(Albian)
Gretaceous
of a Lower
Paleontology
andcorrelation
NewMexico
in Roosevelt
Gounty,
outlier
NM87131
Albuquerque,
University
of NewMexico,
byBarryS. Kues,Department
of Geology,
Introduction
The Tucumcari Shale is a fossiliferous formation of Late Albian age that is extensively
exposed in Quay and eastern Guadalupe
Counties.The Tucumcaribiota is reasonably
well known (Scott,1970a,7974;Kues et al.,
1985),although it has not been studied systematically.The formation has generallybeen
considered correlative with the Duck Creek
Formation in Texas (Scott, t974; Scott and
Taylor, 1.977),or the Duck Creek plus part of
the underlying Kiamichi Shale (Brand, 1953;
Brand and Mattox, 1972).These two formations representthe lower part of the Washita
Group in Texas.The Tucumcari outcrop belt
is 350mi west of the well developed Washita
sequencein easternTexas(Fig.1),but several
limited Kiamichi and Duck Creek exposures,
mainly around playa lake depressions,were
reported by Brand (1953)from west-central
Texasnear the New Mexico border. Two similar Washita-ageoutcrops have also been reported in New Mexico far south of the
Tucumcari area: one near Portales in Roosevelt County, and the other northwest of Tatum in Lea County. Neither locality has been
studied in detail from a biostratigraphic or
paleontological perspective, although such
information would be useful in furthering
our knowledge of the paleogeography, historv. and faunal distribution of the Albian
southern Western Interior seaway.In this paper the stratigraphyof the RooseveltCouirty
outlier is described,and its paleontologyis
summarized to provide the basis for correlation with the Tucumcari Shale to the north
and with the Kiamichi-Duck Creek sequence
centerof the NW1/r sec.30, T3S,R36E(Figs.
2, 3). This locality is 3 mi north of the village
of Rogersand 14 mi south-southeastof Portales.Lower Cretaceoussedimentsin this area
are mostly covered by a veneer of Quaternarv alluvium and grivels.
The first mention-of Cretaceousrocks in
Location and previous studies
The thin Lower Cretaceous section dis- this area was by Darton (1928,p.39), who
cussedin this paper is best exposed along stated "W. B. Lang recently found outcrops
the eastside of an unnamed arrovo, near the containingComanchefossils13mi southeast
of Portales. . ." Theis (1932)reported a 15----l
ft-thick Comanchean interval in section 30,
and Robbins(1941,p. 7) listed nine "typical
Kiamichi" mollusc taxa from the area. Lang
Q9a7,p. 1476)rcfetred to "limestones of the
Kiamichi Formation [overlying] a thin basal
sandy conglomerate, which in turn rests on
Triassicrocks," in RogersDraw, and he IorQg,11y
County
I
cated the probableWashita shorelineabout
Roosevell CountY
20 mi west of the Rogerslocality. Galloway
.
Por
(1956)summarizedtheseexposuresand sugFloyd
eestedthat the lower part of the sectionwas
Equivalentto the lower TucumcariShaleand
to the Kiamichi, whereas the upper Part was
correlativewith the upper Tucumcari and the
Duck CreekFormation of westernTexas.He
Rogers
also showed that the Lower Cretaceousstrata
exposed near Rogers were Present in the
subsurfacethrough an area of 100 mi' that
xm
extended from RooseveltCounty eastward
o 5 r o 1 52 0 2 5
l-J-!--l-l+
8 l into Bailey County, Texas.Young (L965,p.
o5lo15
5iI
hl
> l 5 49)referredthesestratato the TucumcariShale
and reported the ammonoids AdkinsitesbraI
andA. imlayiYoungfrom three
aoensis-(Bdse)
zi
I
localitiesin section30.Theseexposureswere
FIGURE2-Location of the Lower Cretaceousout- consideredto be probably correlative with
lier (X) in RooseveltCounty.
the Tucumcari Shale by Dane and Bachman
(1965)and were mapped as "Cretaceous,undivided" on the Geologicatlas of Texas,Cloais
sheet(Barnes, 1978).
to the east in Texas.Brief mention of the
conelation suggestedhere was made by Kues
(1986).Illustrated specimenshave been assigned University of New Mexico (UNM) Department of Geology catalog numbers.
l
i
el*
StratigraPhy
At the Rogerslocality (Fig. 3) about 15 ft
of Lower Cretaceousstrata overlie 8 ft of un-
FIGURE l-Distribution of fossiliferous marine Washita-age
outcrops in the southern Western Interior (modified from
Scott, 1975),The circled locality is discussedin this paper.
