Geochemical Taphonomy of Shallow Marine Vertebrate Assemblages

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Geochemical Taphonomy of Shallow Marine Vertebrate Assemblages Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 197 (2003) 151^169 www.elsevier.com/locate/palaeo Geochemical taphonomy of shallow marine vertebrate assemblages C.N. Trueman a;Ã, M.J. Benton a, M.R. Palmer b a Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK b School of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton Oceanography Centre, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK Received26 October 2001; accepted2 May 2003 Abstract Combined histological and geochemical analyses demonstrate complex processes leading to preservation of microbially altered bone. In certain situations, a chemical microenvironment distinct from surrounding pore waters is developedandmaintainedwithinthe bone. The bone acts as a closedsystem, andhence palaeoenvironmental interpretations basedon fossil bone apatite chemistry may not accurately reflect overall geochemical conditionsof the sedimentary deposits where the bones were buried. Geochemical techniques based on variance in trace element compositions of bones from different assemblages can be used as a measure of the relative degree of mixing or taphonomic averaging within marine vertebrate assemblages. ß 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: bones; taphonomy; rare earth elements; diagenesis; redox; marine 1. Introduction pendon the amount of time over which skeletal remains are accumulated( Behrensmeyer and 1.1. Background Hook, 1992). Unfortunately, it is di⁄cult to quantify time averaging in any given fossil-bear- Many site-speci¢c processes, including the rate ing deposit, and this limits inferences that can be of destruction of organic remains and the sedi- drawn from fossil assemblages (see Behrensmeyer mentation rate, control the length of time taken et al. (2000) for a recent discussion of time aver- to form a fossil assemblage (time averaging). Time aging). Trueman andBenton (1997) and Staron et averaging is important because many taphonomic al. (2001) demonstrated that the rare earth ele- andtaxonomic features of bone assemblages de- ment (REE) composition of fossil bones from shallow marine assemblages couldbe usedto test for reworking. Such geochemical taphonomic * Corresponding author. Present address: School of Earth techniques are built upon the observation that andEnvironmental Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Bur- naby Building, Burnaby Road, Portsmouth PO1 3QL, UK. trace metals are incorporatedrapidlyinto bone E-mail address: [email protected] post mortem, andthat the relative abundanceof (C.N. Trueman). these trace metals in fossil bone re£ects, at least 0031-0182 / 03 / $ ^ see front matter ß 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0031-0182(03)00457-7 PALAEO 3142 8-8-03 152 C.N. Trueman et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 197 (2003) 151^169 in part, the microenvironment of burial. Subse- acterise the relationship between sedimentary mix- quently, Trueman (1999) discussed how variation ing andgeochemical variation in bones from in the REE content of bones within terrestrial attritional marine vertebrate assemblages. vertebrate assemblages couldbe usedto interpret The major part of the study focuses on material their accumulation andmixing history. This paper from three marine sample areas: the Upper focussedon vertebrate assemblages from terres- Triassic (Rhaetian) Westbury Formation of Aust trial settings, as the technique exploits variations Cli¡ andWestbury Garden Cli¡, Gloucestershire, in the local geochemical environment andsuch andthe Lower Cretaceous (Berriasian) Broken variations are maximisedin common terrestrial Shell Member of the Durlston Formation, Durl- settings. ston Bay, Dorset (Fig. 1). These were chosen as The marine environment is relatively homoge- sample areas as the Aust Cli¡ andWestbury Gar- neous andbu¡eredgeochemically with respect to den Cli¡ sites provide two contemporaneous shal- terrestrial environments. Consequently variations low marine siliclastic bone beds with very di¡er- in chemical abundances (e.g. REE patterns) are ent taphonmic character. These bone beds can less variedin marine settings than in terrestrial then be comparedwith the Durlston Bay bone settings. Any taphonomic techniques basedon in- bedthat formedin shallow marine carbonate fa- terpreting variation in geochemical signals will cies. The sedimentology and taphonomy of the therefore have a lower resolution in marine set- Westbury Formation are described in detail by tings. Nevertheless, geochemical techniques have Swift andMartill (1999) and Benton et al. been usedto identifyreworkedbones in Triassic (2002). The sedimentology and palaeoenviron- (Trueman andBenton, 1997 ) andCretaceous ment of the Durlston