DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22201/cgeo.20072902e.2023.3.1759

Figure 3. Geologic map of the Arizpe area showing outcrops of the Bisbee Group formations and younger units that include the Cocospera Formation, Tarahumara Formation, and a Tertiary granodioritic pluton. Locations, labels and maximum depositional ages of the dated sandstone samples are indicated. Transect of the measured stratigraphic column of the Mural Limestone (thick dash-dot line) reported in this work, and the structural profile along line A-B are shown. The Cordón de Enmedio thrust fault separates outcrops of the Bisbee Group into Cerro La Ceja (CCB) and Sierra Los Azulitos (SAB) blocks. The base map is taken from the 1:50000 topographic chart Arizpe H12B73 of INEGI (2001; https://www.inegi.org.mx/contenidos/productos/prod_serv/contenidos/espanol/bvinegi/productos/geografia/).

 

METHODS

Cartography at the scale of 1:50,000 and stratigraphy of the Bisbee Group were refined from González León (1978), and a new stratigraphic column of the Mural Limestone was measured with a Jacob’s staff. Limestone samples from the Mural section were thin-sectioned for petrographic classification and microfossil identifications. The biostratigraphy herein reported is based on microfossils described from 28 thin sections and from 7 macrofossil specimens. These studied thin sections, and fossils are housed in the Colección Paleontológica of the Estación Regional del Noroeste, Instituto de Geología, UNAM (ERNO), and bear ERNO-numbers.

Five medium- to coarse-grained sandstone samples, each about 5 kg, were collected for U-Pb geochronology of detrital zircon with the aim to obtain maximum depositional ages of the intervals collected, and to recognize the ages of the detrital populations. These samples were crushed and pulverized in the Laboratorio de Preparación de Muestras, ERNO, and zircon grain separation, mounting and dating were performed at the Laboratorio de Estudios Isotópicos (LEI) of the Centro de Geociencias, UNAM. U-Pb analyses were conducted by laser ablation inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) using a Resonetics M050 (now, Applied Spectra) 193 nm Excimer laser workstation, coupled to a Thermo ICap Qc quadrupole mass spectrometer, according to the methods reported by Solari et al. (2018). A 23 μm spot was employed during this whole study for all the U-Pb analyses, alternating unknown zircon crystals with several standards. Standard reference material 91500 was employed as external reference zircon (ca. 1062 Ma, Wiedenbeck et al., 1995), whereas Plešovice standard zircon acted as a secondary (control) standard (ca. 337 Ma, Sláma et al., 2008). Raw data were reduced offline using Iolite 3.5 software (Paton et al., 2011), including all the error calculations and propagation, and employing the VizualAge data reduction scheme of Petrus and Kamber (2012). The secondary Plešovice standard zircon yielded a mean 206Pb/238U age of 338.9 ± 1.4 Ma, in agreement with the accepted age. U–Pb data tables with corrected isotope ratios, ages, and errors are reported in Supplementary Table S1.

