Wittens Mills (Ordovician of the United States)

Where: Tazewell County, Virginia (37.2° N, 81.5° W: paleocoordinates 29.6° S, 61.7° W)

• coordinate estimated from map

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: Plectodina aculeata conodont zone, Peery Limestone Member (Cliffield Formation), Ashbyan (460.9 - 449.5 Ma)

• Ashbyan. Cliffield Formation, Peery Limestone Member,

• member-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: black, gray, argillaceous limestone

• Dark bluish-gray to black fine-grained argillaceous limestone. Chert is abundant. Waxy seams of silty clay and streaks of waxy bituminous material project from weathered surfaces and give the rock a nodular appearance. One of its most distinctive features is the ash-gray weathering residue, in which many well-preserved ostracodes appear. Intercalated beds of calcilutyte are common near the top.

Size classes: macrofossils, microfossils

Primary reference: B. N. Cooper and C. E. Prouty. 1943. Stratigraphy of the Lower Middle Ordovician of Tazewell County, Virginia. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 54:819-886 [S. Holland/T. Hanson/T. Hanson]more details

Purpose of describing collection: biostratigraphic analysis

PaleoDB collection 33544: authorized by Steven Holland, entered by Tori Hanson on 02.08.2003, edited by Pete Wagner

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Tetradium
  -
Polylopia
  - Coleolidae
Trilobita
 Phacopida - Pterygometopidae
Calliops aff. gracilens trilobite
(Raymond)
 Phacopida - Cheiruridae
Pseudosphaerexochus sp. Schmidt 1881 trilobite
Ostracoda
 Leperditicopida - Leperditiidae
Leperditia fabulites ostracod
subsp. pinguis Butts
Strophomenata
 Strophomenida - Syndielasmatidae
Sowerbyites sp. Teichert 1937
 Strophomenida - Sowerbyellidae
 Strophomenida - Strophomenidae
Strophomena filitexta, "Strophomena tenuitesta" = Rhipidomena tenuitesta
Strophomena filitexta Hall 1847
(Hall)
"Strophomena tenuitesta" = Rhipidomena tenuitesta Willard 1928
Willard
Rhynchonellata
 Orthida - Plectorthidae
Mimella sp. Cooper 1930
 Orthida - Plaesiomyidae
Bivalvia
 Cyrtodontida - Cyrtodontidae
Cyrtodonta sp. Billings 1858 clam
Rostroconchia
 Conocardiida - Bransoniidae
? Pojetaconcha sp.1 Waterhouse 1987
Gastropoda
 Euomphalina - Helicotomidae
aff. Helicotoma tennesseensis Safford 1869 snail
Ulrich & Scofield
Helicotoma declivis Safford 1869 snail
Ulrich
Ophiletina sublaxa Ulrich and Scofield 1897 snail
subsp. depressa Ulrich and Scofield
 Euomphalina - Holopeidae
Raphistomina sp. Ulrich and Scofield 1897 snail
 Bellerophontida - Bucaniidae
Phragmolites cf. triangularis Ulrich and Scofield 1897 snail
(Ulrich and Scofield)
"Bucania emmonsi" = Loxobucania emmonsi Ulrich and Scofield 1897 snail
Ulrich & Scofield
 Murchisoniina - Lophospiridae
Lophospira perangulata, Lophospira aff. perangulata2, "Lophospira procera" = Lophospira milleri, "Lophospira bicincta" = Lophospira milleri, "Lophospira aff. ampla" = Paupospira tropidophora
Lophospira perangulata Hall 1847 snail
(Hall)
Lophospira aff. perangulata2 Hall 1847 snail
Ulrich
"Lophospira procera" = Lophospira milleri Miller 1877 snail
Ulrich
"Lophospira bicincta" = Lophospira milleri Miller 1877 snail
(Hall)
"Lophospira aff. ampla" = Paupospira tropidophora Meek 1873 snail
Ulrich
 Murchisoniina - Trochonematidae
Trochonema bellulum Ulrich and Scofield 1897 snail
Ulrich
 Murchisoniina - Eotomariidae
Eotomaria canalifera Ulrich and Scofield 1897 snail
Ulrich
Cephalopoda
 Oncocerida -
 Barrandeocerida - Plectoceratidae
 Actinocerida - Gonioceratidae
Gonioceras sp. Hall 1847
 Orthocerida - Kionoceratidae
Kionoceras sp. Hyatt 1884