Teiichispira^ a New 

Early Ordovician 

Gastropod Genus

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 613-B

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Early Ordovician 

Gastropod Genus

By ELLIS L. YOCHELSON and CLIVE R. JONES 

CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 613-B

Description of an unusual macluritacean 

occurring in Malaysia and North America

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1968
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

William T. Pecora, Director

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

Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price 45 cents (paper cover)
CONTENTS

Page

Abstract ______________________.____________________________________ Bl

Introduction ________________________________________________ 1

Geologic setting in Malaysia ____ ____________-__________________ 2

Geologic setting in North America ________________________________________ 4

Alabama _______________ _______ ___________________________ 4

Utah _______________________________________________________ 5

Newfoundland ________________________________________________ 5

Systematic paleontology ______________________________________ 7

Superfamily Macluritacea ______________________________________ 7

Family Macluritidae ________________________________-____ 7

Genus Teiichispira ______________ ___________________-____ 7

References cited .___________________________________________ 13

Index _____________________________________________________ 15

ILLUSTRATIONS

[Plates follow index]

PLATE 1. Teiichispira? sylpha (Billings) and T. kobayashi Yochelson and Jones.

2. Teiichispira rossi Yochelson and Jones, T. odenvillensis (Butts), and opercula of 

unnamed macluritaceans.

FIGURE 1. Map of northwest Malaysia and southwest Thailand showing distribution of the Setul 

Formation and localities at which gastropod opercula have been found _____

2. Generalized outer whorl face profiles of some macluritaceans _________________

3. Sketches of the opercular attachment surface of Teiichispira odenvillensis and T. rossiin

Page

B3

8

10

CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

TEIICHISPIRA, A NEW EARLY ORDOVICIAN GASTROPOD GENUS

By ELLIS L. YOCHELSON and CLIVE R. JONES

Abstract

The new macluritacean genus Teiichispira is characterized 

in part by an elongate horn-shaped operculum, having a 

fibrous texture when weathered. The type species Teiichispira 

kobayashi is widespread in the Setul Formation of northwest 

Malaysia. A congeneric operculum has been described from 

the Odenville Limestone of Alabama as Maclureal odenvillensis. Another new species, T. rossi, known only from its 

operculum occurs in Utah. Maclurea sylpha Billings, from 

Newfoundland, is tentatively placed in this genus; no operculum is known to be associated with the species at this time, 

but generically similar, though specifically indeterminate, 

fibrous opercula also occur in Newfoundland. Several groups 

of fossils suggest a very late Early Ordovician age for the 

type species, as well as for the species from other localities. 

Opercula of Teiichispira may be potentially useful for dating 

rocks of latest Early Ordovician age because of their widespread, though scattered, distribution and because they are 

readily identified from even fragmentary specimens. Other 

shapes of opercula, not formally named, show the wide diversity to be found within the family.

INTRODUCTION

A curious curved fossil, characterized by a fibrous 

texture which is particularly conspicuous when silicified, was found repeatedly by Clive Jones while 

mapping the Setul Formation in northwest Malaysia. 

Specimens submitted by the Geological Survey of 

Malaysia in 1964 were determined by E. L. Yochelson 

to be gastropod opercula. Shortly thereafter, in 1965, 

a large collection of silicified fossils was made by 

Arthur J. Boucot, California Institute of Technology, 

from a limestone of the Setul Formation which crops 

out at the south point of Pulau (or island) Langgun, 

Langkawi Islands, Malaysia; at low tide, this area 

is a peninsula and is locally named Pulau Tikus. This 

collection provided significant data on the operculum 

and the shell with which it was associated. Subsequently, much additional material was collected 

from this outcrop by Richard Jones of Sungei Raya 

Estate, Pulau Langkawi. These two collections are 

housed at the U.S. National Museum.

The shell and operculum from the Setul Formation 

are unique and deserve generic status. The fauna of 

the Setul Formation in northwest Malaysia was 

described by Kobayashi (1959), but this shell was 

poorly represented in those collections and some 

of his material was obtained from beds of slightly 

younger age.

The Malaysian material, in turn, suggested affinities with certain North American specimens. Tv e 

peculiar operculum is strikingly similar to Maclureat 

odenvillensis from the Odenville Limestone of Alabama, a species heretofore known only from its 

operculum. Another species, still known only from 

its operculum, was collected by R. J. Ross, Jr., U.S. 

Geological Survey, from the Garden City Formation of Utah. At least one Early Ordovician species, 

described from Newfoundland but known only from 

its shell, may be congeneric.

The peculiar operculum provides a means of 

readily distinguishing one group of related forms 

within the complex or macluritacean gastropods. 

This new genus may be stratigraphically significant, 

for at all localities where it occurs, other fossils indicate a late to latest Early Ordovician age. Tve 

interest in correlation is enhanced because occurrences of the operculum in Alabama and Malaysia 

are separated by half the circumference of the 

earth.

The original collections from Malaysia were made 

by Clive Jones while employed by the Geological 

Survey of Malaysia and we are indebted to the 

Director of the Geological Survey of Malaysia for 

his kind permission to publish details relevant to 

these fossils. Without the further collections made 

by Arthur J. Boucot and Richard Jones, this study 

could not have been pursued. In addition, acknowledgment is given to Charles W. Cressler, U.S. Geological Survey, who guided Yochelson to the type

Bl
B2 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

locality of the Odenville Limestone and R. J. Ross, 

Jr., who directed our attention to the material from 

northern Utah.

Thomas E. Bolton, Geological Survey of Canada, 

kindly permitted the study of types and other 

specimens under his care. Harry E. Whittington, 

Cambridge University, lent specimens from Newfoundland. Rousseau H. Flower, New Mexico Bureau 

of Mines and Mineral Resources, and Lehi Hintze, 

Brigham Young University, lent supplementary 

material from Utah.

GEOLOGIC SETTING IN MALAYSIA

The Setul Formation is over 5,000 feet thick and 

consists almost entirely of complexly folded and 

faulted limestone. Field investigations show no evidence of unconformities within this great thickness, and presumably the sequence represents virtually uninterrupted deposition on the shelf of an 

ancient geosyncline. The basal limestone of the 

Setul conformably overlies deltaic sandstone of Late 

Cambrian age and has yielded only nautiloid cephalopods belonging to the Early Ordovician genus 

Robsonoceras or an allied genus. These lower beds 

pass upward into limestones containing a more 

diversified nautiloid and gastropod fauna; the peculiar operculum mentioned above is common in the 

middle part of the Setul Formation in the Langkawi 

Islands and the State of Perlis (Jones and others, 

1966, p. 312). The shelly strata are overlain by 

sparsely fossiliferous limestones that include lenses 

of Lower Silurian to Lower Devonian graptolitebearing shale.

The silicified fossil-bearing strata at the Pulau 

Langgun locality are at a moderately low stratigraphic level in the shelly limestone of the Setul Formation. Evidence from the fossil assemblage as a 

whole suggests a late Early Ordovician age for this 

outcrop. Although the isolated opercula collected in 

other parts of northwest Malaysia seem to persist 

through strata lying many hundreds of feet above the 

beds at the south point of Pulau Langgun, there is 

no other faunal evidence to suggest a younger Ordovician age. Further fieldwork may indicate that the 

opercula are restricted to a narrow stratigraphic 

interval.

Localities at which opercula have been found by 

Clive Jones in northwest Malaysia are shown in 

figure 1. In addition, one fragmentary specimen was 

collected some years ago in peninsular Thailand by 

the Thai Geological Survey. The locality for this 

specimen is given as Khuan Phanon Chuak near 

Ronphiboon, in Nakorn Sithamaret Province, 120 

miles north of the Malaysian localities.

Kobayashi (1959) has described some of the fossils 

from the Setul Formation of the Langkawi Islands. 

He had about 15 isolated gastropod specimens available from four localities; from the south end of Pulau 

Langgun he reported:

Hormotoma(l) spp. indet. 

Helicotoma jonesi Kobayashi 

Palaeomphalus giganteus Kobayashi 

Lesueurilla(l) sp. indet. 

