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Recent Foraminifera From the Gulf of Alaska And Southeastern Alaska PDF

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Recent Foraminifera From the Gulf of Alaska And Southeastern Alaska GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 573-A Recent F orarninifera From the Gulf of Alaska And Southeastern Alaska By RUTH TODD and DORIS LOW CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 573-A A study resulting from a search for evidence that Pamplona Searidge is of the foundered remnant the I 8th century "Pa mplona Rock" UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1967 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STEWA RT L. UDALL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY William T. Pecora, Director For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price 55 cents (paper cover) CONTENTS Page: Systematic descriptions-Continued Page Abstract___________________________________________ AI Calcareous imperforate families___________________ A18 Introduction_______________________________________ 1 Miliolidae __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 18 Description of faunas________________________________ 2 Opht halmidiidae __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 21 Analyses of samples_________________________________ 6 Calcareous perforate families_____________________ 21 Gulf of Alaska__________________________________ 6 Lagenidae_________________________________ 21 Sout he astern Alaska_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 7 Polymorphinidae _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 25 Comparison with other assemblages___________________ 8 Buliminidae_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 26 Recent age____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 8 Discorbidae________________________________ 30 Pleistocene or Pliocene age_______________________ 10 Rotaliidae _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 31 Age of Pamplona Searidge samples____________________ 10 Elphidiidae_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ __ _ _ __ _ ___ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ __ 33 Conclusions________________________________________ 11 Anomalinidae _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 34 Systematic descriptions______________________________ 12 Rupertiidae_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ 35 Arenaceous families_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12 ~onionidae________________________________ 35 Astror hizidae __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12 Cassidulinidae__ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ __ _ _ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ ___ 36 Rhizamminidae __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12 Chilostomellidae __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 38 Saccamminidae __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 12 Aragonitic family_______________________________ 38 Hyperamminidae _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 13 Robertinidae_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 38 Reophacidae_______________________________ 14 Planktonic families______________________________ 39 Ammodiscidae __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 14 Globigerinidae______________________________ 39 LUuolidae_________________________________ 14 Globorotaliidae __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 39 Textulariidae __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 16 References cited____________________________________ 40 Verne ulinidae ______________ -· _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 16 Index_____________________________________________ 43 V alvulinidae _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 16 Trochamminidae __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 18 ILLUSTRATIONS [Plates 1-5 follow index] PLATE 1. Recent arenaceous Foraminifera from Alaska. 2. Recent arenaceous and porcellaneous Foraminifera from Alaska. 3. Recent Lagenidae, Polymorphinidae, and Buliminidae from Alaska. 4. Recent Buliminidae, Elphidiidae, Discorbidae, and Rotaliidae from Alaska. 5. Recent miscellaneous benthonic and planktonic Foraminifera from Alaska. Page FIGURE 1. Map of Gnlf of Alaska and southeastern Alaska showing location of dredged samples______ A3 TABLES Page TABLE 1. List of stations and locality data for Foraminifera samples_____________ A2 2. Distribution and abundance of Recent Foraminifera off Alaska_________ 4 III CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY RECENT FORAMINIFERA FROM THE GULF OF ALASKA AND SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA By RUTH ToDD and DoRIS Low ABSTRACT In each of these places numerous species were found in common Pamplona Searidge is a northeast-trending submarine ridge, with the present assemblrages. about 30 miles off the coast in the Gulf of Alaska, near the Comparisons were also made with three probably Pleistocene outer edge of the continental