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Oxford Clay

January 01, 1970

The Oxford Clay (or Oxford Clay Formation) is a Jurassic marine sedimentary rock formation underlying much of southeast England, from as far west as Dorset and as far north as Yorkshire. The Oxford Clay Formation dates to the Jurassic, specifically, the Callovian and Oxfordian ages,[1] and comprises two main facies. The lower facies comprises the Peterborough Member, a fossiliferous organic-rich mudstone. This facies and its rocks are commonly known as lower Oxford Clay. The upper facies comprises the middle Oxford Clay, the Stewartby Member, and the upper Oxford Clay, the Weymouth Member. The upper facies is a fossil poor assemblage of calcareous mudstones.

Oxford Clay
Stratigraphic range: Middle to Late Jurassic (Callovian-Oxfordian), 166–160 Ma
Coastal exposure of the Oxford Clay Formation near Weymouth
TypeGeological formation
Unit ofAncholme Group
Sub-unitsPeterborough Member, Stewartby Member, Weymouth Member
UnderliesWest Walton Formation, Corallian Group
OverliesKellaways Formation, Osgodby Formation
ThicknessUp to 185 metres, typically 50 to 70 m on East Midlands Shelf
Lithology
PrimaryClaystone
OtherMudstone
Location
RegionOxford, Peterborough, Dorset, Yorkshire
CountryEngland
Type section
Named forOxford

Oxford Clay appears at the surface around Oxford, Peterborough and Weymouth and is exposed in many quarries around these areas. The top of the Lower Oxford Clay shows a lithological change, where fissile shale changes to grey mudstone. The Middle and Upper Oxford Clays differ slightly, as they are separated by an argillaceous limestone in the South Midlands.

Palaeontology edit

The Oxford Clay is well known for its rich fossil record of fish and invertebrates.[2] Many of the fossils are well preserved, occasionally some are found exceptionally well preserved. Animals which lived in the Oxford Clay Sea include plesiosaurs, marine crocodiles, ichthyosaurs, cephalopods (such as belemnites), bivalves (such as Gryphaea), and a variety of gastropods. Dinosaur eggs are stratigraphically present in the Lower Oxford Clay. Geographically, they are located in Cambridgeshire, England.[3]

 
Life restoration of Eustreptospondylus and Lexovisaurus in the Oxford Clay environment

Ornithischians edit

Indeterminate euronithopod remains stratigraphically present in the Lower Oxford Clay and geographically located in Cambridgeshire, England.[3]

Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.
Ornithischians of the Oxford Clay
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images

Callovosaurus

C. leedsi[3]

  • Cambridgeshire[3]

Lower[3]

"Femur."[4]

 
Callovosaurus
 
Lexovisaurus

Lexovisaurus[5]

L. durobivensis[6]

Lower[6]

Indeterminate[8]

  • Bedfordshire[9]

Loricatosaurus[3]

L. priscus[3]

  • Cambridgeshire[3]

Lower[3]

Sarcolestes[3]

S. leedsi[3]

  • Cambridgeshire[3]

Lower[3]

"Partial mandible."[10]

Saurischians edit

Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.
Saurischians of the Oxford Clay
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images

Cetiosauriscus[3]

C. stewarti[3]

  • Cambridgeshire[3]

Lower[3]

"Rear half of a skeleton."[11]

 
Cetiosauriscus
 
Eustreptospondylus
 
Metriacanthosaurus

Eustreptospondylus[12]

E. oxoniensis[12]

Upper[12]

Disarticulated skull and skeleton, with some referred limb elements.[13]

Sauropoda

Indeterminate[14]

The caudal vertebrae from Cambridgeshire were mistakenly considered part of the syntypic series of "Ornithopsis" leedsi by Upchurch and Martin (2003).[15]

Theropoda

Indeterminate[12]

Middle[12]

Metriacanthosaurus

M. parkeri
  • Weymouth
 Upper

Plesiosaurs edit

Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.
Genus Species Location Member Abundance Notes Images