November 7986 Nm Mexico Geology
FIGURE 3-Eroded Kiamichi exposure along unnamed arroyo north of Rogers. K
indicates locality from which the fossils discussed in this PaPer were collected. View
is to the north-northeast.
f o s s i l i f e r o u s ,b r i c k - r e d t o g r e e n - m o t t l e d transgressionof the Washitaseainto RooseTriassicmudstones,which are similar litho- velt County from Texas.
logicallyto intervalsin the Chinle Formation
to the northwest and the Dockum Group in
Paleontology
Texas.The Cretaceoussequenceconsistsof
A moderatelydiverse,predominantlymola basalconglomerate,alternatingthin ledge- luscanfauna
occursat the Rogerslocality (Taforming limestone beds and covered slopes ble 1).
Some of the most conspicuous or
of light brown to gray shale, and an upper, unusual
elementsof this fauna are discussed
massive,well-induratedsandstone.The basal briefly
here, with the Texigryphaea
specimens
conglomerate(Fig. a) is about 3 ft thick and considered
separatelybelow. The steinkerns
is composedof gray to brown limestonewith of Cyprimeria (Fig.
5V) are nearly circular
a large amount of quartz sand grains and (height :
90% of length) and range from
subroundedto angularpebblesof quartz and
about 65 to 90 mm in length. Most Lower
quartzite up to 1.5 inches in diameter. DisCretaceousspeciesof Cyprimeriafrom Texas
articulated valves of Ceratostreontexanum and
Kansaswere establishedon the basisof
(Roemer)are common, as are large steinsteinkerns and are differentiated by slight
kerns of Cyprimeriasp, and Cucullaea?
cf. C.? differencesin sizeand proportions. The RogherculeaTwenhofel and Tester. One C. texers specimensare considerablylarger than
anum specimen(Fig. 5T) was cementednear
C. texana(Roemer),the most commonly reits beak to an isolatedpebble.This conglomported species,and they are within thq size
erate reflects a nearshore marine environ- range
of C. crassaMeek, C. kiowanaCragin,
ment that periodically received influxes of
andC. washitaensis
Adkins. The largestTexas
coarseclasticgrainsfrom adjacentland areas Washita
species,C. giganteaCragin, reaches
to the west. The generallyunfragmentedC.
a length of 118 mm (Adkins, 1928)and is
texanumvalves and the articulated state of
apparently inequivalve, whereas the specithe bivalve steinkerns in the conglomerate
mens at hand indicate symmetrical valves.
bed indicate relatively quiet normil marine The
vaguecriteria used in separatingLower
conditions, with the bivalves occupying a
CretaceousCyprimeriaspeciesand the poor
substratethat included numerous large pebpreservationof the Rogers specimensprebles.
clude definite assignment of these speciThe middle part of the Cretaceoussection mens.
is 8-10 ft thick and consistsof coveredshale
Largesteinkernsassignedto Cucullaea?
cf.
slopeswith two thin limestone beds in the C.? herculea(Fig. 5U) reach a length of 112
lower 4 ft. The lower of two conspicuous mm, have a high, anteriorbeak, and are simledges in this interval is a light brown, in- ilar in shape to C. herculeafrom the Kiowa
distinctly bedded limestone filled with fine Formation of Kansas. Some smaller sneciquartz grains. Locally this unit has more the mens (lengthabout 80 mm) are posteriorly
appearanceof fine-grainedquartz sandstone elongateand have a relatively low longituwith a calcareousmatrix. Steinkernsof hieh- dinal profile. Molds of taxodontdentition are
spired ga-stropods(probably Turritella),ey- present along the hingelines of a few specprimerh, Protocardia,and Cucullaeaare com- imens. Fragmentsof shell adhering to sevm o n , t o g e t h e r w i t h s p a r s e s h a r k t e e t h , eral steinkernsindicate that ornamentation
ammonoid impressions,and oyster shell
fragments. An-upper ledge-forming sandy
limestoneoccurs about 3.5 ft above the toir
of the conglomeratebed and 1.5 ft aboveth^e
first ledge-forminglimestone. It contains
specimensof Texigryphaea
naaia(Hall), T. mucronata(Gabb),and related forms. Shells of
Texigryphaea
are abundant on the covered
slopesbelow this unit, and most of the ammonoid specimensalso came from this covered interval. This sequenceof shales and
sandylimestonesrepresentsshallow marine
deposition somewhat farther offshore than
the conglomeratebed, but still relatively close
to the shoreline.