Hf isotope geochemistry on detrital zircon has been used by several authors (e.g., Gehrels and Pecha, 2014; Surpless and Gulliver, 2018; Pecha et al., 2022) as an additional tool to further support detrital zircon provenance interpretations, provided Hf isotope signatures of the potential source regions are available. With that purpose, we measured the Hf isotope signature on Jurassic and Cretaceous detrital zircon grains dated in each of the five sandstone samples. Hf isotopes were measured by laser ablation multi-collector inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS) on some of the zircon grains previously dated by U-Pb and results are shown in Table S2. Hf analyses were conducted using a spot of 44 µm in diameter, right on top of the 23 µm spot used for the U-Pb analyses, following the methodology employed by Ortega-Obregón et al. (2014). The Neptune Plus Jet interface was used to improve sensitivity in laser mode, achieving a tuning optimized to maximize the Hf signal, minimize oxide formation, and avoid the formation of rare-earth element (REE) oxides (cf. Payne et al., 2013), as well as control the mass bias. Once properly tuned, the high sensitivity of the Neptune Plus allowed an average total Hf signal of more than 10 V, a value that is like, and, in many cases, exceeds those of other works with a similar setup (e.g., Gerdes and Zeh, 2009; Fisher et al., 2011). The tuning was performed in NIST 610 standard glass, employing the same analytical conditions used during analyses. An amount of 9–10 mL/min of N2 was added to the He carrier gas before the plasma, to increase plasma temperature and decrease oxide formation. The Yb mass bias was calculated using the measured 172Yb and 173Yb masses and the Chu et al. (2002) Yb isotope abundances, together with the 172Yb/173Yb “true” ratio of 1.35274. The Yb mass bias was also applied on Lu, if Yb and Lu fractionate similarly. The 176Lu/175Lu ratio of 0.02656 was also used (Blichert-Toft and Albarède, 1997). To demonstrate the feasibility of this correction, we repeatedly analyzed several natural standard zircon grains, as well as the synthetic zircon grains of Fisher et al. (2011) doped with different amounts of REEs. These synthetic zircon grains, which contain a range of REEs much higher than terrestrial zircon crystals, were also used to include the external reproducibility and propagate it onto the internal 2 standard error (2SE, i.e., twice the standard error of the mean; defined as in Paton et al., 2011; Fisher et al., 2014) measured in unknown zircon grains (e.g., Fisher et al., 2014). The raw data measured were processed off-line with a data reduction scheme written in Iolite, which corrects the detected interferences, normalizes against the reference zircon (synthetic zircon grains of Fisher et al., 2011), and propagates the external reproducibility. The 179Hf/177Hf normalizing value of 0.7325 (Patchett and Tatsumoto, 1981) was used. The 176Lu decay constant of 1.876 × 10-11 (Scherer et al., 2001) and the chondritic Hf values of Bouvier et al. (2008) were used to calculate εHf and depleted mantle (DM) model ages (TDM). The εHf and TDM, calculated employing the chondritic and depleted mantle values, respectively, were generally considered as reflecting minimum ages for the zircon’s host magma source. A second model age (TDMC) was then calculated using a value for the average intermediate crust of 176Lu/177Hf = 0.015 (Griffin et al., 2002) to ideally project the initial εHf of zircon grains to the depleted mantle model curve and infer possible zircon sources.

 

RESULTS

Strata of the Bisbee Group in the study quadrangle trend NW-SE and have dips as high as 60°. These rocks are tectonically shortened toward the NE and are herein organized into the eastern Cerro La Ceja block (CCB) and the western Sierra Los Azulitos block (SAB) according to the names of the main physiographic features. These blocks are separated by the east-verging Cordon de Enmedio thrust fault (Figure 3). The CCB is composed of the Morita, Mural, Cintura, and La Juana formations. Because of faults in its eastern and western parts, this block exposes only partial thicknesses of the Morita and La Juana formations, while the Mural and Cintura have complete thicknesses. The SAB is composed of deformed strata of the Mural Limestone that are thrusted eastward over the La Juana and Cintura formations (Figure 3). Oligocene to Miocene normal faults that uplifted the Bisbee Group rocks do not expose the complete stratigraphic column of this region (González-León et al., 2000).

 

Stratigraphy of the Bisbee Group

The Bisbee Group in the study quadrangle consists of, from the base upwards, the Morita, Mural Limestone, Cintura, and La Juana formations (Figures 3 and 4). Only the uppermost 280 m of the Morita Formation are exposed (Figure 4a) and consist of red to purple shale and siltstone with enclosed beds of coarse- to fine-grained sandstone that have local lenses of pebble conglomerate (González León, 1978). These lithologies are arranged in coarsening-upward cyclic sequences of interpreted fluvial origin.

In the Cerro La Ceja block the Mural is 900 m thick (Lawton et al., 2004) (Figure 4a) and sharply overlies the Morita Formation on a ravinement surface. Its basal Cerro La Ceja Member is composed of interbedded shale, siltstone, and bioclastic limestone beds that are rich in oysters, and other bivalve shells and fragments; sandstone beds are subordinate. The overlying Tuape Shale is mostly composed of light gray shale with subordinate limestone that grades upwards to interbedded shale and subordinate oyster limestone beds of the Los Coyotes Member. The Cerro La Puerta Shale consists of limestone beds with benthic foraminifera and interbedded shale, and the Cerro La Espina Member is composed of massive bioclastic limestone with coral and rudist mounds. The uppermost Mesa Quemada Member consists of interbedded massive green mudstone, light gray to red siltstone, thin beds of fine-grained sandstone, and bioclastic and oyster-rich shaly limestone beds.

In this work, we describe a previously unreported section of the Mural Limestone that crops out in the Sierra Los Azulitos block (Figure 4b). Although this section is thrust over the Cintura Formation, we measured a continuous thickness of 435 m at the locality of Cordón de Enmedio (Figures 3, 4). Based on its lithostratigraphy and fossil content, this section comprises the upper part of the Tuape Shale, the Los Coyotes, Cerro La Puerta, and the lower part of the Cerro La Espina members. The incomplete Tuape Shale is 60 m thick and consists of light gray to light brown bioclastic limestone beds that are interbedded with massive, yellowish brown to green shale beds up to 15 m thick and a few medium-bedded sandstone beds. The limestone beds are up to 2 m thick and are composed of bivalve shell fragments, including oysters and Neithea sp., and serpulid tubes. Articulated, complete oysters are locally present in the bioclastic limestone and in the shale.

