Comparisons of Paleoenvironments, Taxa, and Taphonomy of the Late Carboniferous Garnett and Hamilton Quarry Localities, Eastern Kansas ______________________________ A Thesis Presented to The Department of Physical Sciences EMPORIA STATE UNIVERSITY ______________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Sciences ______________________________ by Randol Louis Wehrbein May 2017 iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank the Department of Physical Sciences at Emporia State University (ESU) for funding my research through the NASA Space grant and graduate assistant position during my time at ESU. Additionally, I would like to thank the Graduate School at ESU for funding my research thought the Harold Durst Graduate Research Award and Graduate Research grant. I would also like to thank the Kansas Geological Foundation for funding through their student scholarship. I would like to thank the Denver Museum on Nature and Science for access of their collections, use of their facilities and equipment, and use of a copyrighted photograph. I would like to thank Brian Madeira for aid in museum work at ESU, and Derrick Stockton for aid in both field and museum work at ESU. I would like to thank the Interlibrary Loan personnel at ESU, for I made them work a lot. I also wish to extend thanks to the members of my committee. Furthermore, I would like to thank my friend, Jared Krenke, for copy editing my thesis because we both know (to quote the late Dr. Larry Martin) “I can’t spell my way out of a wet paper bag.” Finally, I wish to acknowledge the late Dr. Larry Martin for piquing my interest in both Garnett and Hamilton Quarry as an undergraduate. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………………..iii Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………………iv List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………...xiii List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………..xviii Chapter 1: Introduction and History of Study……………………………………………..1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………..1 History of Study…………………………………………………………………...2 Garnett Locality…………………………………………………………...3 Hamilton Quarry…………………………………………………………10 Global Comparisons……………………………………………………………...18 Toronto Locality…………………………………………………………18 Montceau-les-Mines……………………………………………………..19 Robinson Locality………………………………………………………..20 Bushong Locality and Elkridge Locality………………………………...21 Chapter 2: Methods………………………………………………………………………23 Introduction………………………………………………………………………23 Literature Research………………………………………………………………24 v Museum Research………………………………………………………………..24 Field and Lab Work……………………………………………………………...25 Photography……………………………………………………………………...25 Taxonomic Equivalence………………………………………………………….26 Taxonomic Classification………………………………………………………..28 Geology, Taphonomy, and Paleoenvironment…………………………………...29 Comparison to Other Localities………………………………………………….29 Chapter 3: Garnett Locality……………………………………………………………...30 Introduction………………………………………………………………………30 Geographic Location……………………………………………………………..30 Geomorphic Setting……………………………………………………………...32 Stratigraphy………………………………………………………………………32 Stoner Limestone………………………………………………………...36 Rock Lake Shale…………………………………………………………36 Facies I…………………………………………………………...36 Facies II...………………………………………………………...36 Facies III.………………………………………………………...37 Facies IV………………………………………………………....37 vi Facies V..………………………………………………………...37 Facies VI…………………………………………………………39 Facies VII...………………………………………………………39 Facies VIII……………………………………………………….39 South Bend Limestone…………………………………………………...40 Environment of Deposition………………………………………………………40 Nearshore Marine………………………………………………………...40 River-Fed Lagoon………………………………………………………..40 Tidal Mudflat…………………………………………………………….42 Transgressive Channel Fill………………………………………………42 Marine……………………………………………………………………43 This Study………………………………………………………………..43 Paleontology……………………………………………………………………..45 Taxonomic Classification………………………………………………………..46 Aquatic Invertebrates…………………………………………………………….52 Foraminiferans (Retaria)…………………………………………………53 Sponges (Porifera)……………………………………………………….53 Rugose Coral (Cnidaria)…………………………………………………53 vii Echinoderms (Echinodermata)…………………………………………...53 Crustacean (Arthropoda)…………………………………………………54 Polychaetes (Annelida)…………………………………………………..54 Bivalves (Mollusca)……………………………………………………...54 Brachiopods (Brachiopoda)……………………………………………...54 Bryozoans (Bryozoa)…………………………………………………….54 Terrestrial Invertebrates………………………………………………………….55 Scorpion (Chelicerate)…………………………………………………...55 Blattodea (Hexapoda)……………………………………………………55 Megasecoptera (Hexapoda)……………………………………………...55 Vertebrates……………………………………………………………………….56 Cartilaginous Fish (Chindrichthyes)……………………………………..56 Coelacanth (Sarcopterygiia)……………………………………………...56 Amphibians (Amphibia)…………………………………………………56 Diapsid (Reptilia)………………………………………………………...57 