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University Microfilms International 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 USA St. John's Road. Tyler's Green High Wycombe, Bucks, England HP10 8HR 77-17,088 FINNEY, Stanley Charles, 1947- GRAPTOLITES OF THE MIDDLE ORDOVICIAN ATHENS SHALE, ALABAMA. (VOLUMES I AND II) The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1977 Paleozoology Xerox University Microfilms, Ann Arbor. Michigan48 ioe GRAPTOLITES OF THE MIDDLE ORDOVICIAN ATHENS SHALE, ALABAMA VOLUME I Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Stanley C. Finney, B.S., M.S. ***** The Ohio State University 1977 Reading Committee: Approved by Professor S. M. Bergstr8m, Chairman Professor W. C. Sweet Professor J. W. Collinson fif^ I r 7 Adviser J Department of geology and Mineralogy ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Professor Stig M. BergstrBm and Dr. Valdar Jaanusson suggested and supervised this project. Professor BergstrBm has been an enthusiastic adviser, and without his interest, guidance, time, and support this project could not have been completed. The project was initiated during Dr. Valdar Jaanusson's tenure as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at The Ohio State University, and the writer was able to spend the Winter of 1974-75 studying with Dr. Jaanusson at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm. Many of the paleobiological ideas presented in this study resulted from stimulating discussions with Dr. Jaanusson. Thanks are also due to Professors Walter C. Sweet and James C. Collinson, who read the manuscript and offered helpful advice. The first season of field work was supported by the Geological Survey of Alabama (Alabama State Contract No. GSA-73-13). Mr. Charles Copeland and Dr. James Drahovzal of the Alabama Geological Survey aided the writer in the field and directed him to the Pratt's Syncline section. I thank the Martin Marietta Cement Company for permission to work in the shale quarry at Calera. The writer's tenure in Stockholm was supported by a Thord Gray Memorial Fund Fellowship awarded by the American-Scandinavian Foundation. I especially thank Dr. Tor 0rvig for the hospitality shown me by the Swedish Museum of Natural History, Maria Tatarczuch ii and Uno Samuelson for their help in illustrating many of my specimens, and Dr. Hans Tralau for permission to use his hydrofluoric acid laboratory. I thank the following persons at geologic-paleontologic museums for allowing me access to type collections and working space and for the loan of type specimens: Dr. Norman Newell, The American Museum of Natural History; Dr. Donald W. Fisher, The New York State Museum; Mr. Frederick Collier, U. S. National Museum; Mrs. J. S. Lawless, Yale-Peabody Museum; Dr. Stephen J. Gould, Harvard University; Professor Gerhard Regnell, Museum of the Palaeontological Institute, Lund University; Professor Richard Reyment, Museum of the Palaeontological Institute, University of Uppsala; Dr. David Bruton, Palaeontological Museum of Oslo; Dr. Barrie Rickards, Sedgifick Museum; and Dr. Tom Bolton, Geological Survey of Canada. I also thank Mr. Ragnar Nilsson, Lund University, for granting me access to his collections and unpublished data on the Koïngen boring core. Linda Massie and Duncan Foley assisted in the final assembly of the manuscript. Karen Tyler drafted several of the text-figures, and Robert Wilkinson photographed all of the text-figures. Grants from the friends of Orton Hall Fund paid for much of the expenses for field work and drafting supplies. Ill VITA October 14, 1947 .................. Bom, Chula Vista, California 1969 ............................. B. S., University of California, Riverside, California 1 9 7 1 ............................. M. S., University of California, Riverside, California 1969-1971 ......................... Teaching Assistant, Department of Geology, University of California, Riverside, California 1971-1976 ......................... Teaching Associate, Research Associate, Department of Geology and Mineralogy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1974-1975 ......................... Fellow of the American- Scandinavian Foundation, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden PUBLICATIONS Matti, J. C., M. A. Murphy, and S. C. Finney. 1974. Summary of Silurian and Lower Devonian Basin and Basin-Slope Limestones, Copenhagen Canyon, Nevada: Geology, v. 2, no. 12, p. 575-577. Matti, J. C., M. A. Murphy, and S. C. Finney. 1975. Silurian and Lower Devonian Basin and Basin-Slope Limestones, Copenhagen Canyon, Nevada: Geol. Soc. Amer., Special Paper 159, 48 pp. Finney, S. C. 1975. Morphology of the Graptolite Families Nemagraptidae and Dicranograptidae (abs.): Geol. Soc. Amer., Abs. with Progr., v. 7, no. 6 , p. 755. IV Finney, S. C. 1976. Graptolite biostratigraphy of the Middle Ordovician Athens Shale, Alabama: The boundary between the Zones of Glyptograptus teretiusculus and Nemagraptus gracilis (abs.): Geol. Soc. Amer., Abs. with Progr., v. 8 , no. 2, p. 171. Finney, S. C. 1976. Unusual Structures in Graptoloids from the Athens Shale, Alabama, and their bearing on the mode of life of Graptoloids (abs.): Geol. Soc. Amer., Abs. with Progr., V. 8, no. 4, p. 476-477. t a b l e o f c o n t e n t s VOLUME I Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................... ii VITA .................................................. iv PUBLICATIONS ........................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ......................................... viii LIST OF TEXT-FIGURES ................................... ix INTRODUCTION............................................. 1 Methods of Study .................................. 10 Previous Biostratigraphic Studies ................... 13 PHYSICAL STRATIGRAPHY .................................. 24 Introduction ...................................... 24 Lithology of Measured Sections ...................... 26 Facies Relations and Environment of Deposition....... 42 BIOSTRATIGRAPHY........................................ 44 Graptolite Biostratigraphy in Alabama ............... 44 Concepts of the Zones of IJ. gracilis and G. sp. cf. teretiuscuius .................... 56 Correlation....................................... 62 Summary and Conclusions ............................ 6 8 SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY ................................... 70 Classification .................................... 70 Class Graptolithina Bonn, 1846 ............................. 78 Order Graptoloidea Lapworth, 1875 ........................... 78 Suborder Didymograptina Lapworth, 1880 ..................... 78 VI Page Family Dichograptidae Lapworth, 1873 ......................... 78 Genus Pterograptus Holm, 1881 ......................... 78 Genus Didymograp tus M'Coy, 1 8 5 1 ......................... 82 Genus Azygograptus Nicholson, 1875 .................... 84 Family Abrograptidae Mu, 1958 .............................. 87 Genus Reteograptus Hall, 1859 ........................... 89 Family Nemagraptidae Lapworth, 1873 .......................... 102 Genus Nemagrap tus Emmons, 1855 .......................... 105 Genus Amphigraptus Lapworth, 1873 ....................... 156 Genus indet. Nemagraptid sp. A .......................... 165 Family Dicranograptidae Lapworth, 1873 ....................... 176 Genus Dicellograptus Hopkinson, 187 1 .................... 176 Genus Leptograptus Lapworth, 1873 ....................... 298 Genus Pierancgraptus Hall, 1865 ......................... 324 Vll LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Sicular measurements on specimens from locality PS-109.2............................... 125 2. Measurements on figured thecae of N. gracilis......... 130 3. Distance