Whitby Mudstone

The Whitby Mudstone is a Toarcian (Early Jurassic; Falciferum-Bifrons in regional chronostratigraphy) geological formation in Yorkshire and Worcestershire, England.[1] The formation, part of the Lias Group, is present in the Cleveland and Worcester Basins and the East Midlands Shelf.

Whitby Mudstone
Stratigraphic range: Toarcian (Falciferum-Bifrons)
~183–176 Ma
East Cliff near Whitby
TypeGeological formation
Unit ofLias Group
Sub-unitsMembers:
  • Fox Cliff Siltstone
  • Peak Mudstone
  • Alum Shale[note 1]
  • Mulgrave Shale
  • Grey Shale
UnderliesInferior Oolite or Ravenscar Groups
Or Blea Wyke, Dogger or Bridport Sand Formations
OverliesMarlstone Rock or Cleveland Ironstone Formations
ThicknessUp to 120 m (390 ft)
Lithology
PrimaryMudstone
OtherSiltstone
Location
Coordinates54.5°N 0.6°W / 54.5; -0.6
Approximate paleocoordinates42.5°N 9.3°E / 42.5; 9.3
RegionYorkshire, Worcestershire
Country England
ExtentCleveland & Worcester Basins & East Midlands Shelf
Type section
Named forWhitby
LocationCoastal exposures from Hawsker Bottoms to Whitby Harbour
Whitby Mudstone (the United Kingdom)
Whitby Mudstone (England)

Lithology

The formations consists of mudstone and siltstone, partly laminated and bituminous, medium to dark grey in colour, with rare fine grained calcareous sandstone beds. Limestone and phosphatic nodules are present at some levels.[2]

Fossil content

Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, although none have yet been referred to a specific genus.[3][4] One of the more notable discoveries is the skull of the pterosaur Parapsicephalus, found within the Alum Shale[note 2] Member.[5]

Vertebrates

Vertebrates of the Whitby Mudstone Formation
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Abundance Notes Images
cf. Campylognathoides Indeterminate Winterton Falciferum Zone NHMUK PV R 36712, Humerus[6] A pterosaur
Hauffiosaurus H. longirostris Whitby-Saltwick Falciferum Zone MCZ 1033, a skeleton A Rhomaleosaurid
Microcleidus M. homalospondylus Whitby Upper Alum Shale, Hildoceras bifrons Zone Mutliple partial skeletons Microcleidid plesiosaur
Macrospondylus M. bollensis Harpoceras serpentinum Zone Several partial skeletons Teleosaurid
Mystriosaurus M. laurillardi Whitby Skull and lower jaws[7] Teleosaurid, formerly considered to be the holotype of "Steneosaurus" brevior
Parapsicephalus P. purdoni Loftus Alum Shale Quarry, Saltwick Bay (referred material) Upper Alum Shale Member Single partial skull lacking the snout (GSM 3166), tentantive referral of a humerus and scapulocoracoid (NHMUK PV R36634).[8] A Rhamphorhynchid pterosaur
Pelagosaurus P. typus Whitby Alum Shale Thalattosuchian
Rhomaleosaurus R. thorntoni Kingsthorpe Hollow Upper NHMUK PV Rr4853, a single mostly complete skeleton A Rhomaleosaurid
Rhomaleosaurus cramptoni holotype cast
R. zetlandicus Loftus (also Lofthouse) Alum Mine Alum Shale Member YORYM G503, a partial skeleton[9]
R. cramptoni Alum quarry, Kettleness NMING F8785, a partial skeleton
Plagiophthalmosuchus P. gracilirostris Whitby Teleosaurid
?Theropoda Indeterminate Femur, currently lost[10]

Insects

Insect compression fossils are known from nodules found on Alderton Hill near Alderton and Dumbleton in Gloucestershire, including Alderton Hill Quarry and other nearby localities.[11]

See also

Notes and references

Notes

  1. Not to be confused with the Ordovician Alum Shale Lagerstätte of Sweden
  2. Not to be confused with the Ordovician Alum Shale Lagerstätte of Sweden

References

  1. Whitby Mudstone at Fossilworks.org
  2. "Whitby Mudstone Formation". The BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units. British Geological Survey.
  3. "Whitby Mudstone Formation". The BGS lexicon of named rock units. British Geological Survey. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  4. Weishampel et al., 2004, pp. 517-607
  5. O'Sullivan & Martill, 2017
  6. O’Sullivan, Michael; Rigby, Martin (April 2017). "The first evidence of a Campylognathoides —like pterosaur in the Toarcian (Lower Jurassic) Whitby Mudstone Formation of Lincolnshire, England". Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. 128 (2): 287–291. doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2016.12.009.
  7. Sachs, S.; Johnson, M.M.; Young, M.T.; Abel, P. (2019). "The mystery of Mystriosaurus: Redescribing the poorly known Early Jurassic teleosauroid thalattosuchians Mystriosaurus laurillardi and Steneosaurus brevior" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 64 (3): 565–579. doi:10.4202/app.00557.2018.
  8. O'Sullivan, Michael; Martill, David M.; Groocock, David (December 2013). "A pterosaur humerus and scapulocoracoid from the Jurassic Whitby Mudstone Formation, and the evolution of large body size in early pterosaurs". Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. 124 (6): 973–981. doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2013.03.002.
  9. Taylor, M. A. (May 1992). "Taxonomy and taphonomy of Rhomaleosaurus zetlandicus (Plesiosauria, Reptilia) from the Toarcian (Lower Jurassic) of the Yorkshire coast". Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society. 49 (1): 49–55. doi:10.1144/pygs.49.1.49. ISSN 0044-0604.
  10. Benton, M. J.; Spencer, P. S. (1995), "British Early Jurassic fossil reptile sites", Fossil Reptiles of Great Britain, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, p. 118, doi:10.1007/978-94-011-0519-4_5, ISBN 978-94-010-4231-4
  11. Kelly, Richard S.; Ross, Andrew J.; Coram, Robert A. (2018). "A Review of Necrotauliids from the Triassic/Jurassic of England (Trichoptera: Necrotauliidae)". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology. 2018: 1–12. doi:10.1155/2018/6706120. ISSN 0033-2615.

Bibliography

Further reading

  • M. O'Sullivan, D. M. Martill, and D. Groocock. 2013. A pterosaur humerus and scapulocoracoid from the Jurassic Whitby Mudstone Formation, and the evolution of large body size in early pterosaurs. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association
  • A. S. Smith and G. J. Dyke. 2008. The skull of the giant predatory pliosaur Rhomaleosaurus cramptoni: implications for plesiosaur phylogenetics. Naturwissenschaften 95:975-980
  • M. J. Benton and M. A. Taylor. 1984. Marine reptiles from the Upper Lias (Lower Toarcian, Lower Jurassic) of the Yorkshire coast. Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society 44(4):399-429
  • F. v. Huene. 1926. The carnivorous Saurischia in the Jura and Cretaceous formations, principally in Europe. Revista del Museo de La Plata 29:35-167
  • C. W. Andrews. 1922. Note on the skeleton of a large plesiosaur (Rhomaleosaurus thorntoni, sp. n) from the Upper Lias of Northamptonshire. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 10:407-415
  • R. Tate and J. F. Blake. 1876. The Yorkshire Lias 1-475
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