Cryptoclidus

C. eurymerus

A cryptoclidid

 
Cryptoclidus
 
Eardasaurus
 
Liopleurodon
 
Muraenosaurus
 
Pachycostasaurus
 
Peloneustes
 
Simolestes

C. richardsoni

A cryptoclidid

Eardasaurus

E. powelli

A thalassophonean pliosaurid

Liopleurodon

L. ferox

A thalassophonean pliosaurid

L. pachydeirus

A thalassophonean pliosaurid

Marmornectes

M. candrewi

A pliosaurid

Muraenosaurus

M. leedsi

A cryptoclidid

Pachycostasaurus

P. dawnii

A pliosaurid

Peloneustes

P. philarchus

A thalassophonean pliosaurid

Picrocleidus

P. beloclis

A cryptoclidid

Pliosaurus

P. andrewsi

A thalassophonean pliosaurid; represents a new genus distinct from Pliosaurus

Simolestes

S. vorax

A thalassophonean pliosaurid

Tricleidus

T. seeleyi

A cryptoclidid

Pachycormiformes edit

Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.
Genus Species Location Member Abundance Notes Images
Leedsichthys L. problematicus Giant filter feeding pachycormiform
Martillichthys M. renwickae Filter feeding pachyocormiform
"Hypsocormus" "H." tenuirostris Carnivorous pachycormiform, not closely related to Hypsocormus, and more closely related to Orthocormus

Thalattosuchians edit

Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.
Genus Species Location Member Abundance Notes Images

Lemmysuchus

L. obtusidens

A teleosauroid belonging to the Machimosauridae

 
Neosteneosaurus
 
Thalattosuchus
 
Suchodus
 
Tyrannoneustes

Charitomenosuchus

C. leedsi

A machimosaurid teleosauroid

Steneosaurus

S. edwardsi

Now referred to Neosteneosaurus.

S. durobrivensis

Junior synonym of N. edwardsi.

Neosteneosaurus

N. edwardsi

A machimosaurid teleosauroid

Mycterosuchus

M. leedsi

A teleosaurid teleosauroid

Metriorhynchus

M. superciliosus

This species was referred to a new genus, Thalattosuchus.[16]

Thalattosuchus

T. superciliosus

A metriorhynchine metriorhynchid

Gracilineustes

G. leedsi

A metriorhynchine metriorhynchid

Suchodus

S. brachyrhynchus

A geosaurine metriorhynchid

S. durobrivensis

A geosaurine metriorhynchid

Tyrannoneustes[17]

T. lythrodectikos

A geosaurine metriorhynchid

Economic use edit

Oxford Clay has a porous consistency and is soft and is often used in the making of roads. It is also the source of the Fletton stock brick of which much of London is built. For brick making, the Oxford Clay has the advantage of containing carbon which provides part of the fuel required in firing it so reducing the requirement for an external fuel source.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Oxford Clay Formation". The BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units. British Geological Survey. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  2. ^ Martill, D.M.; Hudson J.D. (1991). Fossils of the Oxford Clay. Palaeontological Association.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "10.9 Cambridgeshire, England; 1. Lower Oxford Clay," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 540.
  4. ^ "Table 18.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 396.
  5. ^ Weishampel, et al. (2004). Pages 539-540.
  6. ^ a b "10.7 Dorset, England; 3. Lower Oxford Clay" and "cambridgeshire">"10.9 Cambridgeshire, England; 1. Lower Oxford Clay," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Pages 539-540.
  7. ^ "10.7 Dorset, England; 3. Lower Oxford Clay," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 539.
  8. ^ Listed as "?Lexovisaurus sp." in "10.10 Bedfordshire, England; 1. Oxford Clay," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 540.
  9. ^ "10.10 Bedfordshire, England; 1. Oxford Clay," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 540.
  10. ^ "Table 17.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 367.
  11. ^ "Table 13.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 265.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g "10.14 Oxfordshire, England; 8. Middle Oxford Clay," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 540.
  13. ^ "Table 4.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 72.
  14. ^ a b "10.14 Wiltshire, England; 4. Oxford Clay," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 540.
  15. ^ Noé LF, Liston JJ, Chapman SD. 2010. ‘Old bones, dry subject’: the dinosaurs and pterosaur collected by Alfred Nicholson Leeds of Peterborough, England. Geological Society, London, Special Publications 343: 49–77.
  16. ^ Young, M.T.; Brignon, A.; Sachs, S.; Hornung, J.; Foffa, D.; Kitson, J.J.N.; Johnson, M.M.; Steel, L. (2021). "Cutting the Gordian knot: a historical and taxonomic revision of the Jurassic crocodylomorph Metriorhynchus". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 192 (2): 510–553. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa092.
  17. ^ Mark T. Young; Marco Brandalise de Andrade; Stephen L. Brusatte; Manabu Sakamoto; Jeff Liston (2013). "The oldest known metriorhynchid super-predator: a new genus and species from the Middle Jurassic of England, with implications for serration and mandibular evolution in predacious clades". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 11 (4): 475–513. doi:10.1080/14772019.2012.704948. S2CID 85276836.