Very few fossilswere observedon the covered slope above the upper ledge-forming
limestonebed. The massive,hard, 3-4-ft-thick
sandstonethat caps the section is conspicuous along the upper edgeof the arroyo (Fig.
3) and is seen in isolated blocks elsewheie
in the vicinity. It is a dense, brown, fine-tomedium-grainedsandstoneweathered to a
brownish-maroon color. Except for a Thalassinoides-bearing
bed near its base,no fossils
were observedin this sandstone.It was depositedin a marginalmarine to possiblynonm a r i n e e n v i r o n m e n t . T h e e n t i r e L o w e r FIGURE 4-Basal fossiliferous conglomerate ol
Cretaceoussequencehere representsa brief Kiamichi Shaleat Rogersoutlier.
consistedof fine, sharply rounded, closely
spaced,concentriclirae, about 8 to 10 per 10
mm near the ventral margin of the shell. Several steinkernsare encrustedby small oyster
shells.
texanum(Fig. 55, T), the most
Ceratostreon
abundant fossil in the lower part of the section, occursprimarily as complete,disarticu l a t e d v a l v e s . S p e c i m e n sr a n g i n g f r o m
juveniles to mature valves reaching a length
of 90 mm were collected.Variation in valve
shape,from narrow to nearly circular, is pronounced.A single,columnar,slightly curved
shell fragment about 65 mm long and having
an oval cross section documents the presence of rudist bivalves (Fig. 5X, Y) af this
locality. The fragment is calcareousand composed of numerous long, vertical pallial canals that are oval to polygonal in crosssection.
Thin tabulaecrossthe canalsat intervals along
their length. The thick, vesicularshell structure suggeststentativeassignmentto the Caprinidae. One specimen of a solitary coral
was recoveredfrom the basalconglomerate.
Gastropodsare common as steinkernsin the
lower ledge-formingsandy limestone;the few
specimensretainingpart of the shell have an
ornamental pattern suggestive of Turritella
beloidereiCragin.
Severalfragmentary,but identifiable,ammonoids (Fig. 5P-R) were collected from the
Texigryphaea
horizon. TheseKiamichi species
were described and illustrated by Young
(7966.
Texigryphaea
Approximately 150 specimensof Texigryphaea,mainly isolated left valves, were col[?
TABLE 1-Lower Cretaceousfossilsidentified from
the Kiamichi exposures near Rogers, Roosevelt
County, New Mexico. Seetext foidetails on taxa
grouped here as Texigryphaea
spp.
COELENTERATA
Solitarycoral, unidentified
ANNELIDA
SerpulacraginiTwenhofel
BRYOZOA
Pyriporasp.
MOLLUSCA-BIVALVIA
Caprinidae?(rudist)
Ceratostreon
texanum(Roemer)
Cucullaea?
cf. C.? herculea
Twenhofel and Tester
Cyprimeriasp.
N eitheaoccidentalls
(Conrad)
Protocardn texana (Conrad)
Pseudoperna?
sp.
Scabrotrigoniaemoryi (Conr ad)
Texigryphaea
mucronata(Gabb)
T. naaia (Ha11)
T sPP.
