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W. J. Kennedy

Publications and source records attributed to W. J. Kennedy.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

Maastrichtian ammonites chiefly from the Prairie Bluff Chalk in Alabama and Mississippi

The Prairie Bluff Chalk of Alabama and Mississippi yields a diverse ammonite fauna of Maastrichtian age. Twenty-eight species, of which three are new, are recorded herein: Pseudophyllites indra (Forbes, 1846), Hauericeras rembda (Forbes, 1846), Pachydiscus ( Pachydiscus ) maconensis n. sp., P. ( P. ) cf. gollevillensis (d'Orbigny, 1850), P. ( P. ) jacquoti (Seunes, 1890), P. ( P. ) egertoni (Forbes, 1846), Sphenodiscus lobatus (Tuomey, 1854), S. pleurisepta (Conrad, 1857), Coahuilites sheltoni Böse, 1928, Nostoceras ( Nostoceras ) alternatum (Tuomey, 1854), N. ( N. ) mendryki Cobban, 1974a, N. ( N. ) magdadiae Lefeld and Uberna, 1991, N. ( N. ) irregulare n. sp., Glyptoxoceras torquatum (Morton, 1834), Glyptoxoceras sp. A, Glyptoxoceras ? sp., Baculites lomaensis Anderson, 1958, Baculites spp. A–C, Eubaculites labyrinthicus (Morton, 1834), E. carinatus (Morton, 1834), Baculites ? trabeatus (Morton, 1834), Trachybaculites columna (Morton, 1834), Discoscaphites conradi (Morton, 1834), D. gulosus (Morton, 1834), Jeletzkytes criptonodosus Riccardi, 1983, Trachyscaphites alabamensis n. sp., and T. yorkensis (Stephenson, 1941). One genus, Trachybaculites , is new. The bulk of the fauna can be referred to a Discoscaphites conradi assemblage zone, but some elements in the fauna are significantly older.

Journal of Paleontology↗

Middle Campanian ammonites and inoceramids from the Wolfe City Sand in northeastern Texas

The middle Campanian Wolfe City Sand in northeastern Texas yields a distinctive ammonite and inoceramid fauna with Patagiosites sp., Placenticeras sp., Hoplitoplacenticeras ( Hoplitoplacenticeras ) minor n. sp., Baculites mclearni Landes, 1940, Trachyscaphites spiniger (Schlüter, 1872) porchi (Adkins, 1929), Inoceramus ( Cordiceramus ) azerbaidjanensis Aliev, 1939, and I. ( Endocostea ) balticus Boehm, 1907. The last-named four species allow a direct correlation with the Baculites mclearni zone of the Western Interior of the United States. The base of this zone has been dated at 79.9 ± 3.2/79.2 ± 1.6 Ma on the basis of K/Ar determinations on biotite from a bentonite. Inoceramus azerbaidjanensis is also known from the Campanian of the U.S.S.R. in Azerbaidjan (where the species was first described), western Turkemenia, Georgia, the northern Caucasus, the Crimea, and Donbass.

Journal of Paleontology↗

Maastrichtian ammonites from the Hornerstown Formation in New Jersey

The base of the Paleocene Hornerstown Formation at the Inversand pit and certain other localities in New Jersey yields a diverse phosphatised fauna of Maastrichtian age, including the ammonites Pachydsicus ( Neodesmoceras) mokotibensis Collignon, 1952, Sphenodiscus lobatus (Tuomey, 1854), Baculites spp., and Eubaculites carinatus (Morton, 1834). S. lobatus is known from the older Red Bank Sand and Tinton Sand in New Jersey; the other species are known only from the basal Hornerstown. Occurrences at the Inversand pit are regarded as either reworked or remainié, although details of Cretaceous/Paleocene boundary events have been destroyed by pervasive burrowing that pipes the Hornerstown down into the underlying Navesink Formation.

Journal of Paleontology↗

Upper campanian (upper cretaceous) ammonites from the Marshalltown Formation-Mount laurel boundary beds in Delaware

New collections from the Marshalltown Formation and basal Mount Laurel Sand along the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal in Delaware clarify the ammonite dating of the interval. The Marshalltown Formation yields Pachydiscus ( Pachydiscus ) sp., Menuites portlocki (Sharpe, 1855) complexus (Hall and Meek, 1856), a subspecies restricted to the Baculites gregoryensis and Baculites scotti zones in the Western Interior of the United States, and Didymoceras binodosum (Kennedy and Cobban, 1993a) known only from the B. scotti zone of the Western Interior and correlatives in Arkansas and Texas. The basal part of the Mount Laurel Sand contains a complex assemblage preserved as phosphatic molds: Nostoceras ( Nostoceras ) monotuberculatum Kennedy and Cobban, 1993a, Nostoceras (N.) sp., Didymoceras platycostatum (Kennedy and Cobban, 1993b), D. stevensoni (Whitfield, 1877) (previously thought to be from the Marshalltown) and Exiteloceras jenneyi (Whitfield, 1877). The last two are index species of their eponymous zones in the Western Interior. This sequence is compatible with ammonites from the Wenonah Formation, which lies between the Marshalltown and Mount Laurel to the north and contains ammonites indicative of the Baculites scotti zone, and the fauna from higher in the Mount Laurel Sand, which includes elements of the Didymoceras cheyennense and Baculites compressus zones of the Western Interior sequence.

