PLIOCENE AND PLEISTOCENE FOSSILS FROM THE ARCTIC COAST OF 

ALASKA AND THE AURIFEROUS BEACHES OF NOME NORTON SOUND 

ALASKA. ' ' 

By WILLIAM HEALEY DALL. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Exploration of the geology of the Arctic and 

subarctic shores of Alaska began as early as 

the voyages of Kotzebue and Beechey, in 1816 

and 1826, and a detailed report on the vertebrate fossils found there, with a wealth of 

illustration, was made by Sir John Richardson 

in 1854, in the "Zoology of the voyage of the 

Heralil." Nothing of importance bearing on 

the Tertiary invertebrates of this region appears in the literature of the nineteenth century, and but little on those of the older formations. A search of the marine sandstone 

strata on the right bank of the Yukon near 

Nulato, made by me in 1867 and 1868, disdosed only a few traces of fossils belonging to 

the genus Mytilus and led to the supposition 

that the age of the deposit might be Tertiary, 

but later investigations place it in the Mesozoic. While I was in the Coast Survey service 

in 1880 the Pleistocene deposits in Kotzebue 

Sound and near Bering Strait previously 

referred to by Chamisso, Beechey, and Richardson were examined, 1 and numerous vertebrate remains were collected; but, with the 

exception of a species of Pisidium, no invertebrates were found. 

With the explorations of F. C. Schrader and 

W. J. Peters, of the United States Geological 

Survey, in 1901 2 the first really systematic 

geologic reconnaissance of the Arctic coast of 

Alaska was begun. They described the stratification of the coastal deposits and collected 

marine invertebrate fossils from them, part of 

which were submitted to me and determined 

to be of Pliocene age. A brief summary of 

the species was prepared for the above-cited 

report. 

When gold was discovered in the beach sands 

of the north coast of Norton Sound, near N orne, 

1 Am. Jour. Sd., 3d ser., vol. 21, pp. 104-111, 1881. 

2 U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 20, 1904. 

in 1898, attention was attracted to this part of 

Alaska, and the Geological Survey, represented 

by A. H. Brooks and F. C. Schrader, began 

geologic work in the following year, but it was 

not until 1905 that any invertebrate fossils 

were received from the region; in that year a 

small lot of nine species received by F. H. Moffit, 

from }.1r. J. J. V. Beaver, of Nome, were submitted to me, and later a report on them was 

published in the American Journal of Science. 3 

The interest attaching to these fossils was so 

great that the members of the Survey working 

in the region were urged to 1nake special exertions to obtain a larger series. 

In 1908 E. :M. Kindle, P. S. Smith, and R. D. 

Mesler succeeded in obtaining a considerable 

number of specin1ens f.r;om various localities in 

the vicinity of N orne, of which I prepared a 

preliminary list. 4 

In the summers of 1912 and 1914 collections 

were made on the Arctic coast of Alaska at 

Peard Bay, about 30 miles southwest of Point 

Barrow, and at Carter Creek, Camden Bay, 

about 1 mile from the coast, by E. de K. Leffingwell. A small series of specimens submitted 

by Leffingwell to the United States Geological 

Survey was determined by n:te and considered, 

to belong to a stratum of the san1e Pliocene 

age as those obtained farther east on the Arctic 

coast by Schrader and Peters. 

GEOLOGY. 

COLVILLE "SERIES." 

The portion of the Colville "series" referred 

to the later Tertiary is thus described by 

Schrader: 5 

This portion of the section is practically free from indurated rock. It consists of nearly horizontally stratified 

beds of fine gray, slate-colored, or ash-colored calcareous 

3 Am. Jour. Sci., 4th ser., vol. 23, p. 457, 1907. 

4 Moffit, F. H., Geology of the Nome and Grand Central quadrangles, 

Alaska: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 533, pp. 46-46, 1913. 

5 U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 20, pl. 83, pl. 14, A, 1904. 

23 
24 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS -TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1919. 

silts, containing faunal remains. It is tentatively referred 

to the Pliocene on the basis of fossils collected in place · by 

the writer in the bluff (near its top) on the west side of the 

Colville about a mile north of the seventieth parallel. 

The section assigned to the Pliocene horizon 

at Carter Creek, 1 mile from the coast of Camden Bay, on the Arctic shore of Alaska, was 

measured by Leffingwell as follows: 

Section at Carter Creek. 

Top. Feet. 

A. Sand with intermixed humus._ .. __ .............. 30 

B. Sand without fossils, some gravel. __ ............ 80 

C. Pale-gray sand with marine fossils_ ............. 100 

The fossils appear from the collections to be 

most abundant in the lower 100 feet of the 

section. 

GUBIK SAND. 

Schrader 1 describes the supposed Pleistocene 

deposit of the Colville River region as follows: 

Besides the Tertiary Colville series, which underlies the 

coastal plain along Colville River, the section here comprises deposits supposed to be Pleistocene. Of these, 

probably the most important and interesting is a surficial 

deposit of brownish sand .or loam about 10 to 15 feet in 

thickness, which unconformably overlies the beds of the 

Colville series, apparently as a continuous mantle. * * * 

The deposit consists of fine sand, with apparently an admixture of considerable silt. In some localities itseems 

to be more sandy toward the base and more earthy toward 

the top, where it terminates in from one to several feet of 

dark-brown or black humus, clothed at the surface with 

moss and a little grass. It is ordinarily free from gravel, 

but in several instances subangular cherty pebbles, ranging from mere sand grains to fragments ·as large as onefourth inch in diameter, were found. These occur very 

scatteringly and are sometimes roughened, as if wind worn. 

In some localities a fine gravel seems to intervene between 

the base of the deposit and the underlying Tertiary beds, 

as if representing the basal part of the deposit. The deposit as a rule is structureless, or without stratification 

planes. Owing to this fact, together with its surficial and 

widespread occurrence and the homogeneity of its materials, for want of a better term in field work it was called 

loess, but in the fear that this term may be undesirable, it 

is here named the Gubik sand, after the Eskimo name of 

Colville River. 

In a low bluff on the coast 15 miles southwest of Point Barrow settlement and in the 

talus from this bluff Leffingwell found five 

species of invertebrate fossils, all belonging to 

recent species. This deposit is probably Pleistocene and may be tentatively correlated with 

the Gubik sand of Schrader, which occupies 

a similar position in the section farther east. 

1 Op. cit., p. 93. 

NOME ELEVATED BEACHES. 

On the south side of Seward Peninsula (originally given the native name Kaviiak), on the 

·north shore of Norton Sound, the gold prospectors have revealed the presence of a series of 

ancient beaches the gravels of which contain 

numerous marine fossils, including a considerable proportion of extinct species leading 

to their identification as of Pliocene age. In 

referring the horizon containing the nun1erous 

extinct species to a pre-Pleistocene age my 

conclusions rest entirely upon the paleontologic evidence. 2 It is proper to state that P. S. 

Smith and A. H. Brooks, of the Geological 

Survey, from physiographic observations, are 

disposed to assign a Pleistocene age to the 

beaches. In regard to the succession of the 

strata there is no difference of opinion. 