Malayaspira ntgosa Kobayashi

Kobayashi (1959, p. 389) concluded that the Setul 

Formation "probably correlated to the Neichiashan 

Formation of Central China and the Vaginatenkalk 

of the Baltic Region." The thin-bedded limes tones of 

the Neichiashan Formation are richly fossiliferous 

and were considered by Grabau (1924, p. 95) to be 

equivalent to the Orthoceras Limestone of Sweden, 

the Vaginatenkalk of the Baltic province? of the 

U.S.S.R., and the Black River Group of North 

America. The Vaginatenkalk is now generally recognized as equivalent to the Bnl series of Estonia 

and is referred to the Kundan Stage, uppermost 

Lower Ordovician (Oelandian) of northern Europe 

(Jaanusson, 1960, p. 301).

About 200 pounds of limestone collected by Arthur 

J. Boucot and about 500 pounds collected by Richard 

Jones were dissolved in acid; these yielded abundant 

representatives of most of the gastropods listed 

above. No specimens of Helicotoma jonesi have been 

found in this material and it seems safe to conclude that this species came from another stratum 

at the locality. Helicotoma is typically a Middle 

Ordovician genus. Removal of H. jonesi from the 

fauna under consideration further strengthens 

Kobayashi's correlation.

Relatively few specimens of the species described 

as Palaeomphalus giganteus are available. These 

seem to be more properly referred to Pararaphistoma Vostakova than to Palaeomphalus Koken. 

Pararaphistoma is characteristic of both Bn i and the 

Vaginatenkalk; Palaeomphalus occurs in much 

younger Middle Ordovician beds in the Baltic area.

Kobayashi's report of Hormotoma(l) spp. indet. 

cannot be commented upon as all our specimens of 

high-spired gastropods are poorly preserved. The 

form reported as Lesueurilla(l) sp. indet. is redescribed in detail below.

The most abundant gastropod found at the locality 

is Malayaspira rugosa Kobayashi (1958, p. 226-227). 

Kobayashi has remarked on the relationship of 

Malayaspira to Lecanospira (in the strict sense), a 

mid-Early Ordovician genus, but he did not compare Malayaspira to the late Early Ordovician subgenus Lecanospira (Bamesella) Bridge and Cloud 

(1947, p. 545-550). Examination of the primary
6°45' -

6° 30' -

6°15' -

TEIICHISPIRA, A NEW EARLY ORDOVICIAN GASTROPOD GENUS

99°45' 100°00'

6°00' -

EXPLANATION

^j23> 

Setul Formation

20 KILOMETERS 

10 MILES

Based on Geological Survey of Malaysia data;

drawn at Geological Survey Headquarters I.P.O.H , D.W.G., 66-10

FIGURE 1. Map of northwest Malaysia and southwest Thailand showing distribution of the Setul Formation and local'

ties at which gastropod opercula have been found.
B4 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

types of Barnesella leads us to believe that it is 

closely related to Malayaspira; indeed that name 

may prove to be a junior subjective synonym when 

Barnesella is better known. Except for its bearing 

on age determination, it is not appropriate to pursue 

this point further for it hinges on description of 

better specimens of Barnesella. Malayasyira had been 

considered by Kobayashi (1958, 1959) to be of early 

Middle Ordovician age.

A few specimens of a small compressed bellerophontacean with a narrow deep slit have also been 

recovered from the Boucot and Jones collections. 

They seem to be juvenile representatives of Salpingostoma. This genus, like Pararaphistoma, although 

not confined to the Baltic Bm and the Vaginatenkalk, 

is certainly characteristic of that interval.

Thus, our reevaluation of the gastropods from 

Pulau Langgun strengthens Kobayashi's (1959) 

original suggestion that this part of the Setul Formation is late Early Ordovician. Several apparent 

anomalies in his determinations have been readily 

resolved by a study of the new collections.

Two pelecypod genera have also been obtained 

from the new collections. They include Ctenodonta 

(in the strict sense) and well-preserved specimens 

of Euchasma (John Pojeta, Jr. oral commun., July 

1967). Euchasma has been reported only from rocks 

older than Middle Ordovician. One incomplete monoplacophoran has been recovered but it does not 

provide significant data on age relations.

Regarding the few cephalopods found in the 

Boucot collection, R. H. Flower (written commun., 

April 1966) wrote:

One of the specimens is a long slender siphuncle recalling 

Clitendoceras (= Kirkoceras) which is known to me only in 

Demingian, Middle Canadian. It is anomalous in that the 

curvature is eccentric; the specimens might be a new form 

leading to the remarkable Escharendoceras (Canadian of 

New Mexico and Maryland) which has the section more 

askew. It is possible, however, if other fossils show distortion which is tectonic, that the eccentricity might not be 

organic. [It is likely that these fossils have been distorted.]

There is another fragment of a straight orthocone with 

apparently a central siphuncle. There is not enough to say 

what this is for certain. It could be Wolungoceras, known 

mainly from the Late Canadian of Manchuria, or less likely 

it might be one of the early Michelinoceratidae. In either 

case, I would expect this to have come from nothing in the 

Canadian below the Cassinian, and it suggests a materially 

younger Canadian age than does the other species. I say 

"suggest" in both cases, because surprises in ranges are still 

turning up in the cephalopods, but these are the limits of 

range in the present state of our knowledge.

Specimens obtained from the Richard Jones collection includes members of the Proterocomeroceratidae and a new genus possibly allied to the Bassleroceratidae. These further strengthen the age

assignment of late Early Ordovician (R. H. Flower, 

oral commun., May 1967).

The only other specimens obtained at the locality 

are rare twig-shaped objects which could be silicified 

bryozoan colonies. The identified gastropods, cephalopods, and pelecypods suggest a late Ear'y Ordovician age. The possible presence of bryozoans reinforces the idea that the strata at this locality 

represent, at the oldest, a fairly late interval in the 

Early Ordovician.

Collateral evidence bearing on the age of this part 

of the Setul Formation comes from a second collection of silicified fossils, obtained from the east end 

of Pulau Langgun. This faunule consists almost 

exclusively of hundreds of brachiopods belonging" to 

a new genus of late Early Ordovician aspect (G. A. 

Cooper, oral commun., June 1966). Associated with 

the brachiopods are several opercula. Tl^se are 

flattened and roughly subtriangular, not at all like 

the elongate fibrous-textured opercula found at the 

south end of the island. Both kinds of opercula, however, are found in collections of fossils from residuum of the Odenville Limestone in Alabama.

GEOLOGIC SETTING IN NORTH AMERICA

Specimens pertinent to this study are geographically widely scattered. At no one place are they 

particularly abundant and, accordingly, th?ir common characteristics have not been generally recognized heretofore.

ALABAMA

The Odenville Limestone (Butts, 1926, p. 99-100) 

is a poorly known stratigraphic unit described as 

occurring above the Newala Limestone of Canadian 

age and below the Mosheim Limestone of Middle 

Ordovician age. Its only known exposure is the type 

locality, about one-third of a mile east of Odenville, 

Ala. At the time it was investigated by Butts, the 

formation, or at least its upper part, was exposed 

in a railway borrow pit. Pit operations ceased at 

least half a century ago and the pit is virtually filled 

in and overgrown. One isolated block occurs in the 

pit area and perhaps 5 feet of the uppermost part 

of the formation is exposed in the nearby woods.

The only fossils reported from the Odenville Limestone were collected from soils directly above the 

Newala Limestone, in part near the type locality, 

but mainly in the Cahaba valley of Alabama. On 

the basis of the brachiopod assemblage found in 

Cahaba valley residuum (Ulrich and Cooper, 1938, 

pi. 58), the formation is generally dated as latest 

Canadian (Twenhofel and others, 1954). In 1966, 

C. W. Cressler and E. L. Yochelson failed in attempts 

to locate several of the Cahaba valley localities which
TEIICHISPIRA, A NEW EARLY ORDOVICIAN GASTROPOD GENUS B5

had produced the fossils described by Butts. They 

were able, however, to recover several specimens of 

the operculum of Maclureal odenvillensis, as well as 

two fragmentary shells from the outcrop at the type 

locality. As a result, they demonstrated for the first 

time the rather curious fact that the fossil assumed 

to be most characteristic of the formation does 

actually occur in the formation. Accordingly, more 

reliance can be placed on the collections of isolated 

and residual Odenville fossils than has hitherto been 

the case.

