Conodonts from the Kinkaid Formation of the Illinois Basin
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Abstract
The Kinkaid Formation is the uppermost unit in the Chester Series in the standard section for the Mississippian system in North America. The Kinkaid Formation crops out In the southwestern, southern, and southeastern margins of the Illinois Basin.
The conodont fauna of the Kinkaid is distinctive, abundant, and varied. It can be correlated with the related conodont-ammonite zones in the Caney Shale In Oklahoma and, thereby, indirectly correlated with the Lower Namurian of Europe, which is differentiated on the basis of ammonites
Detailed investigation of the Kinkaid conodont fauna suggests the following:
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That the current move by the Illinois State Survey to establish a new member above the restricted Kinkaid formation is paleontologically sound,
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That there v/as a restriction of the sea of Kinkaid time toward the vicinity of Johnson County, Illinois.
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That there was a possible connecting seaway between the Illinois Basin and the Caney Shale area in the northern Arbuckles.
The relatively greater abundance of conodonts recovered from limestone than from shale offers a clue to the paleoecology of conodont bearing creatures.
This study establishes the Kinkaid conodont fauna in detail. New ranges are established for several forms. New species are described and Illustrated, occurrences noted, and faunal evaluations attempted.