Late Maastrichtian rudist and coral assemblages from the Central Inlier, Jamaica: towards an event stratigraphy for shallow-water Caribbean limestones

Abstract

The lithological succession of the Guinea Corn Formation in the Slippery Rock River, central Jamaica, comprises 91 m of limestones and subsidiary mudstones. The biostratigraphic distribution of rudist bivalves and corals demonstrates that the succession of biostratigraphic markers is consistent with the previously documented standard Guinea Corn Formation succession in the Rio Minho between Grantham and Guinea Corn, central Jamaica. Additionally, the Slippery Rock River succession shows the boundary between the Chiapasella radiolitiformis and C. trechmanni zones that has not previously been documented. The marker horizons are also consistent with major facies changes within both sections, demonstrating that both lithological changes and biostratigraphic markers are synchronous within the limestone successions of central Jamaica. This may prove to be a valuable tool for stratigraphic correlation elsewhere in Jamaica and within the Antillean region.