The Early Cambrian Fossil 

Salterella conulata Clark in 

Eastern North America

By ELLIS L. YOCHELSON

CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 683-B

Redescription of a stratigraphically useful 

widespread Cambrian fossil

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1970
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

WALTER J. HICKEL, Secretary

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

William T. Pecora, Director

Library of Congress catalog-card No. 79-608058

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office 

Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price 55 cents (paper cover)
CONTENTS

Page

Abstract ____________________________________________ Bl

Introduction _________________________________________ 1

The Clark Salterella collection___________________________-___ 2

Systematic paleontology__________________________________ 3

Geologic and geographic distribution of Salterella conulata____._____ - 5

Eastern Canada______________________._____________ 5

Lancaster, Pa_______________________._______________ 7

Thomasville, Pa______________________.________________ 7

Waynesboro, Pa______________________._________________ 9

West Virginia__________________________________________ 9

Southwestern Virginia_____________________________________ 9

References cited___________________________________________ 10

ILLUSTRATIONS

[Plates follow references]

Page 

PLATES 1-6. Thin sections of Salterella conulata Clark,

FIGURE 1. In'dex map showing principal localities mentioned in the text___________ - B6 

2.. Chart showing stratigraphic occurrence of Salterella conulata Clark in the central Appalachian area__ 8

in

CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

THE EARLY CAMBRIAN FOSSIL SALTERELLA CONULATA 

CLARK IN EASTERN NORTH AMERICA

By ELLIS L. YOCHELSON

ABSTRACT

Salterella conulata Clark from the Levis Conglomerate at 

Levis, Quebec, is redescribed from thin sections of topotype material and from additional specimens. This Early Cambrian form 

does not show septation and thus is not a cephalopod, contrary 

to an opinion that has been presented in the literature. The 

species is widespread in eastern North America. Only two occurrences of the species in place in a stratigraphic sequence can 

presently be demonstrated, but when local occurrences are more 

precisely documented, it is likely that this form will have considerable utility for correlation within rocks from the later part 

of the Lower Cambrian.

INTRODUCTION

The species Salterella conulata Clark has been described and interpreted as a primitive cephalopod 

(Clark, 1924, p. 9-10; 1925). Clark's work is part of a 

body of literature which supports the view that the 

Early Cambrian fossils Salterella and Volbortlwlla are 

Cephalopoda, Although it is not germane to discuss the 

biologic placement of Salterella, thin sections demonstrate to my satisfaction that this form is not a 

cephalopod.

In spite of redescription of the species by Kobayashi 

(1937), additional features are to be noted in thin sections, and further study of this form is warranted. Reexamination of type material has convinced me, as it did 

Kobayashi (1937), that Clark had been misled by features of incomplete silicificatioii. The original description inadvertently incorporated spurious characters. 

Perhaps that may be the reason that this species has not 

been recognized outside the type locality.

Salterella comilata is actually widespread in eastern 

North America. In the main, I have identified it in 

older collections that are not located stratigraphically

with any high degree of precision. However, the species 

is so easily recognized because of its shape in cross section that notation of the various occurrences is presented 

with the hope of obtaining more accurate stratigraphic 

data from subsequent collectors. Limited fieldwork in 

southeastern Pennsylvania has led me to the sanguine 

conclusion that species of Salterella may have rather 

restricted vertical ranges and, accordingly, considerable 

stratigraphic utility in correlating strata of the later 

part of the Lower Cambrian in the Appalachian region.

Dr. John Price (retired) and Mr. Lyle Campbell, 

formerly of Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, 

Pa., have contributed significant specimens and accompanied me in the field in southeastern Pennsylvania, as 

did Mr. Michael E. Taylor. Dr. Ernst Cloos, Johns 

Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md., and Mr. James 

Balthazer, York, Pa., allowed me access to the working 

quarries of the Thomasville Stone and Lime Company 

in Thomasville, Pa. In particular, Dr. Cloos provided 

valuable stratigraphic data. Dr. Samuel Root, Pennsylvania Topographic and Geologic Survey, assisted in 

field checking a locality near Waynesboro, Pa. Dr. 

Claude Hubert, University of Montreal, kindly conducted me to several outcrops of the Bic Conglomerate 

in Quebec.

The types of Salterella conulata were lent for study by 

Dr. Bernhard Kummel, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Additional types were lent by Dr. Thomas Bolton, Geological Survey of Canada. This work would have been 

impossible without the meticulous thin sectioning performed by Messrs. William Piiickney and Keith Moore. 

Photomicrographs were taken by Messrs. David Massie 

and Jeffrey B. Yochelson.

Bl
B2 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

THE CLARK SALTERELLA COLLECTION

The material studied by Clark (1924) is housed at 

the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. It consists of some free specimens, none of which 

are singled 'out and marked as having been figured, and 

some rocks, both labeled and unlabeled. There is a real 

problem that rocks from several localities might have 

been inadvertently mixed among the unlabeled samples. 

Because all the material is from a breccia known to 

consist of rocks varying in age from Early Cambrian 

to Early Ordovician, such concern may be unnecessary. 

On the other hand, because the genus Salterella does 

contain a number of species, it is critical that future 

investigators be able to determine what is included and 

what is excluded from S. conulata.

Four plastic boxes contain loose specimens; one box 

has a single silicified fragment, and the remaining three 

contain from about 1 dozen to l1/^ dozen silicified specimens in each. All these specimens are incomplete and 

some are also broken; they appear to have been dissolved from limestone by acid rather than weathered 

free. Two vials, one containing a single loose specimen 

and one containing six loose specimens, are in a tray 

labeled "Salterella conulata Clark, Lower Cambrian 

boulder. Near drydock, St. Joseph de Levis, P.Q. T. H. 

