ the species described, except Terebratula pugnus culties, the satisfactory identification of most of the Sowerby and Productus cora D'Orbigny, are illustrated. Cretaceous species has long since been accomplished, The list of species, with Roemer's age designations, is but there are very few references to the Paleozoic forms as follows: except bibliographic citations. This may be due in 1. *Spirifer meusebachanus. Carboniferous. part to the fact that, being attached to a report en­ 2. *Orthis arachnoidea Philh'ps. Carboniferous. titled "The Cretaceous formations of Texas," the 3.