The overlying Los Coyotes Member is 67 m thick and consists of yellowish brown to green, massive shale with interbeds of medium-bedded, fine- to medium-grained sandstone, shaly limestone beds up to 40 cm thick with broken and articulated oysters, and grainstone to calcarenite beds mostly composed of shell bioclasts. The uppermost 18 m of this member is composed of light gray to bluish biomicritic limestone in beds up to 50 cm thick that are interbedded with partly covered beds of calcareous shale. The limestone beds are mudstone to wackestone with fragments of bivalves, echinoderms, and abundant foraminifera, including the large foraminifera Mesorbitolina.

The overlying Cerro La Puerta Member is 285 m thick and is mostly composed of massive to laminated, light to dark gray calcareous shale with subordinate interbeds of calcareous siltstone, bioclastic and commonly bioturbated shaly limestone and dark gray biomicritic limestone with bivalve and echinoderms fragments. About 180 to 190 m above the base of this member is an interval of medium-bedded shaly wackestone to packstone with bivalve fragments and complete shells of echinoderms. The uppermost 23 m of the measured section is correlated with the Cerro La Espina Member and consists of biomicritic limestone with subordinate calcareous shale that has abundant and complete, moderately preserved echinoderm shells.

In the Cerro La Ceja block, the Cintura Formation gradationally overlies the Mural Limestone and is 372 m thick. It is composed of reddish to purple, massive to locally laminated shale and siltstone with pedogenic calcareous nodules and lenticular sandstone bodies up to 4.5 m thick, rare pebble- to cobble-conglomerate beds up to 1.3 m thick, and ash-fall tuff beds up to 2 m thick. Sandstones of the Cintura Formation in the study area are compositional lithic arkose with up to 30 % quartz, and 9–45 % lithic grains dominated by felsitic volcanics.

The La Juana Formation has an estimated thickness of 100 m, and its lower part is composed of marine bioclastic limestone beds with shell fragments that sharply overlie fluvial red siltstone and sandstone of the Cintura Formation, suggesting a disconformable contact between these units. The bioclastic limestone is interbedded with light gray shale that grades upwards to yellowish and moderately dark gray, massive calcareous shale with thin interbeds of bioclastic limestone that dominates the upper middle part of this unit. Complete to partial shells of oysters, small bivalves, and echinoderms occur in shale intervals.

 

 

Biostratigraphy

The Mural Limestone and La Juana Formation are the only marine, fossiliferous units of the Bisbee Group in the Arizpe area. Previously, rudists and oyster bivalves, corals, echinoderms, and benthic foraminifera were reported from limestone beds of the Mural Limestone in the Cerro La Ceja and Sierra Los Azulitos localities of this area (Figure 3) (González León, 1978; Löser, 2011). From the Cerro La Puerta and Cerro La Espina members in the Cerro La Ceja block, an upper Aptian – lower Albian foraminiferal assemblage comprises Paracoskinolina sunnilandensis (Maync, 1955), Praechrysalidina sp., Nautiloculina bronnimanni Arnaud-Vanneau and Peybernès (1978), Cuneolina sp. cf. C. parva Henson (1948), Voloshinoides sp. aff. V. murgensis Luperto Sinni and Masse (1993), Mesorbitolina cf. texana (Roemer, 1849), and Charentia sp. cf. C. cuvillieri Neumann (1965) (Lawton et al., 2004).

The Mural Limestone at Cordón de Enmedio and in Sierra Los Azulitos yield upper Aptian –lower Albian bivalves, echinoderms, and foraminifera (Figures 5 and 6). The bivalves Crassostrea riograndensis (Stanton, 1947) (ERNO-8935), and Quadratotrigonia taffi (Cragin, 1893) (ERNO-8934) were collected from the lowermost limestone-shale of the Tuape Shale Member. The echinoderm Pliotoxaster comanchei (Clark in Clark and Twitchell, 1915) (ERNO 8936 - 8940) was identified in the biomicritic limestone beds in the upper part of the Cerro La Puerta Member and in the overlying Cerro La Espina Member.