Bibliography edit

Further reading edit

  • Andrews, C. W. 1910. "A Descriptive Catalogue of the Marine Reptiles of the Oxford Clay, Part I". British Museum (Natural History), London, England: 205 pp.
  • Andrews, CW. 1913. "A descriptive catalogue of the Marine Reptiles of the Oxford Clay, Part II". British Museum (Natural History). pp. 205pp.
  • M. J. Benton and P. S. Spencer. 1995. Fossil Reptiles of Great Britain. Chapman & Hall, London 1–386
  • J. B. Delair. 1973. "The dinosaurs of Wiltshire". The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine 68:1–7
  • P. M. Galton. 1980. "European Jurassic ornithopod dinosaurs of the families Hypsilophodontidae and Camptosauridae". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen 160(1):73–95
  • D. M. Martill. 1988. "A review of the terrestrial vertebrate of fossils of the Oxford Clay (Callovian-Oxfordian) of England". Mercian Geologist 11(3):171–190

January 01, 1970
oxford, clay, formation, jurassic, marine, sedimentary, rock, formation, underlying, much, southeast, england, from, west, dorset, north, yorkshire, formation, dates, jurassic, specifically, callovian, oxfordian, ages, comprises, main, facies, lower, facies, c. The Oxford Clay or Oxford Clay Formation is a Jurassic marine sedimentary rock formation underlying much of southeast England from as far west as Dorset and as far north as Yorkshire The Oxford Clay Formation dates to the Jurassic specifically the Callovian and Oxfordian ages 1 and comprises two main facies The lower facies comprises the Peterborough Member a fossiliferous organic rich mudstone This facies and its rocks are commonly known as lower Oxford Clay The upper facies comprises the middle Oxford Clay the Stewartby Member and the upper Oxford Clay the Weymouth Member The upper facies is a fossil poor assemblage of calcareous mudstones Oxford ClayStratigraphic range Middle to Late Jurassic Callovian Oxfordian 166 160 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg NCoastal exposure of the Oxford Clay Formation near WeymouthTypeGeological formationUnit ofAncholme GroupSub unitsPeterborough Member Stewartby Member Weymouth MemberUnderliesWest Walton Formation Corallian GroupOverliesKellaways Formation Osgodby FormationThicknessUp to 185 metres typically 50 to 70 m on East Midlands ShelfLithologyPrimaryClaystoneOtherMudstoneLocationRegionOxford Peterborough Dorset YorkshireCountryEnglandType sectionNamed forOxford Oxford Clay appears at the surface around Oxford Peterborough and Weymouth and is exposed in many quarries around these areas The top of the Lower Oxford Clay shows a lithological change where fissile shale changes to grey mudstone The Middle and Upper Oxford Clays differ slightly as they are separated by an argillaceous limestone in the South Midlands Contents 1 Palaeontology 1 1 Ornithischians 1 2 Saurischians 1 3 Plesiosaurs 1 4 Pachycormiformes 1 5 Thalattosuchians 2 Economic use 3 See also 4 References 4 1 Bibliography 5 Further readingPalaeontology editThe Oxford Clay is well known for its rich fossil record of fish and invertebrates 2 Many of the fossils are well preserved occasionally some are found exceptionally well preserved Animals which lived in the Oxford Clay Sea include plesiosaurs marine crocodiles ichthyosaurs cephalopods such as belemnites bivalves such as Gryphaea and a variety of gastropods Dinosaur eggs are stratigraphically present in the Lower Oxford Clay Geographically they are located in Cambridgeshire England 3 nbsp Life restoration of Eustreptospondylus and Lexovisaurus in the Oxford Clay environment Ornithischians edit Indeterminate euronithopod remains stratigraphically present in the Lower Oxford Clay and