The present beach near N orne may be considered the "first beach." The "second beach" 

lies inland, at an irregular distance that varies 

with the topography but is everywhere less than 

a mile, and has an elevation above sea level of 

37 feet. The "third beach," some 2! to 3! 

miles inland, has been elevated to the height of 

79 feet above the sea. 3 Between the second and 

third beaches are several less well-defined intermediate beaches, one of which is 22 feet above 

sea level, thus being lower than the second 

beach, to the south of it. Between the second 

beach and the present beach shafts have been 

sunk to a depth of 65 to 70 feet which reach at 

about 20 feet below the present sea level the, 

oldest beach of all those now known, which has 

locally received the name submarine beach or 

beaches. These beaches have been described 

in detail by Moffit in the bulletin cited. Doubtless still others remain to be discovered. 

INDICATIONS OF ELEVATION AND CLIMATE. 

The indications of the Tertiary geology of 

the northern and northeastern shores of Alaska 

are therefore, in substance, that from early 

Pliocene (if not even older) time the land 

underwent a general elevation, broken by 

periods of rest sufficient to allow the formation 

of low scarps with their attendant beaches, 

and at least one unimportant depression during 

the earlier portion of the period. The massive 

granite extrusions, such as form Cape Prince 

2 Of 62 species 23, or 37 per cent, are extinct. 

a Moffit, F, H., U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 533, p. 41, fig. 9, p. 78, 1913. 
PLIOCENE AND PLEISTOCENE FOSSILS FROM ALASKA. 25 

of Wales, the Diomede Islands of the Bering 

Strait, and a considerable portion of the 

Asiatic coast on the west side of the strait, 

though probably not all of one age, are almost 

certainly all older than the period during which 

these beaches were in process of formation. 

The presence of widely distributed Eocene 

or Oligocene leaf beds and lignitic coals, covered 

in some localities by beds of sandstone containing marine Miocene fossils, shows that a 

milder climate in earlier Tertiary time, allowing 

a profuse growth of oaks, planes, figs, and other 

trees, was succeeded during the Miocene by a 

depression of much of the land below the sea 

level with a much colder climate and considerable volcanic activity. This was followed by 

a moderate amount of elevation, which has 

been practically continuous to the present 

time. During the Pliocene the climate seems 

to have moderated, judging by the character 

of the marine fauna, to be later subjected to 

the Arctic temperatures which came in with 

the glacial epoch and still persist. 

ROUTES OF MIGRATION OF FAUNA. 

The bearing of these conditions upon the 

theories relating to the immigration of Asia tic 

land animals into America is important. A 

superficial glance at an ordinary map is likely 

to lead the observer who goes no deeper into 

the subject to the conclusion that land bridges, 

including the Bering Strait region and the 

Aleutian Island chain, may reasonably be 

assumed as the routes by which Asiatic immigrations took place. 

I have elsewhere 1 pointed out the serious 

objections to these assumptions that arise 

from a more thorough knowledge of the 

geology. So far as the Aleutian route is concerned it must be positively rejected as impracticable. The Bering Strait region offers more 

plausibility, yet the evidence so far gathered 

from geologic exploration indicates not only 

that no closer land connection than at present 

has existed between the two continents at 

Bering Strait since Miocene time but, on the 

. contrary, that the present separation is less 

than at any period during that time. The 

conclusion from our present knowledge is 

inevitable either that the postulated land 

bridges must have existed in some other 

1 Am. Anthropologist, vol. 14, pp. 12-18, 1912. 

locality or that the assumed migration must 

have taken place over the ice of the strait 

when frozen, possibly during the glacial epoch. 

INTERCOMMUNICATION O:E' ATLANTIC AND 

PACIFIC FAUNAS IN PLIOCENE TIME. 

Still another important .conclusion is indicated by a study of the characteristics of the 

Pliocene marine invertebrate fauna. I have 

already stated that the fauna indicates a more 

temperate sea than at present washes those 

shores. Taken in connection with other data 

derived from a study of the North Atlantic 

Pliocene deposits in England, Iceland, and 

on the New England coast, the present investigation shows that a more free connection probably existed in Pliocene time between the 

North Atlantic and the Bering Sea regions. 

This is indica ted by the presence in North 

Atlantic Pliocene beds, as fossils, of species 

still living in Bering Sea, and conversely by 

the presence in the North Atlantic recent 

fauna of species belonging to groups now extinct 

on the Pacific side in the ]Pliocene at N orne. 

F. W. Harmer,Z who is at present revising the 

fauna of the Crag of England and Iceland, 

has already found genera and species n·ow 

extinct in the North Atlantic region but living 

in Bering Sea. It is probable that on the 

completion of his monograph a still larger 

number will be noted. 

In an investigation of the fossils of the marl 

at Sankaty Head, Nantucket, the lower horizon 

of which is probably upper Pliocene, J. Howard 

Wilson,S in 1904, found several Bering Sea 

species now extinct in th1B Atlantic region. 

The presence of Gorbicula in a small Pliocene 

lens discovered by Woodworth above the 

Miocene beds of Gay Head, Marthas Vineyard, 

is proof that on the Atlantic, as on the Pacific 

coast, the Pliocene was an epoch in which the 

temperature of the sea in that region was higher 

than in the preceding and subsequent epochs. 

The presence of Rangia in the fossil fauna of 

Cornfield Harbor, Chesapeake Bay, is confirmatory evidence to the same effect. 

There is also evidence of a southward extension of the cooler-water fauna of the Californian 

2 Pliocene Mollusca of Great Britain, Paleontographical Society, 1913, 

pl. 1, 1914; pt. 2, 1916. 

a The Pleistocene formations of Sankat y Head, Nantucket: Jour, Geology, vol. 13. pp. 713-734, 190.5. 
26 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1919·. 

Pleistocene oh the Pacific coast as far as the 

island of Socorro, which will be presented in a 

future publication. 

LISTS OF SPECIES. 

The species collected at each locality on the 

Alaskan coast above indicated will now be 

enumerated. The collectors' station numbers 

are given when such numbers appear on their 

labels. The large numbers are those of the 

stations as registered In the official records of 

the United States Geological Survey. 

Otter Creek, 2 . miles from the coast near N orne, 50 feet 

below the surface and at an elevation above the present 

sea level of about 20 feet. Collected by J. J. V. Beaver, 

1905. Those marked with an asterisk now live south 

of the line of floating ice in winter, or, roughly, in about 

the latitude of the Aleutian Islands. Pliocene. 

Pecten islandicus M filler. 

Pecten lioicus Dall (temperate type). Extinct. 

Pecten kindlei Dall (temperate typ~). Extinct. 

*Monia macroschisma Deshayes. 

Cardium sp. (fragment). 

Venericardia crassidens Broderip and Sowerby. 

Venericardia crebricostata Krause. 

Macoma sabulosa Spengler. 

*Panomya ampla Dall. 

Hemithyris psittacea Gmelin var. alaskana Dall. 

Balanus sp. (fragments). . 

Station 18a (5074). Second beach, about It miles north 

of N orne, at Center Creek, 32 feet below the surface and 

about 20 feet above the present level of the sea. Collected by E. M. Kindle, 1899. Pliocene. 

*Pecten kindlei Dall. 

*Monia macroschisma Deshayes. 

M ytil us ed ulis Linne. 

Venericardia crebricostata Krause. 

*Astarte rollandi Bernardi. 

Astarte arctica Gray. 