Upper Aptian – lower Albian benthic foraminifera from limestone beds in the Los Coyotes Member include Nezzazata isabellae Arnaud-Vanneau and Sliter (1995) (ERNO-8907, -8921) (Figure 6, 2-3), Praechrysalidina sp. (ERNO-8923) (Figure 6, 6-7), Voloshinoides sonoraensis Schlagintweit and Scott, 2015 (ERNO-8908) (Figure 6, 8-10), Cuneolina parva Henson (ERNO-8907, -8910) (Figure 6, 11-12), Novelesia producta? (Magniez, 1972) (ERNO-8910), Pseudonummoloculina heimi (Bonet, 1956) (ERNO-8910), Paracoskinolina sunnilandensis (ERNO-8924) (Figure 6, 14-16, Mesorbitolina cf. texana (ERNO-8912, -8921, -8922; -8923, -8925), and Bacinella irregularis Radoičić (1959) (ERNO-8912, -8913). Nezzazata isabellae (ERNO-8914) was also identified from a bioclastic shaly limestone bed at 190 m from the base of the section.

Shaly wackestone to packstone beds in the 310 to 319 m interval of the Cerro La Puerta Shale yielded “Hedbergella” planispira Tappan (1940), ?Arenobulimina, and Microhedbergella pseudodelrioensis Huber and Leckie (2011) (ERNO-8916, -8928) (Figure 6, 13). The Cerro La Espina Member limestone beds contained Colomiella tunisiana Colom and Sigal (in Bolze et al., 1959) (Figure 6, 1), ?Arenobulimina, Nezzazata sp. (ERNO-8917), and Hedbergella sp. (ERNO-8929, -8930).

In the Sierra Los Azulitos block thick limestone beds of the Cerro La Espina Member contained Paracoskinolina sunnilandensis (ERNO-8918, -8919, - 8920, -8931, -8932, -8933), Pseudonummoloculina heimi (ERNO-8918, -8919, -8931, -8933), Praechrysalidina sp. and Nezzazata isabellae (ERNO-8918), B. irregularis (ERNO-8919, -8920, -8933), C. parva (ERNO-8919, -8931, -8932), Mesorbitolina cf. texana (ERNO-8931), the alga Solenopora sp. (ERNO-8931), and fragmented rudist toucasids (ERNO-8931) and the rudist bivalve Coalcomana sp. (ERNO-8933) (Figure 6, 17).

From green to yellowish shale and bioclastic limestone beds of La Juana Formation we collected complete echinoids of Hemiaster whitei Clark, and the bivalves Ludbrookia arivechensis (Heilprin, 1891) and Ceratostreon walkeri (White, 1880) that together indicate an upper Albian age. For taxonomic and systematic descriptions of the fossils see the Appendix A.

 

Detrital zircon geochronology

Five sandstone samples from the Bisbee Group were collected in the study area to analyze for detrital zircon geochronology (Figure 3). One sample was analyzed from the Morita Formation, two samples were analyzed from the Mural Limestone, and two other samples were from the Cintura Formation. To visualize detrital age distributions, Kernel density estimator plots of the U–Pb detrital-zircon geochronologic analyses at two-sigma level were constructed using DensityPlotter 8.4 (Vermeesch, 2012), and weighted-mean diagrams of the youngest zircon grains to estimate the maximum depositional age (MDA) were constructed with IsoplotR (Vermeesch, 2018) (Figure 7).

A medium-grained sandstone bed from the uppermost part of the Morita Formation on the east flank of Cerro La Ceja (Figure 3) is part of a 15 m-thick interval of purple, bioturbated shale that underlies bioclastic limestone beds at the base of the Mural Limestone (sample 21-02-20-1b; coordinate location 30.4761531, -110.2636482; WGS84). The 87 zircon grains from the sample yielded mainly Early Cretaceous (n = 38) and Jurassic (n = 38) ages, and subordinate grains were Triassic (n = 3), Permian (n = 1), and Proterozoic (n = 7). The Early Cretaceous grains have a main peak age of 120 Ma (Figure 7a), and the Jurassic grains have a main peak of 151 Ma with a minor peak of 168 Ma. The seven youngest zircon grains that overlap in age yield a weighted mean age of 115.8 ± 1.1 Ma (MSWD = 0.74), which is interpreted as the MDA for the uppermost part of the Morita Formation at this locality (Figures 4 and 7b).

