Significance of fossiliferous Middle Cambrian rocks of Rhode Island to the history of the Avalonian microcontinent

Abstract

Research Article| November 01, 1978 Significance of fossiliferous Middle Cambrian rocks of Rhode Island to the history of the Avalonian microcontinent J. W. Skehan; J. W. Skehan 1Weston Observatory, Department of Geology, and Geophysics, Boston College, Weston, Massachusetts 02193 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar D. P. Murray; D. P. Murray 1Weston Observatory, Department of Geology, and Geophysics, Boston College, Weston, Massachusetts 02193 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar A. R. Palmer; A. R. Palmer 2Department of Earth Sciences, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar A. T. Smith; A. T. Smith 3Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar E. S. Belt E. S. Belt 4Department of Geology, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts 01002 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (1978) 6 (11): 694–698. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1978)6<694:SOFMCR>2.0.CO;2 Article history first online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation J. W. Skehan, D. P. Murray, A. R. Palmer, A. T. Smith, E. S. Belt; Significance of fossiliferous Middle Cambrian rocks of Rhode Island to the history of the Avalonian microcontinent. Geology 1978;; 6 (11): 694–698. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1978)6<694:SOFMCR>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Middle Cambrian trilobites of Acado-Baltic affinities have been found in southern Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, in phyllites previously mapped as part of the Pennsylvanian stratigraphy of the Narragansett Basin. The trilobite-bearing phyllites form the basal unit of an approximately 1-km-thick sequence that has undergone four episodes of folding and cleavage formation.Three different trilobites are represented. Badulesia tenera (Hartt), which gives a diagnostic medial Middle Cambrian age, is also known from New Brunswick, eastern Newfoundland, southern Germany, northern Spain, and eastern Turkey. This species in northern Spain characterizes a subzone within the Middle Cambrian Badulesia zone correlating approximately with the lower part of the Paradoxides paradoxissimus zone of northern Europe.Nearby in Newport, Rhode Island, a sequence of maroon and green clastic sediments rests unconformably on Precambrian igneous rocks and sediments. If these should be proven to be Lower Cambrian, this succession in southern Narragansett Bay would be the most complete Cambrian succession yet recognized in southern New England and possibly a nearly complete record of sedimentation for this area for the entire Cambrian Period.These well-exposed rocks are part of a distinctive succession of upper Precambrian and lower Paleozoic rocks and are interpreted as a fragment of the Avalonian platform or microcontinent, closely related to rocks of the eastern margin of the northern Appalachians and the western margin of western Europe. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.