Early Carboniferous Ostracods (Crustacea) from Death Valley, California, USA

Abstract

Silicified ostracods from the Tin Mountain Limestone provide new information regarding the Carboniferous paleontology of the Death Valley Region, California, USA. Acid maceration of marine limestones yielded the following ostracods: Acratia spp., Bairdia quasilecta, Bairdia sp. cf. B. orientalis, Ceratobairdia sp., Kirkbya panamintensis sp. nov., Rectobairdia sp. cf. R. legumen, and Silenites sp. This is the first report of Ceratobairdia and Silenites from the Tin Mountain Limestone. These ostracods occupied a carbonate ramp environment that formed during a major Paleozoic transgression. The ostracods played an important paleoecological role, likely as benthic marine scavengers in a shallow marine biotope along the northern shores of Pangea.

Keywords

• ostracods
• carboniferous
• Mississippian
• Tin Mountain Limestone
• Death Valley
• California