The interval represented by the Odenville Limestone has not been reported in other areas of northwestern Alabama. Extensive mapping of Paleozoic 

sedimentary rocks by C. W. Cressler in adjacent 

northwestern Georgia, with particular emphasis on 

the Newala Limestone, has not demonstrated the 

occurrence of overlying Odenville Limestone which 

is also unknown along parallel strike belts in Tennessee. The Odenville Limestone is presumably the 

sole remaining erosional remnant representing the 

latest Canadian interval in the southern United 

States. Its precise relationship to the upper Lower 

Ordovician Black Rock Formation of northern 

Arkansas is unknown.

UTAH

Ross (1951) has made a detailed study of the 

Garden City Formation in northeastern Utah and 

southeastern Idaho. He divided the formation into 

12 lettered zones from A at the base to L at the top; 

zone L is overlain by the Swan Peak Quartzite. Ross 

(1951, p. 31) concluded "that zone J is very close to 

the Lower-Middle Ordovician boundary," though 

definitely in the Lower Ordovician.

Published faunal work by Ross was confined to the 

trilobites, though many brachiopods were also collected during the course of his investigation. At one 

locality in the Logan quadrangle, Utah, gastropod 

opercula were obtained; these are formally named 

and described below. Associated brachiopods include Diparelasma, Tritoechia, Syntophopsis, and 

Hesperonomia; the fauna is considered latest Early 

Ordovician. (R. J. Ross, Jr., written commun., April 

1966).

No other occurrences of opercula are known from 

the Garden City Formation. Further west in the 

Ibex area of central Utah, other specimens were 

collected by L. F. Hintze and R. H. Flower from 

the Wahwah Limestone of Hintze (1951). Weathered 

specimens show the characteristic fibrous texture. 

The opercula are not silicificed and are too incomplete for specific identification but they are almost 

certainly conspecific with the material collected by 

Ross. Hintze (1952, p. 7-18) correlated the lower 130

feet of Wahwah Limestone at Ibex with zone J of 

the Garden City Formation.

The upper part of the Garden City Formation 

and the Wahwah Limestone are probably equivalent 

to the Ninemile Formation in Nevada and southern 

California. No fibrous-structured opercula have 

been, to our knowledge, collected or reported from 

that unit.

NEWFOUNDLAND

Collections from the Cape Norman area at the 

extreme northern tip of the island and from Pert 

au Port along the southwestern coast may be pertinent to this study, even though the available material is scanty and poorly preserved. The two 

localities, 250 miles apart, are in a belt of rocks 

which has been subjected to complex structural 

dislocation (Rodgers and Neale, 1963). It is necessary to discuss these as two isolated occurrences, for 

though the general stratigraphic framework of the 

area has been known for many years (Schuchert 

and Dunbar, 1934), many significant details of 

correlation remain to be established.

The St. George Group is best known from the 

Port au Port peninsula to the west of Stevenville. 

The geology of the area was discussed by Schuchert 

and Dunbar (1934, p. 46-51) and has been mapped 

by Riley (1962). Riley (1962, p. 18) noted that tf>e 

upper surface of the St. George is an "erosion surface of irregular relief" which is overlain disconformably by the Table Head Group of Middle 

Ordovician age.

Riley (1962, p. 64-67) reported Ceratopea keithi 

Ulrich from the upper part of his St. George section. This species is an excellent guide to the lower 

part of upper Lower Ordovician rocks (Yochelson 

and Bridge, 1957). Whittington re-collected in this 

area during the 1965 field season. Yochelson studied 

the species in two of Whittington's collections. These 

species are at variance with the species reported 1 y 

Riley. Riley's specimens may have been misidentified. Alternatively, local erosion might be the cause of 

at least part of the different interpretation, the upper 

formational surface being an unreliable datum plan?. 

Riley's collections are not at the Geological Survey 

of Canada and it is not possible to resolve this 

apparent conflict in age determination.

The first Whittington collection (Geological Survey of Canada, colln. 73567) was obtained 100 yards 

northeast of The Gravels, Port au Port. Whittington 

suggested that it was obtained between beds 1-16 

of Riley (1962, section 1, p. 64). The rocks in this 

interval are about 80 feet thick and thought to 1^ 

no more than 150 feet below the top of the St. 

George Group. The collection contained specimens

319-375 O -
B6 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

of the operculum of Ceratopea unguis Yochelson and 

Bridge; this is the youngest known species of 

Ceratopea and wherever it has been found in the 

United States it characterizes beds of latest Early 

Ordovician age.

Northwest of The Gravels, a second collection 

(GSC colln. 73567) was obtained from beds 50-80 

feet below the top of the St. George Group. These 

beds were thought to be between beds 46-49 of 

Riley (1962, section 2, p. 64-65). This collection 

yielded additional well-preserved light-gray silicified 

opercula of C. unguis. Fragments of a second operculum, apparently a slightly curved form, were also 

recovered; these have a reddish-gray hue. The fragments may be C. keithi, a species reported by Riley 

from beds both above and below this interval, but 

they are too incomplete for specific identification. 

The fragmentation and difference in color suggest 

reworking. In the United States, C. keithi and C. 

unguis have never been found associated; they mark 

distinct subdivisions within the late Early Ordovician.

The collection also includes silicified elongate fibrous opercula which are gray, but of a different 

hue than the specimens of C. unguis. The fibroustextured opercula do not preserve any of the outer 

surface; this is either the result of wear or of incomplete silicification. The amount of curvature 

shown by the opercula suggests similarity to the 

operculum of Maclurea t odenvillensis Butts; closer 

comparison is unwarranted. Because these curved 

fragments are rather long and moderately fragile, 

they were presumably in place rather than reworked 

from older beds.

The association is significant for it demonstrates 

that the fibrous texture is a fundamental feature, 

not simply a result of silicification. The silicified 

Ceratopea opercula have a smooth, rather fine texture, no different from specimens in dozens of other 

collections of sillicified Ceratopea. This occurrence 

also places the fibrous opercula within the stratigraphic framework based on Ceratopea. If this new 

operculum is associated with C. unguis, it is of latest 

Early Ordovician age. Even if it occurs as low as 

the zone of C. keithi, it is still limited to about the 

upper one-fourth of Early Ordovician time. Whittington and Kindle (1963) have assigned the lower 

part of the overlying Table Head Group to the 

Whiterock stage of earliest Middle Ordovician age. 

Therefore, if one allows for the maximum stratigraphic range, the fibrous form of operculum had 

an extremely short timespan.

Whittington (written commun., May 1966) obtained some fossils about 800 feet lower in the St.

George Group, approximately at the level of bed 

36 or 37 of Riley (1962, section 2, p. 65), ard stated 

"Brachiopods and the trilobites Petigurus sp. and 

a bathyurid genus indicative of caudatus (Pillings) 

were collected. These suggest equivalence to unit G 

of the Cape Norman and Port au Choix sections in 

Newfoundland." This faunule is a principal tie 

between that area and Port au Port.

The stratigraphic detail in the Cape Norman area 

is even less satisfactory than that at Port au Port 

and may, in fact, not be germane to this problem. 

Billings (1865, p. 243) noted "At Cape Norman, 

associated with M. oceana, the three forms of operculum figured above (figures 228-230) were found, 

evidently belonging to distinct species." Billings did 

not give formal names to these opercula, though he 

stated "opercula, differing so widely from each 

other, prove that there are also many distinct species 

of Maclurea to which they belong. Accordingly at 

Cape Norman we find fragments of what appear to 

be forms different from those described above." He 

proposed three new species, Maclurea sylpha, M. 

psyche, and M. rotundata, which he based on shells 

but he did not assign any of the opercula to a particular species. These three species were all reported as occurring in unit G of Logan, an interval 

of 400 feet within the St. George; no details are 

known of the distribution of any of these species 

within the interval.

