Hamilton Quarry is a Late Carboniferous lagerstätte near Hamilton, Kansas, United States. It has a diverse assemblage of unusually well-preserved marine, euryhaline, freshwater, flying, and terrestrial fossils (invertebrates, vertebrates, and plants). This extraordinary mix of fossils suggests it was once an estuary. This type of Lagerstätte is considered a Konservat-Lagerstätte (or conservation lagerstätte), due to the quality the preservation of soft tissue (skin preservation).
| Hamilton Quarry | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: ~ | |
| Type | Lagerstätte |
| Location | |
| Location | near Hamilton, Kansas |
| Coordinates | 37°58′49″N 96°6′50″W / 37.98028°N 96.11389°W |
| Country | United States |
The lagerstätte occurs within a paleovalley that was incised into the surrounding Carboniferous cyclothemic sequence during a time of low sea level and was then filled in during a subsequent transgression. The channel has a capping series of interbedded laminated limestones and mudstones for which are designated the Lagerstätte beds or ‘vertebrate horizon’. This facies contains a well-preserved mixed assemblage of terrestrial (conifers, insects, myriapods, reptiles), freshwater (ostracods), aquatic (amphibians, reptile), brackish or euryhaline (ostracods, eurypterids, microconchids, fish), and marine (brachiopods, echinoderms) fossils.
Paleobiota
editAccording to thesis[1]
Color key
|
Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; |
Vertebrates
edit| Vertebrates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Notes | Images |
| Orthacanthus | O. platypternus[2] | Elasmobranch in order Xenacanthida. |  |
| Expleuracanthus | E. cf. E. parallelus |  | |
| Xenacanthus | Indeterminate |  | |
| Hamiltonichthys | H. mapesi | A Hybodont elasmobranch. |  |
| Petalodus | Indeterminate | A petalodont holocephalian. | |
| Acanthodes | A. bridgei | An acanthodiform acanthodian. |  |
| Elonichthys | Indeterminate | A palaeonisciform actinopterygian. | |
| "Feroniscus" | "F. hamiltoni"/"F. hamiltonensis" | A palaeonisciform actinopterygian, nomen nudum (Only described in thesis). | |
| Gnathorhiza | Indeterminate | A lungfish. |  |
| Sagenodus | S. cf. copeanus | ||
| Eoscopus | E. lockardi | An amphibamiform temnospondyl. |  |
| Euconcordia | E. cunninghami | A captorhinid. |  |
| Spinoaequalis | S. schultzei | An early semi-aquatic diapsid. |  |
| Archaeovenator | A. hamiltonensis | A varanopid. |  |
| Eocasea | E. martini | A caseid synapsid. |  |
| Ianthasaurus | I. cf. I. hardestii/hardestiorum | An edaphosaurid synapsid. |  |
| ?Lupeosaurus | Indeterminate | ||
Arthropods
edit| Arthropods | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Notes | Images |
| Prothelyphonus | Indeterminate | A whip scorpion. | |
| Archaeoctonus[3] | A. cf. A. glaber | A scorpion. Multiple papers misspelled as Archaeoctonous.[4][5] | |
| Adelophthalmus | A. cf. A. mazonensis | An adelophthalmid eurypterid. | _(20618910349).jpg) |
| Amphissites | Indeterminate | Ostracod. | |
| Geisina | |||
| Gutschickia | |||
| Bairdia | |||
| Pseudobythocypris | |||
| Carbonita | |||
| Darwinula | |||
| Paromylacris | A roachoid. | ||
| Oedischia | An orthopteran. | ||
| Meganeura | Meganisopteran. |  | |
| Titanophasma | |||
| Carrizopteryx | A palaeodictyopteran. | ||
Mollusks
edit| Mollusks | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Notes | Images |
| Anthraconaia | Indeterminate | Myalinid bivalve. | |
| Myalinella | M. meeki | ||
| Permophorus | Indeterminate | A cardiid bivalve. | |
| Phestia | Indeterminate | A nuculanid bivalve. | |
| Schizodus | Indeterminate | A trigoniid bivalve. | |
| Bellerophon | Indeterminate | Bellerophontid gastropod. | |
| Euphemites | Indeterminate | ||
Other animals
edit| Other animals | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Notes | Images |
| Streptognathodus | Indeterminate | An ozarkodinid conodont. | |
| Apographiocrinus | A. cf. calycinus | Dendrocrinid crinoid. | |
| Delocrinus | D. cf. vulatus | ||
| Plaxocrinus | P. cf. crassidiscus | ||
| Serpula | Indeterminate | Annelid in order Canalipalpata. | |
| Spirorbis | Indeterminate | ||
| Punctospirifer | Indeterminate | Spiriferid brachiopod. | |
| Neospirifer | Indeterminate | ||
| Juresania | Indeterminate | Productid brachiopod. | |
| Antiquatonia | Indeterminate | ||
