Miocene biostratigraphy and biochronology of the Dove Spring Formation, Mojave Desert, California, and characterization of the Clarendonian mammal age (late Miocene) in California

Research Article| June 01, 1992 Miocene biostratigraphy and biochronology of the Dove Spring Formation, Mojave Desert, California, and characterization of the Clarendonian mammal age (late Miocene) in California DAVID P. WHISTLER; DAVID P. WHISTLER 1Vertebrate Paleontology Section, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California 90007 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar DOUGLAS W. BURBANK DOUGLAS W. BURBANK 2Department of Geological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-0740 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar GSA Bulletin (1992) 104 (6): 644–658. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1992)104<0644:MBABOT>2.3.CO;2 Article history first online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation DAVID P. WHISTLER, DOUGLAS W. BURBANK; Miocene biostratigraphy and biochronology of the Dove Spring Formation, Mojave Desert, California, and characterization of the Clarendonian mammal age (late Miocene) in California. GSA Bulletin 1992;; 104 (6): 644–658. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1992)104<0644:MBABOT>2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract The Dove Spring Formation (DSF) is an 1,800-m-thick succession of fluvial, lacustrine, and volcanic rocks that contains a nearly continuous sequence of diverse vertebrate fossil assemblages. When the North American provincial mammalian ages were originally defined in 1941, the fossil fauna of the DSF (now, part of the Ricardo Group) was one of four fossil assemblages named as principal correlatives of the Clarendonian mammal age. Early radiometric work yielded a maximum age of 10.0 Ma for this fossil assemblage, and by correlation to the Great Plains of the United States, this date was considered representative of Clarendonian time.Detailed geologic mapping and precise stratigraphic control of fossils collected in the DSF permit the development of a biostratigraphy consisting of four mammalian fossil assemblage zones. The biologic characterization of the Clarendonian mammal age in California is expanded on the basis of this succession of assemblage zones.Radiometric and paleomagnetic results provide a detailed chronologic framework that indicates a time span from at least 13.5 Ma to 7.3 Ma for the fossils of the DSF. Furthermore, the new sequence of assemblage zones helps to fill faunal gaps that appear to exist, at the upper and lower boundaries of the Clarendonian faunal record in the Great Plains. On the basis of the biochronology developed in the DSF and on the faunal correlation with the Great Plains sequence, the Barstovian/Clarendonian boundary, as recently characterized by some workers, is dated at 12.5 Ma, and the Clarendonian/Hemphillian boundary is constrained to 8.9 Ma. This lower boundary is about 0.9 m.y. older than previously proposed, whereas the upper boundary is in close agreement with previous proposals. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.