Speeton Clay Formation

The Speeton Clay Formation (SpC)^[1] is a Lower Cretaceous geological formation in Yorkshire, northern England. Unlike the contemporaneous terrestrial Wealden Group to the south, the Speeton Clay was deposited in marine conditions. The most common fossils in the unit are belemnites, followed by ammonites and the lobster Meyeria ornata. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, although none have yet been referred to a specific genus.^[2]

Speeton Clay Formation
Stratigraphic range: Berriasian-Albian 145–100 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Speeton Clay Formation at Reighton Sands, North Yorkshire
Type	Geological formation
Unit of	Cromer Knoll Group
Sub-units	Members A to D
Underlies	Hunstanton Formation
Overlies	Kimmeridge Clay Formation
Thickness	100 m (330 ft) in outcrop
Lithology
Primary	Claystone
Other	Glauconite
Location
Coordinates	54.2°N 0.2°W / 54.2; -0.2
Approximate paleocoordinates	41.0°S 9.3°E / -41.0; 9.3
Region	Yorkshire
Country	United Kingdom
Extent	North Sea Graben, eastern England
Type section
Named for	Speeton
Location of the formation

Meyeria ornata, a lobster from the Speeton Clay

The formation is named after the village of Speeton in North Yorkshire.

Fossil content

The following fossils have been reported from the formation:^[3]

• Reptiles
  • Ichthyosaurs
    • Acamptonectes densus^[4][5]
  • Neornithischians
    • Owenodon hoggii^[6]
    • Iguanodontia indet.^[7]
  • Sauropterygians
    • Elasmosauridae - "Speeton Clay plesiosaurian"^[8]
• Fish
  • Cretorectolobus doylei^[9]
  • "Dasyatis" speetonensis^[9]
  • "Protosqualus. sp"'
  • Notidanodon lanceolatus^[9]
  • Notorhynchus aptiensis^[9]
  • Synechodus dubrisiensis^[9]
  • Spathobatis rugosus^[9]
  • ?Sphenodus sp.^[9]
  • "Elops" neocomiensis^[9]
  • Pycnodontidae indet.^[9]
  • Semionotidae indet.^[9]
  • Teleostei indet.^[9]
  • ?Triakidae indet.^[9]
• Invertebrates
  • Crustaceans
    • Martillepas auriculum^[10]
  • Crinoids
    • Crinoidea indet.^[9]

See also

• List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
  • List of stratigraphic units with indeterminate dinosaur fossils

References

1. Speeton Clay Formation - BGS
2. Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution." pp. 517–607.
3. Speeton Clay Formation at Fossilworks.org
4. Fischer et al., 2012b
5. Fischer et al., 2012a
6. Norman & Barrett, 2002
7. Mulder & Fraaije, 2016
8. Benson & Druckenmiller, 2014
9. Underwood et al., 1999
10. Gale, 2019

Bibliography

• Gale, A. (2019), "Thoracican cirripedes (Crustacea) from the Hauterivian (Lower Cretaceous) of Hannover, northern Germany", Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 130 (6): 659–672, Bibcode:2019PrGA..130..659G, doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2019.03.002
• Mulder, E. W. A.; Fraaije, R. H. B. (2016), "New records of Early Cretaceous iguanodontian dinosaur remains from the Dutch sector of the North Sea", Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen, 282 (3): 271–277, doi:10.1127/njgpa/2016/0618
• Benson, R. B. J.; Druckenmiller, P. S. (2014), "Faunal turnover of marine tetrapods during the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition", Biological Reviews, 89 (1): 1–23, doi:10.1111/brv.12038, PMID 23581455
• Fischer, V.; Maisch, M. W.; Naish, D.; Kosma, R.; Liston, J.; Joger, U.; Krüger, F. J.; Pérez, J. P.; Tainsh, J.; Appleby, R. M.; Fenton, B. (2012b), "Correction: New Ophthalmosaurid Ichthyosaurs from the European Lower Cretaceous Demonstrate Extensive Ichthyosaur Survival across the Jurassic–Cretaceous Boundary", PLoS ONE, 7 (1), doi:10.1371/annotation/9731f93a-c28f-4234-8fd9-c587a103b572, PMC 3268681, S2CID 215213303
• Fischer, V.; Maisch, M. W.; Naish, D.; Kosma, R.; Liston, J.; Joger, U.; Krüger, F. J.; Pérez, J. P.; Tainsh, J.; Appleby, R. M.; Fenton, B. (2012a), "New Ophthalmosaurid Ichthyosaurs from the European Lower Cretaceous Demonstrate Extensive Ichthyosaur Survival across the Jurassic–Cretaceous Boundary", PLoS ONE, 7 (1): e29234, Bibcode:2012PLoSO...729234F, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0029234, PMC 3250416, PMID 22235274 Bibcode:2012PLoSO...729234F
• Norman, D. B.; Barrett, P. M. (2002), "Ornithischian dinosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous (Berriasian) of England", Special Papers in Palaeontology, 68: 161–189
• Underwood, C. J.; Michell, S. F.; Veltkamp, K. J. (1999), "Shark and Ray teeth from the Hauterivian (Lower Cretaceous) of north-east England" (PDF), Palaeontology, 42 (2): 287–302, Bibcode:1999Palgy..42..287U, doi:10.1111/1475-4983.00074
• Lott, G. K.; Fletcher, B. N.; Wilkinson, I. P. (1986), "The stratigraphy of the Lower Cretaceous Speeton Clay Formation in a cored borehole off the coast of north-east England", Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society, 46 (1): 39–56, Bibcode:1986PYGS...46...39L, doi:10.1144/pygs.46.1.39

Further reading

• Lamplugh, G. W (1896), "On the Speeton Series in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire", Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, 52: 179–220, retrieved 27 March 2020
• Lamplugh, G. W (1889), "On the Subdivisions of the Speeton Clay", Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, 45: 575–618, retrieved 27 March 2020