| Kozlowskia | Indeterminate | ||
| Neochonetes | Indeterminate | ||
Lycophytes and ferns
edit| Lycophytes and ferns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Notes | Images |
| Sigillaria | S. brardii | A tree-like lycophyte. |  |
| Asterophyllites | A. equisetiformis, A. longiformis | Equisetid fern. | |
| Annularia | A. mucronata |  | |
| Paleostachya | P. sp. | ||
Seed ferns
edit| Seed ferns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Notes | Images |
| Sphenopteris | S. cf. S. germanica | A seed fern. |  |
| "Callipteris" | C. conferta, C. flabellifora, C. scheibei | A seed fern in order Peltaspermales. |  |
| Cyclopteris | Indeterminate | Seed plant in order Medullosales. |  |
| Neuropteris | N. sp. (two species) |  | |
| Odontopteris | Indeterminate | .JPG) | |
| Trigonocarpus | Indeterminate | A seed fern seed. |  |
Gymnosperms
edit| Gymnosperms | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Notes | Images |
| Cordaites | C. principalis | Gymnosperm in order Cordaitales. |  |
| Cordaianthus | C. cf. pitcairniae |  | |
| Samaropsis | S. fluitans | ||
| Emporia | E. cryptica, E. lockardii, E. royalii | Conifer in order Voltziales. | |
| Hanskerpia | H. hamiltonensis | ||
| Barthelia | B. furcata | ||
| Gomphostrobus | Indeterminate | Conifer in order Voltziales, stem and leaf. | |
| Walchia | W. hypnoides, W. piniformis, W. schneideri | Conifer in order Voltziales, leaves. |  |
| Walchianathus | Indeterminate | Conifer in order Voltziales, male cone. | |
| Walchiastrobus | Indeterminate | Conifer in order Voltziales, female cone. | |
Spores and Pollen
edit| Gymnosperms | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Notes | Images |
| Leiotriletes | L. sp. | Spore microfossils. | |
| Calamospora | C. sp. | ||
| Triletes | T. sp. | ||
| Acanthoriletes | A. teretriangulatus | ||
| Nuskoisporites | N. trianguloris | Pollen microfossils. | |
| Potoniesporites | P. gtranulatus, P. neglectus | ||
| Sulcatisporites | S. splendens, S. sp. | ||
| Protohaploxypinus | P. samoilocichii | ||
| Striatopodocarpites | S. sp (Two species) | ||
| Hamiapollenites | H. perisporites, H. succatus | ||
| Striatoabitites | S. multistriatus, S. sp. | ||
| Alisporites | A. indarraensis, A. gracilis, A. nuthalensis | ||
| Falcisporites | F. zapfei | ||
| Limitisporites | L. sp. | ||
| Lueckisporites | L. vickkiae | ||
| Striatites | S. splendens | ||
| Vittatina | V. cf. V. subsuccata, V. cf. V. verrucosa | ||
Fuslinids
edit| Fuslinids | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Notes | Images |
| Globivalvulina | Indeterminate | Fusulinid in family Biseriamminidae. | |
| Dunbarinella | D. ervinensis | Fusulinid in family Schwagerinidae. | |
| Triticites | T. cullomensis, T. plummeri, T. ventricosus | ||
References
edit- ^ Wehrbein, Randol (2017-05-12). Comparisons of Paleoenvironments, Taxa, and Taphonomy of the Late Carboniferous Garnett and Hamilton Quarry Localities, Eastern Kansas (Thesis thesis).
- ^ Beck, Kimberly; Soler-Gijon, Rodrigo; Carlucci, Jesse; Willis, Raymond (2014). "Morphology and histology of dorsal spines of the xenacanthid shark Orthacanthus platypternus from the Lower Permian of Texas, USA: palaeobiological and palaeoenvironmental implications". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. doi:10.4202/app.00126.2014. ISSN 0567-7920.
- ^ Kjellesvig-Waering, E. N. (1986). "A restudy of the fossil Scorpionida of the world". Palaeontographica Americana. 55: 1–287.
- ^ Cunningham, Christopher R. (1993). "Hamilton Fossil-Lagerstätte (Upper Pennsylvanian, Greenwood County, Kansas): Internal Stratigraphy and Addition to the Microfossil Assemblage". Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science. 96 (1/2): 131–139. doi:10.2307/3628324. ISSN 0022-8443. JSTOR 3628324.
- ^ Cunningham, Christopher R.; Feldman, Howard R.; Franseen, Evan K.; Gastaldo, Robert A.; Mapes, Gene; Maples, Christopher G.; Schultze, Hans-Peter (1993). "The Upper Carboniferous Hamilton Fossil-Lagerstätte in Kansas: a valley-fill, tidally influenced deposit". Lethaia. 26 (3): 225–236. doi:10.1111/j.1502-3931.1993.tb01524.x. ISSN 0024-1164.
External links
edit- Hamilton Quarry is managed by the Johnston Geology Museum at Emporia State University.
- The Surficial Geology of the Hamilton Quarry Area, Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) Open-file Report 2005-13.