Part VI. Fish Fauna from the Diatomaceous Earth Deposits at Lompoc, California
- Creators
- David, Lore Rose
Abstract
The well-known marine Miocene deposits of almost pure diatomaceous earth at Lompoc in the Santa Maria Basin, California, are among the largest of their kind. Quarrying in these sediments for more than 30 years has disclosed megafossils, the majority of which are fish fossils. In earlier years the number of well-preserved specimens collected was much greater than it is today, since all the work was done with handpicks. At present much of it is accomplished with machinery, and handpicks are used to some extent in only one quarry. Two dozen or more specimens are uncovered now in a year, considerably less than that obtained in former years. A large percentage of this material is made available for scientific study. Many specimens were given to the late Doctor David Starr Jordan and deposited in the collections of Stanford University. Jordan and his assistants were able to select desirable specimens among the large number available at that time at the plant. The Stanford Museum collection contains approximately 250 numbered specimens indicative of the large variety of species known to occur at Lompoc. Not all the fish fossils seen by Jordan are preserved in the collection. After Jordan's death no further materials were systematically collected by scientists at Lompoc. Quantities of material were given away to the public since that time. Many specimens were framed and sent to customers for publicity purposes. No record of this material exists.
Additional Information
© 1943 Geological Society of America. The present revision has been made possible by a grant from The Geological Society of America. The time available was limited. It was carried out mainly from the standpoint of the geologist who desires to comprehend the ecological conditions that prevailed at the time of accumulation of the deposit. More time could be given to the purely ichthyological studies involving a consideration of specializations of individual forms and the structural characters of some of the groups. As might be expected in a marine deposit of this kind many forms are related to little-known groups of living fish. In the instance of some of the species treated in this paper, a monographic revision of the families to which they belong is highly desirable. The present research is based upon as large a collection of specimens from this locality as it was possible to obtain. All specimens in the collection of the Stanford Natural History Museum that have been examined are renumbered. These new numbers appear first in the paragraphs listing the referred material. They are followed in brackets by Jordan's numbers, insofar as these can be determined. Some newly collected specimens were loaned to the California Institute by Johns-Manville Company and by many institutions and friends. It is a pleasure to acknowledge the help rendered in acquiring these specimens for study. Special thanks go to Professor George S. Myers and his assistants for the loan of the material at Stanford University. The staff of the Johns-Manville Company has supplied much information relating to the deposits. Mr. Stockton of the Dicalite Company, in Walteria, who was employed at Lompoc during an earlier period of excavation has also furnished important data. Specimens were loaned by Mr. Fitger of Los Angeles, Mr. Murray Lane of Pasadena, Mr. Quale and Dr. Robert Webb of the University of California at Los Angeles, Dr. Beers and Dr. Thomas Clements of the University of Southern California, the Los Angeles County Museum, Dr. A. O. Woodford of Pomona College, and by Dr. A. P. Ousdal of Santa Barbara.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 110605
- DOI
- 10.1130/SPE43-p115
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20210830-152615216
- Geological Society of America
- Created
-
2021-08-30Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
-
2021-11-16Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Series Name
- Special papers (Geological Society of America)
- Series Volume or Issue Number
- 43
- Other Numbering System Name
- Balch Graduate School of the Geological Sciences
- Other Numbering System Identifier
- 334