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Archaeocyatha from the Colville and Salmo Area

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Archaeocyatha from the Colville and Salmo Area ARCHAEOCYATHA FROM THE COLVILLE AND SALMO AREA OF WASHINGTON AND BRITISH COLUMBIA by ROBERT G. GREGGS B.A., Queen's University, 1955 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF APPLIED SCIENCE in the Department of GEOLOGY AMD GEOGRAPHY We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard Members of the Department of GEOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHY THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA April, 1957 NOTE This title page is incorrect. The program of the ceremony of Congregration indicates Master of Science, and the Registrar's Office confirms this. U.B.C. Library, May 27, 1957. i ABSTRACT Archaeocyathids are an extinct group of animals that lived and thrived in the warm, clear marine waters of the Lower Cambrian. In general shape, they resemble rugose corals, but in skeletal details, numerous differences between these groups exist, i.e. inner and outer walls, central cavities, parieties, etc. are unique to Archaeocyathids. The Archaeocyathids which are the subject of this thesis were collected by Dr. H. Little from the South Fork of the Salmo River, and from north.of Colville, Washington. In the Salmo area, they occur in a narrow band of limestone at the base of the Laib group. The Colville collection is from an outcrop of Old Dominion limestone. The identification and description of the species present in these collections are the main considerations of the thesis. Two new species are described, Ethmophyllum lineatus and Syringocnema colvillensis. The former species occurs in the Lower Cambrian limestone of the Laib group, Salmo area; the latter is repor• ted from the Old Dominion limestone of the Colville area. Archaeocyathids may be useful in the correlation of Lower Cambrian formations, providing further accurately located (stratigraphically) collections are made. At present, insuf• ficient stratigraphic data are available to erect Archaeocyathid zones. However, some attempt to correlate the known Archaeo• cyathid occurrences is made. In correlating the ten known Archaeocyathid occur• rences from Washington to the Yukon Territory, it is suggested ii that the most southerly, Colville, Washington, is stratigra- phically lower than the Salmo occurrence, and that the latter is, in turn, stratigraphically lower than the northern localities. These northern occurrences are considered to be late Lower Cambrian. The age assigned to the northern localities is, in general, based on stratigraphic and paleontological evidence other than that afforded by Archaeo- cyathids. The occurrences of Archaeocyathids in the northern part of the Cordillera are given below with their related lithologic unit where possible: 1) Colville, Washington - Old Dominion limestone 2) Salmo, B.C. - lower part of the Laib group 3) Dogtooth Range, B.C. - Donald formation 4) Quesnel Lake, B.C. - Cariboo series 5) Sinclair Mills, B.C. - 6) Pine Pass, B.C. - Misinchinka schists 7) Aiken Lake, B.C. - upper Wolverine complex 8) McDame Creek, B.C. - Atan group 9) Wolf Lake, Yukon Territory - Lord's group B and c units 10) Quiet Lake, Yukon Territory - It is believed that these occurrences outline the western edge of the geosyncline present in this region in Lower Cambrian time. In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his representative. It is under• stood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of Geology and Geography, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver 8, Canada, Date April 1, 1957. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writer wishes to acknowledge the invaluable assistance given by Dr. V. J. Okulitch in identification of species, preparation of illustrations, and translation of several Russian publications. Grateful acknowledgment is made to Dr. G. E. Rouse for many thought-provoking discussions on the problems in• volved. To Mr. D. W. Angold, many thanks for his many valuable suggestions. Finally, thanks are due to Mrs. W. Little and my wife for their constructive criticism of the manuscript. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii ARCHAEOCYATHA FROM THE COLVILLE AND SALMO AREAS OF WASHINGTON AND BRITISH COLUMBIA Introduction 1 Distribution and Morphology of Archaeocyatha . Morphology 2 Distribution 3 SYSTEMATIC DESCRIPTIONS OF ARCHAEOCYATHA FROM THE COLVILLE AND SALMO AREAS OF WASHINGTON AND BRITISH COLUMBIA Faunal List of Archaeocyatha Colville Area 5 Salmo Area 6 Genus Monocyathus Bedford and Bedford 7 Monocyathus sp 7 Genus Archaeopharetra Bedford and Bedford .... 7 Archaeopharetra typica Bedford and Bedford . 