USGS 13510 - Rancho La Copa, Zacate (Oligocene of Mexico)

Where: Nuevo Leon, Mexico (25.8° N, 99.2° W: paleocoordinates 26.6° N, 93.1° W)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: Lower marine sandstone Member, Rupelian (33.9 - 28.1 Ma)

• Lower Oligocene age faunas in notheastern Mexico are closely allied to the Chickasawhay and Suwanee limestones of the eastern Gulf Coast. They are recognised in a lower marine sandstone, presumably of lower Oligocene age, and in an upper marine sandstone, presumably of middle Oligocene age. The marine beds are separated by non-maine sediments, typically red and green bentonitic clays. The Oligocene series in Mexico is measured in thousands of feet, although the fauna is only known from a few isolated outcrops.

• bed-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: marine; lithified, medium-grained, concretionary, brown, gray, conglomeratic, calcareous sandstone

• Siliciclastic. No paleoenvironmental data reported.
• Brownish tan or gray, medium-grained, locally conglomeratic, calcareous concretionary sandstone.

Size class: macrofossils

Reposited in the USNM

Collection methods: quarrying,

• Collections reposited in USGS and USNM collections.

Primary reference: A. K. Miller and W. M. Furnish. 1938. Aturias from the Tertiary of Mexico. Journal of Paleontology 12(2):149-155 [A. Hendy/A. Hendy]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 43068: authorized by Austin Hendy, entered by Austin Hendy on 10.08.2004

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• Exhaustive for mollusca.
Cephalopoda
 Nautilida - Aturiidae
Aturia alabamensis Morton 1834 nautiloid
Gastropoda
 Neogastropoda - Olivellidae
"Oliva ? mississippiensis" = Agaronia mississippiensis
"Oliva ? mississippiensis" = Agaronia mississippiensis Conrad 1848 snail
Subspecies: Oliva mississippiensis santander
 Neogastropoda - Olividae
 Neogastropoda - Terebridae
Terebra (Strioterebrum) ? tantula Conrad 1890 auger snail
 Neogastropoda - Turridae
 Sorbeoconcha - Naticidae
Sinum mississippiense Conrad 1848 moon snail
 Stylommatophora - Urocoptidae
Bivalvia
 Mytilida - Mytilidae
 Pholadida - Corbulidae
Corbula (Caryocorbula) engonata, "Corbula (Varicorbula) ? laqueata" = Varicorbula laqueata
"Corbula (Varicorbula) ? laqueata" = Varicorbula laqueata Casey 1903 clam
 Cardiida - Veneridae
"Macrocallista (Chionella) cantui" = Pitar (Chionella), "Chione (? Chamelea) ? matulina" = Chamelea
"Macrocallista (Chionella) cantui" = Pitar (Chionella) venus clam
"Chione (? Chamelea) ? matulina" = Chamelea venus clam
 Cardiida - Cardiidae
"Cerastoderma (Dinocardium) bakeri" = Dinocardium
"Cerastoderma (Dinocardium) bakeri" = Dinocardium cockle