Formation are discussed (Staron et al., 2001) marine bone beds. Tradition- by Wright (1996). A brief summary is presented al taphonomic analyses provide relatively little in- below. formation for assemblages preservedin marine environments because little is known about the 1.2. The Westbury Formation processes of weathering andabrasion in subaque- ous marine settings. Consequently, even low-res- The Rhaetian stage in Northern Europe is char- olution geochemical techniques may contribute acterisedby a rapidtransgression separating the signi¢cantly to understanding taphonomic pro- terrestrial Mercia Mudstone Group from the ma- cesses in marine settings ^ if they can provide a rine Lias Group. The Rhaetic transgression forms means for distinguishing di¡erent pathways of a major sequence boundary throughout Northern bone preservation as well as identifying di¡erent Europe, andis indicatedasa major ‘Type II Se- degrees of time averaging. The trace element geo- quence Boundary’ on the sea level chart of Haq et chemistry of shallow marine pore waters is com- al. (1988). In Britain, the Rhaetic transgression plex, andpore water REE composition varies consists of a complex sequence of transgressive^ considerably both in time and space (e.g. Elder- regressive cycles, representedby the depositsof ¢eldandSholkovitz, 1987 ). This suggests that the Penarth Group. bones from shallow marine settings with subtly In the southwest of England, the Westbury contrasting sedimentary environments may inherit Formation is the lowest unit within the Penarth distinct trace metal patterns that could be used as Group. The Westbury Formation forms a non- a measure of relative mixing in attritional verte- sequence boundary within the incipient marine brate assemblages. Blue Anchor Formation in low-lying, fault- The aim of this paper is ¢rstly to investigate the bounded basins such as the Bristol Channel Basin relationship between recrystallisation andtrace el- andthe Worcester Graben. During the latest Tri- ement uptake in bones from shallow marine as- assic, structural highs such as the South Wales semblages in order to determine to what extent Massif, Mendip Massif, and Thornbury High fossil bone preserves a recordof its early deposi- stoodas landmasses or smaller islandswithin tional environment. Secondly, we attempt to char- the Westbury seas, andthe Westbury Formation PALAEO 3142 8-8-03 C.N. Trueman et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 197 (2003) 151^169 153 Fig. 1. Palaeogeographic reconstructions of the present-day British Isles during the Rhaetian (A) and Berriasian (B) stages. Maps show the position of the Aust Cli¡ andWestbury GardenCli¡ (A) andDurlston Bay (B) localities. Note that all three assem- blages are close to palaeoshorelines. oversteps onto Carboniferous limestone at the pa- beds show signs of secondary deposition, i.e. all laeoshorelines of these islands. Westbury Forma- contain reworkedvertebrate material. These con- tion faunas are also foundin sediments¢lling centratedvertebrate accumulations vary in char- some Carboniferous ¢ssures, indicating transgres- acter from exposure to exposure, however, most sion over exposedCarboniferous limestone karst are thought to represent condensation deposits surfaces. formedin relatively shallow water during the The Westbury Formation consists of grey^ transgressive phases of transgressive^regressive black pyrite-rich marine shales, with thin beds cycles (MacQuaker, 1994). It is likely, therefore, of locally pyritic and/or calcitic vertebrate-rich that the bone accumulations within the Westbury sands, and sandy, shelly limestones. Exposures Formation at separate geographical locations of the Westbury Formation are distinctive and were formedby similar processes operating at easily recognisable, andmany have been described somewhat di¡erent times; hence these accumula- in detail. In a review of 39 sections through the tions cannot be associatedwith a single transgres- Westbury Formation, basedon the accessible ex- sive event (Storrs, 1994). posures at that time together with data from the In many exposures, the basal unit of the West- literature, Sykes (1977) states that the sandand bury Formation is a distinctive conglomeratic limestone bands contained within the Westbury bone andpebble accumulation, resting uncon- Formation are laterally discontinuous, and cannot formably on the eroded Blue Anchor Formation. be usedto correlate the Westbury Formation. This basal bone bedis very similar to the verte- MacQuaker (1994) statedthat the Westbury For- brate-rich sandandpebble bedsfoundcapping mation is composedof a stackedsequence of coarsening-upwards cycles within the Westbury coarsening-upwards units, separated from one an- Formation, but it commonly has a larger average other by basal erosion surfaces, andripple-lami- clast
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