Alexandria Formation (Spiers et al. 1963) (Pliocene of South Africa)

Where: South Africa (34.5° S, 20.0° E: paleocoordinates 34.7° S, 19.6° E)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• local area-level geographic resolution

When: Bredasdorp Formation, Pliocene (5.3 - 2.6 Ma)

• STRATIGRAPHIC RELATIONS: From Alexandria Formation, which unconformably overlies Late Cretaceous Sundays River Fm in places, and is overlain by eolian calcarenites. AGE: Much discussed, although not clearly in text, to range from Miocene to Pleistocene, but also possible Eocene (see Haughton pers. comm., cited in text). Assigned here to a Pliocene age, based on more recent publications (King, 1972). STRATIGRAPHIC POSITION: A composite list representing the entire formation.

• formation-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: coastal; poorly lithified, shelly/skeletal, calcareous limestone and lithified, shelly/skeletal, calcareous sandstone

• ENVIRONMENT: Shallow marine, probably siliciclastic (calcareous, and high in bioclastic material) facies.
• SPECIFIC LITHOLOGY: Compact, gritty limestones and calcareous sandstones containing abundant, mainly fragmented shells. LITHIFICATION: Poorly lithified, based on facies description, which is distinguished from "ccompact crystalline" and "porous, loosely-cemented" adjacent descriptions.

Size class: macrofossils

Collection methods: COLLECTOR: Unknown collector. REPOSITORY: Unknown repository.

Primary reference: A. Ruddock. 1966. The Tertiary limestone of the southern coastal regions of Cape Province, South Africa. Sedimentary Basins of the African Coasts 49-62 [A. Hendy/A. Hendy]more details

Purpose of describing collection: general faunal/floral analysis

PaleoDB collection 77528: authorized by Austin Hendy, entered by Austin Hendy on 14.01.2008

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• COVERAGE: Exhaustive for gastropoda and bivalvia, and also mentioning foraminifera, brachiopoda, bryozoa, crustacea, and sharks. NOMENCLATURE: Not an authoritative publication, and with relatively antiquated nomenclature, commonly not assigned to species resolution.
Tubothalamea
 Miliolida - Hauerinidae
Nodosariata
 Nodosariida - Nodosariidae
Lagena sp. Walker and Boys 1784
Globothalamea
 Rotaliida - Nonionidae
 Rotaliida - Cibicididae
Cibicides "sp. A" Monfort 1808
Cibicides "sp. B" Monfort 1808
 Rotaliida - Discorbidae
Eponides "sp. A" Montfort 1808
Foraminifera
 Rotalioidea - Elphidiidae
 Rotaliina - Cassidulinidae
 Rotaliacea - Rotaliidae
Rotalia beccarii
INCLUDES: Rotalia beccarii parkinsoniana
Rotalia sp. Lamarck 1804
Bivalvia
 Cardiida - Tellinidae
"Tellina cf. perna" = Tonganaella perna
"Tellina cf. perna" = Tonganaella perna Spengler 1798 tellin clam
 Cardiida - Veneridae
"Chamelea rogersi" = Chamelea, "Chamalea schwarzi" = Chamelea, Tivela baini
"Chamelea rogersi" = Chamelea venus clam
"Chamalea schwarzi" = Chamelea venus clam
Tivela baini venus clam
 Cardiida - Mactridae
"? Schizodesma sp." = Scissodesma
"? Schizodesma sp." = Scissodesma Gray 1837 clam
 Arcida - Glycymerididae
Glycymeris pilosa Linnaeus 1767 clam
 Ostreida - Ostreidae
"Ostrea cf. prismatica" = Striostrea prismatica Gray 1825 oyster
Gastropoda
 Neogastropoda - Conidae
"Conus cf. litteratus" = Conus (Lithoconus) litteratus
"Conus cf. litteratus" = Conus (Lithoconus) litteratus Linnaeus 1758 cone shell
 Neogastropoda - Volutidae
Voluta africana Adegoke 1977 volute
SUBSPECIES: Voluta africana ponderosa
 Neogastropoda - Nassariidae
Bullia annulata Lamarck 1816 snail
 Cerithioidea - Potamididae
? Pirenella sp. Gray 1847 horn snail