Bivalvia, Pholadidae) and Neritopsis (Gastropoda
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Meded. Werkgr. Tert. Kwart. Geol. 25(2-3) 163-174 1 fig., 2 pis Leiden, oktober 1988 Jouannetia (Bivalvia, Pholadidae) and Neritopsis (Gastropoda, Neritopsidae), two molluscs from the Danian (Palaeocene) of the Maastricht area (SE Netherlands and NE Belgium) by J.W.M. Jagt Venlo, The Netherlands and A.W. Janssen Rijksmuseum van Geologie en Mineralogie, Leiden, The Netherlands Jagt, & A.W. Janssen Jouannetia (Bivalvia, Pholadidae) and Neritopsis (Gastropoda, Neritopsidae), two molluscs from the Danian (Palaeocene) of the Maastricht area (SE Netherlands and NE Belgium). —Meded. Werkgr. Tert. Kwart. Geol., 25(2-3): 163-174, 1 fig., 2 pis. Leiden, October 1988. SE Netherlands From Danian deposits in the (Curfs quarry at Geulhem) and NE Belgium (Albert Canal section) two interesting mollusc species are described and illustrated, viz. the bivalve Jouannetia of internal external moulds, (Jouannetia) sp., known in the form and the known its The and gastropod Neritopsis sp., exclusively by opercula. main purpose of this paper is to stimulate future research into the Danian mollusc faunas in this part of the North Sea Basin. J.W.M. Jagt, 2de Maasveldstraat 47, 5921 JN Venlo, The Netherlands; A.W. Janssen, Rijksmuseum van Geologie en Mi- neralogie, Hooglandse Kerkgracht 17, 2312 HS Leiden, The Netherlands. Contents 164 ■ Samenvatting, p. Introduction, p. 164 Some notes on the mollusc fauna of the former Curfs quarry at Geulhem, 165 p. 166 Systematic part, p. 173 Acknowledgement, p. References, p. 173. 164 Samenvatting uit Jouannetia (Bivalvia, Pholadidae) en Neritopsis (Gastropoda, Neritopsidae), twee mollusken het Danien (Paleoceen) in de omgeving van Maastricht (ZO Nederland en NE België). de De molluskenfauna van Kalksteen van Geulhem (Houthem Formatie; Paleoceen, Danien) uit de Maastricht is helaas hoewel het in de omgeving van nog vrijwel onbestudeerd, rijke fauna’s, zij vorm kernen Met is dit het in de Curfs Geulhem van en afdrukken, aanwezig zijn. name geval groeve te de in het (gem. Valkenburg aan Geul) en ontsluitingen langs Albertkanaal, juist op Belgisch grond- gebied. Ter het onderzoek deze Paleocene molluskenfauna’s worden in dit artikel stimulering van van interessante nader n.l. boormossel twee soorten beschreven, Jouannetia (Jouannetia) sp., een waarvan kernen en afdrukken gevonden zijn in de groeve Curfs, en de gastropode Neritopsis sp., waarvan tot heden alleen de bekend Beide soorten worden in nomenclatuur op kalkige opercula zijn. open vermeld. Introduction several of microfossils the the In contrast to groups and, among macrofossils, Echinodermata, molluscs from the Palaeocene deposits in the Maastricht area have received only little attention. The main for this of their of Since all is reason is, course, state preservation. aragonite matter always in form of moulds and dissolved in the deposits concerned, most mollusc shells are only found the and and attractiveness collectors. casts are therefore difficult to study of little to the has been devoted the of these Palaeocene Up to present day no paper to study molluscs, several described in the Cretaceous mollusc faunas from the although species were papers treating same area (Binkhorst van den Binkhorst, 1873; Bosquet, 1860, 1868). It was only in the mid 1950s that the of the chalks in the Maastricht of Palaeocene upper parts area were recognized as being age almost earlier (Hofker, 1955), although a century Triger (1860, see Jagt & Janssen, 1988, this issue) de in had already compared these deposits with the Tuffeau Ciply, likewise a Palaeocene deposit the Mons Basin, Belgium. No mollusc material of has been in collections from any importance ever brought together public the two main localities yielding Palaeocene mollusc faunas, which have been accessible during the last decades (the former Curfs quarry at Geulhem, and temporary outcrops along the Albert Canal between Vroenhoven and In the Curfs it is still to collect material Veldwezelt). quarry possible new next but the the Albert Canal for the (see section), exposures along are, greater part, no longer accessible. Here several levels contained concentrations of molluscs; some material from this locality is in the collection present van Birgelen (Heerlen) (van der Ham, pers. comm.). In the context of a renewed interest in the Palaeocene in The Netherlands it is regrettable that so little attention is to the molluscs, useful not for paid a potentially very group, only biostratigraphic but correlations, also for palaeoecological interpretations. It is therefore the sincere hope of the pres- authors that ent one or more malaco-palaeontologists will take up the challenge in the near future. As stimulus such worthwhile of molluscs a to a project preliminary descriptions two very interesting in this are given paper. 