Silurian conodont biostratigraphy of the east-central Appalachian Basin (eastern USA): Re-examination of the C.T. Helfrich Collection

 

Authors: Bancroft AM, Cramer BD

Published in: Bulletin of Geosciences, volume 95, issue 1; pages: 1 - 22; Received 15 February 2019; Accepted in revised form 10 December 2019; Online 7 February 2020

Keywords: Appalachian Basin, Wenlock, Ludlow, Pridoli, conodont biostratigraphy, global zonation, Helfrich collection,

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Abstract

The conodont biozonation for the Silurian succession in the Appalachian Basin was established by C.T. Helfrich nearly half a century ago. Herein, we re-examined and updated the taxonomy of the conodont fauna and the consequent biozonation of the upper Rose Hill, Mifflintown, Wills Creek, and lower Tonoloway formations in the east-central Appalachian Basin. While these strata span the upper Telychian Stage (Llandovery Series) to the upper Pridoli Series, a major stratigraphic gap representing most of the Ludlow Series (from the lower part of the Gorstian to the upper part of the Ludfordian stages) was identified. The new conodont biozonation consists of: the Pterospathodus amorphognathoides amorphognathoides Zonal Group, an Unzoned Interval of the Sheinwoodian Stage, the Kockelella walliseri Zonal Group, the Ozarkodina bicornuta Zone, an Unzoned Interval of the Homerian Stage, the Ozarkodina bohemica Interval Zone, the Ozarkodina crispa Zone, and the Ozarkodina eosteinhornensis sensu lato Interval Zone. This refined biozonation permits enhanced global correlation of the Silurian within the east-central Appalachian Basin.

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