USGS 20432a - Courbaril Member, Point Courbaril: Early/Lower Pliocene, Trinidad and Tobago

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Scaphopoda - Dentaliida - Dentaliidae
Dentalium (Dentalium) divulgatum
Gastropoda - Cerithiidae
Cerithium harrisi
Gastropoda - Neogastropoda - Muricidae
Murex (Chicoreus) cf. brevifrons (Lamarck 1822)
    = Chicoreus (Triplex) cornurectus Guppy 1876
Landau and Marques da Silva 2010
Thais (Stramonita) cf. haemastoma (Linnaeus 1767)
recombined as Stramonita haemostoma
Cymia brightoniana Maury 1925
recombined as Cymia (Cymia) brightoniana
Bivalvia - Pholadida - Corbulidae
Caryocorbula (Caryocorbula) sp. Gardner 1926
Bivalvia - Cardiida - Veneridae
Chione (Lirophora) sanctidavidis
original and current combination Lirophora
Chione (Nioche) veatchiana Maury 1912
Dosinia (Dosinia) sp. Scopoli 1777
Cyclinella aff. tenuis (Récluz 1852)
original and current combination Dosinia (Artemis) tenuis
Bivalvia - Cardiida - Tellinidae
Strigilla (Strigilla) carnaria (Linnaeus 1758)
Eurytellina punicea (Born 1778)
Moerella (Moerella) elinguis
spelled with current rank as Tellina (Moerella)
Bivalvia - Cardiida - Donacidae
Donax brightonensis
Bivalvia - Cardiida - Semelidae
Semele purpurascens (Gmelin 1791)
Semele aff. anteriocosta Vokes 1938
Semele proficua (Pulteney 1799)
Abra cf. aequalis (Say 1822)
Cumingia galbensis
Bivalvia - Cardiida - Cardiidae
Laevicardium laevigatum (Linnaeus 1758)
replaced by Laevicardium serratum
Trigoniocardia (Trigoniocardia) maturensis
Trachycardium (Dallocardia) sanctidavidis
spelled with current rank as Dallocardia
Bivalvia - Carditida - Carditidae
Carditamera (Bryssomera) aff. affinis (Sowerby 1823)
recombined as Carditamera affinis
Bivalvia - Mytilida - Mytilidae
Brachidontes (Brachidontes) sp. Swainson 1840
Bivalvia - Arcida - Arcidae
Anadara (Cunearca) filicata
Arca (aff. Arca) imbricata (Bruguière 1789)
recombined as Lamarcka imbricata
see common names

Geography
Country:Trinidad and Tobago
Coordinates: 10.2° North, 61.6° West (view map)
Paleocoordinates:10.2° North, 60.9° West
Basis of coordinate:based on nearby landmark
Geographic resolution:outcrop
Time
Period:Neogene Epoch:Pliocene
Stage:Zanclean 10 m.y. bin:Cenozoic 6
Key time interval:Early/Lower Pliocene
Age range of interval:5.33300 - 3.60000 m.y. ago
Stratigraphy
Formation:Morne l'Enfer Member:Courbaril
Local section:Point Galba
Regional section:Brighton
Stratigraphic resolution:bed
Stratigraphy comments: Collection is from the Courbaril Sand and Clay Member of the Upper Morne l'Enfer Formation. The Courbaril fauna is considered to be of early Pliocene age and is probably slightly older than the Matura fauna.
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology: poorly lithified sandstone
Secondary lithology: claystone
Includes fossils?Y
Includes fossils?Y
Lithology description: Poor reporting of lithologies. Named as the "Courbaril Sand and Clay Member", so these lithologies are assigned.
Environment:shoreface
Geology comments: The assemblage as a whole points to a nearshore environment, with some brackish influence (compared with Melajo Clay assemblages).
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body
Size of fossils:macrofossils
Preservation of anatomical detail:good
Collection methods and comments
Collection excludes:some macrofossils,some microfossils
Collection methods:selective quarrying,field collection
Reason for describing collection:taxonomic analysis
Museum repositories:PRI,USNM
Collection method comments: 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.
Taxonomic list comments:Exhaustive for Mollusca. Crab claws, corals, fish teeth, and scarce foraminifera also exist in the unit, though are not listed. Van de Bold (1963) also lists ostracords from several localities.
Metadata
Database number:60644
Authorizer:A. Hendy Enterer:A. Hendy
Research group:marine invertebrate
Subset of collection #:60409
Created:2006-05-19 08:36:45 Last modified:2013-11-25 13:37:23
Access level:the public Released:2006-05-19 08:36:44
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:
17317. P. Jung. 1969. Miocene and Pliocene mollusks from Trinidad. Bulletins of American Paleontology 55(247):293-697 [A. Miller/A. Hendy]

Secondary references:

36423 B. Landau and C. Marques da Silva. 2010. Early Pliocene gastropods of Cubagua, Venezuela: Taxonomy, palaeobiogeography and ecostratigraphy. Palaeontos 19:1-221 [A. Hendy/A. Hendy]