Of the three species named by Billings, Maclurea 

sylpha is questionably transferred to the now genus 

described below. One cannot ignore the morphologic 

similarity between Maclurea sylpha, as it is currently known, and the shells from Malaysia. The assignment may be in error for the only kncwn shell 

is incomplete, has no associated operculum, and is 

found somewhat lower in the section than the 

stratigraphic distribution of the characteristic operculum in Alabama and Utah. Nevertheless, the Port 

au Port occurrence of the operculum, associated 

possibly with Ceratopea keithi, raises the possibility 

that this genus could occur in rocks slightly older 

than latest Early Ordovician.

For the sake of completeness, Maclurea rotundata 

should be mentioned. The two syntypes (GSC 611 

and 611a) are wretched steinkerns; without better 

topotype material further use of the name is unwarranted. Billings reported this species from Cape 

Norman, but the accompanying label indicates that 

the types are from Bonne Bay. In this area both 

Lower and Middle Ordovician strata are exposed 

(Schuchert and Dunbar, 1934, p. 28; Baird, 1960), 

so that one is also uncertain as to the stratigraphic 

position of this species.
TEIICHISPIRA, A NEW EARLY ORDOVICIAN GASTROPOD GENUS

The placement of Maclurea psyche is uncertain, as 

the type or types cannot be located. The species was 

not illustrated and there is no justification for further use of the name until such time as topotype 

material can be described and illustrated.

The present status of the three Cape Norman 

opercula should be mentioned. The specimen shown 

in figure 228 (Billings, 1865) is the holotype of 

Ceratopea billing si Yochelson (1964, p. 7-8) ; the 

specimen shown in figure 230 (Billings, 1865) is 

C. imguis Yochelson and Bridge. The third operculum shown in figure 229 (Billings, 1865) represents still another form which probably will be 

assigned to the family Macluritidae, but it is as 

distinct from the thickened, fibrous Teiichispira 

operculum as that form is from the platelike Maclurites operculum. This distinct form of operculum 

has also been collected by Whittington at Port au 

Choix, Newfoundland (GSC colln. 73568). It also 

occurs at Bartlett Bay Peninsula, Ellesmere Island 

(GSC colln. 47277). It has not been reported from 

other areas of Lower Ordovician rocks.

SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY

Superfamily MACLURITACEA

Family MACLURITIDAE:

Discussion. Representatives of the family Macluritidae are excellent guides to rocks of early 

Paleozoic age. Four genera and two subgenera, all 

restricted to the Ordovician, were placed in the 

family by Knight, Batten, and Yochelson (1960, p. 

1188-1189). The only post-Ordovician genus previously assigned to the Macluritidae (Knight and 

others, 1960, p. 1189) is the Devonian Omphalocirrus. 

That genus has been reinvestigated and assigned to 

the Euomphalacea (Yochelson, 1966). Specimens 

assigned to the Macluritidae recently have been 

found in rocks of Late Cambrian age (G. F. Webers, 

oral commun., 1966).

The hyperstrophic coiling of the macluritaceans 

is atypical of most gastropods and necessarily presents problems in terminology. It seems appropriate 

to confine the term "depressed spire" to any downward inclination of the basal surface, such as that 

which characterizes Palliseria. The upper surface 

of the shell, in this family, is invariably an opening 

in which all earlier whorls can be seen. In this respect, it is most similar to an umbilicus, but the 

term pseudoumbilicus is inappropriate. Pseudoumbilicus is commonly used for a feature of the base 

in unrelated orthostrophically coiled groups. "Apical 

cavity" is the term proposed here for the opening, 

formed by the upward coiling of whorls, seen when 

the shell is placed in conventional American and

English orientation. Terminology for description of 

opercula follows that used for the opercula of 

Ceratopea (Yochelson and Bridge, 1957).

It is apparent that earlier casual speculations concerning macluritacean opercula (Yochelson and 

Bridge, 1957, p. 290) are incorrect. The operculum 

of the new genus described herein is so strikingly 

different from that of a typical Maclurites that it is 

difficult to see in retrospect how the "natural group" 

of Yochelson and Bridge was constructed. Unfortunately, the subjective tendency has been to lump 

Ordovician opercula simply because their common 

feature of calcification during life makes them potentially a part of the fossil record. Accumulating evidence permits the speculation that macluritacean 

opercula may be more sensitive indicators of biologic diversity and stratigraphic utility than the 

conchs themselves.

Genus TEIICHISPIRA Yochelson 

and Jones, n. gen.

Type species. Teiichispira kobayashi, n. sp.

Description. Slowly expanding hyperstrophic 

gastropods having a steeply inclined, moderately high 

outer whorl face, distinct sutures, and an elongate, 

curved, calcified operculum. Apical cavity deep with 

smooth, slightly arched walls. Outer whorl face steep 

except for rounded basal angulation where it curves 

strongly inward. Basal sutures distinct. Operculum 

elongate, slightly torted, with a sharply carinate 

upper surface; composed of elongate polygonal to 

rounded tubes.

Discussion. Teiichispira is readily distinguished 

from Lecanospira by its higher spire and from 

Macluntella by its higher spire and by contact of 

whorls through all growth stages. Lecanospira and 

Macluntella are two of the four genera placed in 

the Macluritidae by Knight, Batten, and Yochelson 

(1960). The flattened base differentiates Teiichispira 

from the depressed spire of Palliseria (Yochelson, 

1957).

Teiichispira is less readily distinguished from 

Maclurites, partly because the concept of Maclurites 

has been greatly expanded over the years to include 

almost any large hyperstrophic gastropod. Typical 

Maclurites shells are characterized by a more moderately inclined outer whorl face (fig. 2) and at least 

some species have a platelike operculum. Teiichispira 

shells expand at a slower rate than do true Maclurites. These criteria readily distinguish the tv^o 

genera. Application of these criteria to a more 

rigorous definition of Maclurites might result in reassignment of some of the pre-Middle Ordovician 

species assigned to that genus. However, investiga-
B8 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

tion of all Early Ordovician "Maclurites" is beyond 

the scope of this paper.

Two other recently named genera should be assigned to the family. Malayaspira (Kobayashi, 1958), 

of early Middle Ordovician age, is a relatively lowspired form, very closely related to Lecanospira 

(Barnesella) and is possibly a subjective synonym 

of that taxon. The Middle Ordovician Paramaclurites 

(Vostokova, 1964) is reported to have an oval growth 

plan. Its relationship to Maclurites is not yet known, 

but its low, sloping profile distinguishes it from 

Teiichispira.

B C

FIGURE 2. Generalized outer whorl-face profiles of some 

macluritaceans: A, Teiichispira; B, Lecanospira; C, Macluritclla; D, Palliseria; E, Maclurites. Not to scale.

Teiichispira kobayashi Yochelson 

and Jones, n. sp.

Plate 1, figures 2-8

LesueuriUa(l) sp. undet., Kobayashi, 1959, p. 398, pi. 26, 

figs. 6a, b.

Description. Hyperstrophic gastropods, very 

shallowly umbilicate; with a deep apical cavity, so 

that whorl profile is teardrop shaped in section, and 

with an elongate operculum closely adjusted to this 

whorl shape. Nucleus and early whorls unknown. 

Outer whorl face relatively high; body whorl embracing penultimate whorl at periphery; whorls expanding slowly; tangent angle of logarithmic spiral 

relatively high. Apical cavity deep, narrow; the 

angle of the walls near 35°. Apical sutures moderately shallow, penetrating only to periphery of succeeding whorl, quite sharp, V-shaped in profile, and 

narrow, so that each succeeding segment of the

apical cavity wall is set back only a short distance. 

Whorl profile rising smoothly upward and slightly 

outward from apical suture and following a convex 

curve so slight that it appears to be nearly straight 

and inclined near 75° from the horizontal; upper 

angulation sharp. Outer whorl face follows a gently 

convex curve, inclined outward to periphery above 

midwhorl, below which the face is inclined slightly 

inward to a point, quite low on the whorl, where the 

curvature, increases rapidly and approximates the 

arc of a circle, which produces a narrow, wellrounded juncture rather than a basal angulation. 

