Early Eocene Molluscan Biostratigraphy, Mount Pinos-Lockwood Valley Area, Northern Ventura County, Southern California

Richard L. Squires, Michael Wilson

A 600-m thick unnamed marine, predominantly transition-zone siltstone unit along the south flank of the Mount Pinos uplift, in the northern Lockwood Valley area, previously has been suggested to be early Eocene ("Capay Stage") in age at its base. This present study shows the entire unit to be this age.

Unconformably overlying the pre-Tertiary granite basement is 30 m of unfossiliferous muddy siltstone that grades upward into 50 m of very fine sandstone with rarely fossiliferous lenses of medium to coarse sandstone. Gradationally above the sandstone is 100 m of muddy siltstone with less rarely fossiliferous lenses of conglomeratic sandstone. Macrofossil collections made at 10 localities in these lower 180 m yielded a sparse fauna of subtropical shallow-marine gastropods and bivalves, as well as rare specimens of discocyclinid foraminifera.

From 180 to 500 m above the base of the section is unfossiliferous siltstone with local occurrences of lower shoreface, alternating laminated and bioturbated very fine sandstone. The uppermost 100 m of the section is siltstone with rarely fossiliferous lenses of fine to medium sandstone. Collections made at five localities yielded subtropical shallow-marine mollusks.

Evidence of a West Coast provincial molluscan Capay Stage (early Eocene) age for all the fossiliferous beds of the siltstone unit is the presence of Turritella andersoni, a species diagnostic of this "Stage." Commonly associated mollusks are Cryptoconus cooperi, Cylichnina tantilla, Ectinochilus (Macilentos) macilentus, and Turritella buwaldana. Unconformably overlying the unit is the Oligocene-lower Miocene nonmarine Plush Ranch Formation.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91038©1987 AAPG Annual Convention, Los Angeles, California, June 7-10, 1987.