MOLLUSCA-GASTROPODA
Turritellacf . T. belaiderciCragin
MOLLUSCA-AMMONOIDEA
Adkinsitesct. A. belknapi(Marcou)
A. imlayiYoung
Manuaniceras
elaboratumlynnenseYoung
VERTEBRATA(shark teeth)
cf . Plicatolamna
cf . Odontaspis
Nan MexicoGeology November 1986
lectedfrom the Rogerslocality.Eighty-eight gradationalsequencesof specimenswith these
percent of these valves had been colonized sulcateexamplesof T. naaia.One series of
by encrusting and/or boring epizoans,par- specimensdevelopedan exceptionallydeep
ticularly clionid sponges, acrothoracicbar- sulcuswith a prominent ventral margin innacles,small oysters, serpulid worms, and vagination that separatesthe posterior lobe
bryozoans.Twenty percentof the valveshad from the rest of the valve (Fig. 6L-N). A secbeen considerablydamaged by boring, es- ond group (T, cf. T. naaia;Fig. 6O-Q) pospeciallyaround the left valve margins and in sessesa left valve that is higher, lesscarinate,
the beak area. Fourteen measurements(not and has a less inclined umbo and less deincluded in this paper) and six additional flectedbeak than the sulcateform of T. naaia.
subiectiveobservationswere made on each The sulcate form of T. naoia also grades
completevalve in order to characterizethe smoothlyinto a largegroup characterizedby
a ratherhigh left valve, concavepostero-dorvariation presentin this assemblage.
left valves display a re- sal margin, and an extended posterior lobe
The Texigryphaea
markablerangeof variation. Specimensclearly that imparts an arcuate shape to the valve
referable to T. naaia and T. mucronataare (Fig. 6F-H). The umbo of this arcuateform
present,togetherwith numerousindividuals varies from carinateto rounded and is less
that depart to a greateror lesserdegreefrom steeply inclined than on typical specimens
the typical morphologies of these species. of T. nattin.The degreeof posterior beak deVariation was observed especiallyin valve flection is moderaterather than strong. The
shape and thickness,size and curvature of sulcusis subduedbut the posteriorlobe mav
the beak, inclination of the umbonal region, be somewhat elevated, giving the externil
degreeof carinadevelopmentalong the umbo valve surfacea "bilobed" appearance.Sevto the ventral valve margin, size of sulcus, eral arcuatespecimens(Fig. 5I-K) display an
developmentand degreeof posterior exten- unusuallv narrow. extended beak; thev are
sion of the posterior lobe, and ornamenta- similar to a specimenillustrated by Hili and
tion. Comparisonof all specimenswithin the Vaughan (1898,pl. 18, fig. 12), which they
assemblage
resultedin recognitionof several stated "probably should be referred to [T.]
intergrading groups/ in addition to T. naoia naoia."
Someof thesearcuatespecimensapproach
and T. mucronata.Yariation in these texigryphaeasis discussedbelow and illustrated in the shapeof some valves that have been asFigures5 and 6. Terminology for Texigryphnea signed 7o T. pitcheri(Morton) (:7. corrugata
valvesfollows Stenzel(1959)and Fay (1975). of Hill and Vaughan, 1898).However, the
About L5%of the specimensare very sim- ontogeneticand ecologicalvariation within
ilar or identical to the type specimensof T. T. pitcheriis not well documented, and for
naaia (Hall, 1856)and Exogyraforniculata the present I have not assignedspecimens
(White, 1880,1884),a synonym of T. naaia. in east-centralNew Mexico collectionsto T.
Thesevalves (Fig. 64, B) are large (up to 71 pitcheriunlessthey closelyresemblethe holospecimenillustrated
mm high), thick, and have a sharp carina or iype, a relatively-small
keelextendingfrom the umbo acrossthe cen- by Hill and Vaughan (1898),Stanton (1947)
tral part of the valve. The umbo is consid- and Fay (1975).No specimensof this nature
erably inclined away from vertical, making were observedin the Rogersassemblage,alof T. naaiaandT. pitchthe valve appear relatively flat. The beak is though co-occurrence
short, not inflated, and it is strongly de- erl elsewherehas been reported by several
flected posteriorly. The external shell surface workers.