Clark, coll. & don."

The remainder of the collection consists of almost &y2 

dozen pieces ranging from chips to pieces slightly larger 

than fist sized. Eleven chips and pieces are in the same 

tray with the vials and boxes, but not all these show 

isolated Salterella specimens protruding from the matrix of the breccia. Two of the other lots of rocks bear 

labels. One of these is labeled "Lower Cambrian, St. 

Joseph, Levis, P.Q." and consists of two rocks; the 

other is labeled "Dry Dock St. Joseph, P.Q." and consists of five rocks. Among other pieces with the lastmentioned lot is a scrap of paper bearing the notation 

"Salterella conulata T. H. Clark." None of these three 

notations is in the same penmanship as the label accompanying the vials.

One other piece is labeled "Limestone pebble, Sillery 

Is. eg. St. Joseph Shore, Que." Written over this in ink 

is "Salterella rugosa Bill." Finally, there is a box of 13 

rock fragments, and on a scrap of newspaper with them 

is written "Bic cong." None of the writing on these 

matches any of the preceding labels.

The lots labeled as being from St. Joseph and those 

associated with the boxes and vials are all limestone 

breccia. In contrast, the rock from the Bic Conglomerate

is principally a coarse-grained calcareous sandstone containing some oolites. Two rocks of similar lithology are 

in the same large package with the labeled material 

from St. Joseph. The specimen labeled "Sillery" is a 

limestone breccia, the matrix being oolitic in part.

One thin section each was cut from the Bic and the 

Sillery rocks. Both samples are relatively fossiliferous, 

and both showed slightly curved specimens very distinct from tS. conulata. They are tentatively identified as 

S. pulchella Billings and are not figured here. Two thin 

sections were prepared from one of the rocks from the 

drydock (pi. 1, figs. 1, 7). The specimens are fragmentary and were recovered only after most of the rock had 

been sliced and polished; the limestone pieces in the 

breccia are unfossiliferous, and specimens were seen 

only in the matrix. They are not curved and show the 

same features illustrated by Kobayashi (1937, pi. 17, 

fig. 1) for$. conulata.

Finally, the largest unlabeled piece of limestone was 

sliced in an attempt to obtain additional fossiliferous 

thin sections. Both in hand sample and in thin section 

this rock is similar to that from the labeled collection at 

the St. Joseph drydock. After a number of rock slices 

were cut in a search for fossils, three fossiliferous thin 

sections were prepared (pi. 1, figs. 5, 6, and 8) from this 

piece. The specimens in these are fragmentary and also 

are within the matrix. It seems reasonable to conclude 

that further preparation would yield only a sparse number of specimens which are likely to be as incomplete 

as those obtained.

As unsatisfactory as the material is, I believe that the 

three thin sections are sufficient to bridge any morphologic gap between the even more unsatisfactory material 

labeled as being from the drydock at St. Joseph and 

the well-preserved material from Pennsylvania and 

Newfoundland.

I am unable to fully resolve the question of type material of Salterella conulata. Clark used line drawings 

in his 1924 paper and repeated the same illustrations in 

his 1925 paper; the 1924 paper has type numbers given 

in the figure captions to plate 2. The individual sketches 

cannot be conclusively matched up with any of the silicified fragments in the boxes, though it is reasonable to 

assume that these formed the basis for his sketches; 

Clark (written oommun., 1969) does not specifically 

comment on this point. It is perfectly clear from these 

fragments how they could have been mistaken for septa 

attached to a siphuncle.

I assume that only the vials, boxes, and the rocks associated directly with them are the material studied by
EARLY CAMBRIAN SALTERELLA CONULATA CLARK, EASTERN NORTH AMERICA B3

Clark. The holotype cannot be identified, but it certainly is not the largest specimen isolated in one vial, for 

that is a very incomplete specimen showing the inner 

part of the apical cavity. The specimen illustrated by 

Kobayashi (1937, pi. 1Y, fig. 1) bears a resemblance in 

outline to the sketch of the holotype. The number of 

paratypes is a matter of conjecture, for in none of the 

boxes do the specimens match the fragments sketched by 

Clark (1924). Perhaps the etched material has fallen 

apart; perhaps the six specimens sketched were never 

separated out. I do not consider that a zoologically useful specimen is available from the presumed paratypes.

None of the rocks associated with the type material 

were sectioned because it is apparent that all specimens 

exposed on the surface of the matrix are incomplete and 

some at least are silicified. Neither of these factors is 

conducive to yielding meaningful thin sections.

The remaining rock samples do not show any Salterella on the exposed surfaces, except for the material of 

the second species labeled as being from Bic and from 

the St. Joseph shore. As the rocks were not sectioned 

by Clark, one could argue that they could not have 

played any part in his species concept. Accordingly, any 

fossils from the rocks labeled as being from St. Joseph 

could only have the status of topotypes. In spite of the 

slight doubt that may remain on the question of mixed 

collections, I am prepared to consider that all specimens 

from the unlabeled rock which has been sectioned at 

least have the status of topotypes. Indeed, all the limestone breccia not clearly of the oolitic Sillery type might 

be from St. Joseph, but there seems little point in preparing thin sections that may contain poor S. conulata 

at best, to examine rock types and gather evidence on 

this minor matter.