shelf. It now rises from sur or Pliocene occurrences : a submarine beach deposit near Nome, rounding depths of about 400 futhoms to within 68 fathoms of Amchitka Island in the Aleutians, and Middleton Island in the the surface and conceivably might have <been what 18th century Gulf of Ala·ska west of the searidge. Here, too, similarities Spanish and Russian explorers reported to be the dangerous were found with the present assemblages. rocky shoal, "Pamplona Rock." Search f.or evidence that Pamplona Searidge had formerly Three samples dredged between 85 and 100 fathoms from near been at a higher elevation near sea level was fruitless, but the top of Pamplona Searidge contain rich assemblages of at the same time the Foraminifera showed nothing that would Foraminifera dominated by Gassidulina californica and a. tor rule out such an interpretation. tuosa. Two samples were dredged from the sides ·of the sea ridge between 133 and 205 fathoms. The fauna of the shallower INTRODUCTION one-that between 133 and 148 fathoms--is similar to those on Five bottom samples from Pamplona Searidge in the the summit, but the deeper sample is dominated by Goesel"!Ja Gulf of Alaska and six samples from various localities {tin til. For comparison with the Foraminifera of the searidge, six in the fjords and bays of southeastern Alaska have samples from depths between 10 and 215 fathoms, dredged in yielded rich assemblages, consisting mostly of Recent the channels and bays of the fjordland of southeastern Alaska smaller Foraminifera but undoubtedly including fossil were also studied. These six S'amples reveal the faunal dis specimens as minor elements. tinctiveness of the various fjordland localities as contrasted Study of the Foraminifera from Pamplona Searidge with the comparative uniformity of the open environment of the searidge samples in the Gulf of Alaska. was made originally as a search for evidence that the Only two of the fjordland samples have dominating species, searidge had, within the last 180 years, foundered from namely ElpllidielZa g-roenlandiea and Gassfdulina lirnbata at a near-surface elevation where it may have been the Excursion Inlet and Rotalia colurnbiensis at Gambier Bay. ancient "Bajo Pamplona" reported in 1779 and charted Elsewhere, each assemblage eontains a group of major constitu by the Spanish explorers as a dangerous rocky shoal ents with supplementary minor ones. Some of these major constituents a're ReoplwJ· scot·piurus, Haplophragrnoides planis (Jordan, 1958, p. 3-4, fig. 2). Pamplona Searidge is simus, Cribrostornoides vrassimargo, A_tmnotium cassis, Gau now a 15-mile long submarine ridge, trending approxi dryina arenaria, Egget·ella adrena, QuinquelocuUna akneriana, mately northeast at right angles to the coastline, begin Globobulimina auriculata, Bolivina alata, Ut'i,qerina peregrina, ning about 30 miles offshore at the outer edge of the A._ngu1ogerina {tttens, Rosalina ornatissima, Buccella frigida, continental shelf. Its minimum depth, a rocky sub Elphid-ium clavatum, E. frigidum, Cibieides lobatulus, Florilus labradoricus, Nm~;ionella zwlchella, P.•wudononion auriculmn. marine promontory at 68 fathoms, is found at its outer and Astrononion gallowayi. (southwest) end. Altogether, 1-lO specit>s art> rt>cm·dt>d, and their distribution Three dredgings on the top and one from each side and abundance indicat~d. but about 8;) of them constitute a of Pamplona Searidge (hereafter referred to as Pam qnantit:atin•ly negligible part of the wholt> popul•ation of plona 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8) were made by the U.S. Coast Foraminifera. l<'rom the total nf 1-!0 species, about 56 percent have previonl'!ly been reeordf:'d as inhabiting Arctic regions, and and Geodetic Survey Ship Pathfinder in 1958. In addi an additional 8 percent as inhabiting Antaretit· regions. Only tion, six samples were obtained from various depths and 36 perePnt have not been reported in eitht>r polar region. localities in the inland waterways in southeastern Comparisons are made with Recent l<'oramiuifera assemblages Alaska and used for comparison with the five samples from elevated glacial sediment in ~outheastPrn Alaska, from from the searidge. Two of the fjordland samples dredged bottom 1-lediment in southern British Columbia, from the northwestern Pa('iti(', from Hhallow shelf water along the (I{asaan Bay and Clarence Strait) were also dredged ~\rctic coal-lt of f:'astPrn Hioeria. and from off the coast of Chile. by the Pathfinder,· the remaining four (Excursion In- Al A2 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY let, Taku Harbor, Lynn Canal, and Gambier Bay) were samples increased the total composite fauna by only 25 obtained in 1958 by the late D. J. Miller of the U.S. Geo percent to a total of 140 species. logical Survey. Figure 1 shows the geographic relation In the 11 samples taken together, a total of 137 species ship of the two areas. Table 1 details ail the localities (including one subspecies) has been identified. Three and bottom conditions and lists the USGS locality more were left indeterminate. The benthonic part of TABLE 1.