Outer part of basal whorl surface slightly rounded, 

but not flattened; lowest part of basal whorl surface 

moderately well rounded, and the inner part, extending to sutural contact with penultimate whorl, 

inclined slightly outward, but only moderately 

arched, so that basal surface is widely phaneromphalous with an umbilical angle of near 165° ; basal 

sutures wide and shallow. Shell distinctly thickened 

at upper angulation; cross section of inner surface 

is nearly parabolic. Growth lines unknown on inner 

surface and across upper angulation; opirthocline 

on outer whorl face, but curving abruptly to orthocline at periphery and proceeding straight to basal 

surface, there bending prosocline very slightly, 

thence continuing straight until the deepest part of 

suture is reached. Ornamented by widely spaced, 

elongate rugosities which follow the course of the 

faint growth lines; other ornament lacking.

Operculum elongated by thickening; strongly 

curved but little torted; roughly teardrop shaped in 

cross section; thin relative to height. Upper edge 

sharply angulated. Outer face smoothly curved but 

only slightly inflated from upper angulatior to near 

basal surface, nearly vertical when basal surface is 

held horizontal, and with maximum thickness about 

halfway down the outer face. Juncture of outer face 

and basal surface well rounded, following up the 

arc of a small circle through about one-third of its 

circumference, to a slightly more abrupt, but sti-11 

rounded junction with the inner face. Inner face 

curving upward and outward to near the midline, 

from which it then proceeds inward and upward to 

the angulation; the inner surface, as a whole, more 

inflated and much more strongly inclined along its 

upper half than the outer whorl face. Expanding 

with a moderately large logarithmic curvature; with 

virtually no torsion, best shown by slight slope of 

upper angulation with the basal surface horizontal. 

Upper angulation projecting forward. Growth lines 

opisthocline at an angle near 120° on the outer surface and particularly prominent on the lower part of 

the face and the basal surface where they are in-
TEIICHISPIRA, A NEW EARLY ORDOVICIAN GASTROPOD GENUS B9

cised; with a wide shallow sinus at the juncture 

of the two faces and a narrower sinus between basal 

and inner surfaces, the course of the basal area follows an elongate sigmoid curve; growth lines obscure 

on the inner surface.

Opercular margins simple; attachment surface not 

known in detail; anterior of operculum with a faint 

median groove most prominent near the basal margin. Opercular structure porous, consisting of many 

elongate tubes, their openings three to four times 

the thickness of the walls, each tube possibly with 

a polygonal rather than circular cross section.

Discussion. There is always some degree of uncertainty in assigning a free fossil operculum to a 

shell because their association in life cannot be 

demonstrated. In this instance, the occurrence of 

shells and opercula is so convincing that virtually 

no question remains. The inner profile of the aperture and the edge of the operculum show an essentially perfect fit. The shells and opercula are present 

in nearly equal numbers, though many of each are 

fragmentary because of deformation of the rock. The 

specimens show no indication of wear and the assemblage does not show any arrangement within the 

matrix that might be expected from transportation.

The principal distinguishing characters of the 

shell of Teiichispira kobayashi seem to be the excedingly shallow umbilicus and the impressed basal 

sutures. In the character of the sutures, the species 

shows considerable similarity to Lesueurilla., as was 

suggested by Kobayashi (1959). Lesueurilla infundibulum (Koken), the type species, is characterized by 

a relatively low whorl, a relatively gently inclined 

upper whorl face, and correspondingly, a gently inward sloping upper surface that contrasts greatly 

with the deep apical pit of T. kobayashi. Further, 

in Lesueurilla the umbilicus is slightly deeper and 

the basal cross section of the whorls is slightly more 

rounded. However, the type species of Lesueurilla 

and Teiichispira are similar enough on the lower half 

of the whorl so that fragmentary specimens showing only these features would be difficult to distinguish with any degree of certainty.

The operculum is perhaps the most striking and 

distinguishing feature of T. kobayashi. It is likely 

that all species of the genus had a thickened and 

calcified operculum, but the possibility cannot be 

ruled out that, in some species, the operculum was 

not calcified. Current sorting and preservation make 

it unlikely that consistent occurrences of shell and 

operculum will be found. Opercula are common in 

the Early Ordovician gastropod genus Ceratopea, 

but shells are exceedingly rare (Yochelson and

Bridge, 1957). It can be argued that there would be 

less confusion in designating the distinctive operculum of Teiichispira as the holotype, as was done 

in Ceratopea. This procedure is not followed here 

because of the presumed association of shell and 

operculum has such a high degree of probability.

The operculum of Teiichispira mimics that of 

Ceratopea in size, though most specimens are somewhat larger than the average specimen of Ceratopea. 

There is a superficial resemblance in shape, but the 

angulation of the Teiichispira operculum is ventral, 

and the sides are little inflated. In the Ceratopea 

operculum, the carina, or angulation, is at the 

juncture of upper and lower surfaces and the operculum is generally more rounded in profile. Most 

characteristically, Teiichispira opercula are composed of rods and show a "honeycomb" texture, 

whereas Ceratopea opercula appear more like thickened shell matter deposited in layers. Comparisor of 

specific features of the operculum are discussed in 

connection with other species of Teiichispira.

Numbered specimens. Holotype, USNM 15994-7; 

figured paratypes, USNM 159948-159952; unfigured 

paratypes, USNM 159953 (more than 50 specimens).

Occurrence. Setul Formation. South point of 

Pulau Langgun, Langkawi Islands, Malaysia. Other 

areas in northwest Malaysia and adjacent Thailand.

Teiichispira odenvillensis (Butts)

Plate 2, figures 6-9

Machireal odenvillensis Butts, 1926, pi. 18, fig. 26 and explanation.

Description. Hyperstrophically coiled macluritacean shells with a flattened base and a fibrous-textured operculum bearing a small prong on the lower 

part of the attachment surface. Shell hyperstrophically coiled; nucleus, and more mature parts unknown. Basal surface generally flat but witlx a 

suggestion of slight upward tilting in more mature 

stages; basal sutures distinct, though not impressed, 

and individual whorls very slightly convex in profile, rather than flattened. Outer whorl face seemingly inclined at an angle of more than 70° to the 

basal whorl surface and proceeding straight for rrost 

of its width, curving inward slightly at the upper 

quarter of the surface. Upper angulation sharp in 

early growth stages. Apical cavity prominent, not 

known in detail, but with a suggestion that the inner 

wall curves gently inward for most of its length and 

steeply downward near the base; apical sutures 

unknown.

Operculum wide and relatively low; cross section 

nearly triangular. Inner opercular surface divided 

in two segments; one segment short and well
BIO CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

rounded, merging into the basal surface below and 

into the second segment above. This second segment, 

a long gently inclined surface which is the most 

prominent part of the operculum, terminates at 

upper angulation. Angulation wide but fairly sharp, 

its sides forming an angle near 70°. Outer opercular 

face essentially straight and seemingly nearly vertical downward from the angulation to the periphery, 

which is extremely low on the operculum; below 

periphery, the side curving strongly inward to a 

broad, very gently convex basal surface unmarked 

by a sharp angulation at either edge. Upper margin 

of attachment gently convex, but projecting strongly 

forward so that the inner margin forms an angle of 

40° with the horizontal and the outer margin forms 

an angle near 55°. Attachment surface excavated 

slightly below the level of all margins except the 

basal margin so that its surface forms a broad shallow basin; a prong extends outward from this surface and is located just above the basal margin and 

close to the lower curved part of the inner margin. 

Operculum composed of polygonal tubules.

Discussion. The shell of Teiichispira odenvillensis (Butts) is poorly known from two fragments, 

collected at the type locality, which have weathered 

in partial relief from the limestone. The only meaningful measurement which may be taken suggests a 

whorl height of about 8 millimeters at a diameter of 

about 12 mm; one specimen must have grown to more 

than 75 mm in width during life. The flattened basal 

surface and nonimpressed basal sutures distinguish 

T. odenvillensis from T. kobayashi. The inner surface of the inner whorl is more inclined and slightly 

more curved in T.I sylpha. No comparison of shell 

can be made to T. rossi.

A second kind of operculum has been found in the 

Odenville fauna in the Cahaba valley of Alabama and

is mentioned at the end of this discussion. It is possible that the shell fragments found at Odenville are 

associated with that form and not with Teiichispira, 

though those bpercula do not seem to fit the shell 

fragments quite as well as do the opercula of T. 

odenvillensis.