At Cordón de Enmedio, in the eastern part of the Sierra Los Azulitos thrust block (Figures 3 and 4), a sample of medium- to fine-grained sandstone from the lower part of the Tuape Shale Member is interbedded with shale, calcareous shale, and oyster-bioclastic limestone (sample 19-02-20-1a; 30.4589, -110.3020598). The sample yielded 101 concordant zircon grain ages that contain an important Early Cretaceous age group (n = 44) ranging from ca. 111 to 143 Ma. The Jurassic zircon grains compose 35 % of the total dated grains, while Triassic (n = 2) and Paleozoic (n = 2) grains are subordinate. A small Proterozoic population has dispersed ages ranging from 586 to 2500 Ma, and one Neoarchean grain of 2.65 Ga. In the KDE relative probability plot, the Early Cretaceous grains have a mode of 116 Ma, and the Jurassic population has age peaks at 150 and 168 Ma (Figure 7c). The weighted-mean age of the 13 youngest zircon grains from this sample that overlap in age is 113.9 ± 0.8 Ma (MSWD = 0.89) (Figures 4 and 7d).

In the Mesa Quemada Member about ~100 m below the contact with the Cintura Formation, a medium-grained sandstone is interbedded with limestone and shale (sample 17-Feb-20-2; 30.475041, -110.2939629). This sample yielded 86 concordant zircon grain ages, most of which are Proterozoic in age (n = 35; 40 % of the total grains). The Jurassic grains (n = 29) make up 34 % of the total grains, and the Early Cretaceous grains (n = 10) make up 12 %, while Triassic and Permian grains account for the remaining 14 %. The Proterozoic grains show an age peak at 1.66 Ga and subordinate peaks at 1.76, 1.46 and 1.34 Ga; the Jurassic grains have a peak at 154 Ma, the Triassic-Permian group has a peak at 245 Ma, while those of Cretaceous age have a minor peak at 112 Ma (Figure 7e). The weighted mean age of the youngest cluster of three grains that overlap at 2σ error from this sample yield an MDA of 111.6 ± 1.6 Ma (MSWD = 1.3) (Figures 4, 7f).

In the basal 3 m of the Cintura Formation overlying the Mesa Quemada Member is a 1- meter-thick, fine- to medium-grained sandstone (sample 11-9-21-1; 30.466236, -110.291670), which is interbedded with purple, massive shale. Ninety-four dated zircon grains from this sample yielded important age groups of Early Cretaceous

(n = 32) and Proterozoic (n = 33) ages. Other subordinate populations are Jurassic (n = 18), Triassic (n = 3), Paleozoic (n = 5), and Neoarchean (n = 3) zircon grains. The Early Cretaceous population has an important age peak at 111 Ma, the Jurassic population has an age peak of 165 Ma, and the Proterozoic grains have minor age peaks at 1.74, 1.65, 1.34, and 1.05 Ga (Figure 7g). The youngest ten grains dated from this sample yield a weighted mean age of 108.8 ± 1.1 Ma (MSWD = 1) (Figures 4, 7h), which is considered the MDA for the lowermost part of the Cintura Formation in the Arizpe area.

At Cordón de Enmedio in the upper part of the Cintura Formation, 8 m below the tectonic contact with the Mural Limestone, is a 1-m-thick medium- to coarse-grained sandstone bed (sample 11-9-21-2; 30.459352, -110.301897). From this sample 87 zircon grains contain important age groups of Early Cretaceous (n = 35), Jurassic (n = 28) and Proterozoic (n = 17) ages, and subordinate Triassic (n = 1), Paleozoic (n = 2) and Archean (n = 4) ages. In a KDE plot the Proterozoic ages show a minor peak of 1.16 Ga, the Jurassic grains indicate subordinate age peaks at 152 and 168 Ma, while the Early Cretaceous grains show a major peak at ca. 120 Ma (Figure 7i). The nine youngest zircon grains of this sample indicate a weighted mean age of 115.4 ± 1.2 Ma (MSWD = 0.31) (Figure 7j), which is much older than the expected age for the upper Cintura Formation.

 

 

Lu-Hf isotopic data

Lu-Hf isotopic data (Supplementary Table S2) were obtained from 15 to 20 detrital zircon grains of Jurassic and Early Cretaceous ages that were measured from each of the five dated sandstone samples. The ablated spots for Hf were the same used for the U-Pb geochronology analyses.

A total of 80 detrital grains from the five samples was measured and is here discussed as a single dataset. U-Pb ages of the analyzed zircon grains range from 195.3 to 106.8 Ma, and their initial εHf(t) values range from 9.53 to -21.28. Twelve of the Early Cretaceous zircon with ages from 109.9 to 138.7 Ma have positive εHf(t) from +0.33 to +8.73, indicative of a moderately primitive source, while the other Early Cretaceous grains are more evolved, with εHf(t) values up to -14.42. The analyzed Jurassic zircon grains show a similar trend, with a mixing between primitive (εHf(t) up to +9.53) and negative, more evolved components (εHf(t) between -0.16 and -21.28) (Figure 8). As a consequence, TDM model ages for primitive grains range between 0.4 to 0.8 Ga, whereas the more evolved zircons indicate a contribution of an older crustal component with an age between 0.8 to 1.3 Ga (Figure 8).