On the other hand one can argue that all the rocks 

probably were available to Clark, as there has been 

virtually no investigation of the species since the work 

of Kobayashi (193Y), who presumably did not add to 

the collection. In that interpretation which I follow 

here the specimens in matrix would be considered as 

unfigured paratypes and therefore be available for selection of a neotype among them. Because none of the 

figured specimens can be conclusively identified and all 

the figures lead to a misinterpretation of the characters 

of the taxon, selection of a neotype is warranted. Accordingly, I designate the specimen figured here on plate 

1, figure 1, as the neotype. Although it is not as well 

preserved as others in the Clark collection, it is from a 

rock labeled as being collected from the drydock and 

therefore is a topotype.

SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY

Genus SALTERELLA Billings, 1861

Salterella conulata Clark, 1924

Plates 1-6

Salterella conulata Clark, 1924, p. 8, pi. 2, figs. 1-6, &-10. 

Clark, 1925, p. 31, pi. 1, figs. 1-7,9,10. 

Kobayashi, 1937, p. 177-179, pi. 17, figs. 1-4.

Description. Relatively rapidly expanding calcareous cones. Shell composed of calcium carbonate in the 

shape of a cone; expanding at an angle from about 45° 

to 50° in the apical area, but with growth abruptly 

changing to an angle in the 10°-20° range so that in 

section the wall is abruptly geniculate. Outer shell wall 

thin at the apical area, gradually increasing in thickness, except for tapering at the growing apertural margin ; rate of wall thickening seemingly decreasing with 

increasing size. Inner deposits filling apical part of cone, 

the amount of these deposits increasing with size of 

specimens, filling the cone to a maximum of near 50 percent of the total length in largest specimens. Upper part 

of inner deposits thin but extending along the inner 

walls of the cone to near the apertural margin. Shape of 

base of apertural cavity at juncture with inner deposits, 

hyperbolic in longitudinal section. Central tube extending from apical end of cone and opening into base of 

apertural cavity; tube maintaining an early constant diameter except just before the apex where it becomes 

extremely narrow.

Discussion. The principal character distinguishing 

this species is considered to be a large apical angle giving a relatively rapid rate of expansion of the cone in 

the early stages. Even though the rate of expansion 

abruptly decreases after a short growth interval, /S. 

conulata still expands at a high rate relative to other 

species. The shape of the surface of the inner deposits, 

extending far up the inner surface of the wall, also 

seems to be unique. Average size of specimens is somewhat larger than that of other /Salterella species. Isolated free specimens commonly are bluntly rounded at 

the apical area, in part because the thickness of the wall 

seems to increase coordinate with the point of change 

of angle of expansion.

The shape of specimens from various areas seems to 

show a low degree of individual variation, though it 

should be apparent that thin sectioning may artificially 

suggest a high degree of variation. For example, the 

presence of a central tube is a generic feature, but because of the difficulty of precisely alining the rock, many 

illustrations of thin sections lack this feature.
B4 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

Relatively few species of Salterella have been described, but even so, there is some confusion as to their 

characters. S. pulchella Billings is a gently curved, relatively slowly expanding species. S. curvata Shaler and 

Foerste and S. acervulosa Resser and Howell are both 

supposed to be strongly curved forms, but in S. acervulosa, the curvature is probably due to tectonic deformation. S. maccullochi (Salter) is known only from 

woodcut illustrations more than a century old; the only 

available material consists of very poor specimens from 

Scotland which actually may be hyolithids.

8. rugosa Billings is inadequately described; the 

rugose appearance of this form seems to be due entirely 

to loss of the outer shell layer and differential weathering of the edges of the laminated internal deposits. S. 

expama Poulsen, from the Lower Cambrian of Greenland, is similar in rate of expansion to S. rugosa and 

thus slightly narrower than 8. conulata. The apertural 

cavity is more V-shaped and relatively deeper than in 

8. conulata. There is also a suggestion that the inner 

deposits extend further toward the aperture. S. mexicana Lochman is very slowly expanding and needlelike, 

much like 8. rugosa; additional material may demonstrate that these names are synonymous, or alternatively 

one or both of them may fall into the synonymy of 8. 

rugosa.

Although it is not the aim of this paper to discuss 

the biology of Salterella, a few features should be commented upon. Kobayashi (193T, pi. 17, figs, la-lc) 

illustrated one of Clark's specimens and discussed this 

species in detail. He concluded, in part, that Clark was 

misled by secondary features in incompletely silicified 

specimens of his material and that the presumed septa 

and septal necks were spurious.

Kobayashi (1937, p. 179) further suggested that "The 

conch is originally composed of calcareous cones which 

are invaginated in the cone-in-cone structure." I am not 

entirely certain as to what is meant by this remark. The 

thin sections of shells at various sizes clearly indicate 

that there is an ontogenetic change in the interior of the 

fossil. Small shells contain virtually no inner deposits, 

but in large specimens as much as half the length of the 

tube is filled.

This inner deposit is clearly secondary in the sense 

that it was deposited during life but after the outer 

shell had grown to some extent. Thus, it is analogous to 

the cameral deposits of some cephalopods, rather than 

being part of the wall. However, this inner deposit bears 

no resemblance whatsoever to the septa of cephalopods, 

for the inner deposit is laid down layer upon layer with 

no intervening spaces or camerae.

Although Kobayashi reported several grooves in the 

specimens which he interpreted as cessation of growth,

I believe that he was also misled by the nature of the 

material. The Newfoundland and Pennsylvania specimens illustrated are far superior in preservation to those 

from other areas, but even in these it is difficult to see 

any evidence of lamination within the inner deposits. 