The operculum of this species is far better known 

than the shell. The broad low shape distinguishes this 

from the opercula of T. kobayashi and T. ross*. There 

is also a slight difference in the angle of curvature 

of the three opercula with that of T. odenvillensis 

having the most rapid coiling. Perhaps the. easiest 

feature to observe is the significantly greater width 

of this form.

An even more important opercular feature, but 

one not preserved on all specimens, is the p rong on 

the attachment surface (fig. 3A). The pit on the 

equivalent surface in the operculum of T. rossi contrasts with this feature (fig. 3#). Almost certainly 

both were used for attachment of a major retractor 

muscle. The attachment surface on opercula of T. 

kobayashi is not known because all specimen'' appear 

to be broken at the anterior.

It is difficult to evaluate the significance of these 

two modes of muscle attachment. Probably it is a 

valid specific difference, but whether it also implies 

generic level differences is a judgment which must 

await discovery of additional species and more adequate shell material of T. odenvillensis. By way of 

analogy, it is likely that Ceratopea could be divided 

into several genera, simply on the basis of what is 

known of the opercular shapes (Yochel^on and 

Bridge, 1957), but in both that case and this one, it 

seemed better to follow a conservative trxonomic 

approach.

FIGURE 3. Sketches of the opercular attachment surface. 

A, Teiichispira odenvillensis showing a prong; B, T. rossi showing a pit.
TEIICHISPIRA, A NEW EARLY ORDOVICIAN GASTROPOD GENUS Ell

The operculum of Maclurites logani (Salter) (see 

Salter, 1859, pi. 1) is characterized by a prominent 

prong near the juncture of the inner and basal opercular margins, at virtually the same location as on 

T. odenvillensis. There is a second thickened and 

roughened area near the juncture of the inner and 

outer margins. From this, it has been concluded that 

Maclurites possessed two retractor muscles (Knight, 

1952, p. 40).

Although the opercula of two of the three known 

species of Teiichispira show only one retractor 

muscle attachment, one need not place much significance on this feature. First, the elongate operculum 

is quite different from the more typical platelike 

Maclurites operculum; perhaps only one major retractor was needed. Second, and far more important, 

observation of the second muscle attachment in 

Maclurites opercula is governed in large measure by 

preservation and ontogenetic stage, for small opercula do not show this second area. The distinctly 

eccentric, rather than central, position of the muscle 

prong on the operculum of T. odenvillensis tends to 

support the view that a second smaller muscle may 

have been present. Its small size, combined with the 

fibrous texture of the surface, would obscure any 

indication of its presence. It is clearly inadvisable at 

this time to suggest that Teiichispira might represent a family-level taxon distinct from Maclurites.

Even though most Maclurites opercula are platelike, the operculum of M. profundus (Butts) from 

the Lenoir Limestone mimics the operculum of T. 

odenvillensis. The best specimens were also obtained 

near Odenville, Ala. (Butts, 1926, pi. 21). The similarity in shape is so close that E. O. Ulrich (USNM 

specimen label) originally considered the outcrop 

producing them to be Beekmantown. Even though 

these opercula are elongate, they are slightly wider, 

more strongly curved, and somewhat more twisted 

than opercula of T. odenvillensis. The attachment 

surface is deeper and smoother and the prong more 

spatulate and larger. Most importantly, opercula of 

M. profundus lack the prominent fibrous texture so 

characteristic of Teiichispira opercula.

It may be appropriate to mention that the other 

form of Early Ordovician operculum found with 

that of T. odenvillensis also has a widespread distribution. This operculum is relatively short and 

more platelike than that of Teiichispira; it is somewhat more triangular in outline than the typical 

Maclurites operculum. As discussed on page BIO, a 

platelike operculum occurs in the Langkawi Islands 

along with late Early Ordovician brachiopods. This 

operculum is congeneric with that which occurs in

residuum collections of Odenville fossils and is illustrated on plate 2, figure 1, for comparison to the 

Alabama form (plate 2, fig. 2).

This same form of platelike operculum may dso 

occur in unit C-l (Cloud and Barnes, 1948 p. 361- 

369), at the top of the El Paso Limestone sectior in 

Texas and New Mexico, but material is not adequate 

for specific identification (R. H. Flower, written 

commun., June 1967). No shells are known with any 

of these occurrences and it is not appropriate to 

pursue their morphology and biostratigraphy further at this time. They are noted here as a further 

indication of the wide diversity of opercular shapes 

to be found within the Macluritacea. Material suggestive of Teiichispira opercula has also been found 

by Flower in the upper part of the El Paso Limestone, but it is also too fragmentary to be discusred.

Butts (1926, p. 100, plate explanation) did not 

specifically designate a type specimen of Maclureal 

odenvillensis. It seems reasonable, however, to tr^at 

his figured specimen as the holotype, and to assign 

paratype status to all other specimens collected by 

him from the type locality.

Numbered specimens. Holotype, USNM 71465; 

figured partypes, USNM 159960, 159961; unfigured 

paratypes, USNM 159962 (139 specimens) ; hypotype, USNM 159963.

Occurrence. Odenville Limestone. USGS loc. 

320v (green), 1 mile northeast of Gary, Ala.; USGS 

loc. 362i (green), Vi to y% mile southwest of New 

Hope Church and 7 miles north of Pelham, Ala.; 

USGS loc. 445s (green), borrowing grounds on north 

side of Seaboard Railroad track, 1/2 mile east of 

Odenville, Ala.; USGS loc. 474c (green), Cahaba 

valley, about 8 miles southwest of Leeds, Ala.; 

USGS loc. 6148-CO, possible re-collection from outcrop of USGS loc. 445s. All localities except 6148- 

CO are cataloged in U.S. National Museum old 

"green" series.

Teiichispira rossi Yochelson and Jones, n. spPlate 2, figures 3-5

Description. Operculum greatly elongated by 

thickening and with a prominent pit in the attachment surface. Operculum cross section moderately 

wide; when placed upon the basal surface, the profile 

of the inner opercular face forms a simple line proceeding straight upward at an angle of near 50° to 

the upper angulation; upper angulation not known 

in detail but probably bluntly rounded, rather than 

sharp, its two sides forming an angle of near 65°; 

outer opercular face below angulation inclined 

smoothly downward and outward at angle near 15°
B12 CONTRIBUTIONS TO PALEONTOLOGY

from the vertical with virtually no curvature until 

the periphery which is located approximately at the 

midpoint of the outer face; below periphery, the outer 

face curves strongly inward for the upper part of its 

course, the curvature gradually flattens downward 

but without any clear distinction between the outer 

and basal surfaces; basal surface distinctly flattened 

only near its inner edge and terminates at a sharp 

inner angulation. Operculum elongated by thickening, strongly curved and completing almost half a 

whorl at maturity; with virtually no torsion. Upper 

point of operculum protrud.es distinctly forward of 

lower part so that the apertural margin of the inner 

surface forms an angle of 60° with the basal angulation; precise course of outer margin unknown; 

growth lines unknown. Attachment surface bears a 

deep pit; the lower edge of this pit follows the basal 

surface of the operculum and the center occupies a 

position about one-third of the way between the 

basal surface and upper angulation; the pit is closer 

to the inner surface than to the outer, so that its 

walls give a modified triangular shape rather than 

circular.

Shell unknown.

Discussion. This species is known from several 

dozen silicified opercula, most of which were recovered from one block of limestone. In spite of the 

relatively large number of specimens, few are well 

preserved. They are instructive in showing the various modifications which these fossils may undergo 

after death. Almost all the opercula are broken at 

the anterior along one of the growth increments, and 

thus no indication of the prominent pit is given. Individual "fibers" tend to be lost from the various 

surfaces so that many of the specimens are subrounded in cross section with no indication of an 

upper angulation and only the slightest suggestion 

of a basal angulation.

Although the shape of the operculum is a reflection 

of the shape of the inner surface of the shall aperture, it is appropriate to confine comparisons to the 

opercula themselves.

