Uintacrinus socialis Grinnell, 1876

Remarks

• Collection:    Sternberg Museum of Natural History (collected and prepped by G. F. Sternberg).  Photo by Curator Mike Everhart.  Thanks Mike!

• Formation:   Niobrara Group, Smoky Hill Chalk

• Location:      Logan County, Kansas

General Info

Synonyms (older names and misidentifications in the literature)

Uintacrinus cf. socialis Grinnell

• 1876 Uintacrinus socialis Grinnell

• 1876 Uintacrinus socialis Grinnell; Meek

• 1893 Uintacrinus socialis Grinnell; Clark

• 1894 Uintacrinus socialis Grinnell; Williston & Hill

• 1896 Uintacrinus socialis Grinnell; Bather

• 1898 Uintacrinus socialis Grinnell; Logan

• 1900 Uintacrinus socialis Grinnell; Beecher

• 1900 Uintacrinus socialis Grinnell; Springer

• 1904 Uintacrinus socialis Grinnell; Schuchert

• 1909 Uintacrinus socialis Grinnell; Bassler

• 1915 Uintacrinus socialis Grinnell; Clark & Twitchell

• 1955 Uintacrinus socialis Grinnell; Jeletzky

• 1963 Uintacrinus socialis Grinnell; Ernst

• 1978 Uintacrinus socialis Grinnell; Moore et al.

• 1978 = Uintacrinus westfalicus Schlüter; Moore et al.

• 1982 Uintacrinus socialis Grinnell; Hattin

• 1994 Uintacrinus socialis Grinnell; Milsom, Simms & Gale

• 1995 Uintacrinus socialis Grinnell; Cobban

• 1999 Uintacrinus socialis Grinnell; Hess, Ausich, Brett & Simms

Stratigraphic Occurrence

• Eutaw Formation, Tombigbee Sand Member of Mississippi

• Top of the Mancos Shale, Niobrara Shale Member of Utah

• Mancos Shale, Niobrara Shale Member of Colorado

• Niobrara Group, Smoky Hill Chalk of Kansas

• Colorado Group, Telegraph Creek Formation of Montana

• Colorado Group, Marias River Shale, top of the Kevin Mbr of Montana

• Colorado Group, Cody Shale, Niobrara Member of Wyoming

• Colorado Group, Baxter Shale of Wyoming

• Colorado Group, base of the Steele Shale of Wyoming

• Late Santonian rocks of England

• Late Santonian rocks of Germany

• Late Santonian rocks of Russia

• Late Santonian rocks of Australia

• Late Santonian rocks of France

• Late Santonian rocks of Italy

• Mississippi Museum of Natural Science. 

• Photo by Curator George Phillips.  Thanks!

• Austin Group Equivalent, Eutaw Formation, Tombigbee Sand Member

• Lowndes County, Mississippi

Age

• According to Cobban, Uintacrinus socialis Grinnell occurs in the Desmoscaphites erdmanni Cobban and D. bassleri Cobban Zones in the Western Interior of the United States (and may range down into the Clioscaphites choteauensis Cobban Zone), Late Santonian Stage (~84 mya).  In Europe it is also a Late Santonian crinoid but may range down into the late Middle Santonian Stage.

Geographic Occurrence (by no means an all-inclusive list)

• Australia

• Big Horn County, MT

• Carbon County, WY

• England

• France

• Freemont County, WY

• Germany

• Italy

• Liberty County, MT

• Logan County, KS

• Lowndes County, MS

• Mesa County, CO

• Natrona County, WY

• Russia

• Sweetwater County, WY

• Toole County, MT

• Uintah County, UT

Remarks

         For identification and descriptions, see:

• Cobban, W. A.  1995.  Occurrences of the Free-Swimming Upper Cretaceous Crinoids Uintacrinus and Marsupites in the Western Interior of the United States.  United States Geological Survey Bulletin 2113-C, C1–C6; fig. 2.

• Hess, H.; Ausich, W. I.; Brett, C. E.; Simms, M. J.  1999.  Fossil Crinoids.  Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press, pp. 225–232 (Chapter 27); fig's 226 and 227 (photos of an incedible plate of U. socialis).  See also fig. 228 and 229 (reconstruction).

• Milsom, C. V.; Simms, M. J.; Gale, A. S.  1994.  Phylogeny and Palaeobiology of Marsupites and Uintacrinus.  Palaeontology 37 (3), 595–607; text-fig. 1b.

• Moore, R. C.; Teichert, C., ed's.  1978.  Treatise On Invertebrate Paleontology,  Part T,  Echinodermata 2,  Volume 2.  Boulder & Lawrence:  Geological Society of America and University of Kansas, pp. T919; fig 609 (1a–1j).