I am confident that weathering or acid etching accentuates planes of weakness within the inner deposits but 

that it has some aspects of a random phenomenon, without any significance to be placed on the position of these 

secondarily formed discontinuities. The inner deposit is 

likely formed of thin, very closely spaced laminations, 

judging from what little can be seen and from the absence of relic structure in most recrystallized material, 

but it is not possible to demonstrate just how thick these 

laminae may have been originally.

The apical area of the shell is particularly susceptible 

to change after death. As noted, the earlier part of the 

shell expands rapidly, and both the outer wall and inner 

deposits are thin in the early stages of hard-part formation. Accordingly, the apex is commonly eroded or worn 

aw^ay. As a consequence, many free specimens have a 

bluntly rounded apical area from which the conch 

expands at a slow rate. Specimens of other species, having a slower rate of expansion and less ontogenetic 

change in the diameter, do not have the apex so obviously 

worn.

The apertural rim is another area of weakness because 

it is thin. In many specimens it may be broken back, 

masking the true shape. A worn specimen shows superficial similarity to the shape of a small-calibre bullet. 

Free specimens in a weathering regolith may even have 

a slightly larger diameter of the inner tube than that of 

specimens in matrix; presumably this is a result of 

solution.

The structure of the outer shell and its extension to 

the apertural rim are perplexing, in part, because of the 

recrystallization and tectonic forces that have affected 

the rocks. Many specimens show dark lines subparallel 

to the shell but inclined apically and outwardly. Probably these are tension joints, for they are too abundant 

to be saw marks formed during thin sectioning. Most 

specimens from Bic, Quebec, and a few from Lancaster, 

Pa., in longitudinal section have the apertural rim 

normal to the central tube except for a short tip extending abruptly forward. This feature is so distinctive that 

it was originally assumed to be a specific character. 

However, it does not appear in all specimens, and on 

some there is a difference between one side of the thin 

section and the other as though the limestone had flowed. 

This is particularly characteristic of the specimens from 

areas that have been strongly deformed, and it serves to 

emphasize the importance of examining a large number
EARLY CAMBRIAN SALTERELLA CONULATA CLARK, EASTERN NORTH AMERICA B5

of sections to differentiate primary and secondary 

features.

GEOLOGIC AND GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION 

OF SALTERELLA CONULATA

A number of collections of S. conulata Clark are available, all from rocks of Early Cambrian age. Many of 

the collections are old and do not provide stratigraphic 

data as accurate as might be desired for present-day 

work. During the current investigation, these fossils 

have been found in exposures at only two localities, one 

at Thomasville, the other near Waynesboro, Pa. In spite 

of the paucity of geologic data from other localities, 

representative specimens from a number of areas are 

illustrated in the hope that this may lead to their being 

found in outcrop and placed in a modern stratigraphic 

context.

The species has not been unequivocably identified in 

any of the Taconic Mountains area collections of New 

York and New England made by C. D. Walcott and his 

associates nearly a century ago. However, the occurrence 

of the species in Quebec and Newfoundland and in areas 

of the middle and southern Appalachians (fig. 1) indicates that it could be searched for in the Taconic region. 

In part, this may be a reflection of the observation that 

most Taconic /Salterella specimens in the older collections are so poorly preserved as to be only generically 

determinate.

EASTERN CANADA

PI. 2; pi. 3, figs. 5, 6

Salterella is well known in eastern Canada, the type 

species having been described from Labrador. However, 

it is appropriate to record two occurrences of S. conulata, 

in addition to the type locality.

Walcott, in 1899, made a large collection near Trois 

Pistoles, Temiscouata County, Quebec (USNM loc. 2-o; 

USNM 166230; pi. 2, figs. 5, 6). The species is in the 

Bic Conglomerate, though it is not possible to determine 

from the available locality data which conglomerate 

layer of the several conglomerates were sampled. Most 

of the material is a coarse-grained calcareous sandstone, 

and the contained specimens are the same slightly 

curved S. pulchella that occurs in the rock labeled "Sillery" in the Clark collection. Several pieces, however, 

are light-gray limestone, richly fossiliferous, which contains specimens that I assign to /S. conulata. It is well 

known that the lower Paleozoic conglomerates of the St. 

Lawrence Valley contain an admixture of boulders of 

differing age, and it is no surprise that two species occur 

in rocks of different lithologies at the same locality. The 

f ossiliferous pieces from the rock labeled "Bic" are relatively large so that specimens occur in host rock rather

than in breccia matrix as at Levis, Quebec. The specimens are not broken like those in the Clark collection 

and are virtually unworn.

Newfoundland outcrops may eventually provide a 

detailed zonation of Salterella, but the necessary collections and stratigraphic data are not all available. 

Schuchert and Dunbar (1934, p. 19) mentioned the occurrence of Salterella at the type area along the Strait 

of Belle Isle in Labrador, just to the north of Newfoundland, where three species are reported to occur within a 

stratigraphic interval of 45 feet. They indicated that 

the genus ranges through a greater interval in the Highlands of St. John in western Newfoundland and a still 

greater thickness at Bonne Bay, Newfoundland. Although all the Cambrian material that was collected in 

1910 and cited by them (Schuchert and Dunbar 1934, 

p. 3, 4) is supposed to be in the collections of the U.S. 

National Museum, I have been able to locate only two 

/SaltereUa-bs&ri&g collections from the Bonne Bay area.

Both collections were made by Schuchert in 1910 

from the "east shore of East Arm" (see Schuchert and 

Dunbar, 1934, p. 28). One (USNM loc. 41-f) is from 

"zone 23," and the second (USNM loc. 41-1; USNM 

166227) is from "zone 24." There are no additional data 

with the specimens to indicate the relationship of one 

collection to the other, nor any notion of the thickness 

of each zone.