The opercula of T. rossi and T. kobayashi are 

similar in shape; both are relatively high and relatively narrow. The operculum of T. rossi expands 

following a slightly less pronounced logarithmic 

curve and correspondingly appears longer, or more 

thickened, than the operculum of T. kobayashi. The 

inner opercular surface is less strongly curved in T. 

rossi. When both are placed on their basal surface, 

the upper angulation is more central and the outer 

face more curved in T. rossi than in T. kobayashi; 

the upper angulation is fairly close to the periphery

in the operculum of T. kobayashi. There is no distinct basal angulation in T. kobayashi.

These two opercula are quite different in detail 

from that of T. odenvillensis. That form is much 

lower and much wider so that the inner surface is 

very long and prominent. The basal surface is relatively short and a specimen placed on this surface is 

unstable. The angle of logarithmic coiling is larger 

so that it coils more rapidly. Finally, it is characterized by a prong on the attachment surface in contrast to the prominent pit in the operculum of T. 

rossi.

Numbered specimens. Holotype, USNM 159956; 

figured paratypes, USNM 159957-159958; unfigured 

paratypes, USNM 159959 (43 specimens).

Occurrences. USGS loc. D208c-CO, 147 feet below the top of the Garden City Formation. Collected 

on a ridge along the south side of Blind Hollow, 

SE1/2NW14 sec. 27, T. 13 N., R. 2 E., Logan quadrangle, Utah.

Teiichispira? sylpha (Billings)

Plate 1, figure 1 

Maclurea sylpha Billings, 1865, p. 244.

Description. A flat-based macluritacean with a 

relatively high and steeply inclined outer whorl face. 

Hyperstrophically coiled with a prominent apical 

cavity; nucleus and early growth stages unknown. 

Basal surface flattened; basal whorl surface flat 

except at the edge of the inner suture where there 

is an obscure indentation; sutures not impressed. 

Whorl profile not representing a simple, geometric 

figure; basal surface flat, turning upward abruptly 

to a basal angulation; outer whorl face above angulation proceeds strongly upward and is inclined inward 

so that the side forms an angle of approximately 65° 

with the base, this outer face gently conver; upper 

edge a fairly sharp angulation, slightly thicVened at 

the crest; inner whorl face also follows a slightly 

convex curve of the same general inclination as that 

of the outer face for the upper one-third of its length, 

so that this part of the profile is shaped like an 

arrowhead from the crest to the point of contact 

with the penultimate whorl; below contact of suture 

the inner whorl face turns abruptly outward and 

follows a convex curvature similar to that of the 

outer whorl face. Apical cavity narrow and deep, 

with an angle of near 70° pit walls little curved and 

stepped back at sutures only for the width of the 

upper angulation; sutures not impressed.

Operculum unknown.

Discussion. The type and only known specimen 

is a well silicified but quite incomplete specimen. The
TEIJCHISPIRA, A NEW EARLY ORDOVICIAN GASTROPOD GENUS P13

only significant measurement which can be taken 

gives a height of 14.2 mm where the width is 21.2 

mm. A fragment of the next whorl is preserved, but 

it is impossible to estimate the size of a mature 

individual.

There are several reasons to question the generic 

placement of this taxon. First, it occurs in rocks 

that may be somewhat older than those in which 

other species of the genus have been found. Second, 

the distinctive operculum is not known with this 

shell. Third, the species is based on scanty and incomplete material.

In spite of the fragmentary nature of the type, 

some valid comparisons can be made with other 

species. The flattened basal whorls of Teiichispira? 

sylpha are similar to those of T. odenvillensis and 

unlike the arched basal whorls of T, kobayashi. The 

outer whorl profile, as reflected on the inner body 

whorl, is relatively high and distinctly arched. In 

T. odenvillensis, this profile is much lower and is 

virtually straight. In T. kobayashi, the whorl is 

relatively high and curvature is intermediate between that of the other two species mentioned. No 

comparison can be made to T. rossi.

Numbered specimen. Holotype, GSC 613.

Occurrence. "Cape Norman, Newfoundland" 

(Billings, 1865), in unit G of Logan.

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sec. 2, v. 11, pt. 4, p. 387-407, pi. 24-27.

Riley, G. C., 1962, Stephenville map-area, Newfoundland: 

Canada Geol. Survey, Mem. 323, 72 p., 1 pi.

Rodgers, John, and Neale, E. R. W., 1963, Possible "Taconic" 

Klippen in western Newfoundland: Am. Jour, Sci., v. 

261, p. 713-730.

Ross, R. J., Jr., 1951, Stratigraphy of the Garden City Formation in northeastern Utah, and its trilobite faunas: 

Yale Univ., Peabody Mus. Nat. History Bull. 6, 161 p., 

36 pis.

Salter, J. W., 1859, Figures and descriptions of Canadian 

organic remains, Decade 1: Ottawa, Canada Geol. Survey, 

47 p., 10 pis.

Schuchert, Charles, and Dunbar, C. 0., 1934, Stratigraphy of 

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

p., 11 pis.

Twenhofel, W. H., chm., and others, 1954, Correlation of the 

Ordovician formations of North America: Geol. Soc. 

America Bull., v. 65, no. 3, p. 247-298.

Ulrich, E. 0., and Cooper, G. A., 1938, Ozarkian and Canadian 

Brachiopoda: Geol. Soc. America Spec. Paper 13, 323 p., 

58 pis.

Vostokova, V. A., 1964, Gastropody ordovikskikh otlozrenii 

Severo-Vostoka SSSR [Gastropods of the Ordovician deposits of northeast USSR]: Nauchno-issledovate^ski 

Institut Geologii Arktiki, Uchenye Zapiski, Pal<?ontologiya i Biostratigrafiya, no. 5, p. 57-77, pis. 1-4.

Whittington, H. B., and Kindle, C. H., 1963, Middle Ordovician Table Head Formation, western Newfoundland: 

Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 74, p. 745-758, pis. 1, 2.

Yochelson, E. L., 1957, Notes on the gastropod Palliseria robusta Wilson: Jour. Paleontology, v. 31, p. 648-650.

 1964, The Early Ordovician gastropod Ceratopea from 

East Greenland: Medd. Gronland, v. 164, no. 7, 12 p., 1 pi. 

1966, A reinvestigation of the Middle Devonian gastropods Arctomphalus and Omphalocirrus: Norsk Polar'nst. 

Arbok 1965, p. 37-48, 2 pis.

Yochelson, E. L., and Bridge, Josiah, 1957, The Lower Ordovician gastropod Ceratopea: U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 

294-H, p. 281-303, pis. 35-38.

INDEX

Alabama _______ .

Apical cavity, defined

B III series ______. 

Estonia ______.

Page

Barnesella ___________________ 4

(Barnesella), Lecanospira _________ 2,8

Bartlett Bay Peninsula, Ellesmere

Island ______________ 7 

Bassleroceratidae ______________ 4

Bellerophontacean _____ _ 4 

Bibliography ________________ _ 13

billingsi, Ceratopea _____________ 7 

Black River Group, North America _ 2 

Black Rock Formation, northern

Arkansas ___________ 5 

Bonne Bay, Newfoundland ________ 6 

Brachiopods ________________4, 5, 6, 11 

Bryozoans __________________ 4

Cahaba valley, Alabama ____________ 4, 10

Cape Norman, Newfoundland, section in ____________ 6 

Cape Norman area, Newfoundland ___ 5 

Cephalopods __________________ 4 

Ceratopea _____________________6, 7, 9, 10

billingsi

keithi

unguis _ 

Clitendoceras 

Ctenodonta _

Diparelasma

7

5,6

6,7

4

4

El Paso Limestone, New Mexico, section in ____________ 11

Texas, section in _________ 11

Escharendoceras __________________ 4

Euchasma ______ _ _ 4

Euomphalacea 7

Flower, R. H. quoted _______ 4

Garden City Formation, Utah ______ 1, 5

Gastropods _________ _ ____ 4, 5

Geologic setting, Malaysia 

North America _____ 

giganteus, Palacomphalus 

Graptolite-bearing shale

Helicotoma jonesi ____ 

Hesperonomia ___________

Hortnotoma sp _

Ibex area, Utah ____. 