-List of stations and locality data for Foraminifera samples Station USGS locality Location Depth Type of sediment and conditions (fathoms) Gulf of Alaska: Pamplona 3 _______ f25949_---- Lat. 59°30.65' N.;long.142°36.40' W_ 95 Pebbly mud from trench on top of searidge. Pamplona 4 _______ f25950_---- Lat. 59°31' N.; long. 142°35.70' W __ 85 Pebbly mud from top of searidge. Pamplona 5 _______ f2595L ____ Lat.59°32.65' N.; long.142°36.05' W_ 205 Mixed sand and clay with few pebbles from west slope of searidge. Pamplona 7 _______ f25952_---- Lat. 59°31.50' N.;long.142°35.45' W_ 100 Pebbly mud from trench on top of searidge. Pamplona 8 _______ f25953_---- Lat. 59°31.80' N.; long.142°35.00' W_ 133-148 Muddy sand with pebbles and cobbles from east slope of searidge. Clarence Strait ________ f25954_---- Lat. 55°21.3' N.; long. 131 °57.5' W __ 215 Silty clay (ooze). Kasaan Bay_ __________ f25955_---- Lat. 55°26' N.; long. 132°14.2' W ___ 47-57 Pebbly mud. Excursion Inlet ________ f25956_---- West arm, 400ft off west shore; 0.9 25 Sandy mud; water turbid from glacial mile N. 60° W. of point between streams. two arms. Taku Harbor_ _________ f25957----- About 3,500 ft N. 42° E. of 117~ Sand; strong tidal current at surface. Stockade Point. Lynn CanaL __________ f25958_---- West shore, ± 1, 000 ft offshore, 10% Silty clay. 2.90 miles N. 53° W. of south end of Sullivan Island. Gambier Bay_ _________ f25959_---- Channel between Church Point 10 Coarse sand (partly inside shells of and south end of island to north. dead mollusks and brachiopods) ; very strong tidal currents. numbers assigned to the samples of Foraminifera. The this population accounts for 133 species, and the plank samples obtained from the top and sides of the searidge tonic for 7. come from depths between 85 and 205 fathoms; those From the entire 140 species, 85 (almost 60 percent) from the southeastern Alaska fjordlands from depths 1nay be eliminated from consideration in this analysis between 10 and 215 fathoms. because they constitute a quantitatively negligible part Acknozoledg1nents.-We mve our thanks to Don J. of the whole. The remaining 55 species (53 benthonic Miller, who provided us with the material that forms and 2 planktonic) are estimated to constitute between the basis of this report, as well as other material used 90 and 100 percent of the specimens in the composite set for comparison. We are indebted for assistance of vari of sa1nples, but with no more than 18 of these 55 species constituting significant percentages of the specimens in ous kinds received from many colleagues, chiefly F. L. any one sample. Parker and Erk Reimnitz of Scripps Institution of Species having Arctic records are indicated by an Oceanography. asterisk in the distribution table (table 2). Of the total 140 species, 77 (or about 56 percent) have been recorded DESCRIPTION OF FAUNAS in Arctic regions, an additional 8 percent from Antarc The searidge samples are the richest; 112 species were tic regions, and 36 percent have not been reported in identified from the 5 samples taken in the Gulf of the polar regions. When only the 55 quantitatively sig Alaska, whereas only 91 were identified from the 6 nificant species are considered, not much change in these fjordland samples. More than one-half (56 percent) percentages is noted : 53 percent recorded from the of the gulf species are known also in the fjordland. Arctic, 5 percent from the Antarctic, and 42 percent in The 28 additional species in the 6 additional fjordland nonpolar regions. ~ t_:z:j 0 zt_:z:j 8 ~ 0 ~ Pamplona ~ Middleton lsland Searidge• 6 1 z1-t 1 1-t ~ t_:z:j G U L F 0 F ALASKA ?~ 0 58° ~ ~ tot ~·~1'\?~'"---0, ~(KODIA,~., ~ ~ISLAND~ 0 \ \~/ ~ '·~~v?,j" -f-{Jb > tot > l/1 P1 > >z t::::l 56 Ul 0 ~ 8 ~ p A c I F I c 0 c J!;' I a N ·r~~ ~'i5;\ I l>8t_/:1z :j t_:z:j z~ APPROXIMATE SCALE > 50 50 I 100 150 MILES t>ot Ul ~ }fiGURE 1.-Map of Gulf of Alaska and southeastern Alaska showing location of dredged samples (solid dots). ~ A4 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY TABLE 2.-Distribution and abundance of Recent Foraminifera off Alaska [A=abundant; C=common; R=rare; *=reported in the Arctic} Gulf of Alaska Southeastern Alaska ;l::: :~s "" CQ .,_ 00 lQ ~ p., ~ ~ p~., '=0s~a:: : .=s~a::: .§s~a::: .c§s~s:::. '§0s~a:: : r$fQ~C)_;J) ~§~~ .l!s6:ea:: ~.~e 0==s~: :: :~§:ca P~o; p~. p. p. p. 0 ~~ f'I;l<;l E~-< ~p., 0 Benthonic species Arenaceous families Astror hizidae: *Rhabdammina abyssorum M. Sars? _______________________________ R ___________________________________ _ Rhiz*am minidae: Rhizammina indivisa Brady_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ R _______________________________________ _ Rhizammina? sp ___________________________________________________________________ R _______________ _ Saccamminidae: *Psammosphaerafusca Schultze ___________________________________ R ___________________________________ _ *Saccammina difflugiformis (Brady)___________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ R ___________________________ _ *Pelosina variabilis Brady ____________________________________ R R ____ R R ____ R _______________ _ Hyperamminidae: *Hyperammina elongata Brady? _______________________________ R R R C R _______________________ _ *Saccorhiza ramosa (Brady)?