Silurian conodont biostratigraphy of the east-central Appalachian Basin (eastern USA): Re-examination of the C.T. Helfrich Collection AlyssA M. BAncroft & BrAdley d. crAMer The conodont biozonation for the Silurian succession in the Appalachian Basin was established by C.T. Helfrich nearly half a century ago. Herein, we re­examined and updated the taxonomy of the conodont fauna and the consequent biozonation of the upper Rose Hill, Mifflintown, Wills Creek, and lower Tonoloway formations in the east­central Appalachian Basin. While these strata span the upper Telychian Stage (Llandovery Series) to the upper Pridoli Series, a major stratigraphic gap representing most of the Ludlow Series (from the lower part of the Gorstian to the upper part of the Ludfordian stages) was identified. The new conodont biozonation consists of: the Pterospathodus amorphognathoides amorphognathoides Zonal Group, an Unzoned Interval of the Sheinwoodian Stage, the Kockelella walliseri Zonal Group, the Ozarkodina bicornuta Zone, an Unzoned Interval of the Homerian Stage, the Ozarkodina bohemica Interval Zone, the Ozarkodina crispa Zone, and the Ozarkodina eosteinhornensis sensu lato Interval Zone. This refined biozonation permits enhanced global correlation of the Silurian within the east­central Appalachian Basin. • Key words: Appalachian Basin, Wenlock, Ludlow, Pridoli, conodont biostratigraphy, global zonation, Helfrich collection. BANCROFT, A.M. & CRAMER, B.D. 2020. Silurian conodont biostratigraphy of the east­central Appalachian Basin (eastern USA): Re­examination of the C.T. Helfrich Collection. Bulletin of Geosciences 95(1), 1–22 (15 figures). Czech Geological Survey, Prague. ISSN 1214­1119. Manuscript received February 15, 2019; accepted in revised form December 10, 2019; published online February 7, 2020; issued March 31, 2020. Alyssa M. Bancroft, Indiana Geological and Water Survey, Indiana University, 420 North Walnut Street, Bloomington, Indiana, 47404, USA; [email protected] • Bradley D. Cramer, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Iowa, 115 Trowbridge Hall, Iowa City, Iowa, 52245, USA The largest and stratigraphically most comprehensive element species designations in open nomenclature. Silur­ collection of conodonts from middle to upper Silurian ian conodont taxonomy and biostratigraphy have advanced (uppermost Llandovery–Pridoli series) strata in the Appa­ tremendously in the intervening decades (e.g., Barrick lachian Basin was produced by Charles T. Helfrich during & Klapper 1976; Bischoff 1986; Aldridge & Schönlaub the 1970’s. Most of the work was completed as part of 1989; Kleffner 1989, 1995; Nowlan 1995; Jeppsson 1997; his Ph.D. dissertation (Helfrich 1972) and published in Männik 1998, 2007; Corradini & Serpagli 1999; Jeppsson a series of papers (Helfrich 1975, 1978, 1980) that laid & Aldridge 2000; Calner & Jeppsson 2003; Murphy et al. the foundation for Silurian conodont biostratigraphy in 2004; Jeppsson et al. 2006; Carls et al. 2007; Slavík 2014; the Appalachian Basin. In total, more than 15,000 spe­ Corradini et al. 2015; Männik et al. 2015; Mathieson et al. cimens were recovered from six sections in the West 2016; Waid & Cramer 2017a, b), however, no modern Virgi nia, Virginia, and Maryland tri­state area, with which systematic revision to the conodont biozonation of the he established the conodont biozonation for the Silurian uppermost Llandovery to Pridoli interval of the east­ succession of the east­central Appalachian Mountains. central Appalachian Basin has been undertaken. Herein, Helfrich’s work was carried out at the dawn of a major we provide a modern and revised conodont biozonation transition in conodont systematics, from form taxonomy for the central axis portion of the Appalachian Basin based to multi­element taxonomy, and relied on the original upon the conodont collection of C.T. Helfrich (Helfrich Silurian conodont biozonation of Walliser (1964) to 1972, 1975, 1980) that was re­examined by the authors establish a biostratigraphic zonation for the Appalachian at the University of Iowa from 2015–2018. The Helfrich Basin consisting of eight zones for uppermost Llandovery collection is housed at the Museum of Geosciences at through Pridoli strata. Most reported specimens were Virginia Tech (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State identified as form species, typically with tentative multi­ University). DOI 10.3140/bull.geosci.1748 1 Bulletin of Geosciences • Vol. 95, 1, 2020 A B C Figure 1. A – general map of eastern North America, the area Helfrich sampled (Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland) is highlighted. • B – outcrop map of Silurian strata in the east­central Appalachian Basin showing localities included in the collection. • C – lithostratigraphic chart