8 Genus A.jacicyathus Bedford and Bedford 11 A.jacicyathus nevadensis (Okulitch) ..... 11 Ajacicyathus rimouski"~0kulitch 12 Genus Archaeocyathellus Ford 13 Archaeocyathellus sp 13 Genus Ethmophyllum Meek 14 Ethmophyllum americanum Okulitch 15 Ethmophyllum whitneyi Meek 16 Ethmophyllum lineatus n. sp 17 Genus Archaeocyathus Billings 18 Archaeocyathus atlanticus Billings 19 Archaeocyathus borealis Okulitch 20 Genus Protopharetra Bornemann 21 Protopharetra dunbari Okulitch 22 Protopharetra sp 23 Page Genus Pycnoidocyathus Taylor 24 Pycnoidocyathus columbianus (Okulitch) .... 24 Pycnoidocyathus amourensis (Okulitch) .... 26 Genus Dendrocyathus Okulitch and Roots 28 Dendrocyathus~sp 28 Genus Archaeosycon Taylor 29 Archaeosycon sp 29 Genus Claruscyathus Vologdin .... 30 Claruscyathus solidus Vologdin 30 Genus Syringoenema Taylor 31 Syringoenema colvillensis n. sp 31 Genus Syringocyathus Vologdin 33 Syringocyathus canadensis Okulitch 33 ARCHAEOCYATHID LOCALITIES IN WASHINGTON, BRITISH COLUMBIA AND THE YUKON TERRITORY Colville, Washington 36 Salmo, B.C 39 Dogtooth Mountains, B.C 41 Sinclair Mills, B.C 43 Quesnel Lake and Pine Pass, B.C. 44 Aiken Lake, B.C 45 McDame Area, B.C 46 Wolf Lake, Yukon Territory 47 Quiet Lake, Yukon Territory 4# CONCLUSION 49 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 50 BIBLIOGRAPHY , 52 EXPLANATION OF PLATES 60 Plate I - Monocyathus sp., Archaeopharetra typica, Claruscyathus solidus, A.jacicyathus nevadensis, Archaeosycon sp., Facing page 60 Plate II - Protopharetra sp., Protopharetra dunbari, Archaeocyathus borealis, Archaeocyathus atlanticus, Ajacicyathus nevadensis, Pycnoidocyathus~cblumbianus, Pycnoidocyathus sp. ". '. '. .Facing page 62 Page Plate III - Ajacicyathus rimouski, Archaeocyathus borealis, Syringocnema colvillensis n. sp., Ethmophyllum whitneyi, Pycnoidocyathus amourensis, Ethmophyl• lum americanum, Pycnoidocyathus cf. columbianus, Syringocyathus sp.., Facing page 64 Plate IV - Protopharetra dunbari, Ethmophyllum lineatus n. sp., Ethmophyllum americanum, Ethmophyllum cf. americanum, Ethmophyllum whitneyi, A.jacicyathus nevadensis, Archaeocyathellus sp. Archaeocyathus atlanticus, Facing page 66 ARCHAEOCYATHA FROM THE COLVILLE AMD SALMO AREAS OF WASHINGTON AND BRITISH COLUMBIA INTRODUCTION In 1948, Dr. H. Little of the Geological Survey of Canada, made a fine collection of Archaeocyathids from the Lower Cambrian of the Salmo area. The fossils were collected "in the eastern part of the map area, from the 200-foot band of limestone at the base of the Laib group, from a point 1,000 feet south of the International Boundary to a point nearly 5 miles to the north". (Little, 1950). This material was sent to the University of British Columbia for study by Dr. V. J. Okulitch. The faunal list of Archaeo• cyathids from this area was published in Dr. Little's report (Little, 1950), but no detailed descriptions of these Archaeocyathids were made. In the following year, 1949, Dr. Little made another extensive collection of Archaeocyathids from the Colville area, from a west-facing bluff of Old Dominion limestone about 1 mile north of Colville, Washington. This material had not been examined in any detail previous to this thesis. Both of the above collections were later supplemen• ted with material collected by Dr. Okulitch from the same localities. The Archaeocyathids were preserved in limestones of three main types. The limestone containing the best preserved 2 fossils was medium grey, fine-grained, and contained little argillaceous material. A second limestone contained such quantities of brown argillaceous material that the latter re• placed outer portions of the Archaeocyathids. Consequently, the preservation of fossils in this matrix was poor. The third limestone was a creamy white, slightly metamorphosed rock in which the Archaeocyathids appeared as mere shadowy outlines. The specific determination of fossils in this last rock type was very difficult. Sixty thin-sections containing 275 specimens were made from the Colville material,, and eleven polished rock samples incorporating some fifty specimens from the Salmo area were studied. The identification and description of these specimens comprise the main portion of this thesis. An attempt to correlate the Lower Cambrian of Washington, British Columbia and the Yukon is made using Archaeocyathids and relevant geologic reports. Faunal lists from the above areas are included, and the problem of zoning the Lower Cambrian on the basis of Archaeocyathids is discussed briefly. DISTRIBUTION AND MORPHOLOGY.OF ARCHAEOCYATHA Morphology Typical skeletons of Archaeocyathids are cone- or. cup-shaped, but saucer-like, crenulated forms do occur. The skeletons are
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