Ordovician Graptolites of thev Basin Ranges in California, Nevada Utah, and Idaho GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1134 Ordovician Graptolites of the Basin Ranges in California, Nevada Utah, and Idaho By REUBEN J. ROSS, JR., and WILLIAM B. N. BERRY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN -1134 A compilation, with descriptions and illustrations, of the more common species and genera of graptolites in the Great Basin ORTON MEMORIAL LIBRARY THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY 155 8. OVAL DRIVE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1963 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. CONTENTS Page Abstract. _________________________________________________________ 1 Introduction._ ____________________________________________________ 1 Purpose and scope.-.---------------..;.------.-.--------------- 2 Methods of preparing fossils. _-____-._____-____..______--______-_ 3 History of previous exploration._________________________________ 3 Acknowledgments. ____________________________________________ 7 Stratigraphic and structural setting________________________________._ 7 Geography of "eastern" and "western fades"_ ____________________ 7 Nevada and California-___-___-_______________-___--___-__- 7 Idaho-----_----__-_-____-.----_.-_-___-_-__--._----._---_ 9 Alaska and western Canada--______________-__-_-_-_-_------ 9 Paleogeography_______________________________________________ 10 Biostratigraphic data.__-_______________________________-__-------_ 12 Ordovician localities, listed numerically_____________---_--__--_--_ 12 Graptolite collections by district and quadrangle.----------------- 20 Graptolites of the "western facies"_-___-________---_---__---- 20 Mount Morrison quadrangle, California. _________________ 20 Silver Peak quadrangle, Nevada...______________________ 22 Goldfield district, Nevada._____________________________ 23 Coaldale quadrangle, Nevada. __________________________ 24 Mina quadrangle, Nevada_--_---_-__--___------_------- 24 San Antonio Mountains, Nevada._______________________ 24 Round Mountain quadrangle and the Manhattan district Nevada.___________________________________________ 24 Belmont district, Nevada-___-_--_-__---_-_----_---_---_ 27 Northern Toquima Range, Nevada. _________-_-_--_-_--_ 28 Roberts Creek Mountains, Walti Hot Springs, and Horse Creek Valley quadrangles, Nevada___-___-____________ 29 Roberts Mountains and Garden. Pass, Nevada.___________ 29 Mineral Hill quadrangle, Nevada......___._-____--__--__ 33 Pine Valley and Carlin quadrangles, Nevada._____________ 36 Northern Eureka County, including Beowawe quadrangle, Nevada.. ___________________________________________ 42 Cortez and Frenchie Creek quadrangles, Nevada.--------- 47 Mount Lewis and Crescent Valley quadrangles, Nevada.... 50 Antler Peak quadrangle, Nevada._._____________________ 55 Osgood Mountains quadrangle, Nevada.....-___-______-_ 58 Bull Run quadrangle, Nevada___________--____--__--__ 58 Phi Kappa formation, Hailey quadrangle, Idaho.-------..- 58 Saturday Mountain formation in the Bayhorse quadrangle, Idaho...___________________________________________ 61 Graptolites of the "eastern" or shelf fades.___________________ 63 Garden City and Swan Peak formations northern Utah, southeastern Idaho (Logan and Preston quadrangles)__.. 63 Hanson Creek formation, Nevada.-.-----.---------.----- 65 in IV CONTENTS Page Correlation and faunal affinities..____________________________________ 67 New York correlation.-----_______----___-_-___--______---__-__ 68 Intercontinental correlation.____________________________________ 68 Australia-__--__---______---_--__-__-___________-_-__..__ 69 British Isles_____________________________________________ 70 Russia.----------------_--_-_-----------___-_---_-_---_--_ 71 Descriptions of genera and species-----__-___------_---_---__--_-_____ 71 Class Graptolithina.-------______---_---_---___________________ 72 Order Dendroidea-----__-_------_-__-_--___-_-_-_____-_____ 72 Family Dendrograptidae. __---------___--_-_____-__.___ 72 Family Anisograptidae_________________________________ 72 Order Graptoloidea. _---___-_-___-____.-..____-______________ 73 Family Dichograptidae.----- ___________________________ 73 Family Corynoididae.--_-----_-----______-_____________ 95 Family Cryptograptidae._______________________________ 96 Family Leptograptidae.________________________________ 101 Family Dicranograptidae.______________________________ 103 Family Diplograptidae_________________________________ 117 Family? Diplograptidae, position uncertain._-_______-____ 153 Family Lasiograptidae_________________________________ 153 Family Retiolitidae.___________________________________ 156 References cited.