 

 

DISCUSSION

Chronostratigraphy of the Bisbee Group of the study area

The Bisbee Group succession in the Arizpe area records a part of the Lower Cretaceous sedimentary fill of the central part of the Altar-Cucurpe subbasin of northern Sonora. Its stratigraphy, biostratigraphy, and geochronology data add to the regional knowledge of the evolutionary history of the Bisbee basin (Scott et al., in press). The section in Cerro la Ceja block exposes the upper Morita Formation, Mural Limestone, Cintura Formation, and part of the La Juana Formation. Detrital zircons yield U-Pb maximum depositional ages that approximate depositional ages for the succession. These data are consistent with the biostratigraphic ages for the Mural and La Juana formations.

The MDA of 115.8 ± 1.1 Ma obtained from the upper part of the Morita (Figure 7b) is in close agreement with the 115 ± 1 Ma obtained by Peryam et al. (2012) from a reworked ash-fall tuff at the top of this formation in the Tuape-Cucurpe area, located ~50 km southwest of the study area (Figure 1). These data suggest that a regional depositional age of ca. 115 Ma is consistent for the boundary between the Morita Formation and Mural Limestone throughout north-central Sonora. Similarly, the age of 113.9 ± 0.8 Ma (Figure 7d) obtained from the lower part of the Mural Limestone in the Cordón de Enmedio section is a little younger than the Morita/Mural age boundary, and also in agreement with its stratigraphic position (Figures 3 and 4). Although the age of 111.6 ± 1.6 Ma (Figure 7f) that was obtained for the sample of the upper Mural Limestone was yielded by few young grains, it is in good agreement with its stratigraphic position located below the base of the Cintura Formation that yielded a younger, more reliable age of 108.8 ± 1.1 Ma.

The ages obtained from the top of the Morita Formation and base of the Cintura Formation constrain the age of the Mural Limestone between ca. 116 to 109 Ma, which corresponds well with the regional late Aptian/early Albian biostratigraphic age accepted for this unit in northern Sonora and southeastern Arizona (Scott and Warzeski, 1993; Scott, 2007). The sample collected from the upper Cintura Formation did not yield a near-syndepositional MDA, but its age is interpreted as early Albian considering that it underlies the La Juana Formation that contains late Albian fossils in the study area. Because of its late Albian age, La Juana Formation correlates with the Nogal Formation of the Lampazos Group succession that crops out ~150 km to the southeast in east-central Sonora (Figure 1) (González-León, 1988; Scott and González-León, 1991).

The incomplete Mural section of the Cordón de Enmedio locality has a fossiliferous assemblage that indicates the presence of the Aptian-Albian boundary in its lower part, consistent with the U-Pb age of ca. 114 Ma (Figure 5d) yielded by sample 19-02-20-1a from the lower part of the Tuape Shale Member.

 

Biostratigraphy

The age of the Mural Limestone stratigraphic section near Arizpe, Sonora, spans the uppermost Aptian to the lower Albian (Scott et al., in press). The physical stratigraphy and biostratigraphy can be compared with nearby stratigraphic sections at Santa Ana, Santa Marta, and Tuape in northern Sonora (Lawton et al., 2004; González-León et al., 2008). The age-diagnostic microfossils are Colomiella tunesiana, Voloshinoides sonoraensis, Paracoskinolina sunnilandensis, and Microhedbergella pseudodelrioensis. Two bivalve species in the lower limestone-shale of the section also support this age range: the upper Aptian-lower Albian, Crassostrea riograndensis, and Quadratotrigonia taffi (Scott, 2007). A third species, the lower Albian Hemiaster comanchei, is in the uppermost limestone unit. Caprinid wall fragments with diagnostic pallial canals represent the lower Albian Coalcomana Coogan (1973).

The pelagic Protozoan tintinnid C. tunesiana is widespread in northern Sonora (Gonzalez-León et al., 2008) and in the Texas Gulf Coast (Scott, 1990). Its numerical age range is 114.20–108.69 Ma (Scott, 2014). The small benthic foraminifer, V. sonoraensis, was discovered and named from the lower Albian Cerro La Espina Member of the Mural Formation in the nearby Cerro la Ceja block (Schlagintweit and Scott, 2015). The large benthic foraminifer P. sunnilandensis is widespread in Barremian to lower Albian sections in the Gulf of Mexico and Sonora and its age range is 125.08–109.36 Ma (Scott, 2014). The planktic foraminifer Microhedbergella pseudodelrioensis ranges from lower to upper Albian in the North and South Atlantic (Huber and Leckie, 2011). Other benthic foraminifers are long-ranging but span the upper Aptian to lower Albian or younger.