Astarte actis Dall. 

Cardium ciliatum Fabricius. 

Macoma middendorffii Dall. 

Macoma incongrua Martens. 

Macoma sabulosa Spengler. 

*Siliqua cf. S. patula Dixon. 

Spisula polynyma var. alaskana Dall. 

*Mya sp. (aff. M. japonica Jay). 

Saxicava arctica Linne. 

*Panomya ampla Dall. 

Panomya arctica var. turgida Dall. 

Chrysodomus mesleri Dall. 

Chrysodomus (fragment). 

Thais (N uc~lla) nomeana Dall. 

Trichotropis insignis Middendorf£. 

Natica sp. 

Natica aff. N. clausa Broderip and Sowerby. 

Cryptoctenidia magna Dall. 

*Balanus rostratus (Hoek) alaskensis Pilsbry: 

*Balanus evermanni Pilsbry. 

Station 2la (5075). Five miles east of Nome, from the 

second beach. Collected by E. M. Kindle, 1908. 

Pliocene. 

*Magas~lla aleutica Dall. 

Hemithyris psittacea Gmelin var. alaskana Dall. 

Station 2lb (5076). Five miles east of Nome, from prospect holes in second beach. . Collected by E. M: Kindle 

and R. D. Mesler, 1908. Older Pliocene. 

Pecten islandicus Muller. 

Chrysodc:>mus sp. (fragment). 

Thais (N ucella) nomeana Dall. 

Hemithyris psittacea Gmelin var. alaskana Dall. 

*Magasella aleutica Dall. 

*Balanus rostratus alaskensis Pilsbry. 

Station 22a (5077). One and one-half miles east of Nome, 

from prospect holes in second beach. Collected by 

E. M. Kindle and R. D. Mesler, 1908. Pliocene. 

Pecten islandicus Muller. 

·*Monia macroschisma Desha yes. 

Mytilus edulis Linne. 

Cardium (Serripes) gronlandicum Gmelin. 

Cardium ciliatum Fabricius. 

Astarte sp. (fragment). 

Venericardia crassidens Broderip and Sowerby. 

Macoma middendorffii Dall. 

Macoma incongrua Martens. 

Saxicava arctica Linne. 

*Mya sp. (aff. M. japonica Jay). 

*Panomya ampla Dall. 

Buccinum sp. (fragment). 

Trichotropis insignis Middendorf£. 

Hemithyris psittacea Gmelin var. alaskana Dall. 

*Balanus rostratus alaskensis Pilshry. 

Station 22b (5078). One-fourth to one-half mile east of 

Nome, on the second beach, in prospect holes. Collected by E. M. Kindle and R. D. Mesler, 1908. Pliocene. 

*Monia macroschisma Deshayes. 

Cardium ciliatum Fabricius. · 

Astarte actis Dall. 

Macoma incongrua Martens. 

Macoma middendorffii Dall. 

Saxicava arctica Linne. 

*Panomya ampla Dall. 

Spisula polynyma Stimpson var. alaskana Dall. 

Thais (Nucella) nomeana Dall. 

*Littorina palliata Say. 

Littorina sp. (aff. L. grandis Middendorf£). 

Cryptoctenidia magna Dall. 

*Balanus balanoides (Linne) Pilsbry. 

*Balanus rostratus alaskensis Pilsbry. 

Station 627. Forty miles up Colville River from its mouth 

on the Arctic coast. Collected by F. C. ~chrader, 1901. 

Pliocene. 

Chrysodomus leffingwelli Dall. 

Pyrulofusus schraderi Dall. 

§tation 706(7. Peard Bay, about 30 miles southwest of 

Point Barrow, from top of high bank. Collected by · 

E. de K. Leffingwell, 1914. Pleistocene(?). 

Astarte bennetti Dall: 

Astarte borealis Schumacher. 

Astarte leffingwelli Dall. 

Venericardia crebricostata Krause. 
PLIOCENE AND PLEISTOCENE FOSSILS FROM ALASKA. 27 

Station A (7068). Carter Creek, 1 mile from the Arctic 

coast at Camden Bay, in fine consolidated· silt from top 

to 30 feet below. Collected by E. de K. Leffingwell, 

1914. Pliocene. 

*Nucuia mirabilis A. Adams (Japan). 

Astarte actis Dall (fragment). 

V enericardia crebricostata Krause. 

Saxicava arctica Linne. 

Lora sp.? (fragment). 

*Antiplanes sp.? (fragment). 

Buccinum sp. (fragment). 

*Balanus crenatus (Bruguiere) Pilsbry. 

S~ation B (7069). Carter Creek, 100 yards east of station A 

(7068) and 80 feet below it. Collected by E. de K. 

Leffingwell, 1914. Pliocene. 

Astarte carteriana Dall. 

* Antiplanes sp.? cf. A. purpurea Dall. 

Station C (7070). Carter Creek, 200 yards east of station 

B (7069) and 100 feet below it. Collected by E. de K. 

Leffingwell, 1914. Pliocene. 

Leda sp. (d. L. arctica Loven). 

Led a sp. ( cf. L. fr igida Tor ell). 

Astarte sp. (fragment). 

Cyrtodaria camdenensis Dall. 

*Cadulus arcticus Dall. 

Dentalium sp. (fragment). 

*Philine sp. (fragment). 

Turris (Antiplanes?) sp. (fragment). 

Cryptonatica sp. (aff. C. clausa Broderip and 

Sower by). 

Amauropsis sp. (d. A. islandicus Gmelin). 

*Caecum sp. (fragment). 

Station 7228. Fifteen miles southwest of Barrow village, 

Point Barrow, Alaska, from talus below bluff on the 

coast. Collected by E. de K. Leffingwell, 19i0-12. 

Pliocene. 

Macoma sabulosa Spengler. 

Astarte actis Dall. 

Astarte leffingwelli Dall. 

Venericardia crebricostata Krause. 

Balanus rostratus alaskensis Pilsbry. 

Station 7229. Specimens in place at same locality as 

station 7228, taken from the bluff. Pliocene (? ). 

Astarte sp. (fragment). 

Venericardia crebricostata Krause. 

Chrysodomus fornicatus Gray. 

Station 200a (7230). Camden Bay, Arctic coast, at Carter 

Creek. Collected ·by E. de K. Leffingwell, 1912. 

Pliocene. 

Astarte martini Dall. 

Astarte sp. 

V enericardia nuwokensis Dall. 

Buccinum sp. (fragment). 

3btion 200b (7231). Same locality as station 7230. Collected by E. de K. Leffingwell, 1912. Pliocene. 

Musculus sp. (fragment). 

Serripes gronlandicus Gmelin. 

Astarte arctica Gray. 

Astarte martini Dall. 

Cyrtodaria camdenensis Dall. 

Colus sp. (fragment). 

Balanus sp. (fragment). 

Balanus balanoides (Linne) Pilsbry. 

131049°-20-3 

Station 19a (7618). One mile north of Fort Davis, east of 

Nome, Alaska, near parting of Florence and Otter 

Creek gulches (Gallatin mine). Collected by R. D. 

Mesler, 1908. Pliocene. 

Pecten islandicus Muller. 

*Monia macroschisma Deshayes. 

Cardium ciliatum Fabricius. 

Venericardia ere bricostata Krause. 

