CAMBRIAN (JIANGSHANIAN; SUNWAPTAN) TRILOBITES FROM THE UPPER HONEY CREEK FORMATION, WICHITA MOUNTAINS REGION, OKLAHOMA

Abstract

The Upper Cambrian (Jiangshanian; Sunwaptan) Honey Creek Formation of Oklahoma is a succession of sandy limstone and minor sandstone that was deposited under shallow subtidal conditions in an achipelago of rhyolite islands. This thesis revised the trilobite fauna of the upper Honey Creek at Bally Mountain, Kiowa County, and Ring Top Mountain, Comanche County, using new collections from three measured sections, and archival museum collections. The faunas are assigned to four species based biostratigraphic zones, three of which are new. In ascending order, these are the Orygmaspis (Orgmaspis) llanoensis, Taenicephalus wichitaenis, and Idahoia lirae zones, and an informal unit, the Monocheilus reginae Fauna. The lower three zones can be correlated readily to succession in central Texas. Genera treated in the thesis are Conaspis, Idahoia, Monocheilus, Orygmaspis, Ptychaspis, Taenicephalus and Wilbernia. New species are Idahoia czukay, Monocheilus reginae, Ptychaspis richardi, P. occulta, and Taenicephalus kallisti.