Headon Hill HH2, Lower Headon Beds, Isle of Wight: Late/Upper Eocene, United Kingdom

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
unclassified
Ophiosaurus sp.
Meszoely and Ford 1976
Gastropoda - Heterostropha - Planorbidae
Planorbis sp. Muller 1774
Reptilia - Anguidae
Glyptosaurinae indet. Marsh 1872
Rage and Ford 1980 3 specimens
two framentary trunk vertebrae and one caudal vertebra
Reptilia - Necrosauridae
Necrosaurus sp. Filhol 1876
Rage and Ford 1980 1 specimen
posterior caudal vertebra
Reptilia
Lacertilia indet. Owen 1842
Meszoely and Ford 1976
    = Scincomorpha indet. Camp 1923
Rage and Ford 1980
fragmentary dentaries
Reptilia - Boidae
Serpentes indet. Linnaeus 1758
Meszoely and Ford 1976 20 specimens
    = Paleryx rhombifer Owen 1849
Rage and Ford 1980
about 20 fragmentary trunk vertebrae
Reptilia - Tropidophiidae
cf. Dunnophis sp. Hecht 1959
Rage and Ford 1980
vertebrae
Reptilia
Headonophis harrisoni n. gen., n. sp. Holman 1993
Holman et al. 2006 5 specimens
MSUVP 1342 (holotype), single trunk vertebra; MSUVP 2054, one caudal vertebra; MSUVP 2055-2057, three cloacal or caudal vertebrae
Vectophis wardi Rage and Ford 1980
Rage and Ford 1980 60 specimens
vertebrae
Mammalia - Talpidae
Eotalpa anglica n. sp. Sigé et al. 1977
Hooker 2015 2 specimens
MIWG.5503, a right M1 and GIU.HH2.2001, a right M2
Mammalia - Rodentia - Gliridae
Gliravus daamsi n. sp. Bosma and de Bruijn 1982
Bosma and de Bruijn 1982 3 specimens
recombined as Schizogliravus daamsi
holotype (M2) and 2 paratypes
Bransatoglis bahloi Bosma and de Bruijn 1982
Bosma and de Bruijn 1982 21 specimens
isolated teeth
Gliravus priscus Stehlin and Schaub 1951
Bosma and de Bruijn 1979 113 specimens
recombined as Glamys priscus
isolated teeth
Gliravus minor n. sp. Bosma and de Bruijn 1982
Bosma and de Bruijn 1982 29 specimens
recombined as Glamys minor
holotype (M2) and 28 paratypes
Mammalia - Rodentia - Theridomyidae
Suevosciurus palustris
Isoptychus fordi
Isoptychus pseudosiderolithicus
Paradelomys quercyi
Mammalia - Rodentia - Pseudosciuridae
Treposciurus intermedius
Treposciurus mutabilis Schmidt-Kittler 1970
T. mutabilis helveticus
Sciuroides ehrensteinensis Schmidt-Kittler 1971
Amphibia - Temnospondyli - Urodela
cf. Megalotriton sp. Zittel 1890
Rage and Ford 1980
Amphibia - Temnospondyli - Pelobatidae
Anura indet. (Fischer von Waldheim 1813)
Meszoely and Ford 1976 2 specimens
    = cf. Eopelobates sp. Parker 1929
Rage and Ford 1980
two procoelous presacral vertebrae
Amphibia - Temnospondyli - Palaeobatrachidae
Palaeobatrachidae indet. Cope 1865
Rage and Ford 1980 1 specimen
anterior half of fronto-parietal
Albionbatrachus wightensis n. gen., n. sp. Meszoely et al. 1984
Meszoely et al. 1984 1 specimen
a nearly complete frontoparietal bone
Amphibia - Temnospondyli - Discoglossidae
Discoglossidae indet. Günther 1859
Rage and Ford 1980 1 specimen
fragmentary atlas
unclassified
Limnaea sp. Lamarck 1799
see common names

Geography
Country:United Kingdom State/province:England
Coordinates: 50.6° North, 1.6° West (view map)
Paleocoordinates:49.1° North, 5.4° West
Basis of coordinate:estimated from map
Time
Period:Paleogene Epoch:Eocene
Stage:Priabonian 10 m.y. bin:Cenozoic 3
Key time interval:Late/Upper Eocene
Age range of interval:37.20000 - 33.90000 m.y. ago
Stratigraphy
Formation:Lower Headon Beds
Stratigraphic resolution:bed
Stratigraphy comments: 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)
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology: silty,sandy,calcareous claystone
Secondary lithology:shelly/skeletal,green calcareous,carbonaceous claystone
Includes fossils?Y
Lithology description: 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.
Environment:marine indet.
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body
Size of fossils:macrofossils,mesofossils
Disassociated major elements:some
Disassociated minor elements:many
Collection methods and comments
Collection excludes:some macrofossils
Collection methods:bulk,sieve,field collection
Minimum sieve size:0.500
Rock censused:1600 kg
Reason for describing collection:taxonomic analysis
Collection method comments: 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
Metadata
Database number:39236
Authorizer:J. Alroy, J. Head, R. Butler, P. Barrett Enterer:E. Leckey, J. Benito Moreno, T. Cleary, J. Head
Modifier:E. Leckey Research group:marine invertebrate,vertebrate
Subset of collection #:39677
Created:2004-05-24 13:51:24 Last modified:2004-06-30 20:05:56
Access level:the public Released:2004-05-24 13:51:24
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:

10589. 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]

Secondary references:

10493 A. A. Bosma and H. de Bruijn. 1979. Eocene and Oligocene Gliridae (Rodentia, Mammalia) from the Isle of Wight, England. Proceedings of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, Series B: Palaeontology, Geology, Physics and Chemistry 82(4):367-384 [J. Alroy/E. Leckey/E. Leckey]
10494 A. A. Bosma and H. de Bruijn. 1982. Eocene and Oligocene Gliridae (Rodentia, Mammalia) from the Isle of Wight, England. Proceedings of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, Series B: Palaeontology, Geology, Physics and Chemistry 85(4):365-380 [J. Alroy/E. Leckey/L. van den Hoek Ostende]
60271 J. A. Holman, D. L. Harrison, and D. J. Ward. 2006. Late Eocene snakes from the Headon Hill Formation, southern England. Cainozoic Research 5(1-2):51-62 [P. Barrett/T. Cleary]
61574 J. J. Hooker. 2015. Skeletal adaptations and phylogeny of the oldest mole Eotalpa (Talpidae, Lipotyphla, Mammalia) from the UK Eocene: the beginning of fossoriality in moles. Palaeontology 59(2):195-216 [R. Butler/J. Benito Moreno/M. Uhen]
91545% 32040C. A. M. Meszoely and R. L. E. Ford. 1976. Eocene glass-lizard Ophiosaurus (Anguidae) from the British Islands. Copeia 1976(2):407-408 [J. Head/J. Head/J. Alroy]
10613 C. A. M. Meszoely, Z. V. Spinar, and R. L. E. Ford. 1984. A new palaeobatrachid frog from the Eocene of the British Isles. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 3(3):143-147 [J. Alroy/E. Leckey/J. Alroy]
10745 J. Prestwich. 1846. On the Tertiary or SupraCretaceous Formations of the Isle of Wight as exhibited in the sections at Alum Bay and White Cliff Bay. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 2:233-259 [J. Alroy/E. Leckey/E. Leckey]
10612 J. C. Rage and R. L. E. Ford. 1980. Amphibians and Squamates from the Upper Eocene of the Isle of Wight. Tertiary Research 3(2):47-60 [J. Alroy/E. Leckey/E. Leckey]