USGS 21778 - Courbaril Member, Point Courbaril (Pliocene of Trinidad and Tobago)

Where: Trinidad and Tobago (10.2° N, 61.6° W: paleocoordinates 10.2° N, 60.9° W)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: Courbaril Member (Morne l'Enfer Formation), Early/Lower Pliocene (5.3 - 3.6 Ma)

• Collection is from the Courbaril Sand and Clay Member of the Upper Morne l'Enfer Formation. The Courbaril fauna is considered to be of early Pliocene age and is probably slightly older than the Matura fauna.

• bed-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: shoreface; poorly lithified sandstone and claystone

• The assemblage as a whole points to a nearshore environment, with some brackish influence (compared with Melajo Clay assemblages).
• Poor reporting of lithologies. Named as the "Courbaril Sand and Clay Member", so these lithologies are assigned.

Size class: macrofossils

Reposited in the PRI, USNM

Collection methods: quarrying,

• All material descibed in this report is reposited in the Naturhistorisches Mueum, Basel, or the USNM. Additional material collection from this unit is found at PRI.

Primary reference: P. Jung. 1969. Miocene and Pliocene mollusks from Trinidad. Bulletins of American Paleontology 55(247):293-697 [A. Miller/A. Hendy]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 60649: authorized by Austin Hendy, entered by Austin Hendy on 19.05.2006

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• Exhaustive for Mollusca. Crab claws, corals, fish teeth, and scarce foraminifera also exist in the unit, though are not listed. Van de Bold (1963) also lists ostracords from several localities.
Scaphopoda
 Dentaliida - Dentaliidae
Gastropoda
 Cerithioidea - Cerithiidae
Cerithium harrisi cerith snail
 Cerithioidea - Turritellidae
Turritella (Broderiptella) aff. mimetes Brown and Pilsbry 1911 turret shell
Turritella (Broderiptella) bifastigata Nelson 1870 turret shell
Subspecies: T. (B.) bifastigata caratagenensis
 Neogastropoda - Marginellidae
Prunum (Prunum) dallianum Maury 1912 margin shell
 Neogastropoda - Volutidae
"Bullata maturensis" = Closia (Bullata)
"Bullata maturensis" = Closia (Bullata) volute
 Neogastropoda - Muricidae
"Cymia brightoniana" = Cymia (Cymia) brightoniana Maury 1925 murex snail
Chicoreus (Triplex) cornurectus1 Guppy 1876 murex snail
Thais (Stramonita) cf. haemostoma Linnaeus 1767 murex snail
Risomurex galbensis murex snail
 Neogastropoda - Melongenidae
Melongena melongena Linnaeus 1758 snail
 Neogastropoda - Columbellidae
 Sorbeoconcha - Naticidae
"Natica (Naticarius) aff. canrena" = Naticarius canrena
"Natica (Naticarius) aff. canrena" = Naticarius canrena Linnaeus 1758 moon snail
 Lepetellida - Fissurellidae
Bivalvia
 Pectinida - Anomiidae
Anomia simplex d'Orbigny 1845 jingle
 Arcida - Noetiidae
Noetia (Eontia) centrota Guppy 1867 clam
 Arcida - Arcidae
 Lucinida - Lucinidae
 Pandorida - Pandoridae
Pandora sp. Bruguière 1797 clam
 Cardiida - Veneridae
"Chione (Lirophora) sanctidavidis" = Lirophora, Pitar (Lamelliconcha) cicinatus
"Chione (Lirophora) sanctidavidis" = Lirophora venus clam
Pitar (Lamelliconcha) cicinatus venus clam
misspelled: Pitar (Lamellinconcha) cicinatus
 Cardiida - Chamidae
Chama cf. macerophylla2 Gmelin 1791 jewel box
[entered as Chama macrophylla]
 Cardiida - Cardiidae
 Cardiida - Tellinidae
"? Eurytellina oligoscissulata" = Tellina (Eurytellina), Eurytellina punicea, "Moerella (Moerella) elinguis" = Tellina (Moerella)
"? Eurytellina oligoscissulata" = Tellina (Eurytellina) tellin clam
Eurytellina punicea Born 1778 tellin clam
"Moerella (Moerella) elinguis" = Tellina (Moerella) tellin clam
 Cardiida - Semelidae
Semele proficua Pulteney 1799 clam
Abra cf. aequalis Say 1822 abra
 Carditida - Carditidae
"Carditamera (Bryssomera) aff. affinis" = Carditamera affinis
"Carditamera (Bryssomera) aff. affinis" = Carditamera affinis Sowerby 1823 clam