Dr. Copeland MacClintock, Yale Peabody Museum, 

kindly searched Charles Schuchert's field notes for 1910 

and found additional data in a general section prepared 

at that time by W. H. Twenhofel. Pertinent details are: 

"Zone 23, Blue, black, and gray slate with yellow quartzites that are cross-bedded. Strike N. 34° E., dip 30° W., 

Thickness 30 feet. Equals Richardsons C 5. Has much 

fucoidal tracings. Zone 24. Nodular limestone 8 feet 

thick increasing northward to 25 feet, due perhaps to 

upper shales becoming more limey. Very fossiliferous. 

Equals Richardsons C 6." The notes indicate that the 

overlying unit of 70-foot thickness contains pyritized 

Salterella (C 7). The next overlying unit is 13 feet 

thick (C 8) and this in turn is overlain by "bluish black 

slate with Salterella casts. Richardsons C 9. Thickness 

68 feet."1 This is locally the highest stratigraphic unit, 

and "The summit of this section is found at the east 

horn [sic] of Deer Brook Bay." It is to be noted that the 

zone numbers in the field notes do not match the bed 

numbers given by Schuchert and Dunbar (1934, p. 29- 

30) and that their report of two species of Salterella 

in the unit they consider to be the same as (C 6) cannot 

be confirmed from the available material.

Rocks from "zone 24" contain abundant specimens 

which I refer to S. conulata (pi. 2, figs. 1-4; pi. 3, figs. 

5, 6). These specimens are particularly close to those

387-619 O - 70 - 2
B6 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

45

40

100 0

I I I_______

100 200 MILES

FIGURE 1. Index map showing principal localities mentioned in text, exclusive of Newfoundland. 1, Trois Pistoles, Quebec; 2, Quebec 

City, Quebec; 3, Lancaster, Pa.; 4, Thomasville, Pa.; 5, Waynesboro, Pa.; 6, Harpers Ferry, W. Va.; 7, Sugar Grove, Va.
EARLY CAMBRIAN 8ALTERELLA CONULATA CLARK, EASTERN NORTH AMERICA B7

from the Bic Conglomerate. Differences between these 

forms and topotypes seem due entirely to better preservation of the Newfoundland material. The specimens 

from the underlying "zone 23'' are tentatively identified 

as S. pulcliella Billings and are not illustrated.

LANCASTER, PA.

PI. 4 ; pi. 5; pi. 6, figs. 1, 8

Near the city of Lancaster in southeastern Pennsylvania, two localities for $. conulata are known. 

At the first, part of the Vintage Dolomite is exposed in a small abandoned quarry east of the 

Landis Valley Farm Museum and 1,000 feet south 

of the intersection of Oregon Pike and Hunsecker Koad 

in the northern quadrant of the Lancaster quadrangle 

(USGS loc. 6021-CO; USNM 166246; pis. 4, 5). 

The local structure is complex, but there is at least a 

suggestion that the upper part of the Vintage Dolomite 

is exposed at the crest of an anticline. Local mapping 

done for the last few years by students at Franklin and 

Marshall College suggests that the overlying shale of 

the Kinzers Formation might have been tectonically 

pinched out to the south. Approximately 20 feet of the 

Vintage has beien excavated in the quarry, but the only 

specimens found are those that have weathered in relief from the blocks used to build the old kiln. The rock 

is a bluish-gray to white mottled carbonate that has 

some yellow mottled areas.

At the second locality, Walcott in 1909 obtained a 

limestone bearing this species from 114 miles east of 

Landis Valley (USNM loc. 12-y; USNM 166249; pi. 6, 

figs. 1,8). This is less than a mile east of USGS locality 

6021-CO and presumably is from the same limited 

stratigraphic interval and perhaps along the same structure. An abandoned quarry, now a dump, along Butter 

Koad may have been the site of this collection. Limestone and dolomite as well as fragments of Kinzers 

shale were recovered. Shale blocks support the inference 

that this spot may have been near the top of the Vintage.

Even though the locality is no longer available and 

its location is uncertain, the available material is particularly useful, for it demonstrates the great variations 

in the number of specimens obtained; thin sections are 

much more fossiliferous than those from USGS locality 6021-CO. Further, rock type and preservation of 

fossils is very close to that in the two collections from 

eastern Canada mentioned previously.

THOMASVILLE, PA.

PI. 6, figs. 2-5, 7

The Thomasville Stone and Lime Company quarries 

constitute a unique exposure in the southeastern Pennsylvania area. The principal commercial product is a 

chemical-grade high-calcium limestone that occurs near 

the top of the stratigraphic section and is informally 

designated the "Thomasville" limestone. Substantial 

operations have opened a large pit, and perhaps half a 

cubic mile has been excavated. The local faulting is exceedingly complex.

At Thomasville, specimens of 8. conulata, were first 

found in May 1969, by Lyle Campbell, near the upper 

part of the Vintage Dolomite, in a topographically 

higher, but stratigraphically lower part of the quarry 

pits (USGS loc. 6795-CO; USNM 166255). The mottled appearance of the rock is nearly identical with 

the matrix containing S. conulata at Lancaster, Pa., 

and successful search for the fossil wT as based on the 

premise of matching lithologic types.

