Old Church Formation : Species Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Old Church Formation

Geologic formation in Virginia, U.S.

Old Church Formation
Stratigraphic range: Oligocene
Xenorophid(?) Cetacean tooth from the Old Church formation of Virginia
Type	Formation
Unit of	Trent Supergroup
Underlies	Calvert Formation, Popes Creek Sand
Overlies	Pamunkey Group, Piney Point Formation
Location
Region	Virginia, Maryland
Country	United States

The Old Church Formation is a geologic formation in Virginia and possibly Maryland. It preserves fossils dating back to the Oligocene epoch of the Paleogene period. It rarely exposes on land and is under-studied. However, deposits from this period are rare and the Old Church Formation likely contains many scientifically significant taxa. Ward (1985) recommended placing this formation in the Chesapeake Group.^[1]

Species

Some of the species known from the Old Church Formation are included below. Further study will likely reveal a more diverse fauna.^[2]

Chondrichthyans

Otodus angustidens
Hemipristis serra
Alopias vulpinus
Squatina prima?

Cetaceans

Xenorophidae sp.
Micromysticetus sp.^[3]
cf. Ankylorhiza sp.^[3]
cf. Xenorophus sloani^[3]
aff. Coronodon sp.^[3]
aff. Cotylocara sp. and Echovenator sp.^[3]
aff. Eosqualodon sp.^[3]

Chelonians

Invertebrates^[1]

Mercenaria gardnerae
Anomia ruffini
"Pectin" seabeensis
"Pectin" sp.
Lucina sp.
Plicatula sp.
Epitonium sp.
Panopea sp.
Cyclocardia sp.
Astarte sp.
Pycnodonte sp.
Isognomon sp.
"Cardium" sp.
Bicorbula idonea
Macrocallista sp.
Diadora sp.
Ecphora sp.
Trophon sp.
Calypttaea sp.

References

^ ^a ^b Ward, Lauck W. (1985). "Stratigraphy and characteristic mollusks of the Pamunkey Group (lower Tertiary) and the Old Church Formation of the Chesapeake Group; Virginia Coastal Plain". Professional Paper. doi:10.3133/pp1346. ISSN 2330-7102.
^ Weems, Robert (2014). "Paleogene chelonians from Maryland and Virginia" (PDF). PaleoBios. 31 (1).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Weems, Robert E; Boessnecker, Robert W; Sanders, Albert E (2022). "Cetacean remains from the Lower Oligocene Old Church Formation of Virginia". The Mosasaur. 12: 29–44.