Journal of Paleontology↗

Heteromorph ammonites from the Upper Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) Baculites cuneatus and Baculites reesidei zones of the Pierre Shale in Colorado, USA

Calcareous sandstone concretions in the Upper Cretaceous Pierre Shale in Middle Park and in the Fort Collins area of Colorado in the U.S. Western Interior contain heteromorph ammonites of the families Nostoceratidae HYATT, 1894, and Diplomoceratidae SPATH, 1926. The following species are described: Nostoceras cf. N. approximans (CONRAD, 1855), Nostoceras cf. N. obtusum HOWARTH, 1965, N. larimerense sp. nov., Nostoceras cf. N. splendidum (SHUMARD, 1861). Didymoceras aurarium sp. nov., D. draconis (STEPHENSON, 1941), Cirroceras conradi (MORTON, 1841), Anaklinoceras minutum sp. nov., Solenoceras texanum (SHUMARD, 1861), Solenoceras cf. S. reesidei STEPHENSON, 1941, Lewyites oronensis (LEWY, 1969), and Lewyites? sp. All these species are migrants from the Gulf coastal region. Didymoceras draconis and Cirroceras conradi are also known from the Delaware-New Jersey area, and these two species, together with Solenoceras texanum are known from as far away as Israel.

Colorado↗

Lower Turonian (Upper Cretaceous) Watinoceras devonense Zone ammonite fauna in Colorado, USA

The basal Turonian Watinoceras devonense Zone fauna from the Bridge Creek Member of the Greenhorn Limestone in southeastern Colorado is described and illustrated, including material from the Rock Canyon area near Pueblo, where the base of bed 86, which corresponds to the first appearance of W. devonense Wright and Kennedy, 1981, has been proposed as Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point for the base of the Turonian stage. The fauna includes Watinoceras devonense devonense Wright and Kennedy, 1981, W. depressum Wright and Kennedy, 1981, W. praecursor Wright and Kennedy, 1981, Quitmaniceras reaseri Powell, 1963, Quitmaniceras sp. nov.?, Allocrioceras larvatum (Conrad, 1855), and Hamites cimarronensis (Kauffman and Powell, 1977). A remarkable aspect of the assemblage is the presence of three co-occurring species of Watinoceras that were originally described from Devon, England (Wright and Kennedy, 1981), so that the Watinoceras devonense Zone is a biostratigraphic unit that allows trans-Atlantic correlation of the base of the Turonian Stage.

Cretaceous Research↗

Didymoceras puebloense, a new species of heteromorph ammonite from the Upper Campanian of Colorado and Wyoming

Didymoceras puebloense nov. sp. is described from the upper Campanian zones of Didymoceras nebrascense and Didymoceras stevensoni in Pueblo and Pitkin Counties, Colorado, and Weston County, Wyoming in the United States Western Interior. The species is characterized by a middle helical growth stage in which the succesive whorls are widely separated followed by a terminal pendant U-shaped sector of the adult body chamber. Ornament is of distant, narrow bituberculate ribs usually separated by a nontuberculate rib. Widely separated poorly-defined constrictions with associated collar ribs are occasionally present. The style of coiling in middle and later growth resembles that of those growth stages in upper Campanian Didymoceras , whereas the ornament recalls that of middle Campanian representatives of the genus in the Western Interior.

Colorado, Wyoming↗

Campanian ammonites from the Upper Cretaceous Gober Chalk of Lamar County, Texas

The Roxton Limestone Member at the top of the Gober Chalk in northeast Texas yields a rich fauna, dominated by Baculites haresi Reeside, 1927, and Inoceramus balticus Boehm, 1909, with sparse occurrences of pachydiscus cf. P. paulsoni (Young, 1963), Anapachydiscus sp.juv., Placenticeras placenta (DeKay, 1828), Hoplitoplacenticeras aff. H. plasticum (Paulcke, 1907), Menabites (Delawarella) delawarensis (Morton, 1830), M.(D.) danei (Young, 1963), M.(D.) aff. M.(D.) vanuxemi (Morton, 1830), Submortoniceras vandalinaense Young, 1963, Submortoniceras sp., Eubostrychoceras sp., and Scaphites hippocrepis (DeKay, 1828) III. The presence of S. hippocrepis III suggests a late early Campanian age assignment for the fauna. The assemblage includes species known from the Western Interior, Gulf Coast, Atlantic seaboard, and western Europe. -Authors

Journal of Paleontology↗