The Geology of Denton County Starting with the simplest kind of facts we can safely say that those forms with smooth shells grew in quiet water, those with ribbed shells in rough water, and, in rare cases, as examination of the plate will show some individuals were subjected to rough water during part of their lives and to smooth water during the rest of the time. The demarcation of the annual rings is fairly clear in most specimens and observation shows that about three years represents the average life. With a lens much finer rings between the annual rings are observable. These are rings of growth each resulting from single so called "meals" or feeding periods, as similar rings are observable in nearly all modern bivalves. An examination of a number of specimens under a lens will exhibit irregularities in the smaller growth rings and these irregularities some-times have a distinctive enough sequence so that the same sequence can be detected on different individuals. In this way it is possible to observe that the third year of one individual, for example, was the first year of another. In this way and by using similar rings on various pectens, the writer has been able to build up continuous chronologies for considerable lengths of time. In this work he hopes to be able after much more detailed work to deter-mine in terms of absolute time the rate of deposition of at least some of the marl seams of the Texas Comanchean. Ostrea carinata (plate 8). This angular ribbed oyster is an important fossil in the upper part of the Washita division. Unfortunately the name assigned to it by Texas geologists is not precise as this name belongs to a European fossil species originally named by Linnaeus ; and the Texas species resembles this only superficially, but the application of this name has become quite general and it serves after a fashion as a fully agreed upon handle. Leiocidaris hemigranosus (plate 13). This sea urchin occurs in both the Denton and the Weno and is represented mainly by large numbers of the thick, ribbed spines with occasional fragments of the test. Perfect individuals similar to that figured are extremely rare and the writer knows of the existence of only five others besides the specimen figured here. " |
The Geology of Tarrant County |
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Leiocidaris hemigranosus (?) Shumard. Ostrea carinata (?) Lamarck. Gryphea washitaensis Hill. Ostrea marcoui Boese. |
Pecten subalpina Boese. Pecten texanus Roemer. Nautilus texanus Shumard. Lima wacoensis Roemer. |
Protocardia sp. Trigonia sp. Ostrea quadriplicata Shumard. Plicatula sp. |
Primary rock type: Clay Secondary rock type: Limestone |
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Rastellum carinatum slab |
Basal section of Denton clay? |
Basal section of Denton clay? |
The Geology of Texas - Vol. 1 |
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Last updated: March 6, 2011