geographically located in Cambridgeshire England 3 Color key Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text crossed out taxa are discredited Ornithischians of the Oxford Clay Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images Callovosaurus C leedsi 3 Cambridgeshire 3 Lower 3 Femur 4 nbsp Callovosaurus nbsp Lexovisaurus Lexovisaurus 5 L durobivensis 6 Cambridgeshire 3 Dorset 7 Lower 6 Indeterminate 8 Bedfordshire 9 Loricatosaurus 3 L priscus 3 Cambridgeshire 3 Lower 3 Sarcolestes 3 S leedsi 3 Cambridgeshire 3 Lower 3 Partial mandible 10 Saurischians edit Color key Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text crossed out taxa are discredited Saurischians of the Oxford Clay Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images Cetiosauriscus 3 C stewarti 3 Cambridgeshire 3 Lower 3 Rear half of a skeleton 11 nbsp Cetiosauriscus nbsp Eustreptospondylus nbsp Metriacanthosaurus Eustreptospondylus 12 E oxoniensis 12 Oxfordshire 12 Upper 12 Disarticulated skull and skeleton with some referred limb elements 13 Sauropoda Indeterminate 14 Wiltshire 14 Cambridgeshire 3 The caudal vertebrae from Cambridgeshire were mistakenly considered part of the syntypic series of Ornithopsis leedsi by Upchurch and Martin 2003 15 Theropoda Indeterminate 12 Oxfordshire 12 Middle 12 Metriacanthosaurus M parkeri Weymouth Upper Plesiosaurs edit Color key Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text crossed out taxa are discredited Genus Species Location Member Abundance Notes Images Cryptoclidus C eurymerus A cryptoclidid nbsp Cryptoclidus nbsp Eardasaurus nbsp Liopleurodon nbsp Muraenosaurus nbsp Pachycostasaurus nbsp Peloneustes nbsp Simolestes C richardsoni A cryptoclidid Eardasaurus E powelli A thalassophonean pliosaurid Liopleurodon L ferox A thalassophonean pliosaurid L pachydeirus A thalassophonean pliosaurid Marmornectes M candrewi A pliosaurid Muraenosaurus M leedsi A cryptoclidid Pachycostasaurus P dawnii A pliosaurid Peloneustes P philarchus A thalassophonean pliosaurid Picrocleidus P beloclis A cryptoclidid Pliosaurus P andrewsi A thalassophonean pliosaurid represents a new genus distinct from Pliosaurus Simolestes S vorax A thalassophonean pliosaurid Tricleidus T seeleyi A cryptoclidid Pachycormiformes edit Color key Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text crossed out taxa are discredited Genus Species Location Member Abundance Notes Images Leedsichthys L problematicus Giant filter feeding pachycormiform Martillichthys M renwickae Filter feeding pachyocormiform Hypsocormus H tenuirostris Carnivorous pachycormiform not closely related to Hypsocormus and more closely related to Orthocormus Thalattosuchians edit Color key Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text crossed out taxa are discredited Genus Species Location Member Abundance Notes Images Lemmysuchus L obtusidens A teleosauroid belonging to the Machimosauridae nbsp Neosteneosaurus nbsp Thalattosuchus nbsp Suchodus nbsp Tyrannoneustes Charitomenosuchus C leedsi A machimosaurid teleosauroid Steneosaurus S edwardsi Now referred to Neosteneosaurus S durobrivensis Junior synonym of N edwardsi Neosteneosaurus N edwardsi A machimosaurid teleosauroid Mycterosuchus M leedsi A teleosaurid teleosauroid Metriorhynchus M superciliosus This species was referred to a new genus Thalattosuchus 16 Thalattosuchus T superciliosus A metriorhynchine metriorhynchid Gracilineustes G leedsi A metriorhynchine metriorhynchid Suchodus S brachyrhynchus A geosaurine metriorhynchid S durobrivensis A geosaurine metriorhynchid Tyrannoneustes 17 T lythrodectikos A geosaurine metriorhynchidEconomic use editOxford Clay has a porous consistency and is soft