Ammonites from the 'a Zones in Northwestern California and Southwestern Oregon GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 647-B Ammonites from the 'a Zones in Northwestern California and Southwestern Oregon By RALPH W. IMLAY and DAVID L. JONES JURASSIC (TITHONIAN) AND CRETACEOUS BUCHIA ZONES IN NORTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHWESTERN OREGON GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 647-B Some Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous ammonites date the Buchia zones and furnish correlations with the Boreal and Tethyan Realms UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1970 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR WALTER J. HICKEL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY William T. Pecora, Director For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Omce Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price $1.25 (paper cover) CONTENTS Page Page Abstract.__________________________________________ Bl Ages and correlations of the ammonite faunules Continued Introduction. _ _____________________________________ 2 Cretaceous ammonites Continued Biologic analysis.___________________________________ 2 Valanginian ammonites from the Buchia pacifica Stratigraphic relationships of ammonites to Buchias__ 5 B14 Ages and correlations of the ammonite faunules________ 11 Valanginian ammonites from the Buchia keyser- Jurassic ammonites-____________________________ 11 lingi zone. _______________________________ 16 Tithonian ammonites from the Buchia piochii Valanginian ammonites from the Buchia crassi- zone____________________________________ 11 collis solida zone. ___________-___-______--- 17 Tithonian ammonites from the Buchia aff. B. Comparisons of ammonites with other ammonite faunules-- 1 7 okensis zone______________________________ 12 Geographic distribution______-__________--_____----_ 19 Cretaceous ammonites-_________________________ 12 Systematic descriptions________ _____________________ 2? Berriasian ammonites from the Buchia uncitoides References ___________-______--------------__------ 53 zone____________________________________ 12 Index _____-______-___-_-------_-----_-_----------- £7 ILLUSTRATIONS [Plates follow index] PLATE 1. Phylloceras, Phyllocerasf, Bochianitesf, and Bochianites. 2. Lytoceras and Phylloceras. 3. Kossmatia, Proniceras, Spiticeras, and S. (Kilianicerast). 4. Spiticeras. 5. Groebericerast. 6. Groebericeras? and Protacanthodiscus. 7. Tollia and Polyptychites. 8. Tollia, Polyptychites, and Olcostephanus. 9. Olcostephanus and Pclyptychites. 10. Blanfordiceras and Substeueroceras. 11. Parodontoceras. 12. Aulacosphinctesf, Sarasinella, and Parodontoceras. 13. Thurmanniccras and Paskentites. 14. Neocomites, Neocosmocerasl, Neocosmoceras, and Kilianella. 15. Groebericeras"!. Page FIGURE 1. Stratigraphic relationships of ammonites with species of Buchia____________________---__-------------- B6 2. Correlation of latest Jurassic (Tithonian) and earliest Cretaceous (Berriasian and Valanginian) faunas in California and Oregon.____________________________________________------------___-_----------_ 8 3. Index map of ammonite localities in the Buchia beds of southwestern Oregon_ __________________________ 19 4. Index map of ammonite localities in the Buchia beds of northwestern California-____________-_____---_-__ 19 5-8. Detailed index map of ammonite localities 5. In west-central part of the Colyear Springs quadrangle, California____ ---------------------------- 19 6. In the Paskenta area, California ------------------------------------------------------------- 7. Near Newville, Calif_ --------------------------------------------------------------------- 8. In the Elk Creek area, California___ -------------------------------------------------------- in IV CONTENTS TABLES Page TABLE 1. Some ammonite genera in Tithonian, Berriasian, and Valanginian beds in northern California and so^th- western Oregon showing biological relationships of the genera, relative numbers available for study, and stages represented-___________________________________________________________________________ B3 2. Geographic distribution of ammonites in the uppermost Jurassic (Tithonian) and Lower Cretaceous Buchia beds of northwestern California and southwestern Oregon_____________-_____________-__________ .