Neglected Gulf Coast Microfauna: ABSTRACT

Abstract

Micropaleontology as a profession is scarcely more than 20 years old. In the region of the Gulf Coast the interest of micropaleontologists has centered chiefly on the smaller foraminifera, and to a lesser degree on the larger foraminifera and ostracodes. Despite the excellent monographs on bryozoa by Canu and Bassler, little use has been made of these organisms. Commercial reports occasionally mention certain lamellibranchs, gastropods, or otoliths, though seldom specifically. Fossil remains of other groups of organisms are not infrequently combined under the descriptive term shell-fragments. That the major interest of micropaleontologists should have centered on the foraminifera, both large and small, is not surprising, because of their abundance and excellent preserva ion in the deltaic clays and clayey sands, which predominate in the salt-dome region westward from the Mississippi River to the Rio Grande. Eastward from the Mississippi, however, terrigenous sediments rapidly diminish in quantity, with limes and chalks increasing in abundance. Many of these limes have been subjected to leaching since deposition. The smaller foraminifera appear to have been more soluble than other organisms. Because of the increasing interest in possible oil production from these eastern Gulf Coast states, the purpose of this paper is to point out not only the desirability of utilizing certain easily recognized and abundant species of bryozoa, but to note the occurrence and possible use of crinoids, holothurians, End_Page 898------------------------------ barnacles, crab's claws, diatoms, and other organisms. Of these, only the crabs have recently received more than passing attention. Despite the abundance of crinoid remains in several horizons, at numerous localities, the writer knows of no previous mention of them from the Gulf Coast Tertiary, nor has he seen previous reference to holothurians from the same region. End_of_Article - Last_Page 899------------