Railway cut 1 km north of Swartkops (Pliocene of South Africa)

Where: Cape, South Africa (33.8° S, 25.6° E: paleocoordinates 34.0° S, 25.2° E)

• coordinate stated in text

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: Alexandria Formation, Pliocene (5.3 - 2.6 Ma)

• STRATIGRAPHIC RELATIONS: From Alexandria Formation, which unconformably overlies Late Cretaceous Sundays River Fm in places, and is overlain by eolian calcarenites. AGE: Much discussed, although not clearly in text, to range from Miocene to Pleistocene, but also possible Eocene (see Haughton pers. comm., cited in text). Assigned here to a Pliocene age, based on more recent publications (King, 1972). STRATIGRAPHIC POSITION: A composite list representing the entire formation.

• bed-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: foreshore; poorly lithified conglomerate and sandstone

• The generally good physical condition of shells in this layer suggests only moderate wave energy during deposition.
• Cypraea zietsmani specimens were found in a fossiliferous, semiconsolidated conglomerate layer showing typical low-angle beach stratification as well as imbrication. A sandstone lens in this unit shows herringbone cross-bedding, which is also suggestive of a beach environment.

Size class: macrofossils

Collected by Ross Zietsman in 06/1981

• South African Musem (SAM)

Primary reference: W. Liltved and F. Leroux. 1988. A new fossil Cypraea (Gastropoda, Prosobranchia) from South Africa with notes on the Alexandria Formation. Veliger 30(4):400-407 [P. Wagner/P. Wagner/P. Wagner]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 179486: authorized by Pete Wagner, entered by Pete Wagner on 17.06.2016

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

unclassified
  -
Gastropoda
 Neotaenioglossa - Calyptraeidae
Calyptraea kilburni Kensley and Pether 1986 slipper shell
 Sorbeoconcha - Cypraeidae
"Cypraea zietsmani" = Afrozoila zietsmani
"Cypraea zietsmani" = Afrozoila zietsmani Liltved and Leroux 1988 cowry
 Neogastropoda - Muricidae
Nucella squamosa murex snail
 Neogastropoda - Buccinidae
Melapium elatum true whelk
 Neogastropoda - Turbinellidae
Vasum "sp. nov. ?" Röding 1798 snail
 Neogastropoda - Clavatulidae
Clionella "sp. nov. ?" Gray 1847 snail
 Cerithioidea - Turritellidae
Turritella sanguinea Reeve 1849 turret shell
 Lepetellida - Fissurellidae
Fissurellidea aperta Sowerby 1825 snail
Scaphopoda
 Dentaliida - Dentaliidae
Dentalium sp. Linnaeus 1758 tusk shell
Bivalvia
 Ostreida - Pteriidae
Pinctada "sp. nov. ?" Ršding 1798 pearl oyster
 Arcida - Glycymerididae
Rhynchonellata
 Terebratulida - Kraussinidae
Kraussina sp. Davidson 1859