Eupelycosaurs (Synapsida)………………………………………………57 Megaflora………………………………………………………………………...57 Lycopods (Lycopodiophyta)……………………………………………..58 viii Ferns and Horsetails (Pteridophyta)……………………………………...58 Seed Ferns (Pteridospermatophyta)……………………………………...59 Conifers (Pinophyta or Coniferophyta)………………………………….59 Microflora………………………………………………………………………..59 Trace Fossils……………………………………………………………………..60 Taphonomy………………………………………………………………………61 Chapter 4: Hamilton Quarry……………………………………………………………..71 Introduction………………………………………………………………………71 Geographic Location……………………………………………………………..72 Geomorphic Setting……………………………………………………………...72 Stratigraphy………………………………………………………………………74 Introduction………………………………………………………………74 Deer Creek Limestone Formation………………………………………..75 Calhoun Shale Formation………………………………………………..75 Topeka Limestone Formation……………………………………………77 Hamilton Channel Fill: Basal Conglomerate…………………………….78 Northern Area……………………………………………………………78 Main Quarry……………………………………………………………...79 ix Marlin Quarry……………………………………………………………84 Southern Area……………………………………………………………85 Environment of Deposition………………………………………………………85 Stream or Delta………………………………………………………......86 Freshwater Stream...……………………………………………………..86 Near Shore Marine……………………………………………………….87 Tidal Estuary.…………………………………………………………….87 Marine……………………………………………………………………89 This Study………………………………………………………………..89 Paleontology……………………………………………………………………..91 Taxonomic Classification………………………………………………………..91 Aquatic Invertebrates…………………………………………………………….99 Foraminiferans (Retaria)………………………………………………..100 Sponges (Porifera)……………………………………………………...100 Echinoderms (Echinodermata)………………………………………….100 Eurypterids (Arthropoda)……………………………………………….100 Crustacean (Arthropoda)………………………………………………..101 Polychaetes (Annelida)…………………………………………………101 x Bivalves (Mollusca)…………………………………………………….101 Gastropods (Mollusca)………………………………………………….102 Brachiopods (Brachiopoda)…………………………………………….102 Bryozoans (Bryozoa)…………………………………………………...102 Terrestrial Invertebrates………………………………………………………...102 Arachnids (Chelicerate)………………………………………………...102 Millipedes (Myriapoda)………………………………………………...103 Blattodea (Hexapoda)…………………………………………………..103 Pterygota (Hexapoda)……………………………………………..........103 Vertebrates……………………………………………………………………...104 Conodonts (Conodonta)………………………………………………...104 Cartilaginous Fish (Chindrichthyes)……………………………………104 Acanthodes (Acanthodii)……………………………………………….105 Actinopterygii (Osteichthyes)…………………………………………..105 Sarcopterygii (Osteichthyes)…………………………………………...105 Amphibians (Amphibia)………………………………………………..106 Captorhinomorphs (Reptilia)…………………………………………...106 Diapsid (Reptilia)……………………………………………………….106 xi Caseasaurid (Synapsida)………………………………………………..107 Eupelycosaurs (Synapsida)……………………………………………..107 Megaflora……………………………………………………………………….107 Lycopods (Lycopodiophyta)……………………………………………108 Ferns and Horsetails (Pteridophyta)…………………………………….108 Seed Ferns (Pteridospermatophyta)…………………………………….108 Conifers (Pinophyta or Coniferophyta)………………………………...108 Microflora………………………………………………………………………109 Trace Fossils……………………………………………………………………110 Taphonomy……………………………………………………………………..110 Chapter 5: Comparisons and Conclusions……………………………………………...154 Introduction……………………………………………………………………..154 Environment of Deposition……………………………………………………..154 Taxonomic Equivalence and Diversity…………………………………………156 Aquatic Invertebrates…………………………………………………...158 Terrestrial Invertebrates………………………………………………...162 Vertebrates……………………………………………………………...164 Megaflora……………………………………………………………….169 xii Microflora………………………………………………………………173 Summary………………………………………………………………..179 Trace Fossils……………………………………………………………179 Taphonomy……………………………………………………………..180 Conclusions……………………………………………………………………..181 Global Comparisons…………………………………………………….183 Importance of Full Examinations……………………………………….185 Future Work…………………………………………………………….185 References………………………………………………………………………………187 Appendix A: Bibliography of Garnett Texts…………………………………………...208 Appendix B: Bibliography of Hamilton Quarry Texts...………………………………..218 Appendix C: Bibliography of Related Texts…………………………………………...234 xiii List of Figures Figure 1: Map of Kansas illustrating geographic locations of Garnett and Hamilton Quarry……………………………………………………………………………..1 Figure 2: Moore et al. (1936)’s Figure 4 showing hypothetical stratigraphic and structural relationships required for Garnett to be Permian…………………………………4 Figure 3: Geographic location and topography of the Garnett study area……………….31 Figure 4: Stratigraphic chart of the Garnett locality……………………………………..33 Figure 5: Geologic map of the Garnett study area……………………………………….33 Figure 6: Cross section of the Garnett locality…………………………………………..34 Figure 7: Coastal lagoon in the Late Pennsylvanian of Kansas………………………….41 Figure 8: Reconstruction of Garnettius hungerfordi…………………………………….62 Figure 9: Holotype