USGS 18399 - Melajo Clay, Melago River area (Miocene of Trinidad and Tobago)

Where: Trinidad and Tobago (10.6° N, 61.1° W: paleocoordinates 10.5° N, 59.6° W)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: Melajo Clay Member (Springvale Formation), Late/Upper Miocene (11.6 - 5.3 Ma)

• The Melajo Clay Member of the Springvale Formation is correlated with the Savaneta Glaconitic Sandstone Member of the Springvale Formation, although part of it may be younger. The Melajo fauna is late Miocene in age. The Melajo Clay rests transgressively on the phyllites of the Northern Range with a basal conglomerate of about 1 m thickness. The conglomerate graes into a 1.5 m thick limestone, which is overlain by a bed of sand of about 1 m thickness. Above the sand is the Melajo Clay. The total thickness of the Melajo Clay is about 200 ft. It is unconformably overlain by Pleistocene sand and gravel deposits.

• bed-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: offshore; unlithified, yellow, blue, silty claystone and unlithified, coarse-grained sandstone

• The Melajo fauna can be divided into two assemblages: one occurring the limestone and coarse sand near the base of the Melajo Clay, the other on in the overlying clay and silty clay. The difference of the two assemblages is facies controlled. The basal assemblage represents a typical, tropical, near-shore fauna, whereas the overlying assemblage points to a deeper environment. This collection is derived from the clay assemblage, a siliciclastic and deeper water environment and is hence assigned to a siliciclastic - offshore environment.
• Blue, yellowish weatheirng clay and silty clay with occasional sandy layers. Sand is probably coarse.

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 60399: authorized by Austin Hendy, entered by Austin Hendy on 14.05.2006

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• Exhaustive for Mollusca, although author suggests that further collection would reveal additional forms. Corals, bryozoa and spines of echinoderms also exists in the unit, though are not listed. Van de Bold (1963) also lists ostracords from several localities. Foraminiferal assemblages are also listed in unpublished reports by Saunders.
Scaphopoda
 Dentaliida - Dentaliidae
Bivalvia
 Arcida - Noetiidae
Noetia (Eontia) centrota Guppy 1867 clam
 Arcida - Arcidae
Anadara (Anadara) inaequilateralis, "Anadara (Scapharca) placata" = Scapharca
"Anadara (Scapharca) placata" = Scapharca clam
 Pectinida - Pectinoidae
"Aequipecten (Plagioctenium) cf. maturensis" = Argopecten
"Aequipecten (Plagioctenium) cf. maturensis" = Argopecten calico scallop
 Pectinida - Anomiidae
Anomia simplex d'Orbigny 1845 jingle
 Carditida - Crassatellidae
Crassinella guppyi Dall 1896 clam
 Lucinida - Lucinidae
 Pholadida - Corbulidae
"Notocorbula sp." = Corbula (Notocorbula) Iredale 1930 clam
 Cardiida - Cardiidae
Trigoniocardia (Trigoniocardia) maturensis, "Trachycardium (Dallocardia) sanctidavidis" = Dallocardia
"Trachycardium (Dallocardia) sanctidavidis" = Dallocardia cockle
 Cardiida - Semelidae
Semele laevis Sowerby 1833 clam
Subspecies: Semele laevis costaricensis
Semele aff. anteriocosta Vokes 1938 clam
 Cardiida - Tellinidae
Tellidora sp., Merisca trinidadensis, Temnoconcha aff. brasiliana, "Moerella (Moerella) elinguis" = Tellina (Moerella), "Eurytellina melajoensis" = Tellina (Eurytellina), "? Eurytellina oligoscissulata" = Tellina (Eurytellina)
Tellidora sp. Morch 1856 tellin clam
"Moerella (Moerella) elinguis" = Tellina (Moerella) tellin clam
"Eurytellina melajoensis" = Tellina (Eurytellina) tellin clam
"? Eurytellina oligoscissulata" = Tellina (Eurytellina) tellin clam
 Cardiida - Veneridae
"Chione (Lirophora) caroniana" = Lirophora venus clam
"Dosinia (Dosinia) grandis" = Dosinia ponderosa Gray 1838 venus clam
Dosinia (Dosinia) sp. Scopoli 1777 venus clam
 Nuculanida - Nuculanidae
"Adrana perprotracta" = Adrana newcombi, Calorhadia (Calorhadia) solivaga, "Nuculana (Saccella) ludificans" = Saccella
"Adrana perprotracta" = Adrana newcombi Angas 1878 pointed nut clam
"Nuculana (Saccella) ludificans" = Saccella pointed nut clam
Gastropoda
 Trochoidea - Trochidae
"Calliostoma olssoni" = Calliostoma (Elmerlinia) olssoni
"Calliostoma olssoni" = Calliostoma (Elmerlinia) olssoni Maury 1925 top snail
 Opisthobranchia - Cylichnidae
Acteocina canaliculata Say 1826 barrel-bubble
 Heterostropha - Acteonidae
Rictaxis sp. Dall 1871 snail
 Epitonioidea - Epitoniidae
 Vanikoroidea - Eulimidae
 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 cartagenensis
 Sorbeoconcha - Naticidae
"Natica (Naticarius) aff. canrena" = Naticarius canrena, Polinices stanislasmeunieri
"Natica (Naticarius) aff. canrena" = Naticarius canrena Linnaeus 1758 moon snail
Polinices stanislasmeunieri Maury 1917 moon snail
 Sorbeoconcha - Vitrinellidae
 Sorbeoconcha - Tornidae
 Sorbeoconcha - Caecidae
Caecum "sp. A" Fleming 1813 snail
Caecum "sp. B" Fleming 1813 snail
Caecum "sp. C" Fleming 1813 snail
 Neogastropoda - Columbellidae
"Anachis (Costoanachis) obesa" = Parvanachis obesa, "Strombina (Sincola) crassilabrum" = Sincola (Sincola) crassilabrum1
"Anachis (Costoanachis) obesa" = Parvanachis obesa Adams 1845 snail
"Strombina (Sincola) crassilabrum" = Sincola (Sincola) crassilabrum1 Guppy 1874 snail
 Neogastropoda - Buccinidae
 Neogastropoda - Nassariidae
Gordanops baranoanus2 Anderson 1929 snail
 Neogastropoda - Olividae
 Neogastropoda - Turridae
Polystira "sp. B" Woodring 1928 turrid
 Neogastropoda - Mangeliidae
 Neogastropoda - Muricidae
Eupleura lehneri Jung 1969 murex snail
 Pseudomelanoidea - Pseudomelaniidae
 Neotaenioglossa - Calyptraeidae
Crepidula plana Say 1822 slipper shell
Calyptraea centralis Conrad 1841 slipper shell