Xylophagella Meek sp.

Remarks

• Collector:    Tony Fabian

• Formation:  Monmouth Group, Tinton Formation

• Location:     Monmouth County, NJ

• These may be Xylophagella irregularis (Gabb, 1860), based on comparison with tubes from the Matawan Group, Merchantville Fm.  However, the ones Tony Found are much younger, and our cursory inspection of the tubes did not locate any clams still at the ends of the borings.  So we'll have to keep the identification to the generic level for now. 

• Although they commonly bore into wood, these borings were directly into the Tinton Marl.

General Info

The following information is for Xylophagella irregularis (Gabb, 1860)

Synonyms (older names and misidentifications in the literature)

• Pholad Borings
• "Shipworm" Borings
• 1834 Teredo tibialis Morton (in part)
• 1860 Teredo irregularis Gabb, 1860
• 1861 Teredo contorta Gabb, 1861
• 1886 Teredo irregularis Gabb; Whitfield
• 1907 Teredo irregularis Gabb; Weller, 1907
• 1916 Teredo irregularis Gabb; Garder, 1916
• 1941 Xylophagella irregularis (Gabb); Stephenson
• 1958 Xylophagella irregularis (Gabb); Richards

Stratigraphic Occurrence

• Matawan Group, Merchantville Formation of New Jersey and Delaware
• Matawan Group, Woodbury Formation of New Jersey and Delaware
• Matawan Formation of Maryland

Age

• Xylophagella irregularis (Gabb) has been reported from the Menabites (Delawarella) delawarensis Morton/Scaphites hippocrepis (DeKay) form III Cobban zone (~81 mya).  

Geographic Occurrence (not an all-inclusive list)

• Burlington County, NJ
• New Castle County, DE
• Maryland (county not specified)

Remarks

         For identification and descriptions, see:

• Richards, H. G. 1958. The Cretaceous Fossils of New Jersey. New Jersey Geological Survey Bulletin 61 (2), 261.