Murdock Creek (Oligocene of the United States)

Also known as USGS 26898, LACMIP 6295, LACMVP 5123, 5412, CSUN 1578, UWBM C0667, JLG-76

Where: Clallam County, Washington (48.2° N, 123.9° W: paleocoordinates 47.8° N, 113.0° W)

• coordinate estimated from map

When: Pysht Formation, Rupelian (33.9 - 28.1 Ma)

• lower part of Pysht Formation; Prothero et al. (2001) place the lower Pysht in the early Oligocene (=Rupelian), as does Shipps et al (2019).

•lower part of Pysht Formation, latest early Oligocene/early late Oligocene (Barnes and Goedert, 2001; Barnes et al., 2001; Prothero et al., 2001), or late Oligocene (Nesbitt et al., 2010). (Mayr et al., 2015)

• formation-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: deep-water; siltstone

• deep sea (evidence of whale fall), cold, high pressure

Size class: macrofossils

• Osedax boreholes

Preservation: original phosphate

Reposited in the LACM

Collection methods: surface (in situ),

Primary reference: L. G. Barnes and J. L. Goedert. 2001. Stratigraphy and paleoecology of Oligocene and Miocene desmostylian occurrences in Western Washington State, U.S.A. Bulletin of the Ashoro Museum of Paleontology 2:7-22 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen]more details

Purpose of describing collection: general faunal/floral analysis

PaleoDB collection 58964: authorized by Mark Uhen, entered by Mark Uhen on 01.03.2006, edited by Mihaela Krause

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Scaphopoda
  -
Scaphopoda indet.5 Bronn 1862 tusk shell
 Gadilida - Gadilidae
Cadulus sp.5 Philippi 1844 tusk shell
Gastropoda
 Neogastropoda - Volutidae
Fulgoraria (Musashia) ellenmooreae11 Squires and Goedert 1994 volute
 Neogastropoda - Buccinidae
Colus sekiuensis n. sp.7 Kiel and Goedert 2007 true whelk
 Neogastropoda - Turridae
Turridae indet.5 Swainson 1840 turrid
 Sorbeoconcha - Naticidae
Naticidae indet.6 Guilding 1834 moon snail
Natica weaveri5 Tegland 1933 moon snail
 Opisthobranchia - Cylichnidae
Scaphander sp.6 Monfort 1810 snail
Bivalvia
 Nuculanida - Nuculanidae
Nuculana sp.6 Link 1807 pointed nut clam
n. sp.
Nuculana posterolaevia7 Kiel and Goedert 2007 pointed nut clam
 Mytilida - Mytilidae
Idas sp.6, Idas olympicus n. sp.7, "? Modiolus (Modiolus) willapaensis" = Bathymodiolus willapaensis3
Idas sp.6 Jeffreys 1876 mussel
n. sp.
Idas olympicus n. sp.7 Kiel and Goedert 2007 mussel
"? Modiolus (Modiolus) willapaensis" = Bathymodiolus willapaensis3 Squires and Goedert 1991 mussel
 Pectinida - Pectinoidae
Pectinidae indet.6 Wilkes 1810 scallop
 Lucinida - Thyasiridae
Thyasira sp.3 Lamarck 1818 clam
Thyasira xylodia n. sp.7 Kiel and Goedert 2007 clam
Conchocele taylori4 Hickman 2015 clam
Conchocele bisecta6 Conrad 1849 clam
 Cardiida - Vesicomyidae
Vesicomyidae indet.10 Dall 1908 clam
Calyptogena (Calyptogena) chinookensis3 Squires and Goedert 1991 clam
Polychaeta
  - Siboglinidae
Osedax sp.10 Rouse et al. 2004
Mammalia
 Perissodactyla -
Behemotops proteus9 Domning et al. 1986 desmostylian
Behemotops cf. proteus1 Domning et al. 1986 desmostylian
LACM 124106
 Placentalia -
Cetacea indet.6 Brisson 1762 whale
 Cetacea -
Mysticeti indet.6 Cope 1891 whale
Borealodon osedax n. gen. n. sp.10 Shipps et al. 2019 whale
 Cetacea - Simocetidae
Simocetidae indet.12 Fordyce 2002 toothed whale
LACM 124104
Olympicetus sp.12 Vélez-Juarbe 2017 toothed whale
LACM 124105, sp. 1
aff. Olympicetus sp.12 Vélez-Juarbe 2017 toothed whale
CCNHM 1000
Aves
 Suliformes - Plotopteridae
Tonsala hildegardae n. gen. n. sp.8, Tonsala buchanani n. sp.2
Tonsala hildegardae n. gen. n. sp.8 Olson 1980 bird
SMF Av 599, 600, 601, 645
Tonsala buchanani n. sp.2 Dyke et al. 2011 bird
Chondrichthyes
 Squaliformes - Somniosidae
Somniosus gonzalezi10 Welton and Goedert 2016 sleeper shark
Crinoidea
 Isocrinida - Isocrinidae
? Isocrinus sp.3 von Meyer 1836 Sea lily