Occurrence and Significance of Marine Animal Remains in American Coal Balls GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 354-1 Occurrence and Significance of Marine Animal Remains in American Coal Balls By SERGIUS H. MAMAY and ELLIS L. YOCHELSON SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 354-1 A description of intermixtures of marine animals and land plants occurring in coal balls in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, and Oklahoma UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1962 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Thomas B. Nolan, Director For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D.C. - Price 50 cents (paper cover) CONTENTS Page Page Abstract------------------------------------------- 193 Chemical analyses-___-___-___-__________-_ 206 Introduction _______________________________________ 193 Laboratory ir ethods_ ______________________ 207 Previous work______________________________________ 194 Preservation of the fossils-__________________ 210 Acknowledgements- __ - ___--__----____--._______-__--_ 194 Interpretation of animal-containing-coal balls. - 211 Definition of coal balls. _____________________________ 195 Heterogeneous-mixed coal balls._________ 211 Occurrences of animal-containing coal balls____________ 196 Homogeneous-mixed and faunal coal balls. 213 McAlester, Okla-------------------------------- 196 Alternative interpretations--__-__-______ 215 Berryville, HI---------------------------------- 197 Conclusions-_-______-_-_--_--__--__-_-____ 216 Southeastern Kansas-_-____--___-_______-___---_ 199 References cited---__--__-__-_-__-_______-_ 216 West Mineral-----------------.---.-------- 199 Details of the samples and insoluble residues _ _ 217 Stratigraphic relations of the coal balls- ___ 200 Oskaloosa, Iowa_--__--__-_-__-___-_-__ 217 Franklin___ . _______________________________ 201 McAlester, Okla_______________________ 218 Monmouth- ________________________________ 201 Southeastern Kansas..____-____--______ 218 Physical and biological features of coal balls___ -------- 202 West Mineral- _----__-_-__-_______ 218 Normal coal balls-______________________________ 202 Monmouth- ____-__________-___---_ 219 Homogeneous-mixed coal balls-------------------- 203 Franklin. ____-_-_--__--_-_________ 220 Heterogeneous-mixed coal balls.__________________ 204 Berryville, 111- ________________________ 220 Faunal coal balls. -_________-___-___--__--__--.- 206 Index-__-_--_-___--__-----___-__-________ 223 ILLUSTRATIONS [Plates follow the index] PLATE 26. Views at the Berryville, 111., West Mineral, Kans., and Monmouth, Ivans., coal ball localities. 27. Normal and mixed coal balls from Illinois and Kansas. 28. Faunal, mixed, and normal coal balls from West Mineral and Monmouth, Kans. 29. Homogeneous-mixed coal balls from West Mineral, Kans. 30. Heterogeneous-mixed coal balls from Berryville, 111. 31. Mixed coal balls from Illinois and Iowa, and limestone from Illinois. 32. Faunal coal balls from Monmouth, Kans. 33. Representative spores and other plant remains recovered from insoluble residues. 34. Representative animal remains recovered from insoluble residues. Page FIGURE 42. Geographic occurrence of mixed coal balls _ _____-___-____-__-___-____--_--__---.---_--- 197 43. Sketch of sawn surface of a normal coal ball_______-________._._______-_--__-_-_------- 203 44. Sketch of sawn surface of a homogeneous-mixed coal ball-___.-____. -____-_____--_-___--- 204 45. Sketch of sawn surface of a heterogeneous-mixed coal ball- _______-_-_____-_-_-_-_--__--- 205 TABLES Fage TABLE 1. Semiquantitative spectroscopic analyses of coal ball and limestone samples- 206 2. Rapid rock analyses of coal ball and limestone samples_______________--.- 207 3. Distribution of animal groups and large spores in insoluble residues..-___--- 208 in SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY OCCURRENCE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF MARINE ANIMAL REMAINS IN AMERICAN COAL BALLS By SERGITJS H. MAMAY and ELLIS L. YocHELSOisr ABSTRACT fore been considered concretionary in origin, mixed and faunal Coal balls are mineralized nodular masses found within coal balls are, at least in part, of clastic origin. The swirled some coal seams. Although coal balls have been known for texture of some homogeneous-mixed coal balls is further evi­ over 100 years, only botanical contents have been previously dence of transport. reported in detail. In this paper, occurrences of marine animal It is suggested that heterogeneous-mixed coal balls were fossils associated with plant fossils in coal balls are described. formed when mud rollers containing animal remains were Three types of coal balls are here recognized: (a) normal brought into the coal swamp by temporary