showing formations included in the investigation and the dates of publication for manuscripts associated with the collection (the 1972 publication is Helfrich’s dissertation document, which was published in 1975 as Geological Society of America Special Paper 161). Modified from Helfrich (1975). Geologic Setting Salinic, and Acadian orogenies (Goodman & Brett 1994, Ettensohn & Brett 2002, Cramer et al. 2011a, Van Staal The successive accretion of island arcs and continental et al. 2014), produced the Appalachian Foreland Basin fragments onto the eastern margin (present orientation) that recorded nearly the entire Silurian succession (e.g., of the Laurentian paleocontinent from the Ordovician Horvath 1969, Berry & Boucot 1970, Goodman & Brett through Devonian provided sufficient flexural subsidence 1994, Brett et al. 1995, Sullivan et al. 2016). The area and the creation of accommodation space for extensive originally studied by Helfrich (1972) follows the Silurian Silurian deposition along an area several thousand outcrop belt (Fig. 1) where the states of West Virginia, kilometers long, stretching from Nova Scotia in the north Virginia, and Maryland converge. This narrow belt was to North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama likely on the highland­proximal side of the basin axis in the south (e.g., Hibbard 2000, Ettensohn & Brett during the Silurian (Goodman & Brett 1994, Sullivan et al. 2002, Van Staal et al. 2014, Pinet 2016). This series of 2016) and is much more clastic rich than the carbonate­ collisional tectonic events, variably termed the Taconic, dominated western margin of the basin. 2 Alyssa M. Bancroft & Bradley D. Cramer • Silurian conodont biostratigraphy of the east-central Appalachian Basin Figure 3. Comparison of conodont biozonations used by Cramer et al. (2011b), Corradini et al. (2015), McAdams et al. (2019), and this study. Cramer et al. (2011b) and McAdams et al. (2019) were intended to be global biostratigraphic charts. Corradini et al. (2015) shows the FIgure 2. Comparison of European (Walliser 1964) and North biozonation they developed for the classical Cellon Section in the American conodont biozones used by Helfrich (1975). Figure modified Carnic Alps. The grey areas denote missing stratigraphic section and from Helfrich (1975). we followed this in our column at the far right. Where section is clearly missing, we have a gray area. Where strata exist but are devoid of biostratigraphically important specimens, we refer to it as an Unzoned Silurian Conodont Biozonation Interval. Abbreviations: Lland. – Llandovery; Tely. – Telychian; A. – Ancy rodella; am. or amorph. – amorphognathoides; el. – elegans; K. – Koc kelella; o. – ortus; Ou. – Oulodus; Oz. – Ozarkodina; p. – pen natus; Walliser (1964) produced the first recognizably modern P. – Polygnathoides; Ped. – Pedavis; pro. – procerus; Pt. – Ptero­ conodont biozonation scheme for the Silurian System spathodus; s. – sagitta; s.l. – sensu lato; I.Z. – Interval Zone; S.Z. – based primarily upon sections in the Carnic Alps region of Superzone. Central Europe. The two decades that followed Walliser’s original work transformed our understanding of conodont et al. 1970). Helfrich (1972) added to these studies and paleobiology, and as a result, also transformed the practice erected a new suite of conodont biozones for the upper of conodont biostratigraphy (e.g., Sweet & Bergström Llandovery, Wenlock, Ludlow, and Pridoli series of North 1970, Aldridge & von Bitter 2009). The transition from America (Fig. 2). Since that time, considerable progress form taxonomy to multi­element taxonomy had already has been made integrating global advances in conodont begun by the time of Helfrich’s doctoral work in the biostratigraphy into Silurian chronostratigraphy of North early 1970’s, and some of the earliest efforts towards America (see discussion in Cramer et al. 2011b). With erecting a North American Conodont Zonation had the exception of a handful of studies (e.g., Denkler & recently been completed (Nicoll & Rexroad 1968, Pollock Harris 1988a, b; Kleffner et al. 2009) however, most 3 Bulletin of Geosciences • Vol. 95, 1, 2020 A B C D E F G I H J K L M N Figure 4. A, B – Apsidognathodus tuberculatus Walliser, 1964; A – Cosner Cap Section, Rose Hill Formation (CG­RH1) [VPIL 3706] (Helfrich 1980, pl. 1, fig. 29); B – Cosner Cap Section, Rose Hill Formation (CG­RH1) [VPIL 3754]. • C, D, I – Distomodus staurognathoides (Walliser, 1964); C – Pinto Section, Rose Hill Formation (P­RH5) [VPIL 3698] (Helfrich 1980, pl. 1, fig. 22); D – Pinto Section, Rose Hill Formation (P­RH5) [VPIL 4764]; I – Pinto Section, Rose Hill Formation (P­RH5) [VPIL 4764]. • E, F – Pterospathodus amorphognathoides amorphognathoides Walliser, 1964; E – Keyser Reservoir Section, Rose Hill