The severalgroups assignedto or believed
is markedbv imbricatinelamellaethat locallv
are extendedinto hyote-spinesalong the cai- closelyrelated to T. naaiamentioned above
ina and/or posteriorlobe. The sulcusis weak all possessrelatively broad to arcuate left
to absentand the posterior lobe is low, gently valves having a mean length/heightratio of
rounded, and inconspicuous.A few speci- 0.82or greater.However, approximately40%
mens (T. aff. T. naaia,"inflated form," Fig. of the measuredmature valvesin the Rogers
6W X) possessan inflated, carinateleft valve localitycollectionshave a more narrow elonwith a strongly deflectedbeak and are closely gate shape,with length/heightratios of 0.50
related to typical specimens of T. naoia. An- to 0.75.They also tend to have a lesssteeply
other group of specimensassignedto T. naztin inclined umbonal plane and thereforea higher
(Fig. 6C-E) display a relatively wide, mod- shell that is more symmetrical around the
eratelydeep sulcusand lesspronouncedcar- region of maximum convetty. They also have
ina, but otherwise are similar to typical only slightly to moderately deflected beaks,
in contrast to the stronelv deflected beaks of
specimens.
Several variants are connected through 1 . n a a w .
Among these relatively narrow forms, the
narrowest specimensare T. mucronata.The
best preservedexampleof this species(Fig.
5A-C) displays no extension of the posterior
lobe and possessesalarge,inflated, strongly
curved but slightly deflected beak that is far
more prominent than the beaks of T. naoia
and similar forms. The umbo and area of
maximum convexity on the valve are evenly
rounded and noncarinate.Shelburne(1959,
pL.37, figs.7-9) illustrated a nearly identical
specimenfrom the basalKiamichi of central
Texas.Specimensof T. muuonataintergrade
with forms (7. cf. T. mucronata,Fig. 5D-F)
that are less elongateand have less prominent beaksbut are otherwise similar. Some
of these specimenshave an incipient carina
and increaseddevelopmentof the posterior
lobe that impart a mildly "bilobed" aPPearanceto the valve. These"bilobed" forms are
similar to a specimen illustrated by Shelburne (1959,pl. 37, figs.4-6) from the middle Kiamichi, which he believed was
phyleticallyintermediatebetweenT. mucronata andT. naz,tia.
Two closelysimilar, gradationalgroups of
large, relatively elongate specimenscomooseabout 30Vaof the measuredmature texigryphaeasin the Rogers assemblage.One
group, here referted to as T. sp. ("narrowsulcate"form; Fig. 5G-I), has a deeply incised,narrow sulcus,a moderatelyto strongly
deflectedbeak, and moderatelyinclined umbonal plane. Somespecimens,including the
illustratedone, show a tendencytoward carina developmentand have a thickened shell
with imbricating lamellaeand hyote spinesfeaturesthat characteize T. naaia.The second group, T. sp. ("narrow-carinate"form,
Fig. 5L, M), possessesa high, steep-sided,
carinateleft valve, with a subdued sulcus,
moderatelyto weakly deflectedbeak, and a
moderatelyto barely inclined umbonal plane.
Somespecimenshave a raisedposteriorlobe
and the "bilobed" appearancementioned
above for other groups. In general, these
groups appear to be intermediatebetween
l. microiata and T. nauiain the shape and
characteristicsof the left valve. One specimen in the secondof these groups (Fig. 6TV) has rounded, radial costaeextendingfrom
the umbo to the ventral valve margin. This
featureis faintly presenton some specimens
in other groups as well, and is probably of
no taxonomic significance.
valves(height lessthan
SmallTexigryphaea
30 mm) were also presentin the collections.
