UW 260A - Benicia (Paleocene of the United States)

Where: Solano County, California (38.1° N, 122.2° W: paleocoordinates 43.2° N, 101.2° W)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: Martinez Formation, Thanetian (59.2 - 56.0 Ma)

• Most of the fossiliferous faunas in the sections near Martinez occur in the lower 800 ft thick sandstone unit. Mollusca suggest a "Martinez" stage age. Martinez local stage = Thanetian. The Martinez Formation rests with a slight unconformity on the Chico Formation and grades in Eocene shales. The formation is approximately 3100 ft thick with a 1500 ft lower sandstone unit and 1600 ft upper sandy shale, which is dated as Early Eocene.

• bed-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: offshore; poorly lithified, medium-grained, coarse, glauconitic sandstone

• No environmental information reported, but fauna appears to be offshore shelf.
• Massive, medium- and coarse-grained sandstones, in part glauconitic.

Size class: macrofossils

Collection methods: quarrying,

• Collected and identified by C.E. Weaver. Collections reposited in University of Washington collections.

Primary reference: C. E. Weaver. 1949. Geology of the coast ranges immediately north of the San Francisco Bay region, California. Geological Society of America Memoir 35 [A. Miller/A. Hendy/A. Hendy]more details

Purpose of describing collection: general faunal/floral analysis

PaleoDB collection 52612: authorized by Austin Hendy, entered by Austin Hendy on 11.08.2005

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• Exhaustive for Mollusca, Foraminifera, and Coelenterata. Nomenclature is somewhat antiquated, but with a high proportion of species designations.
Anthozoa
 Scleractinia - Guyniidae
"Trochocyathus zitteli" = Palaeopsammia zitteli
"Trochocyathus zitteli" = Palaeopsammia zitteli Vaughan 1900 stony coral
Scaphopoda
 Dentaliida - Dentaliidae
Dentalium cooperi Gabb 1864 tusk shell
Dentalium stramineum Gabb 1864 tusk shell
Bivalvia
 Mytilida - Mytilidae
"Brachidontes ornatus" = Brachidontes (Brachidontes) cowlitzensis Weaver and Palmer 1922 mussel
 Arcida - Cucullaeidae
"Cucullaea mathewsoni" = Cucullaea mathewsonii
"Cucullaea mathewsoni" = Cucullaea mathewsonii Gabb 1864 clam
 Arcida - Glycymerididae
Glycymerita major Stanton 1896 clam
Subspecies: Glycymeris veatchii major
 Ostreida - Ostreidae
Ostrea weaveri Dickerson 1914 oyster
 Pectinida - Limidae
"Lima multiradiata" = Acesta (Acesta) multiradiata
"Lima multiradiata" = Acesta (Acesta) multiradiata Gabb 1869 file clam
 Lucinida - Lucinidae
? Codalucina turneri Stanton 1896 clam
 Pholadomyida - Pholadomyidae
Pholadomya nasuta Gabb 1864 clam
 Solenida - Solenidae
"Solena stantoni" = Solena (Eosolen) stantoni
"Solena stantoni" = Solena (Eosolen) stantoni Weaver 1905 clam
 Cardiida - Psammobiidae
"Gari hornii" = Gari (Gobraeus) hornii
"Gari hornii" = Gari (Gobraeus) hornii Gabb 1864 clam
 Cardiida - Tellinidae
"Tellina martinezensis" = Tellina (Eurytellina) martinezensis, ""Tellina" undulifera" = Tellina (Saulella) undulifera
"Tellina martinezensis" = Tellina (Eurytellina) martinezensis Weaver 1905 tellin clam
""Tellina" undulifera" = Tellina (Saulella) undulifera Gabb 1869 tellin clam
 Cardiida - Veneridae
"Meretrix" stantoni Dickerson 1914 venus clam
Pitar quadratus Gabb 1864 venus clam
 Nuculanida - Nuculanidae
Saccella alaeformis Gabb 1869 pointed nut clam
misspelled as "Sacella alaeformis"
"Saccella gabbii" = Nuculana (Saccella) gabbii Conrad 1866 pointed nut clam
misspelled as "Sacella gabbi"
 Nuculida - Nuculidae
Acila (Truncacila) decisa Conrad 1855 divaricate nutclam
Gastropoda
 Opisthobranchia - Cylichnidae
"Scaphander costatus" = Scaphander (Mirascapha) costatus
"Scaphander costatus" = Scaphander (Mirascapha) costatus Gabb 1864 snail
 Vetigastropoda - Discohelicidae
Discohelix californicus Weaver 1905 snail
 Sorbeoconcha - Ficidae
"Priscofusus robustus" = Priscoficus robustus
"Priscofusus robustus" = Priscoficus robustus Weaver 1905 fig shell
 Sorbeoconcha - Aporrhaidae
? Tessarolax inconspicua Gabb 1869 snail
 Sorbeoconcha - Ranellidae
"Neptunea pulchra" = Tritonium pulchrum
"Neptunea pulchra" = Tritonium pulchrum Weaver 1905 triton
 Neogastropoda - Turridae
Surculites mathewsonii Gabb 1864 turrid
misspelled as "Surculites mathewsoni"
 Neogastropoda - Buccinidae
Siphonalia lineata, "Brachysphingus gabbi" = Brachysphingus sinuatus
Siphonalia lineata Stanton 1896 true whelk
"Brachysphingus gabbi" = Brachysphingus sinuatus Gabb 1869 true whelk
 Neogastropoda - Tudiclidae
Heteroterma trochoidea Gabb 1869 snail
 Neogastropoda - Muricidae
"Perissolax tricarinatus" = Pseudoperissolax tricarnatus
"Perissolax tricarinatus" = Pseudoperissolax tricarnatus Weaver 1905 murex snail
 Sorbeoconcha - Xenophoridae
Xenophora zitteli Weaver 1905 carrier shell
 Sorbeoconcha - Naticidae
Polinices hornii Gabb 1864 moon snail
 Heterostropha - Acteonidae
Actaeon lawsoni Weaver 1905 snail
 Heterostropha - Architectonicidae
Architectonica tuberculata Weaver 1905 sundial
Echinoidea
 Spatangoida - Schizasteridae
Schizaster lecontei Merriam 1899 heart urchin
Bullinula
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