Venericadia crassidens Broderip and Sowerby. 

Astarte actis Dall. 

Macoma incongrua Martens. 

*Macoma brota var. lipara Dall. 

Macoma balthica Linne. 

Spisula polynyma Stimpson var. alaskana Dall. 

Saxicava arctica Linne. 

Panomya ampla Dall. 

*Panomya arctica Lamarck var. turgida Dall. 

Hemithyris psittacea Gmelin var. alaskana Dall. 

Balanus sp. (fragment). 

Station 18a (7619). Center Creek mines, 2 miles northwest 

of Nome, at second beach. CoJ.lected by E. M. Kindle 

and R. D. Mesler, 1908. Pliocene. 

*Pecten kindlei Dall. 

*Mon.ia macroschisma Deshayes. 

Cardium ciliatum Fabricius. 

Astarte actis Dall. 

Macoma middendorffii Dall. 

Macoma balthica Linne. 

Spisula polynyma Stimpson var. a1askana Dall. 

Chrysodomus saturus Martyn. 

Chrysodomus mesleri Dall. 

Thais (N ucella) nomeana Dall. 

Trichotropis insignis Middendorf£. 

*Natica sp. (aff. N. russa Gould). 

Cryptoctenidia magna Dall. 

Balanus sp. (fragment). 

Station 20a (7260). Half a mile west of Nome, from tailings of Welsh mine on second beach. Collected by 

E. M. Kindle and R. D. Mesler, 1908. Pleistocene. 

Astarte fabula Reeve. 

Saxicava arctica Linne. 

Station 20b (7621). Half a mile west of Nome, from prospect holes on the tundra near Snake River, second 

beach. Collected by E. M. Kindle and R . D. ··:Mesler, 

1908. Pliocene. 

Mytilus edulis Linne. 

Cardium ciliatum Fabricius. 

Astarte sp. (fragment). 

Venericardia crassidens Broderip and Sowerby. 

Macoma balthica Linne. 

Macoma middendorffii Dall (fragment). 

Chrysodomus sp. (fragment). 

Thais (Nucella) nomeana Dall. 

Balanus sp. (fragment). 

Station 2 (7622). Half a mile northwest of Nome, from . 

gravel10 feet below the surface, near submarine beach, 

in prospect holes. Collected by E. M. Kindle and 

P. S. Smith, 1908. Pliocene(?). 

Mytilus edulis Linne. 

*Monia macroschisma Deshayes. 

Cardium ciliatum Fabricius. 

Venericardia crassidens Broderip and Sowerby. 

Macoma incongrua Martens. 

Macoma middendor:ffii Dall. 

Thais (Nucella) nomeana Dall. 

Balanus sp. (fragment). 
28 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1919. 

Station 1 (7623). Mine on submarine beach 30 feet below 

present sea level, half a mile northwest of Nome. Collected by E. M. Kindle and P. S.Smith, 1908. Pliocene. 

Cardium ciliatum Fabricius. 

Venericardia crassicostata Krause. 

Astarte hemicymata Dall. 

*Astarte (Gonilia?) diversa Dall. 

Macoma balthica Linne. 

*Mya sp. (aff. M. japonica Jay). 

Chrysodomus sp. (fragment). 

Balanus sp. (fragment). 

Station 3 (7624). Prospect hole half a mile northwest of 

Nome, on submarine beach. Collected by E. M. 

Kindle, 1908. ··· Pleistocene(?). 

Astarte fabula Reeve. 

Station 7477. Dump oLsh"lft so feet deep on the tundra 

between Dry and Bourbon creeks 1 mile from beach at 

Nome. Collected by F. L. Hess, 1905. Pliocene. 

Admete sp.? (fragment). 

· Chrysodomus sp. (fragment). 

*Tachyrhynchus lacteola Carpenter. 

*Pecten (Chlamys) n. sp. (fragment). Southern type. 

Pecten (Chlamys) islandicus Miiller. 

Astarte sp. (fragment). 

Astarte hemicymata Dall. 

*Astarte di ver~a DalL 

Astarte arctica Gray. 

Serripes gronlandicus Gmelin. 

Cardium ciliatum Fabricius. 

V enericardia paucicostata Krause. 

Macoma calcarea Gmelin. 

*Mya (n. sp. ?) (fragment). 

Saxicava arctica Linne. 

Balanus rostratus alaskanus Pilsbry. 

Myriozoum "truncatum Pallas" (n. sp. ?). 

DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW SPECIES. 

GASTROPODA. 

Antiplanes? cf. A. purpurea Dall. 

A decorticated specimen of about six whorls 

presents the appearance of an Antiplanes of 

the type of A. purpurea Dall. It is in a state 

too dilapidated to serve as the basis of a description but is worthy of mention as an indication of the probable presence of this gen~s in 

the fauna. 

Station 7069, in the Pliocene, horizon B, 80 

feet below horizon A, and about 300 feet east 

of station 7068. U. S. Nat. Mus. catalogue 

No . 324316. It is about a mile from the Arctic coast in the Camden Bay region; the matrix appears to be a hardly consolidated ash. 

There is a possibility that the specimen may 

represent a broken and decorticated Oolus. 

Chrysodomus mesleri Dall, n. sp. 

Plate V, figures 2, 3. 

A fragment only of this species was obtained, 

but its characteristics are so pronounced that 

it can not fail to be recognized when better 

specimens are found. The shell had more · 

than four whorls, with a smooth surface and an 

_,appressed suture strongly undulated by the 

ribbing; the penultimate whorl has seven extremely strong protractively angular axial ribs, 

projecting as stout knobs at the shoulder . ' whiCh are connected by an obscure spiral 

ridge; the interspaces are deep and about as 

wide as the ribs; on the upper whorls the series 

of knobs develop into a continuous broad undulating spiral ridge and the ribs disappear; 

the last whorl is deficient, but the remaining 

portion indicates that it was ribbed, at any 

rate near the suture. Height of the penultimate whorl, 25 millimeters; diameter, 36 millimeters. 

Station 7619 (18a). Pliocene. From the 

Center Creek mines, 2 miles north of Nome. 

Collected by E. M. Kindle and R. D. Mesler, 

1908. U.S. Nat. Mus. catalogue No. 324317. 

The species perhaps nearest allied to this, 

though sufficiently distinct, is 0. saturus Martyn, of the Recent fauna of Bering Sea. 

A fragment (fig. 3) from station 5074 (18a) 

at Center Creek, lfmiles north of Nome, from 

the second beach, is probably of the same 

species and indicates that the ribs reached 

over the last whorl clear to the beginning of 

the twisted and recurved canal. 

Chrysodomus leffingwelli Dall, n. sp. 

Plate V, figure 11. 

Shell of moderate size, with more than four 

rounded whorls (apex decollate) separated by 

a distinct, deep, but not chaimeled suture; 

whorls widest at the shoulder; spiral sculpture 

of (between the sutures three, on the last 

whorl about 14) strong, somewhat flattened 

cords regularly spaced and separated ·by wider 

channeled inters paces in which run from one to 

three minor cords which, toward the canal, 

may be absent; axial sculpture of (on the last 

whorl eight or nine) rather narrow, not very 

prominent sigmoid ribs extending from the 

suture over the body and becoming obsolete on 

the base; these ribs are less distinct on the 

spire, and the surface also bears fine, close-set 

incremental lines; pillar twisted, inner lip 

slightly erased; canal moderately long with a 

very feeble siphonal fasciole, slightly recurved; 

outer lip defective in the specimen. Height 

of (decollate) three whorls, 7 4 millimeters; 
PLIOCENE AND PLEISTOCENE FOSSILS FROM ALASKA. 29 

diameter at shoulder, 40 millimeters; height 

of last whorl, 60 millimeters; of aperture, 40 

millimeters. 

