Headon Hill HH2, Lower Headon Beds, Isle of Wight (Eocene of the United Kingdom)

Where: England, United Kingdom (50.6° N, 1.6° W: paleocoordinates 49.1° N, 5.4° W)

• coordinate estimated from map

When: Lower Headon Beds Formation, Late/Upper Eocene (37.2 - 33.9 Ma)

• This author considers the Lower Headon Beds to be a formation, HH2 refers to a locality in the second lowest mammal-bearing unit (thickness approximately 15 cm), which passes upwards into a lignitic clay (thickness approx. 5 cm). This is the upper portion of the Lower Headon Beds (approx. 18 m above HH1)

• bed-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: marine; silty, sandy, calcareous claystone and shelly/skeletal, green, calcareous, carbonaceous claystone

• overall lithology is claystone with interbedded marl (some silty/sandy) and limestone, fossils come from a green clay with bivalves which passes upwards into a lignitic clay. These strata are overlain by a pale brown marly limestone.

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Collection methods: bulk, sieve,

• This is probably the same location used by Prestwich, 1946, but his stratigraphy is all screwed up, it is my guess that HH2 is the same as his bed 45

Primary reference: A. A. Bosma. 1974. Rodent biostratigraphy of the Eocene-Oligocene transitional strata of the Isle of Wight. Utrecht Micropaleontological Bulletins. Special Publication 1:1-113 [J. Alroy/E. Leckey/E. Leckey]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 39236: authorized by John Alroy, entered by Erin Leckey on 24.05.2004, edited by Jason Head, Terri Cleary and Juan Benito Moreno

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

unclassified
  -
Gastropoda
 Heterostropha - Planorbidae
Planorbis sp. Muller 1774 snail
Reptilia
 Squamata - Anguidae
Glyptosaurinae indet.7 Marsh 1872 squamates
two framentary trunk vertebrae and one caudal vertebra
 Squamata - Necrosauridae
Necrosaurus sp.7 Filhol 1876 squamates
posterior caudal vertebra
 Squamata -
 Squamata - Boidae
Paleryx rhombifer7 Owen 1849 boa
 Squamata - Tropidophiidae
cf. Dunnophis sp.7 Hecht 1959 dwarf boa
vertebrae
 Squamata -
Headonophis harrisoni n. gen. n. sp.3 Holman 1993 snake
MSUVP 1342 (holotype), single trunk vertebra; MSUVP 2054, one caudal vertebra; MSUVP 2055-2057, three cloacal or caudal vertebrae
Vectophis wardi7 Rage and Ford 1980 snake
vertebrae
Mammalia
 Theriamorpha - Talpidae
Eotalpa anglica n. sp.4 Sigé et al. 1977 mole
MIWG.5503, a right M1 and GIU.HH2.2001, a right M2
 Rodentia - Gliridae
"Gliravus daamsi n. sp." = Schizogliravus daamsi2, Bransatoglis bahloi2, "Gliravus priscus" = Glamys priscus1, "Gliravus minor n. sp." = Glamys minor2
"Gliravus daamsi n. sp." = Schizogliravus daamsi2 Bosma and de Bruijn 1982 dormouse
holotype (M2) and 2 paratypes
Bransatoglis bahloi2 Bosma and de Bruijn 1982 dormouse
isolated teeth
"Gliravus priscus" = Glamys priscus1 Stehlin and Schaub 1951 dormouse
isolated teeth
"Gliravus minor n. sp." = Glamys minor2 Bosma and de Bruijn 1982 dormouse
holotype (M2) and 28 paratypes
 Rodentia - Theridomyidae
 Rodentia - Pseudosciuridae
Treposciurus mutabilis Schmidt-Kittler 1970 rodent
T. mutabilis helveticus
Sciuroides ehrensteinensis Schmidt-Kittler 1971 rodent
Amphibia
 Caudata - Urodela
cf. Megalotriton sp.7 Zittel 1890 newt
 Salientia - Pelobatidae
cf. Eopelobates sp.7 Parker 1929 spadefoot toad
 Salientia - Palaeobatrachidae
Palaeobatrachidae indet.7 Cope 1865 frog
anterior half of fronto-parietal
Albionbatrachus wightensis n. gen. n. sp.6 Meszoely et al. 1984 frog
a nearly complete frontoparietal bone
 Salientia - Discoglossidae
Discoglossidae indet.7 Günther 1859 painted frog
fragmentary atlas
Limnaea
  -
Limnaea sp. Lamarck 1799