Yochelson, Taylor, and Cloos (1968, p. 64) alluded 

to S. conulata as follows: "A third Salterell-a species is 

widespread throughout the Appalachian area in the 

lower part of the Vintage Dolomite equivalents, but 

quarrying operations have not exposed these beds at 

Thomasville." In point of fact, after this report appeared, scattered specimens of S. conulata were found 

from about 10 to 90 feet stratigraphically below a darkgray limestone near the top of the section that has produced abundant specimens of S alter ella sp. (Yochelson, 

Taylor, and Cloos, 1968). This overlying, atypical darkgray limestone unit of about 100-foot thickness is also 

assigned to the Vintage Dolomite. It is overlain in turn 

by a tectonically thinned section of Kinzers "phyllite."

Although the dark-gray limestone is distinctive from 

the typical mottled lithology of the Vintage and begins 

above a 5-foot band of cream-colored limestone, it is 

convenient to use the formational name Vintage for all 

carbonate rocks below the Kinzers Formation (fig. 2). 

The dark-gray limestone is probably involved in a regional change in facies, but a separate designation for 

these upper beds is not appropriate. A detailed account 

of the stratigraphy at the Thomasville quarries is being 

prepared by Ernst Cloos (oral coinmun., Aug. 1969).

About 100 feet of limestone and dolomite, exposed in 

one of the Thomasville Stone and Lime Company quarries, below the lowest occurrence of Salterella conulata 

was examined without finding any indication of fossils. 

Much of this rock is dolomite. Cores taken from at least 

187 feet below the quarry floor a fault of presumed 

small throw complicates precise correlation between 

cores and quarry exposure and above a lower highly 

graphitic dark limestone have yielded a few sparse 

specimens, possibly 8. pulchella Billings. This occurrence substantiates the occurrence of 8. conulata above 

8. pulchella in Newfoundland.
B8 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

Harpers Ferry, 

West Virginia

Data from 

Woodward (1949)

Waynesboro,

Pennsylvania

Data from

Root(1968)

Thomasville,

Pennsylvania

Unpublished data from

Ernst Cloos (1969)

Lancaster, 

Pennsylvania

Data from 

Jonasand Stose(1930)

,_________ /IT

TO O

II. I

I.I.I

£ E

300'-

EXPLANATION

Covered

FIGTJEE 2. Stratigraphic occurrence, indicated by X and dashed line, of Salterella conulata Clark in the central Appalachian

area.

Much of the carbonate in the Vintage Dolomite is actually limestone, and local depositional history must 

have been complex. At Emigsville, Pa., about halfway 

between Thomasville and Lancaster, the middle part of 

the Vintage yields abundant poorly preserved echinoderm fragments. Some of these superficially resemble

Salterella specimens, and a few conceivably could be 

generically indeterminate remnants of that genus.

No occurrences of Salterella low in the Vintage Dolomite are known, and in retrospect, the reasoning which 

led Yochelson, Taylor, and Cloos (1968) to suspect that 

S. conulata occurred in the lower part of the formation
EARLY CAMBRIAN SALTERELLA CONULATA CLARK, EASTERN NORTH AMERICA B9

seems to be in error. Several other occurrences mentioned herein inferentially support the suggestion that 

S. conulata occurs near the top of the Vintage or its 

equivalents, though the possibility of a longer range 

through this thick formation cannot be discounted at 

this stage of investigation.

For the sake of completeness, it is worth recording 

that /S. conulata has also been found in an exposure 

within the city of York, Pa., about 7 miles east of 

Thomasville (pi. 3, fig. 3). The exposure is no longer 

accessible (USNM loc. 48-f; USNM 166235).

WAYNESBORO, PA.

PL 3, figs. 1, 2, 4, pi. 6, fig. 6

George W. Stose obtained Salterella. from a limestone 

in the Tomstown Dolomite; the rock is labeled "south 

bank of creek at Koadside" (pi. 3, figs. 1, 2, 4; USNM 

166233, 166237). In spite of the apparent vagueness of 

this locality, actually the hamlet of Roadside is a wellknown spot about 2 miles east of Waynesboro. It is one 

of the few places in the area where the lower part of the 

overlying Waynesboro Formation may be observed 

(Root, 1968, p. 9). The gentle dip and absence of complex structure indicate that the Salterella occurrence 

is probably less than 100 feet below the base of the 

Waynesboro Formation. After three separate examinations of limited outcrops were made, 8. conulata was 

found in the outcrop at stream level just below the parking lot of the Waynesboro Country Club, thus verifying 

Stose's collection.

So far as it is known, this occurrence and the Thomasville occurrence are the first paleontologic evidence of 

correlation between the Tomstown and Vintage Formations. Although a partial equivalence has been suggested 

by some authors in the past, it has been based on lithic 

similarity and similar stratigraphic position, both methods of correlation which are open to question.

If one uses the occurrence of S. conulata as a basis for 

correlation, one would infer that the Waynesboro Formation in the Waynesboro area, the dark-gray limestone 

and thin Kinzers Formation in the upper part of the 

Thomasville quarries, and the thicker Kinzers Formation in the Lancaster area are all approximately equivalent in time. The lowermost part of the Waynesboro 

Formation above the occurrence of 8. conulata does 

show some lithic resemblance to the dark-gray limestone 

above the more typical Vintage Dolomite in the Thomasville section. Unfortunately, near Roadside, the Waynesboro is sparsely fossiliferous, and no younger Salterella 

species have been found; only a few poorly preserved 

trilobite fragments occur. It would be most helpful 

if this suggested tentative correlation could be substantiated by discovery of identifiable fossils in the 

Waynesboro.