marine inundation coal balls, containing only plants; (b) mixed coal balls, con­ and were secondarily surrounded by normal coal ball material. taining both plants and marine animals; and (c) faunal coal Some homogeneous-mixed coal balls may represent discrete balls, containing only animals. Mixed coal balls are homo­ lumps of transported fossiliferous mud. The animal content geneous, if the plant and animal remains are mixed throughout of still others may have been introduced into the coal swamp in a mud slurry. These temporary marine inundations may the matrix, or heterogeneous, if the marine fraction is clearly segregated from the normal fraction. have provided a source of calcium carbonate for the formation Homogeneous-mixed coal balls were found near McAlester, of some normal coal balls. Okla., near Oskaloosa, Iowa, and in parts of the southeastern Kansas coal fields. Heterogeneous-mixed coal balls were found INTRODUCTION near Berryville, 111., and faunal coal balls were found at two localities in Kansas. In a previous publication (Mamay and Yochelson, Coal bails are particularly common near West Mineral, 1953) we briefly reported the occurrence of marine Kans. They are abundant in the Fleming coal, of Des Moines fossils associated with land plants in coal balls of age, and also occur in the underlying Mineral coal. Observa­ Pennsylvanian age. Subsequent field observations and tions of mining waste suggest that mixed coal balls constitute accummulation of additional material have made 1 to 2 percent of the coal balls recovered, although none were found in place. There may be some positive correlation be­ possible a more detailed report. tween abundance of coal balls and elevations or "highs" in the Although the occurrence of coal balls has been known Fleming coal. for more than a century and although they have been Semiquantitative spectroscopic analyses and rapid chemical noted in the coal fields of various European countries analyses of selected coal balls are included in this report. and of the United States and Great Britain, we are These contain the most comprehensive data on the chemical composition of coal balls yet published. not aware of any authenticated reports, earlier than Other samples were dissolved in formic acid; the residues are 1953, of faunal inclusions within coal balls. described. Uncompressed spores were recovered from many Darrah (1939, p. 135) stated that "many of the of the samples, along with diverse animal remains. Selected Belgian and English coal balls contain fossil cephalo­ specimens of spores and animals are figured, and identifiable forms are tabulated. pods," but he presented no further information. Coal ball deposits in England and Belgium are overlain by The fossils are replaced by a variety of minerals, occasion­ ally within the same coal ball. Spore fillings from a single marine beds containing abundant fossiliferous nodules, coal ball may be pyritic or calcareous. Gastropods may be in which goniatites are the predominating fossil; calcareous, pyritic, or baritic in the same sample. Pelecypods Stopes and Watson (1908) and Leclercq (1952) dis­ recovered are pyritic or baritic. Some echinoderm columnals, cussed in detail this relation of British and of Bel­ cephalopods, and brachiopods are pyritized, and others are calcareous. gian coal ball deposits, respectively. Since extensive The presence of marine animals within coal balls is evidence research has been done on both British and Belgian of transportation of material from a marine environment to a coal balls but no mention has been made of animals nonmarine environment. Though all coal balls have hereto­ within the nodules, there is a possibility that Darrah 193 194 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY neglected to distinguish between roof-shale nodules and eastern Kansas and southern Illinois. Previously, true coal balls. Mamay's interests were centered on morphological as­ Douville (1905), who discussed briefly the content pects of the plant content of the coal balls, but his at­ of a few nodules from the coal fields of Yorkshire, tention was drawn toward the geologic problems raised England, recognized two types of coal balls, one con­ by the animal fossils found in a few of the coal balls. taining only plant debris, the other containing sparse The presence of abundant gastropods among these woody fragments among numerous marine shells. The faunas resulted in Yochelson's participation in the second type were illustrated (Douville, 1905, pi. 6) study, because of his interests in that group of animals. as "Coal Balls du Yorkshire," but it is apparent that A preliminary account of this discovery was published these specimens are actually roof nodules, distinct from (Mamay and Yochelson, 1953) because of the