 

Paleobiogeography

The low diversity of Aptian-Albian planktonic foraminifers in the Mural Limestone in northern Sonoran is remarkable. These sections are located at the northwestern end of the Chihuahua Trough. In comparison, sections farther southeast in the state of Nuevo León in northeastern Mexico document eleven zonal species of open marine planktic foraminifers (Longoria, 1984) and up to 55 species of calcareous nannofossils (Bralower et al., 1999). Furthermore, in the Sonoran sections, benthic foraminifers and corals, rudists, and calcareous algae are more diverse than in the Chihuahua Trough and northeastern Mexico. The different biota and paleocommunities represent the shallower, more paralic depositional environments at the northwestern part of the Gulf of Mexico basin. Further, the presence of benthic species with Pacific affinities, such as Nezzazata isabellae, suggests a partial connection with Pacific waters.

 

 

Detrital zircon provenance

Detrital zircon grains (N = 456) in the five dated sandstone samples are dominated by Early Cretaceous (35 %) and Jurassic (32.5 %) ages composing more than two-thirds of the total grains. Proterozoic grains are 24 % of the total grains, Permo-Triassic grains compose 4.8 %, Paleozoic grains are 3.5 %, and there are only eight grains of Archean age.

The proportion of Early Cretaceous grains varies little from the upper Morita (42.6 %) to the lower Cintura (34 %) and upper Cintura (40.2 %) formations, but are overrepresented in the lower Mural (78.2 %) and underrepresented in the upper Mural Limestone (11.6 %). Similarly, the Jurassic grains vary from 44.8 % in the upper Morita to 33.7 % in the upper Mural, they compose 19.1 % in the lower Cintura and 32 % in the upper Cintura, and are almost absent (2 %) in the lower Mural. The Permo-Triassic grains decrease upwards in the section, from 4.6, 0, 13.9, 3.2, and 1.2 % from the Morita to the Cintura samples. Proterozoic grains compose 8 % of the Morita, 15.8–40.7 % of the lower and upper Mural, and 36–19.5 % of the lower and upper Cintura. The over- and/or under-representation of these populations in the Mural Limestone of the Arizpe area might be explained by an inefficient, or restricted sediment dispersal in a shallow shelf that was located in the middle part of the Altar-Cucurpe subbasin, probably several hundred kilometers from the marginal settings bordering the basin.

The Proterozoic grains have subordinate age peaks of ca. 1.7, 1.6, 1.4, 1.3 and 1.1 Ga (Figure 9a). These populations are commonly considered to have direct or recycled provenance from the Mojave, Yavapai and Mazatzal crystalline basement rocks of southwestern North America and from Mesoproterozoic granites that intrude these provinces (Gehrels and Stewart, 1998; Stewart et al., 2001). The Paleozoic grains are subordinate in number and have scattered ages; these occur as recycled grains in other detrital successions of Sonora (e.g., González-León et al., 2020) and are considered of primary Appalachian sources (e.g., Gehrels et al., 2011). The Permo-Triassic grains are also subordinate in number forming a peak of 270 Ma and have possible source in the early Cordilleran continental magmatic arc rocks, whose nearby outcrops are present in northwestern Sonora (Arvizu and Iriondo, 2015).

The Cretaceous and Jurassic ages that compose 67.5 % of the total dated grains, constitute three dominant age groups (Figure 9b). The Jurassic grains have age peaks of ca. 150 and 166 Ma that are consistent in each of the analyzed samples (Figure 7e). The Cretaceous population is represented by grains with ages from ca. 130 to 107 Ma and a dominant age peak of ca. 118 Ma (Figure 9b). This is represented in the analyzed samples by peaks of 111, 116 and 120 Ma, except in the upper Mural, that has a small peak of 112 Ma (Figure 7). The Cretaceous population is nearly coincident with the age group between ca. 128 to 112 Ma, and modes near 122 and 116 Ma that Peryam et al. (2012) recognized in the upper part of the Morita Formation of the Tuape region. Furthermore, an important gap of Early Cretaceous age is evident between the Jurassic and Cretaceous age groups of our samples, as indicated by a subordinate number of detrital zircon grains with ages from ~145 to 130 Ma (Figure 9b).

