A Rudistid from the Clay of Kemp
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If you 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 A NEW UPPER CRETACEOUS RUDISTID FROM THE KEMP CLAY OF TEXAS GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 19&-A UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Harold L. Ickes, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY W. C. M endenhall, Director Professional Paper 193-A A NEW UPPER CRETACEOUS RUDISTID FROM THE KEMP CLAY OF TEXAS BY LLOYD WILLIAM STEPHENSON Shorter contributions to general geology, 1938 (Pages 1-15) UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1938 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. ------- Price 25 cents CONTENTS Page Abstract _ ____-_____________-___________-______________________-__---_____---_-------_---------------_------- 1 Introduction __________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1 Description of species____________________________________________-_--_-___-_---_-------_-------_-------_---_--_ 3 Bibliography__ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6 ILLUSTRATIONS Page PLATES 1-5. Upper Cretaceous rudistids____________-_________________________-_______-_______--_______--_____-_- 9 II SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1938 A NEW UPPER CRETACEOUS RUDISTID FROM THE KEMP CLAY OF TEXAS By LLOYD WILLIAM STEPHENSON ABSTRACT talium sp., Sphenodiscus sp., and Discoscaphites sp. The paper describes a new rudistid species, Titanosarcolites This associated fauna is strictly a Gulf Coastal Plain oddsensis, from the Kemp clay (Maestrichtian), the uppermost formation of the Upper Cretaceous of Texas, and the uppermost assemblage not known in the Carribbean Upper Cre of four formations composing the Navarro group. The genus taceous. Titanosarcolites Trechmann (1924) is founded on a rudistid Rudistids are rare in the Navarro group of Texas. species from Jamaica, first described by Whitfield in 1897 as The sum total of the known rudistid material from the Caprinula gigantea. Titanosarcolites giganteus (Whitfield) has Navarro consists of Durania sp., too poorly preserved subsequently been recorded from Cuba, questionably from the Island of St. Croix, and from Chiapas, Mexico. This is the for specific identification, found in the Neylandville first record of Titanosarcolites as far north as Texas. Since the marl in Navarro County, a more completely preserved Maestrichtian age of the Kemp clay is generally accepted, the undescribed species of Sauvagesia? from the Corsicanr. presence in it of this tropical genus tends to confirm the Maes marl near San Antonio, Bexar County, the large shell trichtian age of the rudistid fauna of the Caribbean region, which here described, from Falls County, and a few frag includes in addition to this genus, Barrettia Woodward, Prae- barrettia Trechmann, Bournonia Mac Gillavry, Biradiolites ments from scattered localities. D'Orbigny, Antillocaprina Trechmann, Tampsia Stephenson, The Falls County shell is here referred to the genur Lapeirousia Bayle, and other genera. Outside of the Caribbean Titanosarcolites Trechmann. Although closely related region and north of it representatives of this fauna have been to the genotype, Titanosarcolites giganteus (Whitfield), recorded from Guatemala (Barrettia and Biradiolites), Chiapas, from Jamaica, it possesses distinctive specific char Mexico (Barrettia and Titanosarcolites), and Tamaulipas, Mexico (Tampsia). The species Titanosarcolites oddsensis, here de acters and is described below under the new name T. scribed, indicates the range of at least one member of the fauna oddsensis. as far north as the Gulf Coastal Plain of Texas, and fragmentary The recorded distribution of material referred to T. material indicates the range of this or a closely related genus in the giganteus indicates that in places the individuals of thir Western Interior of the United States as far north as Montana. species made up a considerable part of the rudistid fauns, of the Jamaica-Cuba- region hi late Upper Cretaeeour INTRODUCTION time. However, according to its recorders, most of the A new paleontologic link between the Upper Cre material studied is incompletely and imperfectly pre taceous series of the Gulf Coastal Plain and that of served, and Mac Gillavry (1937, p. 86) is of the opinior Jamaica, Cuba, and other West Indian islands, is af that it may represent more than one species. The forded by a large rudistid shell found by me in Falls associated rudistid fauna is a varied one, including County, Tex., in November 1936. The specimen was forms that have been referred to Barrettia Woodward, obtained from the upper part of the Kemp clay, the Praebarrettia Trechmann, Bournonia Mac Gillavry, uppermost