Where: Trinidad and Tobago (10.6° N, 61.1° W)
• Paleocoordinates: 10.8° N, 58.5° W (Wright 2013)
• coordinate based on nearby landmark
• outcrop-level geographic resolution
When: Melajo Clay Member (Springvale Formation), Late/Upper Miocene (11.6 - 5.3 Ma)
• The Melajo Clay Member of the Springvale Formation is correlated with the Savaneta Glaconitic Sandstone Member of the Springvale Formation, although part of it may be younger. The Melajo fauna is late Miocene in age. The Melajo Clay rests transgressively on the phyllites of the Northern Range with a basal conglomerate of about 1 m thickness. The conglomerate graes into a 1.5 m thick limestone, which is overlain by a bed of sand of about 1 m thickness. Above the sand is the Melajo Clay. The total thickness of the Melajo Clay is about 200 ft. It is unconformably overlain by Pleistocene sand and gravel deposits.
• bed-level stratigraphic resolution
Environment/lithology: offshore; unlithified, yellow, blue, silty claystone and unlithified, coarse-grained sandstone
Size class: macrofossils
Reposited in the PRI, USNM
Collection methods: quarrying,
• All material descibed in this report is reposited in the Naturhistorisches Mueum, Basel, or the USNM. Additional material collection from this unit is found at PRI.
Primary reference: P. Jung. 1969. Miocene and Pliocene mollusks from Trinidad. Bulletins of American Paleontology 55(247):293-697 [A. Miller/A. Hendy]more details
Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis
PaleoDB collection 60635: authorized by Austin Hendy, entered by Austin Hendy on 19.05.2006
Creative Commons license: CC0 (CC0)
Taxonomic list
| Scaphopoda | |
|
Dentalium (Dentalium) divulgatum tusk shell | |
| Gastropoda | |
"Neritina (Vitta) cf. virginia" = Neritina virginea
"Neritina (Vitta) cf. virginia" = Neritina virginea Linnaeus 1758 snail | |
"Calliostoma olssoni" = Calliostoma (Elmerlinia) olssoni
"Calliostoma olssoni" = Calliostoma (Elmerlinia) olssoni Maury 1925 top snail | |
|
Niso grandis snail
Eulima "sp. A" Risso 1826 snail | |
|
Cerithium harrisi cerith snail | |
|
Turritella (Broderiptella) planigyrata Guppy 1867 turret shell
Turritella (Broderiptella) aff. mimetes Brown and Pilsbry 1911 turret shell | |
"Natica (Naticarius) aff. canrena" = Naticarius canrena, Polinices stanislasmeunieri
"Natica (Naticarius) aff. canrena" = Naticarius canrena Linnaeus 1758 moon snail
Polinices stanislasmeunieri Maury 1917 moon snail | |
|
Malea sp. Valenciennes 1833 tun shell | |
|
Calyptraea centralis Conrad 1841 Chinese hat snail | |
|
Eupleura lehneri Jung 1969 murex snail
Typhis sp. Montfort 1810 murex snail
Calotrophon hutchisoni murex snail | |
Anachis (Costoanachis) fraudans, "Strombina (Sincola) crassilabrum" = Sincola (Sincola) crassilabrum1, "Strombina ? melajoensis" = Sincola (Dorsina) melajoensis, "Anachis (Costoanachis) obesa" = Parvanachis obesa
Anachis (Costoanachis) fraudans dove shell
"Strombina ? melajoensis" = Sincola (Dorsina) melajoensis Jung 1969 dove shell
"Anachis (Costoanachis) obesa" = Parvanachis obesa Adams 1845 dove shell | |
|
Nassarius (Uzita) trinitatensis Jung 1969 snail | |
|
Metaphos ? sp. Olsson 1964 true whelk
Metula aff. cancellata Gabb 1873 true whelk
Strombinophos perdoctus true whelk | |
"Olivella (Dactylidia) aff. mutica" = Olivella mutica, Olivella (Minioliva) fundarugata
"Olivella (Dactylidia) aff. mutica" = Olivella mutica Say 1822 olive snail
Olivella (Minioliva) fundarugata olive snail | |
|
Cyclostremiscus (Ponocyclus) pentagonus Gabb 1873 snail | |
| Bivalvia | |
"Adrana perprotracta" = Adrana newcombi, "Nuculana (Saccella) ludificans" = Saccella
"Adrana perprotracta" = Adrana newcombi Angas 1878 pointed nut clam
"Nuculana (Saccella) ludificans" = Saccella pointed nut clam | |
|
Crassinella guppyi Dall 1896 clam | |
Caryocorbula (Caryocorbula) helenae, Caryocorbula (Caryocorbula) sp., "Notocorbula sp." = Corbula (Notocorbula), Tenuicorbula melajoensis
Caryocorbula (Caryocorbula) sp. Gardner 1926 clam
"Notocorbula sp." = Corbula (Notocorbula) Iredale 1930 clam
Tenuicorbula melajoensis Jung 1969 clam | |
|
Semele laevis costaricensis Olsson 1922 clam
Semele aff. anteriocosta Vokes 1938 clam | |
Merisca trinidadensis, Tellidora sp., Temnoconcha aff. brasiliana, "Macoma (Psammacoma) "sp. A"" = Psammacoma, "Moerella (Moerella) elinguis" = Tellina (Moerella), "Eurytellina melajoensis" = Tellina (Eurytellina), "? Eurytellina oligoscissulata" = Tellina (Eurytellina)
Merisca trinidadensis tellin clam
Tellidora sp. Morch 1856 tellin clam
Temnoconcha aff. brasiliana tellin clam
"Macoma (Psammacoma) "sp. A"" = Psammacoma Dall 1900 tellin clam
"Moerella (Moerella) elinguis" = Tellina (Moerella) tellin clam
"Eurytellina melajoensis" = Tellina (Eurytellina) tellin clam
"? Eurytellina oligoscissulata" = Tellina (Eurytellina) tellin clam | |
"Lucina (Lucinisca) roigi" = Lucinisca
"Lucina (Lucinisca) roigi" = Lucinisca clam | |
Cyclinella sp., Pitar (Lamelliconcha) circinatus, Pitar (Lamelliconcha) labeanus, Dosinia (Dosinia) sp.
Cyclinella sp. Dall 1902 venus clam
Pitar (Lamelliconcha) circinatus venus clam
Pitar (Lamelliconcha) labeanus venus clam
Dosinia (Dosinia) sp. Scopoli 1777 venus clam | |
|
Anadara (Anadara) inaequilateralis Maury 1917 ark | |
|
Noetia (Noetia) sheldoniana Maury 1912 clam | |
|
Ostrea sp. Linnaeus 1758 oyster | |
"Aequipecten (Plagioctenium) cf. maturensis" = Argopecten
"Aequipecten (Plagioctenium) cf. maturensis" = Argopecten calico scallop | |
|
Anomia simplex d'Orbigny 1845 jingle | |