Station 627, 40 miles up Colville River 

from the Arctic coast, with Pyrulofusus schraderi. Pliocene. Collected by F. C. Schrader, 

1901. U.S. Nat. Mus. catalogue No. 210853. 

This species belongs to the general group 

represented by 0. lyrata Martyn but does not 

agree closely with any of the known recent 

forms. Other specimens have the ribs more or 

less obsolete. 

Pyrulofusus schraderi Dall, n. sp. 

Plate V, figures 10, 13. 

Shell large, solid, dextral, with a short spire 

and expanded last whorl; whorls about five, 

rapidly increasing; nucleus large, swollen, of 

about two whorls (decorticated in the specimen); subsequent whorls· sculptured all over 

with extremely fine, close-set spiral threads; 

axial sculpture of inconspicuous incremental lines and on each whorl five very prominent rounded sigmoid ribs dirninishing toward 

the base and stronger at the shoulder, below 

which they are very obliquely inclined forward; the interspaces are much wider than 

the ribs; the suture is deep but hardly channeled; the whorl rises a little at the posterior 

corner of the aperture and on the inner lip 

is a thin layer of enamel. The base and aperture of the unique specimen are deficient. 

Diameter of specimen at aperture from the 

inner lip, about 50 millimeters; estimated 

original length, about 7 5 millimeters. 

Pliocene at station 627, 40 miles up Colville River from its mouth at the Arctic coast, 

in silt beds 80 feet above the river, 5 to 15 

feet below the base of loess, 20 feet below the 

surface of the soil. Collected by F. C. Schrader. U. S. Nat. Mus. catalogue No. 210854. 

Thais (Nucella) nomeana Dall, n. sp. 

Plate V, figure 9. 

This form is represented only by worn 

and more or less defective specimens which 

resemble the form from the Pliocene of Coos 

Bay, Oreg., describeQ. by the writer. 

It is certainly a precursor of N. Zamellosa 

Gmelin and would probably by casual observers be referred to . as a variety of that 

spee1es. The shell is nearly smooth, only obsolete traces of spiral sculpture being apparent. 

The general aspect is rude, the suture closely 

appressed. None of the specimens show any 

denticulation on the inside of the outer lip; 

there is a strong siphonal fasciole and a very 

narrow chink between the fasciole and the 

pillar, which is thick and callous, though 

there are no indications of a thickening of the 

inner lip. In size and general characteristics 

this form closely approaches N. lamellosa. 

Station 5074,Pliocene onCenterCreek, about 

1! miles north of Nome, from the second 

beach. Collected by E. M. Kindle. U. S. 

Nat. Mus: catalogue No. 324318. 

Littorina palliata Say. 

Plate V, figure 12. 

Shell small, smooth, solid, turbinate, of 

about four rounded whorls; suture distinct, 

appressed; surface with hardly visible incremental lines; the rotundity of the whorls 

slightly compressed in front of the suture; 

aperture rounded, slightly angulate at the 

posterior commissure; outer lip thick, not reflected, entire; body and umbilical region 

with a thin flattened layer of callus which 

merges evenly into the basal lip; base convexly rounded. Height, 12 millimeters; diameter, 12.5 millimeters; last whorl, 10 millimeters in height. 

Station 5078 (22b). Pliocene. From prospector's pits on the second beach, one-half 

to one-fourth mile east of N orne. Collected by 

E. M. Kindle and R. D. Mesler, 1908. U.S. 

Nat. Mus. catalogue No. 324319. 

This species is of the type of Littorina palliata Say, of which no living form now inhabits the Pacific Ocean or any part of the 

Arctic coast west of Mackenzie River and 

east of the Lena. The specimen retains some 

of the yellowish coloration characteristic of 

the Atlantic form, and after a scrutinizing 

comparison with specimens of Littorina palliata from Rhode Island and with all the 

varieties of obtusata from Europe, no characters 

have been discovered by which the Nome fos-, 

sil can be distinguished from Littorir~ta palliata. This is natural enough, as obtusata 

has never been found in America, whereas palliata is excessively common on the New England coast in localities where it has not been 

supplanted by the introduced Littorina litorea. 
30 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1919'. 

The differences of size, form, and geographic 

distribution seem to be conclusive as to the 

specific distinction between Littorina obtusata and Littorina palliata. They are not Arctic shells. · 

Cryptoctenidia magna Dall, n. sp. 

Plate V, figure 1. 

Shell large for the genus, ovate, apex very 

anterior, the back behind it roundly arched, 

the anterior slope more steeply descending; the 

apex blunt, usually eroded; sculpture of fine 

radiating threads with subequal interspaces, 

more or less cut into segments by incised lines 

corresponding to resting stages and equally 

distributed over the shell; interior white, the 

margins entire, smooth; the muscular impression narrow, connected in front of the head by 

a linear scar indicating the attachment of the 

mantle. Height, 10 millimeters; length, 29 

miliimeters·; breadth, 25 millimeters; apex behind the anterior margin, 5 millimeters. A 

defective specimen measures 34 millimeters 

long and 29 millimeters wide. 

Stations 5074, 5078, and 7619. Pliocene 

of C~nter Creek, It miles north of Nome, from 

the ''second beach, '' collected by E. M. Kindle. 

Also from prospect holes on the second beach, 

one-fourth to one-half mile east of Nome; and 

from Center Creek mines 2 miles northwest 

of Nome. Collected by E. M. Kindle and R. D. 

Mesler, 1908. U.S. Nat. Mus. catalogue No. 

324320. 

The species of this genus are very similar to 

one another, but this is larger than any of the 

recent forms and differs in details of sculpture. 

Cadulus arcticus Dall, n. sp. 

Plate V, figure 8. 

Shell small, slender, arcuate, smooth, with 

circular section and no swelling ventrally; the 

color is white with narrow translucent zones 

irregularlY. disposed. Length, 7 millimeters; 

. diameter at anterior end, 0.75 millimeter; 

height of arc described by the ventral curve, 

1.2 millimeters. 

Station 7070 . . Pliocene of Carter Creek, in 

the Camden Bay region of the Arctic coast, 

stratum C, 100 feet below stratum B and 600 

feet east of station 7069, 1 mile from the coast. 

Collected by E. de K. Leffingwell, 1914. U.S. 

Nat. Mus. catalogue No. 324322. 

This stratum, from the collector's notes, 

seems to be some 220 feet below the uppermost 

stratum of the section. 

PELECYPODA. 

Pecten (Chlamys) kindlei Dall, n. sp. 

Plate VI, figures 2, 7. 