formation of the Cretaceous series and the Biradiolites D'Orbigny, Antillocaprina Trechmann, uppermost of the four formations composing the Tampsia Stephenson, Lapeirousia Bayle, and other Navarro group. Though incomplete and externally genera. Representatives of this rudistid fauna have poorly preserved, the specimen internally clearly reveals been recorded from Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti (Woodring1 on polished surfaces many of the bizarre structural and Brown, 1924, pp. 97-98), Puerto Rico? (Hubbard, features of the group of rudistids to which it belongs. The shell was closely associated with numerous impure 1923, pp. 34-36), the Dominican Republic (Cooke, 1921, limonite-stained septarian concretions of calcium car p. 55), and the Island of St. Croix (Stanton in Vaughan, bonate, which were weathered out of the clay. These 1923, p. 305). The fauna is only meagerly represented concretions contained a few imperfectly preserved in the recorded material from Puerto Rico, the Domini fossils, among which were recognized Crenella serica can Republic, and Haiti, and Titanosarcolites has not Conrad, Turritella vertebroides Morton (var.), Den- been recognized in these places. 41442—38 1 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL, GEOLOGY, 1938 Rudistids are primarily indigenous to tropical and view that the Caribbean beds carrying Titanosarcolites semitropical seas, but they spread sparingly into tem are of Maestrichtian age. A characteristic faunal perate seas. So far as known the northern limit of the element of the Kemp clay and its age equivalents in range of rudistids in the Upper Cretaceous series of the the Coastal Plain is the genus Sphenodiscus Meek, Gulf Coastal Plain is latitude 36° N. A few specimens represented by several species. There is general agree belonging to Durania Douvill6 or Sauvagesia Bayle? ment among students of Upper Cretaceous paleontology have been found in east-central and northeastern Texas, that the Sphenodiscus-beaxuig beds of the Atlantic and southwestern Arkansas, Mississippi as far north as Gulf Coastal Plain are of Maestrichtian age. One West Point, and Alabama in the vicinity of Selma and apparent exception to the restricted range of Spheno Montgomery. One small fragment, recorded as Capri- discus is the discovery by Prof. F. L. Whitney, cited nella coraloidea Hall and Meek? has been found in by Stephenson (1933, pp. 1357-1358), of one small McNairy County, Term. (Wade, 1926, p. 82). No specimen of an undescribed species of the gerus in the authentic rudistids have been recorded from the Cre upper part of the Taylor marl (upper Campanian) in taceous of the Atlantic Coastal Plain east and north Travis County, Tex. One rare exception need not, east of Alabama. That the rudistid group strayed however, invalidate the usefulness of the genus in well into the Upper Cretaceous sea of the Western correlation. After all, a genus represented by several Interior is evidenced by the finding of a few small more species and many individuals in a given zone must or less fragmentary specimens in the Niobrara forma somewhere have had an evolutionary development in tion and other beds of Niobrara age and in the Pierre earlier times. shale of the Montana group, at scattered localities in The type specimens of Titanosarcolites giganteus New Mexico, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, (Whitfield) are preserved in the American Museum of South Dakota, and Montana, the one farthest north Natural History. The loan of the six specimens illus being in Wibaux County, Mont., indicating a limit of trated by Whitfield (Am. Mus. Nat. History, 9685.1-6) range at least as far as 47° N. Most of this material and permission to cut and polish two of tt^m have is undescribed, but Logan (1898, p. 494) has described made possible a critical comparison of the Texas and one species from the Niobrara formation, under the Jamaica material. For this privilege grateful acknowl name Radiolites maximus, and Hall and Meek (1856, edgment is extended to Dr. Chester A. Reeds, curator pp. 380-381) one species from the upper part of the of the department of geology and invertebrate paleon Pierre shale, under the name Caprinella coraloidea tology, who has also kindly permitted the use of the (—Titanosarcolites? coraloideus}. The Niobrara mate two illustrations showing the internal structural rial appears to belong mainly to Durania and that features of Whitfield's species. from the Montana group to Titanosarcolites or a closely I have not seen any of the recorded rudistid material related genus. The specimen from Wibaux County, identified by Mac Gillavry, Palmer, and others from Mont., mentioned above, belongs to Titanosarcolites?\ the Habana formation of Cuba but have had the