Although the range of variation in valve form
is considerable,juvenile representativesof
eachgroup recognizedon the basisof mature
mucronata(Gatib),
FIGURE S-Molluscs from the Kiamichi Shale at Rogers locality. Ail figures x 1 unless otherwise indicated. A-C, Texigryphaea
cf. T. mucronata,right valve and external and umbonal views of left
upper, lower, and umbonal views of left valve, UNM 9410; D-F, Texigryphaea
sp. ("narrow-sulcate" form), umbonal, internal, and external views of left valve, UNM
vilve of an articulated specimen, UNM 9411; G-1, Texigryphaea
sp. ("narrow-carinate" form), umbonal
naaia, upper and external views of juvenile left valve, UNM 9422;L, M, Texigryphaea
9421,;
!, K, Texigryphaea
sp., external and internal views of a broadly rounded juvenile left valve, UNM 9424;
and external vie*s of left valve, UNM gaZg;N, O, Texigryphaea
P, Manuaniceras
elaboratumlynnenseYoung, fragment of phragmocone steinkern, UNM 9425(x 0.5); Q, Adkinsitesimlayi Yovry, \agment of phrag
mocone steinkern, UNM 9426 (x 0.67); R, Adkinsitescf . A. belknapi(Marcou), small fragment of phragmocone steinkern, UNM 9427( x 0.5); S, T,
texanum(Roemer), external views of left valves of UNM 9428 and9429 (x O.7)-note pebble to which valve in view T is cemented;U,
Ceratostreon
cf. C.? herculea
Twenhofel and Tester,right view of steinkern,UNM 9430(x 0.67);Y, Cyprimeriasp., right view of steinkern,UNM 9431
Cucullaea?
( x 0 . 6 ) ; W , N e i t h e a o c c i d e n( tCaol insr a d ) , r i g h t v a l v e , U N M 9 4 3 2 ; X , Y , c a p r i n i d r u d i s t , t o p ( 1x ) a n d s i d e ( x 0 . 8 ) v i e w s o fa s h e l l f r a g m e n t , U N M
9433
November
1985
New Mexico Geology
NatsMexicoGeology November 1986
valvescould not be definitely identified. Some lower part of the Kiowa Formationof Kansas
smallvalvesare broad, low, and sharply car- (Scott, 1970b)and western Oklahoma (Fay,
inate(Fig.5I, K;6R, S);they clearlyrepresent 1978).In west-central Texas,however, T. najuvenilesof T. naoia.Many small specimens ula is confined to the basal part of the Kiam(Fig. 5N, O) are relatively elongate,weakly ichi (Brand,1953).It hasneverbeenreported
sulcate,and have moderately deflectedbeaks from the Tucumcari Shale.Texigryphiea
muand weakly inclined umbos that vary from crlnata is abundant in Fredericksburgunits
broadly rounded to slightly carinate. Iden- in Texas, especially the Walnut Formation
tification of these valves to specieswas not (Perkins, 196b;Moore, 7964;Flatt, 1976), but
possible.Some of them resemblejuveniles also rangeslocally into the basalpart of the
of T. mucronata
illustratedby Hill and Vaughan Kiamichi (Winton, 1925; Shelburne, 1959),
(1898,pl. 2) as T. marcoui,a synonym of T. which is here consideredto be the lowest
mucronata,
formation of the Washita Group.
The wide range of variation displayedby
Ceratostreon
texanum,abundant in the lower
this assemblageof Texigryphaea
illustrates the part of the Rogersoutlier section,is a comdifficulties in assigningindividual specimens mon Fredericksburg species in Texas (Adto currently recognizedspecies.These spe- kins, 1928;Stanton, 1947),buthas also been
cies were, for the most part, establishedin reported from the Kiamichi (Shelburne,1959;
the 19thcentury on typologicalgrounds,and Bishop, 1967), which is its highest stratithe range of variation within each species graphic occurrence (Young, 1982). Brand
(and degree of intergradation between spe- (i953) did not find it above the Kiamichi in
cies)is not well known. It remainsto be seen west-central Texas. The presence
'Shale of C. texwhether contemporaneousassemblagesof anum in the Tucumcari
is doubtful.
Texigryphaea
from elsewhere in the southern Severalauthors (cited by Kues et al., 1985)
Western Interior display the same array of have reported it in the Tucumcari but extenmorphological variation observedamong the sive examination of the Tucumcari fauna at
specimensin the assemblagedescribedhere. manv localities bv the author and others has
faited to produce a single specimen of this
large, distinctive species.Scott (1970a, 7974)
Biostratigraphy and correlation
likewise did not report it from the TucumCorrelationof the Lower Cretaceousstrata cari, giving the upper limit of its stratiat the Rogers outlier is based mainly on graphic range as basalKiamichi.
