Castle Hayne Limestone

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Castle Hayne Limestone
Stratigraphic range: Eocene
Type Formation
Sub-unitsNew Hanover Member, Comfort Member, Spring Garden Member
Lithology
Primary limestone
Other marl
Location
RegionFlag of North Carolina.svg  North Carolina
CountryFlag of the United States.svg  United States
Type section
Named for Castle Hayne, North Carolina

The Castle Hayne Limestone (also called the Castle Hayne Formation) is a geologic formation in North Carolina. It consists of cobble to pebble sized clasts, usually rounded, coated with phosphate and glauconite in a limestone matrix. The Castle Hayne Limestone is known for containing fossils dating back to the Paleogene period. It preserves many of North Carolina's renowned Eocene fossils. It is named after the locality of Castle Hayne in New Hanover county, though the formation itself stretches over several counties.

Contents

Description

The Castle Hayne Formation is divided into three submembers: the New Hanover member, the Comfort Member, and the Spring Garden Member. [1] The New Hanover member is the oldest member and is characterizes by cobbles and pebbles, fine sand, glauconite, and phosphate in a fine limestone matrix. The most common fossils are shark and ray teeth. Index fossils place this member in the middle Eocene. The Comfort member lies above the New Hanover member. It contains bryozoa and sea urchin fossils and beds of glauconite and phosphate pebbles that mark breaks in deposition. The Comfort member was deposited in the late middle Eocene and is overlain by the Spring Garden member. The Spring Garden member is a siliceous rock cemented with calcite and containing detrital phosphate. Mollusc bivalves account for up to 75% of the composition in some areas and molds of molluscs shells filled with silica are common. Index fossils indicate this member was also deposited in the late middle Eocene.

Fossils

Invertebrates

Molluscs

[2]

GeneraSpeciesNotesImages
Chione C. sp
A guide to the fossil invertebrate animals in the Department of geology and palaeontology in the British museum (Natural history) (1907) (14592753318).jpg
Crassatella C. wilcoxi

C. sp

A crassatellid bivalve.
Ensis E. sp
Ensis ensis-H.jpg
Flemingostrea F. sp
Giganostrea G. trigonalisAn extinct group of oyster.
Glyptoactis G. sp
Panopea P. spA close relative of the modern geoduck.
Hiatellidae - Panopea glycymeris.JPG
Pecten P. membranosusAn extinct bivalve that belonged to the same genus as most modern scallops.
Fossil scallop - fosil deniztaragi.jpg
Pholadomya P. sp
Pholadomyidae - Pholadomya scutata.JPG
Plicatula P. filamentosa
Venericardia V. sp

Cephalopods

GeneraSpeciesNotesImages
Anomalosaepia A. vernei

A. mariettani

A. alleni

A. andreane

A. sp

An extinct group of cuttlefish that was also found in Egypt and belonged to the family Anomalosaepiidae.
Aturia A. alabamensisBelongs in its own family: the Aturiidae.
Aturia eocene puglia.jpg
Beloptera B. spAnother extinct group of cuttlefish that was found in several localities in Europe.
Conchorhynchus C. furrusHas not been classified into any specific cephalopod group yet.
Eutrephoceras E. carolinensisFirst originated during the Cretaceous period.
Eutrephoceras dorbignyanum (Forbes in Darwin, 1846) - Strasbourg specimen.jpg
E. dorbignyanum, a related species.
Rhyncolites R. sp

R. minimus

R. aturensis

An extinct group of nautiloid that has not yet been classified into any specific family.

Vertebrates Fossils

Mammals

Cetaceans
GenusSpeciesNotesImages
Zygorhiza Z. kochiiA close relative of the well-known archaeocete Dorudon.
Zygorhiza.jpg
Basilotritus B. wardiA basilosaurid that was originally classified under Eocetus.
Sirenians
GenusSpeciesNotesImages
Protosiren P. spA prehistoric manatee relative that is also known from Eurasia.
Cingulates
GenusSpeciesNotesImages
Holmesina H. spA pampathere that resembled a giant armadillo. It arrived to North America after migrating from South America.
Holmesina 3 Clean.png

Reptiles

[3]

Squamates
GenusSpeciesNotesImages
Palaeophis [4] P. grandisAn extinct species of giant marine snake from the family Paleophiidae.
Palaeophiidae - Palaeophis maghrebianus.JPG
Turtles
GenusSpeciesNotesImages
Cheloniidae indetKnown by plate, shell, and plastron fragments.
Crocodilians
GenusSpeciesNotesImages
Crocodylia indetKnown by vertebra.

See also

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References

  1. Ward, Lauck W.; Lawrence, David R.; Blackwelder, Blake W. (1979). "Stratigraphic revision of the middle Eocene, Oligocene, and lower Miocene; Atlantic Coastal Plain of North Carolina" (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin. 1457-F: 3–10. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  2. "Online Collections | North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences". collections.naturalsciences.org. Retrieved 2016-03-15.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. "Online Collections | North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences". collections.naturalsciences.org. Retrieved 2016-03-19.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. "Fossil ID Quiz" (PDF). JANUS. North Carolina Fossil Club. pp. Name is on Page 5, Location is listed next to fossil #11 on Page 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-04-02.