Shell large, rather r.ude, belonging to the 

group of Pecten swijti Bernardi. Right valve 

with four broad, low radial ribs separated by 

much narrower, shallow, ill-defined interspatial furrows; the whole surface sculptured with 

strong radial, more or less paired flattish cords, 

often minutely medially grooved and sometimes separating in to two dis tine t radii; the 

interspaces are about as wide as the cords and 

distinctly channeled; they also retain patches 

of a minute reticulated surface lamellation; 

the beak -is pointed, the anterior ear large, 

aliform, with an acute but not deep notch, 

leaving a broad concentrically laminate £asciole, the margin of the disk at the notch with a 

ctenolium of two or three rather widely separated short spinules; the radial threads crossed 

by rather coarse incremental lines; the posterior ear is very short, narrow, and oblique; 

inner surface of the valve smooth except near 

the distal margin, where it reflects the external. 

sculpture; the adductor scar large, the resiliary pit rather small for the size of the shell, 

with the lateral margins raised; a narrow, 

transversely striated area exists, broader on 

the left valve; there are no auricular crura. 

Left valve with five narrow radial ribs separated by wider shallow interspaces which are 

wider on the posterior half of the disk; the surface is covered with radial cords as in the other 

valve, but these are finer and closely crowded 

on the submargins; the reticular surface layer 

is the same as in the left valve, but the right 

valve as usual is more convex; anterior ear 

triangular, large, with about eight or ten radial 

cords; posterior ear narrow and short; both set 

off from the submargins of the disk by a deep, 

wide furrow; hinge line straight, with a flat · 

area half as wide as the length of the pit. The 

young valves retain a reddish tinge in their 

substance. Height of adult valve, 92 millimeters; width of disk, 78 millimeters; of hinge 

line, 45 millimeters; diameter, 27 millimeters. 

Station 7619, Pliocene of Center Creek 

mines, 2 miles north of N orne, from the 
PLIOCENE AND PLEISTOCENE FOSSILS FROM ALASKA. 31 

second beach. Collected by E. lvL Kindle and 

R. D. Mesler, 1908. U. S. Nat. :Mus. catalogue 

No. 324301. 

This species, from fragmentary remains collected by J. J. V. Beaver, of Nome, was identified by n1e in 1907/ with P. (0.) swifti Bernardi, of northern Japan. The present much 

more complete material, obtained the following 

year, enables n1e to correct this identification. 

The shell indeed much resembles the Japanese 

form, but it has not the concentric waves due 

to resting stages that appear in P. swifti, and 

the posterior ear is of quite different shape. 

The two bear to one another much such a relation as is found between Pecten nodosus of the 

Antilles and P. subnodosus of the Pacific coast 

of America. 

Related. to this species is the P. parmeleei Dall 

from the Pliocene of San Diego, Calif., with 

which fragments from a Pliocene deposit near 

Crescent City, C~lif., were identified. The 

latter (figured by Arnold2 )upon later and more 

exact study prove to be indistinguishable from 

the true P. swijti of Japan. The minute 

structure of the reticulated outer layer of P. 

parmeleei is quite distinct from that of P. 

swifti or the present species, but this delicate 

structure is so rarely preserved intact in the 

fossils that its help in specific discrimination is 

seldom available. 

Pecten (Chlamys) lioicus Dall. 

Pecten (Chlamys) lioicus Dall, Am. Jour. Sci., 4th ser., 

vol. 23, p. 457, fig. 1, 1907. 

From 50 feet below the surface in marine 

gravels near Nome, Norton Sound, Alaska, 

from a collection received by F. H. Moffit 

from Mr. J. J. V. Beaver, of Nome; donated 

to the U. S. Geological Survey. U. S. Nat. 

:Mus. catalogue No. 110480. Pliocene. 

No further specimens of this very distinct 

species have come to hand. 

Pecten (Chlamys) n. sp. 

In the material from the dump of an 80-foot 

shaft about a mile north of Nome (station 7477) 

were fragments of a Pecten undoubtedly distinct 

from any known northeastern Pacific species, 

but insufficiently complete to warrant naming. 

The ribs are high, with wider channeled interI Am. Jour. Sci., 4th ser., vol. 23, p. 457, 1907. 

2 Arnold, Ralph, The Tertiary and Quaternary pectens of California: 

U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 47, pl. 41, figs. 5, 5a, 1906. 

spaces. On the back of the ribs in the middle 

of the valve is a strong radial cord on each side 

of which is a smaller cord separated from the 

median one by a narrow groove. The more 

later~l ribs have a groove between two moderately strong cords, the inner cord of the 

Inedial ribs becoming obsolete. The ribs bear 

small low imbricating scales. In the interspaces the fine sculpture is minutely tessellate, 

the alternate scales sometimes raised, giving a 

minutely pustular effect. The medial ribs 

are about 3 millimeters and the interspaces 

about 4 millimeters wide. The submargins 

are feebly and more numerously threaded. 

The interior is smooth, grooved in harmony 

with the external sculpture. The shell probably reaches a length of some 3 inches when 

adult. 

Astarte actis Dall, n. sp. 

Plate VI, figures 4, 5. 

Shell of moderate size, rounded, very thick, 

nearly equilateral, beaks rather pointed, not 

conspicuous, usually more or less eroded; lunule 

lanceolate, narrow, elongate, shallow; ligamentary nymph strong, the nearly linear escutcheon 

extending beyond it 3 or 4 millimeters; outer 

surface rather rudely sculptured with coarse 

concentric incremental lines; hinge extremely 

he~vy, in the right valve a strong thick cardinal 

with deep pits on each side to receive the two 

narrower cardinals of the left· valve, the posterior of which is more or less radially furrowed; 

there are traces of an obsolete anterior lateral 

in the left valve and of a receptacle for it in the 

right valve which vary in distinctness with the 

individual specimen; impressions of the adductors and mantle attachment are usually deep 

and distinct; the inner margins of the valves 

are entire. Height, 33 millimeters; length, 36 

millimeters; diameter, 20 millimeters. 

Station 5074 (18a). Pliocene on Center 

Creek, about half a mile north of Nome, from 

the second beach; collected by E. M. Kindle. 

U. S. Nat. Mus. catalogue No. 324302. Also 

station 7619 (18a), Center Creek mines, 2 miles 

northwest of N orne; collected by E. M. Kindle 

and R. D. :Mesler, 1908. 

Astarte carteriana Dall, n. sp. 

Plate VI, figures 1, 3. 

Shell of ""moderate size, rather inflated, the 

general profile like Saxidomus giganteus on a 

small scale; surface ;;culptured with rather 
32 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1919. 

rude incremental lines; anterior end shorter, 

beaks rather pointed over a conspicuously depressed but not sharply limited lunular area; 

there is no escutcheon; a rather long nymph 

supported an external ligament under which in 

one specimen in the left valve is an excavated 

space having the aspect of the resilifer for a 

rather large internal resilium; in front of this 

is a single strong cardinal tooth with a wellmarked socket for a cardinal of the opposite 

valve; the hinge of the right valve is deficient 

in the specimen, but under the lunule there is 

a rather well-marked lateral lamina; the posterior end of the shell is rather bluntly rounded, 

the ·base evenly arcuate; the muscular scars 

are emphatically excavated, the inner valve 

margins smooth. Proportions taken from the 

incremental lines of a fractured specimen: 

Height, 16 millimeters; length, 25 millimeters; 

diameter, about 10 millimeters. The whole 

specimen when entire must have had a height 

of about 30 millimeters, and a length of more 

than 37 millimeters. 