ammonoids and Texigryphaea-two groups
Taken together, the evidence cited above
having numerous, well-documented,strati- indicates that the Lower Cretaceous strata
graphically restricted speciesin Albian units near Rogers are within the Adkinsites brathrough much of the southern Western In- aoensis
ammonoidzoneof Young(1966,796n.
terior. The three ammonoids collectedfrom The important elementsof the Rogersfauna
the Rogers locality fAdkinsitesimlayi Young, are common in the Kiamichi Shale of central
A. cf. A. belknapi(Marcou), and Manuanicerasand easternTexas,and most are not present
elaboratum
lynnense
Young], togetherwith A. in units overlying the Kiamichi. The fauna
braaoensis
(Bcise)reported by Young (1.956)all of the Tucumcari Shale. on the other hand.
characterizethe Kiamichi Shalein Texas.The is quite different from that at the Rogers lotype locality for A. imlayi and M. elaboratum cality. None of the A. braaoensiszone amIynnenseis a Kiamichi outlier near Guthrie monoidspresentthere hasbeenreported from
Lake in Lynn County, west-central Texas the TucumcariShale,and Scott(1970a)noted
(Young, 1966),within 100 mi of the Rogers that this zone is not recognized in northoutlier. Adkinsitesbelkno,pi
is also known only easternNew Mexico.The earliestammonoid
from the Kiamichi, and the zone of A. bri- (tentatively) identified (Brand and Mattox,
aoensisis essentiallythe Kiamichi Shale,al- 1972)in the Tucumcari is Craginitesserratesthough this speciesranges from just below cens(Cragin),which defines-thezone imto just abovethe Kiamichi (Young,1966).None mediatelyabovethe A, braztoensis
zonein north
of theseammonoids occursin the extensive Texas(Young,1967).The latestammonoid is
Tucumcari Shale exposures in Quay and Mortonicerasequidistans(Cragin), which ocGuadalupeCounties, New Mexico (Kues et curs in both the Tucumcari and overlying
aI.,1985).
MesaRicaSandstone(Kueset al., 1985).The
Among the texigryphaeas,Texigryphaea
na- C. serratescens
through M. equidistans
zones
aia occursabundantly in the Kiamichi of cen- are within the Duck CreekFormation of north
tral and eastern Texas (Shelburne, 1959; Texas(Young,1967).
Bishop, 1957) and southeasternOklahoma
The dominant Texigryphaea
in the Tucum(Huffman et a1.,1975,1.978).In these areas cari Shaleis T. tucumcarii,instead of the earit rangesto the top of the Kiamichi and into lier species T, naain and T. mucronatathat
the basalDuck Creek and equivalentCaddo charaiterize the Rogers outlier. Texigryphaea
Formations.The speciesis alsopresentin the washitaensis,
a specieswith a range that be-
gins in the Duck Creek (Fay, 1975;Young,
t982), is also sparsely present in the Tucumcari, but absent at the Rogers locality. Only
long-ranging taxa, such as Scabrotrigonin
emoand
Protocardia
texana,
are
cofiunon
to
both
ryi
units. Thus, the TucumcariShaleappearsto
represent part of the time of Duck Creek
deposition in northern and eastern Texas,
whereas the Rogers strata were deposited
during Kiamichi time, before the deposition
of any part of the Tucumcari. Brand (1953)
observed T. naaia only from the base of the
Kiamichi in west-centralTexas.The presence
of T. naaiaat the Rogersoutlier, together with
the occurrence there of species such as T.
mucronataa d C. texanum,which barely continued past the end of Fredericksburgdeposition suggeststhat the Rogersstrataarebest
correlated with the lower part of the Kiamichi as it has beenrecognizedin west-central
Texas(Fig. 7).
