Dry Creek Sands - Dry Creek Bore, Adelaide (Miocene of Australia)

Also known as Bore 178

Where: South Australia, Australia (34.9° S, 138.6° E: paleocoordinates 40.5° S, 137.1° E)

• coordinate estimated from map

• small collection-level geographic resolution

When: Dry Creek Sands Formation, Late/Upper Miocene (11.6 - 5.3 Ma)

• STRATIGRAPHIC RELATIONS: Presumably unconformably underyling Pliocene Hallett Cove Sandstone (Pleistocene-Recent in Fig. 2 of Ludbrook 1954) The Dry Creek Sands are a correlate of the Bookpurnong Fm (Beu and Darragh 2001). THICKNESS: Typically the Dry Creek Sands are less than 200 ft thick based on Fig. 2 of Ludbrook (1954). AGE: Previously regarded as Pliocene in age (Ludbrook 1954, 1963). However more recent idependent assessments of foraminifera and dinoflagellates (Brown and Stephenson 1991; Macphail and Kellett 1993) and Mollusca (Beu and Darragh 2001) suggest that the lower Dry Creek Sands (greater than 105-115 m) are of Bairnsdalian-Mitchelian age (latest Middle Miocene-early Late Miocene). A Late Miocene age is adopted here = Mitchelian. STRATIGRAPHIC POSITION: Composite list for Dry Creek Sands and from unknown position within bore, possibly multiple beds, but more than likely below ~300 feet (~105 m).

• formation-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: coastal; unlithified, fine-grained, shelly/skeletal, gray, white sandstone

• ENVIRONMENT: Deposited in a shallow bay or gulf after depression of older strata, submerged during the early Tertiary; sandy bay, protected. Not an estuarine or restricted embayment fauna, so here assigned to a "siliciclastic-coastal indet." environment.
• SPECIFIC LITHOLOGY: Ligh-grey-silery, fine, sharp sands and clays, with intercalated bands of grey and white limestone; pale-grey shelly sands. LITHIFICATION: Unlithified, possibly occasionally poorly-lithified.

Size class: macrofossils

Preservation: original aragonite, original calcite

Collection methods: core,

• COLLECTOR: Collected by multiple parties during the irregular construction of bores within the vicinity of Adelaide. Reported on by previous authors including Tate (1890, 1898), Tate and Dennant (1896), Hall and Pritchard (1902), Howchin (1914, 1928) and Chapman (1916). These authors reported piecemeal this fauna, while Ludbrook (1954-1956) presents more detailed taxonomy and thorough covereage of all bores. REPOSITORY: Most material reposited in Tate Collection, University of Adelaide, while some is preserved in the MNHM in Paris and BMNH.

Primary reference: N.H. Ludbrook. 1953. The molluscan fauna of the Pliocene strata underlying the Adelaide Plains. Part 1. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 77:42-64 [A. Miller/A. Hendy/A. Hendy]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 63433: authorized by Austin Hendy, entered by Austin Hendy on 15.08.2006

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• COVERAGE: Exhaustive for molluscan groups. No other taxa specifically listed. NOMENCLATURE: Authoritative series of publications, but with rather oudated nomenclature. This is remedied by revisions of Australian Mollusca by Darragh (1970), and various publications by Darragh (post 1970).
Bivalvia
 Nuculida - Nuculidae
"Nucula (Ennucula) kalimnae" = Ennucula1
"Nucula (Ennucula) kalimnae" = Ennucula1 nut clam
 Ostreida - Ostreidae
Ostrea arenicola1 Tate 1886 oyster
 Ostreida - Pteriidae
Pinctada crassicardia1 pearl oyster
 Pectinida - Limidae
Lima bassi1 file clam
 Pectinida - Anomiidae
Anomia tatei1 jingle
 Pectinida - Pectinoidae
 Arcida - Limopsidae
 Arcida - Glycymerididae
"Glycymeris (Tucetona) convexa" = Tucetona1, Glycymeris (Veletuceta) subradians1
"Glycymeris (Tucetona) convexa" = Tucetona1 clam
 Arcida - Cucullaeidae
Cucullaea corioensis1 McCoy 1876 clam
 Arcida - Arcidae
Arca negata1 Cotton 1947 ark
 Carditida - Carditidae
 Carditida - Crassatellidae
 Hiatellida - Hiatellidae
Hiatella australis1 Lamarck 1818 clam
 Pandorida - Clavagellidae
 Cardiida - Cardiidae
"Vasticardium (Regozara) praecygnorum" = Acrosterigma (Vasticardium)1, Fulvia tenuicostata1
"Vasticardium (Regozara) praecygnorum" = Acrosterigma (Vasticardium)1 cockle
Fulvia tenuicostata1 Lamarck 1819 cockle
 Cardiida - Tellinidae
Tellina albinelloides1 Tate 1887 tellin clam
 Cardiida - Mactridae
"Mactra (Electromactra) howchiniana" = Electromactra howchiniana1
"Mactra (Electromactra) howchiniana" = Electromactra howchiniana1 Tate 1887 clam
 Cardiida - Veneridae
Chioneryx dennanti1 venus clam
Tawera gallinula1 venus clam
 Cardiida - Montacutidae
 Cardiida - Kelliidae
 Pholadida - Corbulidae
"Corbula ephamilla" = Notocorbula ephamilla1
"Corbula ephamilla" = Notocorbula ephamilla1 Tate 1887 clam
 Lucinida - Lucinidae
Divalucina cumingi1 Adams and Angas 1863 clam
Callucina balcombica1 Cossmann 1912 clam
Scaphopoda
 Gadilida - Gadilidae
Cadulus (Gadila) acuminatus2 Tate 1887 tusk shell
 Dentaliida - Dentaliidae
Gastropoda
 Opisthobranchia - Retusidae
 Neotaenioglossa - Calyptraeidae
 Sorbeoconcha - Adeorbidae
 Sorbeoconcha - Rissoidae
 Sorbeoconcha - Struthiolariidae
Tylospira coronata3 Tate 1885 snail
Subspecies: T. coronata marwicki
 Neogastropoda - Cancellariidae
 Neogastropoda - Olividae
 Neogastropoda - Nassariidae
"Hinia (Reticunassa) subconica" = Nassarius (Hinia)4
"Hinia (Reticunassa) subconica" = Nassarius (Hinia)4 snail
 Neogastropoda - Mitridae
 Sorbeoconcha - Cassidae
 Sorbeoconcha - Ranellidae
 Sorbeoconcha - Triforidae
 Cerithioidea - Diastomatidae
 Cerithioidea - Cerithiidae
"Semivertagus capillatus" = Clava (Semivertagus)3
"Semivertagus capillatus" = Clava (Semivertagus)3 cerith snail
 Lepetellida - Haliotidae