Station 7069. Pliocene of Carter Creek, 

stratum B, 80 feet below stratum A, and 100 

yards east of station 7068. U. S. Nat. Mus. 

catalogue No. 324304. 

The specimens of this species consist of three 

fragments, only one showing the entire hinge. 

The excavation resembling a resiliary pit is 

probably the effect of erosion, in which case 

the shell would be allotted to the genus Astarte. 

At any rate the species can not· be a typical 

Orassatellites, on account of the well-marked 

external ligament. Other specimens otherwise 

similar have the hinge of Astarte, though the 

teeth are more oblique and less triangular than 

in most of the Recent species. 

Astarte leflingwelli Dall, n. sp. 

Plate VI, figures 6, 8. 

Shell of mo,derate size, with high pointed 

prosocoelous beaks curving over a deeply excavated, lanceolate lunule; anterior end shorter, 

dorsal margin concave, beiow evenly rounded; 

posterior dorsal margin nearly straight, descending, with a short ligamentary nymph a;nd 

a narrow escutcheon nearly three times as long 

as the nymph; posterior end rounded, attenuated, base evenly arcuate, with a ooth inner 

1nargin; sculpture nearly smooth, under a lens 

with faint concentric nauow undulations and 

very fine, even incremental lines; hinge compressed, in the left valve with two thin and ~ 

prominent cardinals and a long, little elevated, 

but distinct posterior lateral lamina; muscular 

scars excavated. Height, 25 millimeters; 

length, 32 millimeters; diameter, 12.5 millimeters. 

Station 7228. Pliocene. In talus below low 

bluff on the seacoast 15 miles southwest of 

Point Barrow; collected by E. de K. Leffingwell; U. S. Nat. Mus. catalogue No. 324305. 

Also station 7067, about 30 miles southwest of 

Point Barrow at Peard Bay; probably Pleistocene; collected by E. de K. Leffingwell. 

Astarte martini Dall, n. sp. 

Plate VI, figure 12. 

Shell small, ovate, with inconspicuous 

pointed beaks, dorsal slopes straight, anterior 

end rounded, shorter, base evenly arcuate, 

posterior end slightly longer, attenuated and 

almost obliquely truncated; a narrow elongate 

escutcheon and shorter, narrower, slightly 

excavated lunule present; sculpture of somewhat irregular, slightly raised, close set, concentric, narrow wavelets, becoming almost 

lamellose near the edge of the lunule; and 

in other specimens reduced to narrow threads 

on the disk; hinge heavy, normal, muscular 

impressions somewhat excavated, inner margin smooth. Height, 15 millimeters; length, 

19 millimeters; diameter, 10 millimeters. 

A larger but defective valve is 25 millimeters 

long. 

Station 7231. Pliocene. Carter Creek. 

Collected by E. de K. Leffingwell, 1912. U.S. 

Nat. Mus. catalogue No. 324307. 

Astarte hemicymata Dall, n. sp. 

Plate VI, figures 9, 10. 

Shell triangular, basally rounded, flattish; 

beaks narrow, high and pointed, prosocoelous; 

lunule deeply excavated, lanceolate; escutcheon 

feebly defined, narrow, obscure; sculpture of 

seven or eight broad concentric flattish waves 

with narrower shallow interspaces, obsolete 

toward the base, and fine feeble incremental 

lines; hinge compressed with (in the left valve 

two) slender, somewhat arcuate teeth; muscular impressions moderately impressed; inner 

margins of the valves smooth; anterior end 

below the lunule everuy rounded into the base; 
PLIOCENE AND PLEISTOCENE FOSSILS FROM ALASKA. 33 

posterior end more attenuated, rounded. 

Height, 20 millimeters; length, about 24 

millimeters; diameter, 6 millimeters; but the 

fragments available indicate that it may 

attain double the above dimensions. 

Station 7623. Pliocene. From submarine 

beach, ·30 feet below sea level, half a mile 

northwest of N orne. Collected by E. M. 

Kindle and P. S. Smith, 1908. U. S. Nat. 

Mus. catalogue No. · 324308. 

Astarte (Gonilia?) diversa Dall, n. sp. 

Plate V, figure 6. 

Shell small, rounded triangular, with prominent prosocoelous pointed beaks; nearly equilateral, the anterior end slightly shorter; lunule 

lanceolate, deeply impressed, concentrically 

striated, bounded by a sharp angular keel; 

escutcheon narrow, elongated, obscure; umbonal angle about 90°, dorsal slopes straight, 

ends and base evenly rounded; sculpture 

divaricate, some specimens with narrow ribs 

with the apex central and tlie interspaces 

equal, the ribs becoming wider and more 

irregular toward the ends of the shell, others 

with few broad divaricate ribs tending to 

obsolescence in the middle of the disk, and 

still others having broad, low ribs irregularly 

broken up into flattish nodules distributed 

divaricately but more or less irregularly; 

cardinal teeth short, narrow, two in the left 

and one in the right valve; ligament short; 

margin of the left valve, under the escutcheon, 

grooved; cavity of the valve extending under 

the hinge, adductor scars impressed, internal 

margins of the valves smooth. Height, 15 

millimeters; length, 18 millimeters; diameter, 

8 millimeters; but reaching a larger s1ze as 

indicated by fragments. 

Station 7623 (1). Pliocene. Half a mile 

northwest of N orne, from submarine beach 30 

feet below the level of the sea. Collected by 

E. M. Kindle and P. S. Smith, 1908. U. S. 

Nat. Mus. catalogue No. 324309. 

This is a remarkable species. The typical 

Gonilia (bipartita Philippi, as Lucina) is. a small 

Mediterranean shell with a crenulate inner 

margin and obsolete lunule. Otherwise the 

only systematic difference is of size. The 

current descriptions of the original Gonilia are 

in error in giving it three cardinal teeth in each 

valve and stating that it has no epidermis. 

The latter feature is due to the ·fact that the 

specimens dredged have been decorticated 

single valves. As there was an earlier Astarte 

bipartita of Sowerby when the Mediterranean 

species was assigned to the genus, Philippi's 

specific name could not be retained, and in 1903 

I proposed as a substitute the name calliglypta. 

The present species may, however, b~ more 

nearly related to the Pacific Rictocyma than to 

the Mediterranean Gonilia. 

V enericardia nu wokensis Dall, n. · sp. 

Plate V, figure 14. 

Shell small, rotund, moderately inflated, 

with slightly prominent beaks, dorsal angle 

about 85°; sculpture of about 20 radiating ribs 

with somewhat narrower channeled interspaces, crossed by rather regularly spaced 

low threads which swell into nodules on the 

back of the ribs at their intersections; base 

semicircular, internally crenulate in harmony 

with the external sculpture; hinge normal, 

teeth short and very strong for the size of the 

shell. Height, 13 millimeters; length, 11 millimeters; diameter, 9 millimeters. 

Station 7230. Pliocene. Carter Creek. 

Collected by E. de K. Leffingwell, 1912. U.S. 

Nat. Mus. catalogue No. 324310. 

Macoma middendorffi.i Dall. 

Plate VI, figures 11, 13. 

