Todmorden moor spoil dump (Carboniferous of the United Kingdom)

Where: England, United Kingdom (53.7° N, 2.2° W: paleocoordinates 0.3° N, 7.6° E)

• coordinate estimated from map

• hand sample-level geographic resolution

When: Lower Coal Measures Formation, Westphalian A (318.7 - 316.9 Ma)

• Although the material described here was not found in situ, there are very good reasons for being able to provide reasonable stratigraphic data for their occurrence. The material was found on a mine spoil dump derived from the working of coal seams lying towards the base of the so-called Lower Coal Measures (Westphalian, Langsettian) of the Pennine Coal Measures Group that are exposed on the summit of Todmorden Moor. The presence of the goniatites Gastrioceras subcrenatum and G. listeri permits correlation with sequences elsewhere, and indicates a Lower Westphalian, Langsettian.

• bed-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: marine; lithified, gray mudstone

• The presence of a small (10 mm diameter) goniatite on the margin of the specimen however indicates a marine origin for the sample. The fine-grained nature of the matrix and the lack of abrasion and sorting of the ichthyoliths suggests a quiet, perhaps deepish, water setting for the sample. Water depth for a marine band associated so intimately with coal seams would probably not be excessively deep.

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Collected by P.J.A. Del Strother; reposited in the BMNH

Collection methods: surface (float), acetic

Primary reference: D. M. Martill, P. J. A. Del Strother, and F. Gallien. 2014. Acanthorhachis, a new genus of shark from the Carboniferous (Westphalian) of Yorkshire, England. Geological Magazine 151:517-533 [M. Clapham/M. Clapham]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 154807: authorized by Matthew Clapham, entered by Matthew Clapham on 13.03.2014

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Show authors, comments, and common names
Chondrichthyes
  - Listracanthidae
Acanthorhachis spinatus
Acanthorhachis spinatus Bolton 1896 elasmobranch
NHMUK P73205a, 73206b, 73207c, 73208d, 73209e, 73210f, 73211g, 73212h, 73215, 73126