Bolinas Point (Miocene of the United States)

Where: Marin County, California (37.9° N, 122.7° W: paleocoordinates 37.5° N, 120.8° W)

• coordinate stated in text

When: Nitzschia reinholdii other zone, Santa Cruz Formation, Messinian (7.2 - 5.3 Ma)

• between 6.8 and 6.0 Ma, formerly considered to be part of the Monterey Formation. “subzone a” of the Nitzschia reinholdii Zone

•Diatoms recovered from the same stratum as the holotype correlate with “subzone a” of the Nitzschia reinholdii Zone [185], indicating an age range of 7.6–6.7 Ma [130, 172]. (Marx & Fordyce, 2015)

• formation-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: fluvial; mudstone

• fluvial influence, transgressive, shallow, coastal plain

Size class: macrofossils

Preservation: original phosphate

Primary reference: C. V. Zeigler, G. L. Chan, and L. G. Barnes. 1997. A new late Miocene balaenopterid whale (Cetacea: Mysticeti), Parabalaenoptera baulinensis, (new genus and species) from the Santa Cruz Mudstone, Point Reyes Peninsula, California. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 50(4):115-138 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen/M. Uhen]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 46902: authorized by Mark Uhen, entered by Mark Uhen on 26.01.2005

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Bacillariophyceae
 Bacillariales - Bacillariaceae
Bivalvia
 Pectinida - Limidae
? Acesta sp. Adams and Adams 1858 file clam
Mammalia
 Cetacea -
Parabalaenoptera baulinensis n. gen. n. sp. Zeigler et al. 1997 whale