Accra clay shales (Devonian to of Ghana)

Where: Ghana (5.6° N, 0.2° W: paleocoordinates 76.5° S, 7.2° E)

• coordinate based on political unit

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: Emsian to Emsian (407.6 - 387.7 Ma)

• "The Accraian Series was divided into six units: basal grit, lower sandstone, clay shale, lower interbedded clay shale and sandstone, upper sandstone, and upper interbedded clay shale and sandstone." Fossils reported here are from clay shale....total thickness for the lower three units...about 2865 feet; the thicknesss and relationships of the upper units are greatly complicated by faulting..." 1960s papers give age range of Early to Middle Devonian. Melo (1988) (ref. 9944) assigns it to late Emsian to Eifelian age range.

• formation-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: marine; claystone

• "clay shale"

Primary reference: J. M. Saul, A. J. Boucot, and R. M. Finks. 1963. Fauna of the Accraian series (Devonian of Ghana) including a revision of the gastropod Plectonotus. Journal of Paleontology 37(5):1042-1052 [M. Foote/M. Foote/M. Uhen]more details

Purpose of describing collection: biostratigraphic analysis

PaleoDB collection 35605: authorized by Michael Foote, entered by Michael Foote on 30.12.2003, edited by Pete Wagner

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

unclassified
  -
Hexactinellida
 Reticulosa - Dictyospongiidae
Prismodictya sp. glass sponge
Gastropoda
  -
Gastropoda indet.3 Cuvier 1795 snail
 Bellerophontida - Plectonotidae
"Plectonotus fraternus" = Plectonotus derbyi
"Plectonotus fraternus" = Plectonotus derbyi Clarke 1899 snail
Bivalvia
 Cyrtodontida - Cyrtodontidae
Ptychodesma sp. Hall and Whitfield 1872 clam
 Ostreida - Pterineidae
? Leptodesma sp. Hall 1883 oyster
"Leiopteria sp." = Leptodesma (Leiopteria) Hall 1883 oyster
 Cardiida - Kalenteridae
Pleurodapis luriea n. sp. clam
 Cardiidia - Grammysiidae
Sphenotus sp. Hall 1884 clam
 Nuculanida - Cucullellidae
Nuculites sp. Conrad 1841 clam
 Nuculanida - Nuculanidae
Nuculana sp. Link 1807 pointed nut clam
Lophophorata
 Tentaculitida - Tentaculitidae
Tentaculites sp. von Schlotheim 1820
Rhynchonellata
 Terebratulida -
"Terebratulacea indet." = Terebratuloidea
"Terebratulacea indet." = Terebratuloidea Gray 1840
Lingulata
 Discinida - Disciniidae
Discinisca sp. Gray 1840
 Lingulida - Lingulidae
Lingula sp. BruguiƩre 1797
Hyolitha
 Hyolithida - Hyolithidae
Hyolithes "sp. A" d'Eichwald 1840
Hyolithes "sp. B" d'Eichwald 1840
Hyolithes "sp. C" d'Eichwald 1840
Trilobita
 Phacopida - Homalonotidae