infundibulum, Lesueurilla

[Italic page numbers indicate major references]

jonesi, Helicotoma

Page 

B2

keithi, Ceratopea ______________ 5,6

Khuan Phanon Chuak, Thailand ____ 2 

Kirkoceras _____________________ 4

kobayashi, Teiichispira- _ _____7, 8, 9, 10, 12,

13; pi. 1 

Kundan Stage _________________ 2

Langgun Island _________________ 1, 2, 4

Langkawi Islands ______________1, 2, 11 

Lecanospira ________________ 2, 7, 8

(Barnesella,) _____________________ 2, 8

Lenoir Limestone ___________ __ 11

Lesueurilla ____________________ 9

infundibulum ___________ 9

sp ______________________ 2,8 

Logan quadrangle, Utah __________ 5

logani, Maclurites ____________ 11

Maclurea _____________________ 6

oceana __________________ 6

odenvillensis ____________1, 5, 6, 9, 11

psyche ___________________________ 6,7

rotundata _________________ 6

sylpha ________________________ 6,12

Macluritacea __________________ 11

Macluritacean __________________ pi. 2

Macluritella ________________________ 7, 8

Maclurites __________________7, 8, 11

logani ___________________ n

profundus _______________ 11

Macluritidae ________________ 7

Malayaspira ___________________ 4, 8

rugosa _________________ 2

Malaysia, geologic setting ____ _ 2

Michelinoceratidae ____________ 4

Monoplacophoran ______________ 4

Mosheim Limestone ___________- 4

Nakorn Sithamaret Province, Thailand ______________ 2 

Neichiashan Formation, Central China. 2 

Newala Limestone ___________ 4, 5

Newfoundland _________________ 5

Ninetnile Formation, California ____ 5

Nevada ____ _ _ 5

North America, geologic setting ___ 4

oceana, Maclurea _. 

Odenville, Ala ___. 

Odenville fauna 

Odenville Limestone 

Alabama ___.

__________ 6

._________ 11

._________ 10,11 

__________ 5

__________ 1, 4

odenvillensis, Maclurea ____ __1, 5, 6, 9, 11 

Teiichispira ________ 9, 10, 11, 12, 13; pi. 2

Omphaloeirrus _______ _____.

Orthoceras Limestone, Sweden

Page

B7 

2

Palaeomphalus giganteus ________ 2

Palliseria _______________________ 7, 8

Paramaclurites ________________ g

Pararaphistoma ______________________ 2, 4

Pelecypods __________________ 4

Perlis, State of _______________ 2

Petigurus sp _________________ 6

Port au Choix, Newfoundland ______ 7

Newfoundland, section in _____ 6

Port au Port, Newfoundland ______ 5, 6

profundus, Maclurites ___ ___ 11

Proterocomeroceratidae _ - 4

psyche, Maclurea _ 6, 7

Pulau Langgun _ 1,2,4

Pulau Tikus 1

Robsonoceras _______ - - 2

rossi, Teiichispira ________10, 11, 12, 13 ; pi. 2

rotundata, Maclurea ___ ___________- 6

rugosa, Malayaspira ___ _ _ 2

St. George Group, Newfoundland ___ 5, 6 

Salpingostoma ___ __ ____ 4

Setul Formation, northwest Malaysia.- 1, 2, 4

Swan Peak Quartzite __________- 5

sylpha, Maclurea __ 6, 12

Teiichispira __________10, 12, 13; pi. 1

Syntophopsis _ 5 

Systematic paleontology 7

Table Head Group, Newfoundland _ 5, 6 

Teiichispira _________________-7, 8, 11 

kobayashi _______ 7, 8, 9, 10, 12,15 ; pi. 1 

odenvillensis ______9, 10, 11, 12, 13; pi. 2 

roesi ____________10, 11, 12, 13; pi. 2 

sylpha _______________10, IS, 13; pi. 1 

The Gravels, Port au Port, Newfoundland __ 5 

Tikus Island __ 1 

Trilobites ______________ B, 6 

Tritoechia 5

unguis, Ceratopea ___ _ 6, 7 

Utah ______________-__ __- 5

Vaginatenkalk _ ___ 

Baltic provinces, U.S.S.R

Wahwah Limestone, Utah 

Whiterock stage ____. 

Wolungoceras _ ______.

B15

U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1968 O - 319-375

PLATES 1, 2
PLATE 1

FIGURE 1. Teiichispiral sylpha (Billings) (p. B12) from unit G of Quebec Group, Cape Norman, Newfoundland, GSC 613,

X 1.

a. Basal view, 

b. Oblique side view, 

c. Top view.

2-8. Teiichispira kobayashi Yochelson and Jones, new species (p. B8) from the Setul Formation, south point of Pulau 

Langgun, Malaysia.

2. Paratype, juvenile operculum, USNM 159948, x 3. 

a. Upper surface showing carina. 

b. Concave inner surface, 

c. Attachment surface.

3. Holotype, USNM 159947, x 1.

a. Very slightly oblique view of attachment surface.

b. Convex outer surface.

c. Concave inner surface.

d. Upper surface showing carina.

e. Basal surface, very slightly oblique to emphasize growth lines.

4. Paratype, intermediate-sized operculum, USNM 159949, X 2. 

a. Basal surface, 

b. Attachment surface, 

c. Concave inner surface, 

d. Oblique basal surface, 

e. Upper surface showing carina.

5. Paratype shell, USNM 159950, x 1. This shell and the following ones are slightly distorted; tl <? distortion is most obvious in side views of the specimens, 

a. Top view, 

b. Basal view, 

c. Side view, 

d. Cross sections.

6. Photograph of the outcrop showing the proximity of an operculum (lower center) to two shells X 1-

7. Cross section of a paratype shell, USNM 159951, X 1.

8. Oblique top view of a broken paratype shell, USNM 159952, x 1.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 613-B PLATE 1

W^liM'^iiiy

TEIICHISPIRA1 SYLPHA (BILLINGS) AND T. ^05,4 YASHI YOCHELSON AND JONES
PLATE 2

FIGURE 1. Operculum of unnamed macluritacean from the Setul Formation at the east end of Pulau Langgun, Malaysia,

USNM 159954, x 1%. 

a. Exterior view, 

b. Interior view, 

c. View along carina.

2. Operculum of unnamed malcluritacean from the Odenville Limestone at USGS loc. 362i, V^-Vz mile southwest of

New Hope Church and 7 miles north of Pelham, Ala., USNM 159955, X 1. 

a. View along carina. 

b. Exterior view, 

c. Interior view.

3-5. Teiichispira rossi Yochelson and Jones, new species (p. Bll) from the Garden City Formation at USGS loc. D208cCO, SEV2 , NWi/4, SW^i, sec. 27, T. 13 N., R. 2 E., Logan quadrangle, Utah.

3. Paratype, worn operculum, USNM 159957, X 2. 

a. Upper surface, 

b. Concave inner surface.

4. Paratype, broken operculum, USNM 159958, X 1. 

a. Attachment surface, 

b. Convex outer surface tipped obliquely to show carina.

5. Holotype, USNM 159956, x 1. 

a. Upper surface, 

b. Concave inner surface.

c. Basal surface tipped obliquely to show carina. 

d. Attachment surface showing pit. 

e. Convex outer surface.

6-8. Teiichispira odenvillensis (Butts) (p. B9) opercula from the Odenville Limestone at USGS loc. 362i, V±-Vz mile 

southwest of New Hope Church and 7 miles north of Pelham, Ala.

6. Paratype, USNM 159960, X 1. 

a. Upper surface, 

b. Convex outer surface, 

c. Basal surface, 

d. Concave inner surface, 

e. Attachment surface showing prong.

7. Basal view of holotype, USNM 71465, X 1.

8. Paratype, broken, USNM 159961, x 1. 

a. Attachment surface, 

b. View of inner side showing growth lines.

9. Teiichispira odenvillensis (Butts), shell fragment from the Odenville Limestone at USGS loc. 6148-CO, small 

outcrop on north side of Seaboard Railroad track, V2 mile east of Odenville, Ala., hypotype, USNM 

159963.

a. Top view, X 2.

b. Side view, X 2.

c. Oblique basal view, X 1%.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 613-B PLATE 2

9a 9b

TEIICHISPIRA ROSSI YOCHELSON AND JONES, T. ODENVILLENSIS (BUTTS), AND OPERCULA

OF UNNAMED MACLURITACEANS