WEST VIRGINIA

PL 1, fig. 4

In 1939, Charles Butts collected specimens of Salterella which are labeled in the collection as being from 

the "Shady Dolomite, 3 miles southwest of Harpers 

Ferry." The specimens were taken from the "top of east 

face at north end of quarry at Millville"; they are noted 

as being "fairly common, but ill preserved." More than 

a dozen specimens are present (USNM 166221), most 

of which presumably were broken from the weathered 

face of the rock. Woodward (1949, p. 136) noted that 

Salterella is common in the Tomstown Dolomite at Millville, referring to the same quarry.

The locality has been reinvestigated to no avail. 

Quarrying operations have removed a substantial part 

of the pit that was illustrated by Woodward. The east 

face of the quarry cannot be examined except perhaps 

by rope from above. The area is on the overturned limb 

of the South Mountain synclinorium, and a geologic 

map of the area by Nickelsen (1956) suggests that the 

east face of the quarry is close to the Antietam Sandstone and hence the top of the formation.

Two other quarries west of Millville were investigated 

without success. Presumably they are in rocks in the 

older part of the Tomstown. Tomstown and Waynesboro 

outcrops in Maryland were also examined in the hope of 

obtaining additional localities between those at Millville 

and that near Waynesboro, Pa., but no specimens were 

found.

SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA

PL 1, figs. 2, 3, and 9

Abundant Salterella were collected in 1942 by R. L. 

Miller and Josiah Bridge in the course of field investigations for strategic minerals; according to the label on 

their material, they obtained it from the "Shady [Dolomite], Umbarger Mine, Sugar Grove, Virginia." More 

than 500 specimens are available in the Geological Survey (loc. 1340-CO) and National Museum collections 

(USNM 166219) ; it is uncertain whether this is a single 

collection or the result of two trips to the same locality. 

This mine is in the Marion area of Smyth County, but 

I have been unable to find any detailed account of the 

local stratigraphy. Currier (1935) indicated that in this 

area the Shady is 1,600-2,000 feet thick.

These specimens are silicified and are stained a rich 

dark brown. Soil of the same color is associated and the 

fossils almost certainly occur in a residuum. Individual specimens are broken and incomplete, but collec-
BIO CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

tively they give a good idea of the variation that may 

be obtained as a result of silicification and natural etching. Many have the characteristic bullet-shaped apical 

area seen on worn specimens. This collection, together 

with the specimens from Millville, W. Va., duplicates 

the various shapes of all the loose specimens in the 

Clark collection from the Levis Conglomerate.

The specimens are significant in providing a paleontologic tie between the Shady and Tomstown Formations. Although the Early Cambrian age of each and 

their equivalence is generally accepted, fossil evidence 

of this presumed correlation is scant. In large measure, 

correlation again has been based on lithic similarity and 

stratigraphic position. This report of the occurrence of a 

specifically identified fossil common to both formations 

may be the first.

C. W. Cressler of the U.S. Geological Survey and I 

have unsuccessfully examined some outcrops of the 

Shady Dolomite in northwestern Georgia in the hopes 

of discovering S. conulata. Farther south, in Alabama, 

Butts (1926, p. 65) noted that McCalley in 1897 reported 

Salterella as being locally abundant in the unit then referred to as the Shady Limestone. However, the only 

Alabama specimens available in the collections are not 

of this species.

REFERENCES CITED

Butts, Charles, 1926, Geology of Alabama The Paleozoic rocks: 

Alabama Geol. Survey Spec. Kept. 14, p. 41-230, 3 figs., 74 pis.

Clark, T. H., 1924. The paleontology of the Beekmantown series 

at Levis, Quebec: Bulls. Am. Paleontology, v. 10, no. 41, 

135 p., 9 pis.

 1925, On the nature of S alter ella: Royal Soc. Canada 

Proc. and Trans., 3d ser., v. 19, sec. 4, p. 29-41, 2 pis.

Currier, L. W., 1935, Zinc and lead region of southwestern 

Virginia: Virginia Geol. Survey Bull. 43, 122 p., 26 pis.

Jonas, A. I., and Stose, G. W., 1930, Geology and mineral resources of the Lancaster quadrangle, Pa.: Pennsylvania 

Geol. Survey, 4th ser., Topog. and Geol. Atlas of Pennsylvania 168,106 p., 10 figs., 23 pis.

Kobayashi, Teiichi, 1937, On Salterella canutata [sic] and its 

 allies: Japanese Jour. Geology and Geography, v. 14, no. 

3-4, p. 173-183, pi. 17.

Nickelsen, R. P., 1956, Geology of the Blue Ridge near Harpers 

Ferry, West Virginia: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 67, no. 

3, p. 239-270.

Root, S. I., 1968, Geology and mineral resources of southeastern 

Franklin County, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Geol. Survey, 

4th ser., Atlas 119cd, 118 p.

Schuchert, Charles, and Dunbar, C. O., 1934, Stratigraphy of 

western Newfoundland: Geol. Soc. America Mem. 1, 123 p.

Woodward, H. P., 1949, Cambrian system of West Virginia: West 

Virginia Geol. Survey Rept, v. 20, 317 p.

Yochelson, E. L., Taylor, M. E., and Cloos, Ernst, 1968, The Lower 

Cambrian genus Salterella at Thomasville, Pennsylvania: 

Geol. Soc. America, Northeastern Sec., 3d Ann. Mtg., Washington, B.C., 1968, Program, p. 64.

U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1970 O - 387-619
PLATES 1-6
PLATE 1

[Taken in plain transmitted light] 

FIGTJEES 1-9. Thin sections of Salterella conulata Olark.

1. 5-8. Topotypes from the Clark type collection from rock dredged when 

the drydock at St. Joseph de Levis, Quebec, was enlarged. The original 

of figure 1 is designated as the neotype. X 15. Thin sections are in the 

collection of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.