165 SOME NOTES ON THE MOLLUSC FAUNA OF THE FORMER CURFS QUARRY AT GEULHEM In the Curfs Palaeocene molluscs in viz. in the middle quarry occur predominantly two levels, part and of the Geulhem Member, about 3.5-4 m above the Vroenhoven Horizon, near the top of the member. In both cases moulds and casts of molluscs are found in indurated limestones, generally details of form and enable identification. These indurated of showing sufficient sculpture to parts the limestone in friable in but the sediment occur more chalks, which molluscs are equally present, is for be collected and for too crumbly the specimens to preserved satisfactorily, except some calcific mollusc like which dissolved. shells, oysters, are not Fig. 1. Schematic lithology ofthe formerCurfs quarry at Geulhem, Valkenburg aan de Geul, province of Lim- burg, The Netherlands; with indication of the mollusc-bearing levels (*) and the level in which Jouan- netia was found. Kwartaire During Whitsuntide 1988 the 'Werkgroep voor Tertiaire en Geologic' organized a the first author. this the second author collected fieldtrip to the Curfs quarry, directed by During trip mollusc material for the collections of some the Rijksmuseum van Geologie en Mineralogie (RGM) least This collected from both at Leiden, where now at some specimens are present. material, the smaller of the mollusc-bearing levels, comprises mainly and, course, more common species. 166 Bivalves abundant than but also this latter remarkable are more gastropods, among group a diversity can be noted. Common bivalves are, for instance, Lucinidae, Carditidae, Astartidae and Cardiidae. the Turritella the Naticidae Among gastropods a sp. is most common representative, but are not very rare either. SYSTEMATIC PART Classis Bivalvia Subclassis Heterodonta Ordo Myoida Subordo Pholadina Superfamilia Pholadoidea Familia Pholadidae Lamarck, 1809 Subfamilia Jouannetiinae Tryon, 1862 Genus Jouannetia Desmoulins, 1828 Subgenus Jouannetia s.str. Type species— Jouannetia semicaudata Desmoulins, 1828 by original designation (Miocene, Aquitaine '? stated Basin, France; not Eocene', as by Turner, 1969, p. N719). Jouannetia (Jouannetia) sp. Pl. 1, Figs 1a-b, 2a-b. Material studied—Two bivalved internal moulds of adult specimens with parts of corresponding exter- nal moulds RGM external mould (coll. 229 349a-d), one fragmentary (coll. RGM 229 349e), one external mould of bivalved juvenile specimen (coll. RGM 229 368); all leg./don. J.W.M. Jagt (ex coll. unnumbered and All this material collected from the Jagt resp. nos 3852, 3853, 4369). was Geulhem Member in the former Curfs Ankersmit (Houthem Formation), exposed quarry (now of de The Holding B.V.), at Geulhem, municipality Valkenburg aan Geul, province of Limburg, Netherlands. Specimens RGM 229 349a-e (ex coll. Jagt nos 3852, 3853 and unnumbered) stem from 1.5 below the the upper part of the section exposed, c. m upper boundary of the Geulhem Member. Explanation of Plate 1. Figs 1-2. Jouannetia (Jouannetia) sp. Former Curfs at Geulhem, aan de Geul, The Netherlands, 1.5 m below quarry Valkenburg c. upper boundary of Geulhem Member (Houthem Formation; Palaeocene, Danian). 1a: external mould; 1b: internal mould, umbonal view (diameter 14 mm); leg. J.W.M. Jagt, coll. RGM 229 349b and 229 349c. 2a: internal mould, right lateral view; 2b: dto, umbonal view (diameter 11.6 mm); leg. J.W.M. Jagt, coll. RGM 229 349e. Figs 3-6. Neritopsis sp., opercula. Albert Canal section, North ofVroenhoven bridge, East bank near km mark 24.500, at Riemst, Belgium, c. 8-9 m above Vroenhoven Horizon, Geulhem Member (Houthem Formation; Palaeocene, Danian); leg. J.W.M. Jagt, coll. RGM 229 369-229 372. 3a-6a: exterior views; 3b-6b: interior views (heights resp. 7.4, 8.2, 8.0 and 5.6 mm). 167\1 168 3.5-4 Specimen RGM 229 368 (ex Jagt no 4369) is from the middle part of the section, c. m above the Vroenhoven Horizon, which marks the base of the Geulhem Member. Description —The two available internal moulds have the following dimensions (in mm): height length diameter RGM 229 349c 14.4 14.2+ 14.0 RGM 229 349e 12.7 13.3 11.6 of is filled The larger one these moulds damaged or incompletely with matrix, thus obscuring both details of its posterior part. On one or of these specimens the following details of the original shells visible: shell almost but somewhat than are very globose, symmetrical, spherical, longer high anterior of the individuals is and slightly tapering backwards. The truly spherical part completely closed the the left of which that of by callum, part slightly overlaps the right valve. The upper part of the callum reaches beyond the umbones in both valves (lateral view, PI. 1, Fig. 2a). Between the protruding parts of the callum and the umbones lie the considerably thickened anterior dorsal margins, bo'th bearing a distinctly impressed muscle scar at their extreme ends. The boundary and the callum in between the anterior margin is distinct both valves, as the shell apparently was less in clear the inner thin-walled than the callum, resulting a constriction on moulds. The anterior and of shell somewhat smaller 90°. posterior margins the meet ventrally, enclosing an angle than An internal in of dorso-ventral ridge is only distinct the left valve, preceded by a slight swelling which also in also the shell-wall, is present the right valve.