__________________________________________________ 160 Index ____________________________________________________________ 167 ILLUSTRATIONS [Plates 1-13 follow index] PLATE 1. Ordovician graptolites of the Great Basin. 2. Clonograptus, Dichograptus, and Tetragraptus. 3. Tetragraptus and Phyllograptus. 4. Phyllograptus and Didymograptus. 5. Ordovician graptolites of the Great Basin. 6. Leptograptus, Nemagraptus, and Dicellograptus. 7. Dicranograptus and Dicellograptus. 8. Dicranograptus and Climacograptus. 9. Climacograptus. 10. Climacograptus, Diplograptus, Amplexograptus, and Glyptograptus. 11. Glyptograptus and Orthograptus. 12. Orthograptus and Trigonograptus. 13. Orthograptus, Retiograptus, and Hallograptus. 14. Map showing areas where graptolites have been collected in the Great Basin_____-______-________---__-________-__-__-_-_ In pocket CONTENTS V Page FIGURE 1. Climacograptus cf. C. brevis Elles and Wood. Vinini equiva­ lent, USGS colln. D480e (CO). A camera lucida drawing. USNM 138590--.-_-----------______-__---_----------- 119 2. Climacograptus cf. C. mississippiensis Ruedemann. Vinini equivalent, USGS colln. D480b (CO). Camera lucida drawings. USNM 138619a, 138620a_..__._._.__...___._ 126 3. Amplexograptus cf. A. modicellus Harris and Thomas. Vinini formation, USGS colln. 2351 (SD). A camera lucida drawing. USNM 138674.. _._._..___....___.__.__..._. 139 TABLES Page TABLE 1. Distribution of graptolite collections geographically and strati- graphically_________________________________________ In pocket 2. Graptolite fauna of the Great Basin, showing zonal ranges of genera and species___________________________________ In pocket 3. Characteristics of some species of the genus Telragraptus...... 75 4. Characteristics of some species of the genus Phyllograptus...... 80 5. Characteristics of some species of the genus Dicranograptus.... 108 6. Characteristics of some species of the genus Climacograptus. ... 115 7. Characteristics of some species of the genus Glyptograptus__ _ 139 8. Characteristics of some species of the genus Orthograptus...... 143 ORDOVICIAN GRAPTOLITES OF THE BASIN RANGES IN CALIFORNIA, NEVADA, UTAH, AND IDAHO BY REUBEN J. Ross, JR., and WILLIAM B. N. BERRY ABSTRACT In the Basin Ranges, Ordovician graptolites have been found in two con­ trasting lithic facies; the "western" or eugeosynclinal facies is composed of greenstone, shale, siliceous argillite, chert, and quartzite, whereas the "eastern" or miogeosynclinal facies is composed of limestone, dolomite, silty limestone, calcareous shale, and quartzite. Graptolites are the most common fossils in the eugeosynclinal strata and probably far more abundant in the miogeosyn­ clinal facies than is generally supposed. The ages of graptolites discovered in both the eugeosynclinal and the mio­ geosynclinal facies range from Tremadoc to Ashgill; however, only a single collection from the eugeosynclinal facies is referred to the Tremadoc and that tentatively. Not a single collection represents the lowest zone of the Llan- virn (zone of Didymograptus bifidiis and D. artus) in the eugeosynclinal beds although D. artus is common in the basal shales of the Swan Peak formation to the east. The composition of the Great Basin fauna is similar to that from the Mara­ thon region of Texas with which very close correlation has been made. There are marked affinities with the graptolite faunas of Australia. The 133 species described and (or) illustrated, representing 35 genera, probably represent only a fraction of the total fauna present in the area of California, Nevada, Utah, and Idaho. Future searches are expected to pro­ duce a much more complete assemblage. INTRODUCTION This report presents a summary of the graptolite faunas of the Basin Ranges as known from the collections of the U.S. Geological Survey and the Departments of Geology of the University of Cali­ fornia at Los Angeles and Utah State University. The collections were made in the period 1872-1958, but only a very small number of specimens have been described or illustrated in the 80 or so years elapsed. Most of the collections were obtained since 1950 by various Survey field parties working in Nevada. Since 1953 the senior author has been responsible for identification and correlation of all Geological Survey graptolite collections from the West, and he has worked 2 ORDOVICIAN GRAPTOLITES OF THE BASIN RANGES with most of the field parties in obtaining collections. The junior author was recruited to assist in the preparation of this paper because of his experience with graptolite faunas of the Marathon region of Texas and his familiarity with type material from New York and Great Britain. He is responsible for all correlations and zonal ranges of species