of
Sample: Sample No. 60ABa 122 -- USGS No. 6841-SD
Locality: Field No. 60ABa 122
Description: On Tatunduk River, approximately 835 feet above base of unnamed shale and chert unit that overlies Cambrian limestone. Collector, E. E. Brabb, 1960.
Location: Alaska Quadrangle: Charley River A-1
Township&Range: T2N R32E Section: NW1/4 sec. 10
Lat.: 65o01.2 ' Long.: 141o12.8 '
Reference
Title: Report on Referred Fossils ,  1963 (07/11)
Report by: Mackenzie Gordon , Jr.
Referred by: Earl E. Brabb
Age: Middle Devonian
Comment:This faunule from a black shale of unknown age overlying Cambrian limestone on the Tatonduk River consists of three elements, a snail and two different types of cephalopods. Represented by part and counterpart a single specimen “is a euomphalid gastropod, low spired rather than planispireal, with a sharp keel at the outer edge of the upper whorl surface and the typical prong-like apertural modification and large umbilicus characteristic of the family”. According to Yochelson, whose description of this specimen is quoted above, this general type of gastropod ranges from Silurian through Permian rocks.

Two sorts of cephalopods are in this collection. The first is very slender orthoconic nautiloid that shows the septa clearly. A couple of these were ground down to expose the siphuncle, which was not well preserved in either. It appears to be cylindrical and slightly excentric. The septal necks are not clearly recurved or extended. The siphuncle appears to be orthochoanitic rather than cyrtochoanitic, hence its tentative assignment to Michelinoceras. Cameral deposits are rather strong, particularly in the posterior part of the shell and are of the mural type. Michelinoceras has a long range, about the same as that of the snail with which they are associated in this collection.

The other cephalopod is a compressed involute coiled species with a relatively thick shell. The radiating growth lirae are bent into a wide shallow saddle over most of the flanks and swing forward into a graceful linguiform bow over the ventrolateral shoulder. There are signs of a rather deep ventral sinus, but the ventrer is missing in all the specimens. This sort of sculpture suggests the goniatites more strongly than the nautiloides. The shape and ornamentation are particularly reminiscent of the genus Agoniatites and for this reason this is regarded as questionably of Middle Devonian age. There are, however, other forms with this sort of scultpture in the Upper Devonian and in the Upper Mississippian. The Mississippian shells, however, generally have also some longitudinal lirae crossing the linguiform bow and are thin-shelled.. So Middle, or perhaps Upper, Devonian is the most reasonable guess.

Occurrence(s)
No. Group Name Qty Notes
1 Snails Straparollus (Euomphalus) sp.
2 Nautiloids Michelinoceras? sp.
3 Ammonoids Agoniatites? sp.