The restriction of T. naztiato the base of
the Kiamichi in west-central Texascontrasts
with its abundant occurrence to the top of
the Kiamichi and into the overlying Duck
Creek Formation in northeasternTexasand
southeasternOklahoma. Kessinger(1967)
suggested,on the basis of foraminiferal evidence, that the upper Kiamichi of the Llano
Estacadois temporally equivalentto the lower
Duck Creek of north Texas, implying that
these formations are time-transgressiveunits
that were depositedsomewhatlater in western Texasthan those deposited 350 mi to the
east.The stratigraphicoccurrenceofT. naaia
in these widely separatedareaswould support this idea. The Washitaseatransgressed
westward through Texasand into the southern Western Interior (Scott, 1975),and the
successionof environments and biotas representedby Kiamichi and Duck Creek deposition undoubtedly began in the east before
the advancing sea brought them into westcenfralTexasand easternNew Mexico. East
Texas/Oklahoma Washita marine environments were also characterizedby greater
habitat diversity, stability, and predictability
than were those of the southern Western Interior (Scott, t975), and optimum conditions
for T. naaia may have lasted longer in the
east than along the western margins of the
Washitasea.Thus, the stratigraphicrangeof
T. naaia in western Texasand New Mexico
may be shorter and was terminated earlier
(becauseof lessfavorableenvironments)than
was the casein easternTexasand Oklahoma.
The Lower Cretaceousexposures near
Rogerslithologically resemblethose of the
Kiamichi Shaledescribedby Brand (1953)in
severalcountiesimmediatelyeastof the New
MexiceTexas border. Personal examination
of severalKiamichi localitiesin BailevCountv,
Texas(15-25 mi east of the Rogeri locality),
FIGURE6-Texigryphaeafrom the Kiamichi Shale at Rogerslocality. All figures x 1. A, B, Texigryphaea
naaia(Hall), external and internal views of left
valve sinilar to syntypes, UNM 9412;C, D, T. naaia(HaIl), external and internal views of a su--lclteleft valve, UNM 9413;E, T. naz.tia
(Hall), umbonal
view of a sulcateleft valve, UNM 9434;F-H, T. aff. T. naztia("arcuate" form), left, right, and umbonal views of an articulated specimen, UNM 9414;
!-K, ! atr, T. nauia("narrow-beaked" form), external, internal, and umbonal views oileft valve, UNM 9415-valve is partly coveied by Serpulacragini:
I-ry, T. aff. T. naaia("deeply sulcate" forrn), external, umbonal, and internal views of left valve, UNM 9416;O-Q, i. cf .'T. naoia,iniemal, exter"nal,
and umbonal views of left valve, UNM 9417;R, S, T. naztia,external and internal views of a juvenile left valve with large attachment scar on beak,
UNIvI 9418;T--V,-T sp. ("ribbed" form), left, umbonal, and right views of articulated specimen, UNM 9419;W, X, T. ak. T. naaia("inflated" form),
umbonal and right views of articulated specimen, UNM 9420.
November
1,985 Nm Mexico Geology
NantMexicoGeologgrNovember 1986
revealed similar sequences of shales and argillaceous limestones. It should be mentioned, however, that typical specimens of
T. naztia were not observed at the Bailey
County localities. The abundant Texigryphaea
specimens at these localities appear to be T.
pitcheri, and the exposed units represent a
higher level within the Kiamichi than the section near Rogers. In conclusion, based on
lithological and paleontological evidence, the
Lower Cretaceous strata at the Rogers localiW are best interpreted as an isolated remnant of the Kiamichi Shale, deposited near
the western shoreline of the early Washita
sea before the deposition of any part of the
Tucumcari Shale.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS-IthanK Robert W.
Scott, Amoco Production Co., Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Robert O. Fav Oklahoma Geological Survey, for reviewing the manuscript
and offering suggestions that helped imProve rt.
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Rogers
outlier
(this poper)
Pojorito
wintoni
_?
Denton
Sh o l e
_
Drokeoceros
Formotion
MesoRico
Fori Worlh
c
.9
.cI
)
o
o
o.
f
/asswilzt
Formolion
o
o
Sondstone
Duck
Morloniceros
equidislons
.=
Creek
o
Tucumcori
Eopochydiscus
DuckCreek
orozosensts
3
Formoiion
Craginites
serrotescens
Adkinsites
Kiomichi
Shole
Formotion
Sh o l e
Kiomichi
Shole
K i o m i c h iS h o l e
brovoensis
FIGURE 7-Correlation of Upp_erAlbian (Lower Cretaceous) strata at the Rogers outlier with northeast
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94
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7986
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n