This peculiar species seems rather characteristic of the Pliocene at N orne, although in the 

Recent fauna it is m~re southern in its general 

distribution, not having been found living 

north of Bering Strait. It has been obtained 

at stations 5074, 5077, 5078, 7619, 7621, and 

7622. 

Cyrtodaria camdenensis Dall, n. sp. 

Plate V, figu:e 7. 

Shell of moderate size, nearly equilateral, 

equivalve, gaping at both ends; the umbones 

subcentral, inconspicuous, the anterior end 

slightly longer; valves thick, with an unsculptured surface, more or less marked by concentric incremental lines; dorsal and ventral 

margins nearly parallel, anterior end rounded, 

posterior end subtruncate, rounded above and 

below; ligament strong and prominent; adductor scars small, pallial line distinct, entire, with 

a small round scar at the ventral anterior end 
34 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY, 1919. 

indicating the attachinent of an area of the 

mantle; hinge edentulous; a small portion of 

the periostracum appears to be preserved and 

shows a black color. Height at umbones, 

BRACHIOPODA. 

Hemithyris psittacea Gmelin var. alaskana Dall, n. var. 

Plate V, figures 4, 5. 

23 millimete~; length, 48 millimeters; diame- Shell very thin, resembling the typical form 

ter, 15 millimeters; umbones behind the an- of .the species but much more delicate, pale buff, 

terior end, 25 millimeters. passing into yellowish gray, surface marked by 

Station 7070. Pliocene. Horizon C, 100 irregular lines of growth and sculptured with 

feet below horizon B, at Carter Creek, Arctic radiating incised lines with much wider intercoast, in the Camden Bay region. Collected spaces; pedicel valve less convex than the 

by E. de K. Leffingwell. U. S. Nat. Mus. other, the hinge moderately strong. Height, 

catalogue No. 324311. 22 to 25 millimeters; breadth, 22 to 26 milliThis is larger and broader than the C. meters; diameter of pedicel valve, 6 millimeters; 

kurriana Dunker, the only species now found of ventral valve, 9 millimeters. 

living on the coast, and differs in outline Station 7618 (19a). Older Pliocene. One 

from the · Atlantic 0. siliqua Daudin, which mile north of Fort Davis (Gallatin mine), east 

has also a more irregular pallial line and larger of N orne, near the parting of Florence and Otter 

adductor scars. · Creek gulches. Collected by R. D. Mesler, 

Mya n. sp.? 

The genus Mya is represented in the collection 

only by fragments including the more solid 

parts of the valve near the hinge. The chondrophore is more oblique than in any recent 

.American species and resembles that of Mya 

japonica, but the receptacle of the flatter 

valve is entirely different in details from that 

of any of the boreal species, all of which have 

been compared with it. This leads to the conclusion ~hat it represents a distinct species, 

but I refrain from na:rlling it until specimens 

showing the characters of the entire shell shall 

have been collected. Numerous defective 

specimens have been examined. Pliocene. 

Fragments were collected at stations 18a 

and 22a (U. S. G. S. stations 5074 and 5077) 

from the second beach within 1 t miles of 

Nome, by E. M. Kindle, and at station 7623, 

from the submarine beach, 30 feet below the 

sea level, half a mile northwest of Nome, by 

E. M. Kindle and P. S. Smith. U. S. Nat. 

Mus. catalogue No. 324312. 

1908. U. S. Nat. Mus. catalogue No. 324313. 

Magasella aleutica Dall. 

I have catalogued this species under the name 

by which it was originally designated, though 

I have a suspicion that it represents the Magasella stage of development of some larger terebratelloid species. It does not agree closely 

with the young of Terebratalia frontalis Middendorff, and Terebratalia coreanica Gould has not 

been found in the Aleutians. In the absence of 

any other available species the question must 

be left open. Pliocene to Recent. 

POLYZOA. 

Myriozoum n. sp. 

At station 7477, in the dump of an 80-foot 

shaft about a mile north of Nome, occurred 

fragments of a Myriozoum which were submitted to R. S. Bassler. He reported: "This is 

usually identified as Myriozoum truncatum Pallas but undoubtedly is a distinct species.'' 

The horizon is probably Pliocene. 
• 

PLATES v·-v1. 

35 
PLATE V. 

Page. 

FIGURE 1. Cryptoctenidia magna Dall, length 28 millimeters................................................ 30 

2. Chrysodomus mesleri Dall, fragment showing back of penultimate whorl, diameter 33 millimeters... 28 

3. Chrysodomus mesleri Dall, basal fragment, height 32 millimeters ..... _ ......................... _.. 28 

4. Hemithyris psittacea alaskana Dall, outside of pedicel valve, length 22.5 millimeters............... 34 

5. Hemithyi-is psittacea alaskana Dall, outside of ventral valve, diameter 23.5 millimeters. . ...... . . . . . 34 

6. Astarte diversa Dall, outside of left valve, length 18.5 millimeters ........ _................ . . . . . . . . 33 

7. Cyrtodaria camdenensis Dall, impression of interior of right valve, length 47 millimeters...... .. ..... 33 

8. Cadulus arcticus Dall, magnified, length 7.5 millimeters......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 

9. Thais (Nucella) nomeana Dall, height 62 millimeters .......... . ........ _ ................ _........ 29 

10. Pyrulofusus schraderi Dall, spire viewed from above, diameter 53 millimeters..................... 29 

11. Chrysodomus lejfingwelli Dall, height 73 millimeters ............................... __ ........... 28 

12. Littorina palUata Say, magnified, diameter 12.5 millimeters .. _ ...................... _ ........ _.. 29 

13. Pyr ulofusus schraderi Dall, profile, base defective, diameter 60 millimeters ............. . ....... __ . 29 

14. Venericardia nuwokensis Dall, outside of right valve, magnified height 13 millimeters ........ _._.. 33 

36 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 125 PLATE V 

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ALASKAN FOSSILS. 
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 125 PLATE VI 

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ALASKAN FOSSILS. 
PLATE VI. 

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FIGURE 1. Astarte carteriana Dall, exterior of left valve, length 36 millimeters.............................. 31 

2. Pecten ( Chlamys) kindlei Dall, exterior of young left valve, height 56 millimeters .......... c...... 30 

3. Astarte carteriana Dall, interior of left valve, length 36 millimeters ........ _...................... 31 

4. Astarte actis Dall, interior of right valve, length 37 millimeters.................................. 31 

5. Astarte actis Dall, exterior of left valve, length ~7 millimeters .... . ____ .. __ ...................... 31 

6. Astarte leifingwelli Dall, exterior of left valve, length 31.5 millimeters. ______ .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 

7. Pecten ( Chlamys) kindlei Dall, exterior of adult right valve, height 91.5 millimeters................ 30 

8. Astarte leifingwelli Dall, interior of left valve, length 31.5 millimeters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 

9. Astarte hemicymata Dall, exterior of (broken) left valve, not quite mature, length 17 millimeters.... 32 

10. Astarte hemicymata Dall, interior of same valve._ . __________________ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 

11. Macoma middendorifii Dall, interior of right valve, height 46.5 mill~meters ........................ - 33 

12. Astarte martini Dall, length 27.5 millimeters ..... ___ ..... _. _____ ._ ...... _ ....... __ ............. 32 

13. Macoma middendorifii Dall, exterior of right valve, height 46.5 millimeters....................... 33 

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