Five of the genera listed above, Saccharchites, Bairdiocypris, Tubulibairdia, Tricornina and Acanthoscapha, range from the Upper Silurian into the Middle Devonian, are are not much help for precise dating. Of the other four named genera, Beyrichia (Beyrichia) and Dibolbina have not been reported above the Upper Silurian, and Adelphobolbina and Hanaites have not been reported below the Middle Devonian. The form lists as "N. gen., n. sp." also occurs in rocks of undeterminated age, possibly Early Devonian, from Nevada. As indicated by the queries and other equivocations, several of the forms assigned to critical genera are not firmly identified. In some instance, for example, Dibolbina? and the gen. aff. Hanaites, this is because only one specimen was available for study, and that one not well preserved. The form listed as Adelphobolbina? was represented by several specimens, but is not precisely like typical Adelphobolbina; it appears to be intermediate between that genus and the Silurian genus Triemilomatella, but seems more like the former. Beyrichia (Beyrichia) arctigena was described by Martinsson in Geol. Survey of Canada Bull. 65, A Late Silurian fauna from the Sutherland River Formation, Devon Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago, by Boucot and others, 1960. The species in this collection is similar to B. (B.) arctigena, but is considerably more papillose, and may not be conspecific.

The other kinds of fossils represented in this collection are at least superficially similar to those described from the Sutherland River Formation. However, the age of the latter is by no means as certain as the title of the paper indicates, and in deciding on a Late Silurian age, considerable weight seems to have been given to the presence of Beyrichia (Beyrichia). Unfortunately there is no firm assurance that this subgenus could have ranged at least into the lower Lower Devonian (Helderbergian of the eastern United States, Gedinnian of Europe).

Trying to evaluate all these bits and pieces of information, my best guess, and it is only a guess, is that the age of the collection is Late Silurian or early Early Devonian. I would not think it would be as young as Middle Devonian.

References:

Walliser, in Boucot and others, 1960, Geol. Survey of Canada, Bull. 65, 48 pp.

Ziegler, W., 1960, Palaontologische Zeitschrift, vol. 34, no. 2, p. 169-201.

Huddle's suggestion that the collection represents Gedinnian or Siegenian equivalents is probably as close as we can get with the present information. The Devonian aspect of the trilobites would be more reasonably explained by such an assignment.

In conclusion, it seems best at present to consider the assemblage as Early Devonian (pre-Oriskany) in age. It is understood that a latest Silurian age is not ruled out completely, however.

Acodus, Distacodus, Panderodus and Scandodus are single cusp conodonts with long ranges. Belodella devonica and B. triangularis have been reported from the Devonian clay above the Cedar Valley Limestone in Minnesota, and the Lower Devonian of Germany. Euprioniodina and Hindeodella are long ranging forms. Icriodus beckmanni Ziegler has been reported from Lower Devonian of Germany and the Middle Devonian of U.S. Icriodus woschmidti has only been reported from the Gedinnian (L. Dev.) of Germany. Ozarkodina denckmanni ranges from upper Ludlow to Emsian in Germany. Pelekysgnathus has been found only in Middle and Upper Devonian rocks of U.S. Polygnathus linguliformis is a common Middle Devonian form but ranges from Emsian to Upper Devonian. Spathognathodus n. sp. figured by not described by Walliser 1963 (compared with S. frankenwaldensis Walliser in my previous report), ranges from middle Ludlow to Emsian in Germany. It may be the same as Spathognathodus incetis (Stauffer) from the "Devonian clay of Minnesota" probably derived from the Cedar Rapids Limestone of Middle Devonian age.

Most of the conodont information indicates a Lower Devonian age, probably Emsian. However that date depends heavily on German conodont ranges and does not eliminate the possiblity of an early Middle Devonian age which the other paleontologic evidence seems to indicate.