--------------------------------- ________________ R _______________________ _ *Psammatodendron arborescens Norman ________________________ R ________ R ____________________ R Reophacidae: Reophax insectus Goes_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ R _______________________________ _ * scorpiurus Montfort____________________________________ R R R C R A R R R R Ammodiscidae: *Ammodiscus arenaceus (Williamson)____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ R _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ R _______________ _ * gullmarensis Hoglund ___________________________________ R ____ R ________________ R ________ R Lituolidae: *Haplophragmoides bradyi (Robertson) _____________________________________________ R R _______________ _ planissimus Cushman ______________________________________________ R ____________ R C _______ _ sphaeriloculus Cushman _________________________________ R _______________________________________ _ *Cribrostomoides crassimargo (Norman) ________________________ R ____ R R ________ C R R C R * jeffreysii (Williamson)__________________________________ R _ _ _ _ R _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ R R _ _ _ _ R scitulus (Brady) ___________________________________________ R ____ R R C _______________ _ veleronis (Cushman and McCulloch) __________________________________ R R ____________________ ---- Recurvoides contortus Earland_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ R _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ R _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ R **A mn~~~~~~!lt~! ~~er!~;£~~-N~tl;~d~=========================== -R- -R- ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== -~- ==== ==== -~-- Ammotium cassis (Parker)__________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ R _ _ _ _ C Textulariidae: *Spiroplectarnmina biforrnis (Parker and Jones) _____________________________________________ R ________ ---- Verneuilinidae: Gaudryt'na arenar£a Galloway and Wissler _____________________ R R R ____________ R C R Valvulinidae: *Eggerella advena (Cushman) _________________________________________________________ R C R C R Dorothia aff. D. bradyana Cushman_ ___________________________ C C C C ________________________ ---- Goesella flintii Cushman_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ C C _______________________ _ Goesella? sp _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ R _______________________________ _ Karreriella baccata (Schwager) _______________________________ A C A C R ____ C ____________ ---- Schenckiella pn:maeva (Cushman) ________________________________ R R C R _______________________ _ Trochamminidae: Trochammina advena Cushman _______________________________ R ________ R ________ R ____________ ---- * rotaliformis J. Wright ___________________________________ R ____ R R ________ R R R R * squamata Parker and Jones ___________________________________________________________________ ---- R Calcareous imperforate families M iliolidae: *Quinq ueloculina agglutinata Cushman_________________________ _ _ _ _ R ________________________ ---- R akneriana d'Orbigny ____________________________________ C C R C ____ A C C R ____ R * arctica Cushman_______________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ R _____ --- R frigida Parker _________________________________________________________________________ R -------- * seminulum (Linne) _________________________________________ R ____________ C ____ R ____ R R * stalkeri Loeblich and Tappan ________________________________________________ R R R ________ ---- * subrotunda (Montagu) ______________________________________________________________________ ---- R Sigmoil1·na distorta Phleger and Parker ________________________ R ____ R R ________________ ---- -------- TrilocuHna rotunda d'Orbigny _______________________________ R R ________________________ ---- R R Cruciloculina triangularis d'Orbigny __________________________ R R ________________________________ ---- Biloculinella globula (Bornemann)____________________________ R ______________________ -- ---- ---- ---- ---- :Pyrgde~~~;;~r~'Or~~~~~------------~~============================= ==== -~- ==== -R-- ==== -C-- ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== * lucernula (Schwager) ___________________________________ R C R R R ____ R R ________ ---- rotalaria Loeblich and Tappan _______________________________________________ R ________________ ---- * Pyrgo vespertiho (Schlumberger) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ C C R _______________________________ _ Pyrgoella sphaera (d'Orbigny) ____________________________________ R ________________________ ---- ---- ----

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of Pamplona Searidge (hereafter referred to as Pam- plona 3, 4, 5, 7, and Excursion Inlet ______ f25956_---- West arm, 400ft off west shore; 0.9. 25.
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