___ 20 JURASSIC (TITHONIAN) AND CRETACEOUS BUCHIA ZONES IN NORTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHWESTERN OREGON AMMONITES FROM THE BUCHIA ZONES IN NORTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHWESTERN OREGON By EALPH W. IMLAT and DAVID L. JONES ABSTRACT subgenus Negreliceras in California ranges through the low^r Ammonites from the UMcTwa-bearing strata of northwestern two-thirds of the Buchia uncitoides zone and dates that pprt California and southwestern Oregon represent the Tithonian as not younger than Berriasian. stage at the top of the Jurassic and the Berriasian and Valan- Ammonites of middle and late Valanginian age are well ginian stages at the base of the Cretaceous. These ammonites represented in California and Oregon. That beds of early Valpn- are associated with various species of the pelecypod Buchia, ginian age are present has not been proved faunally. In Cr.li- which from oldest to youngest include B. piochii (Gabb) and fornia, however, some specimens of Thurmanniceras in the B. aff. B. oJcensis (Pavlow) of Tithonian age, B. uncitoides lower part of the Buchia pacifica zone could be dated as early (Pavlow) of Berriasian age, B. pad flea Jeletzky of early to Valanginian on the basis of stratigraphic position. The middle middle Valanginian age, B. Jieyserlingi (Lahusen) of middle to part of the B. paciflca zone has furnished species of Thurman­ early late Valanginian age, and Buchia crassicollis solida (La­ niceras and Kilianella that, by comparisons elsewhere, sug­ husen) of late Valangdnian age. The ages cited are based pri­ gest a middle Valanginian age. The upper part of the B. pacifva marily on the ammonites present but partly on the similarities zone contains a species of Tollia that is similar to a species of the Buchia succession ito that in British 'Columbia and in the from the middle Valanginian of East Greenland. The preserve Arctic region. As the succession of the species of Buchia is of Tollia itself is good evidence of an age not younger than similar to that in western Canada, the strata characterized by middle Valanginian. the species are herein considered assemblage zones in con­ The overlying zone of Buchia keyserlingi in the Paskenta formity with the usage in Canada. and Elk Creek quadrangles, California, contains such typi?al Ammonites of Tithonian age have been found mostly along Valanginian ammonites as Sarasinella, Polyptychites, and Thur­ the west side of the Sacramento Valley, Calif. They include manniceras. The last two ammonites in the upper part of the Kossmatia from the lower to middle parts of the B. piochii zone are associated with Crioceratites and Neocraspedites, zone, Parodontoceras and Spiticeras from the upper part of the which in Eurasia are not known in beds older than late Valan­ B. piochii zone, and Substeueroceras, Parodontoceras, Proni- ginian. The upper part of the zone, therefore, is dated as late ceras, Spiticeras, and Blanfordiccras from the B. aff. B. okensis Valanginian, but the lower part could be middle Valanginian, zone. Of these ammonites, Kossmatia, by comparisons with the The highest Buchia zone, characterized by B. crassicollis sequence in Mexico and Argentina, is evidence for a middle solida (Lahusen), has furnished diagnostic ammonites only in Tithonian age, but it occurs also in New Zealand in beds of Oregon. These consist of Homolsomites and Olcostephanus that late Kimmeridgian age and probably also in beds of middle by comparisons with species in Eurasia could be either latest Kimmeridgian age. Parodontoceras is good evidence of a mid­ Valanginian or earliest Hauterivian. A Valanginian age is dle to late Tithonian age on the basis of its range in Mexico favored by the association of these ammonites with Buchia tfnd and Argentina. The various ammonites listed from the B. aff. by their stratigraphic position directly below beds containing B. okensis zone are excellent evidence for a late Tithonian age early Hauterivian ammonites. equivalent to the highest Jurassic beds in Mexico and Argen­ The affinities of most of the ammonites of latest Jurassic f nd tina. An age not older than middle Tithonian for the lowest earliest Cretaceous ages from California and Oregon are south­ part of the Jurassic sequence along the west side of the Sacra­ ern or Mediterranean. Only Tollia and Homolsomites are dis­ mento Valley is indicated by the absence of species of Buchia, tinctly Boreal. In addition, the genera Polyptychites and Neo­ such as B. mosquensis (Von Buch) and B. rugosa (Fischer), craspedites range from the Mediterranean to the Arctic but are which occur in beds of middle Kimmeridgian to middle Titho­ most common in central and northern Eurasia and are probably not of Mediterranean origin. nian age from the State of Washington northward into Alaska Ammonites are rather uncommon in the Uttcftia-bearing se­ and as high as the Dorsoplanites panderi zone (lower middle quence of northwestern California and southwestern Oregon Volgian) on the Russian platform. except at the very top of the beds characterized by Buchia Ammonites of Berriasian age from California and Oregon paciflca Jeletzky. Those beds also have furnished a fair variety belong mostly to the subgenera Spiticeras (Negreliceras) and of pelecypods and gastropods. Elsewhere throughout the se­ 8. (Spiticeras) but include also the genus Neocosmoceras. The quence