and is often used in the making of roads It is also the source of the Fletton stock brick of which much of London is built For brick making the Oxford Clay has the advantage of containing carbon which provides part of the fuel required in firing it so reducing the requirement for an external fuel source See also editList of fossil sites with link directory List of dinosaur bearing rock formations Kimmeridge Clay London Clay Weald ClayReferences edit Oxford Clay Formation The BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units British Geological Survey Retrieved 21 August 2017 Martill D M Hudson J D 1991 Fossils of the Oxford Clay Palaeontological Association a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s 10 9 Cambridgeshire England 1 Lower Oxford Clay in Weishampel et al 2004 Page 540 Table 18 1 in Weishampel et al 2004 Page 396 Weishampel et al 2004 Pages 539 540 a b 10 7 Dorset England 3 Lower Oxford Clay and cambridgeshire gt 10 9 Cambridgeshire England 1 Lower Oxford Clay in Weishampel et al 2004 Pages 539 540 10 7 Dorset England 3 Lower Oxford Clay in Weishampel et al 2004 Page 539 Listed as Lexovisaurus sp in 10 10 Bedfordshire England 1 Oxford Clay in Weishampel et al 2004 Page 540 10 10 Bedfordshire England 1 Oxford Clay in Weishampel et al 2004 Page 540 Table 17 1 in Weishampel et al 2004 Page 367 Table 13 1 in Weishampel et al 2004 Page 265 a b c d e f g 10 14 Oxfordshire England 8 Middle Oxford Clay in Weishampel et al 2004 Page 540 Table 4 1 in Weishampel et al 2004 Page 72 a b 10 14 Wiltshire England 4 Oxford Clay in Weishampel et al 2004 Page 540 Noe LF Liston JJ Chapman SD 2010 Old bones dry subject the dinosaurs and pterosaur collected by Alfred Nicholson Leeds of Peterborough England Geological Society London Special Publications 343 49 77 Young M T Brignon A Sachs S Hornung J Foffa D Kitson J J N Johnson M M Steel L 2021 Cutting the Gordian knot a historical and taxonomic revision of the Jurassic crocodylomorph Metriorhynchus Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 192 2 510 553 doi 10 1093 zoolinnean zlaa092 Mark T Young Marco Brandalise de Andrade Stephen L Brusatte Manabu Sakamoto Jeff Liston 2013 The oldest known metriorhynchid super predator a new genus and species from the Middle Jurassic of England with implications for serration and mandibular evolution in predacious clades Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 11 4 475 513 doi 10 1080 14772019 2012 704948 S2CID 85276836 Bibliography edit Weishampel David B Dodson Peter Osmolska Halszka eds 2004 The Dinosauria 2nd edition Berkeley University of California Press pp 1 880 ISBN 0 520 24209 2 Retrieved 21 February 2019 Further reading editAndrews C W 1910 A Descriptive Catalogue of the Marine Reptiles of the Oxford Clay Part I British Museum Natural History London England 205 pp Andrews CW 1913 A descriptive catalogue of the Marine Reptiles of the Oxford Clay Part II British Museum Natural History pp 205pp M J Benton and P S Spencer 1995 Fossil Reptiles of Great Britain Chapman amp Hall London 1 386 J B Delair 1973 The dinosaurs of Wiltshire The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine 68 1 7 P M Galton 1980 European Jurassic ornithopod dinosaurs of the families Hypsilophodontidae and Camptosauridae Neues Jahrbuch fur Geologie und Palaontologie Abhandlungen 160 1 73 95 D M Martill 1988 A review of the terrestrial vertebrate of fossils of the Oxford Clay Callovian Oxfordian of England Mercian Geologist 11 3 171 190 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Oxford Clay amp oldid 1181756692, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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