2. 3, 9. Weathered specimens imbedded in plastic from "Umbarger Mine,

Sugar Grove, Virginia" (collected by J. Bridge, December 1942).

Figures 2 and 9, X 15; figure 3, X 10. USNM 166216, 166217, 166218. 

4. Weathered specimen imbedded in plastic from "North end of quarry

at Millville, W. Va." (collected .by C. Butts, July 28, 1939). X 10.

USNM 16622.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

PROFESSIONAL PAPER 683-B PLATE 1

THIN SECTIONS OF SALTERELLA CONULATA CLARK
PLATE 2

[Taken In plain transmitted light] 

FIGTJBES 1-6. Thin sections of Salterella cvnulata Clark.

1-4. From "Bonne Bay, east shore of East Arm, west coast of Newfoundland, zone 24" (collected by C. Schuchert, Aug. 14-15, 1910) ; TJSNM 

locality 41-1. All four figures, X 15, USNM 166222, 166223, 166224, 

166225. Figures 1 and 4 are from the same thin section.

5, 6. From "Limestone boulders in conglomerate along the shores of the 

St. Lawrence near Trois Pistoles, Temiscouata County, Quebec, 

Canada" (collected by C. D. Walcott, 1899) USNM locality 2-o. 

Figure 5, X 10, and figure 6, X 15. USNM 166229, 166230.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 683-B PLATE 2

THIN SECTIONS OF SALTERELLA CONULATA CLARK
PLATE 3

[Taken in plain transmitted light] 

FIGUBES 1-6. Thin sections of Salterella conulata Clark.

1, 2. From "Roadside, east of creek 2 miles east of Waynesborov Chambersburg Quadrangle, Pennsylvania" (collected by G. W. Stose) ; both 

figures, X 10. USNM 166231,166232.

3. From "Edge of street running north and south in front of Smith's lime 

kiln and in back yard of first cottage north of Smith's lime kiln 

(excavation) ; city of York, York Co., Penn." (collected by H. E. 

Dickhaut, 1901) ; USNM locality 48f. X 10. USNM 166234.

4. From "South bank of creek at Roadside, Chambersburg quadrangle" 

(collected by G. W. Stose, June 21, 1901). X 10. USNM 166236.

5. 6. From Bonne Bay, east shore of East Arm, west coast of Newfoundland, zone 24 (collected by C. Schuchert, Aug. 14-15, 1910) : USNM 

locality 41-1. Figure 5, X 10, and figure 6, X 15. USNM 166224,166226. 

Figure 5 and plate 2, figure 3, are from the same thin section.
PROFESSIONAL PAPER 683-B PLATE 3

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

THIN SECTIONS OF SALTERELLA CONULATA CLARK
PLATE 4

[Taken in plain transmitted light] 

FIGUEES 1-7. Thin sections of Salterella conulata Clark.

From the upper part of the Vintage Dolomite in the kiln of a small 

abandoned quarry, east of the Landis Valley Farm Museum and 1,000 

feet south of the intersection of Oregon Pike and Hunsecker Road, 

Lancaster quadrangle, Pennsylvania; USGS locality 6021-CO. Figures 

1 and 2, at X 25, and figures 3-7, X 15. USNM 166238, 166239, 166240, 

166241, 166242, 166243, 166244. Figures 2 and 5 are from the same thin 

section. Figures 1 and 3 are from the same thin section as all figures 

on plate 5.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 683-B PLATE 4

THIN SECTIONS OF SALTERELLA CONULATA CLARK
PLATE 5

[Taken in plain transmitted light. All four figures and pi. 4, figs. 1 and 3, are from the same thin section] 

FIGURES 1-4. Thin sections of SaIterella conulata Clark.

1. Part of thin section, a short distance below base of apertural cavity, 

showing central tube filled with recrystallized calcite, laminated inner 

deposits, and outer wall. X 100. From the upper part of the Vintage 

Dolomite in the kiln of a small abandoned quarry, east of the Landis 

Valley Farm Museum and 1,000 feet south of the intersection of 

Oregon Pike and Hunsecker Road, Lancaster quadrangle, Pennsylvania ; USGS locality 6021-CO. USNM 166245.

2. Same specimen as figure 1, X 15.

3. Lower part of apertural cavity of same specimen, x 50.

4. Upper part of specimen shown to left on plate 4, figure 3, X 50 magnification.
PROFESSIONAL PAPER 683-B PLATE 5
PLATE 6

[Taken In plain transmitted light] 

FIGUBES 1-8. Thin sections of Salterella conulata Clark.

1-8. From "1% miles east of Landis Valley, Manheim Township, Lancaster 

County, Penn." (collected by C. D. Walcott, May 1909), USNM locality 12-y. Figure 1, X 10, and figure 8, X 15. USNM 166247, 166248.

2-5, 7. From Lincoln Stone Company quarry within the grounds of 

Thomasville Stone and Lime Company, at Thomasville, Pa., USGS 

locality 6795-CO. Figures 2-4, x 15, figure 5, X 10, and figure 7, 

X 20. USNM 166250,166251, 166252, 166253, 166254.

6. From "Just north of Roadside near Waynesboro, Pa. This specimen 

was found among Foerste's collection with no label. The above information supplied by E. O. U. [Irich] who says that he thinks that he 

collected it." Note by J. Bridge dated September 30, 1936. X 15. 

USNM 166256.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

PROFESSIONAL PAPER 683-B PLATE 6

THIN SECTIONS OF SALTERELLA CONULATA CLARK