The Jurassic age group with a peak of ca. 166 Ma is composed of grains with ages from 185 to 158 Ma and most probably indicates provenance from the Jurassic continental magmatic arc of southwestern North America (Busby-Spera, 1988; Lawton et al., 2020). Scattered rock outcrops of this arc occur from southern Nevada to southeastern California, southern Arizona and northern Sonora (Haxel et al., 2008a), and this peak is within the age range of ca. 190 to 158 Ma assigned to the arc in northern Sonora (González-León et al., 2021).

The age group with a peak of ca.150 Ma in the studied samples is composed of zircon grains that have ages from 156 to 145 Ma. A similar age peak is also present in detrital samples of the upper part of the Morita Formation in Tuape (Peryam et al., 2012). Regional magmatism that might be a source for this age group is indicated by silicic ash-fall tuffs with ages near 150 Ma that are interbedded with marine shales of the Late Jurassic Cucurpe Formation in the Tuape area (Mauel et al., 2011). Also, scarce plutonic and volcanic rocks in southern Arizona and northern Sonora have been dated from ca. 153 to 141 Ma (Anderson et al., 2005; Haxel et al., 2005; Haxel et al., 2008b).

Age of the Early Cretaceous population is contemporaneous with time of development of the magmatic arcs that formed the Peninsular Ranges batholith of southern California and Baja California (e.g., Ortega-Rivera, 2003; Shaw et al., 2003; Premo et al., 2014; Contreras-López et al., 2021; Schwartz et al., 2021), that by that time bordered the Altar-Cucurpe subbasin on the west. The hypothesis that these arcs acted as source of detritus that were mostly transported by rivers to the east, into the Bisbee basin, was largely favored by many authors (e.g., Jacques-Ayala, 1995; Mauel et al., 2011, Peryam et al., 2012; Sharman et al., 2015; Lawton et al., 2020; Schwartz et al., 2021); our detrital zircon geochronology and geochemistry supports this inference.

Detrital zircon reported by Alsleben et al. (2012) from the Alisitos intra-arc and Cretaceous deformed successions of Baja California, record nearly continuous magmatism from Late Jurassic through Early Cretaceous, and some of their age peaks (inset in Figure 9b) nearly compare to the 116, 120–122 and 153 Ma peaks in the Bisbee Group samples of Arizpe (Figure 7) and of Tuape (reported by Peryam et al., 2012) in northern Sonora. Similarly, a possible source for the youngest zircon grains in our upper Mural and lower Cintura samples may be the 110 to 89–86 Ma magmatism of the La Posta suite plutons in the PRB (Premo et al, 2014; Shaw et al., 2014).

U-Pb ages of magmatic zircon in andesite clasts reported from the lower Morita Formation in Tuape yielded ages from 145 to 133 Ma (Peryam et al., 2012), which coincide with age of the apparent Early Cretaceous magmatic gap recorded by our Bisbee Group detrital zircon samples (Figure 9b). This may indicate that this was not a complete lull in magmatism, as also indicated by the apparently continuous Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous detrital zircon ages from Baja California (Alsleben et al., 2012).

 

Hf isotope analyses

The element Hf in detrital zircons may be a clue to sediment provenance; however, its utility in interpreting sediment sources of Jurassic and Cretaceous strata in Sonora is currently limited by a paucity of data. While the εHf values of detrital zircon grains from the Bisbee Group in the Arizpe area spread from primitive to evolved values for both Jurassic and Cretaceous ages, the only available data to compare them with are from Jurassic plutons (González-León et al., 2021; Valencia-Moreno et al., in press) that show negative εHf(t) values. Lower Cretaceous igneous rocks older than 100 Ma are not present in Sonora.

The same behavior occurs for Jurassic plutons in the neighboring Mojave Desert of southeastern California that also yielded negative εHf(t) values and TDM model ages averaging 1700 ± 190 Ma for zircon in two Mid­dle Jurassic rocks, and 1820 ± 160 Ma in three Late Jurassic plutons (Howard et al. 2023).

Early Cretaceous plutons from the western zone of the Peninsular Ranges batholith in southern California yielded positive zircon εHf(t) values from 3.1 to 11.4, corresponding to TDM model ages of ca. 0.4 to 0.9 Ma (Shaw et al. (2014)), while Jurassic metaigneous rocks and Early Cretaceous plutons and xenoliths from this batholith in the northern Baja California Peninsula have positive zircon εHf(t) values (Contreras-López et al., 2021).Similarly, Hf positive values are reported from volcanic and plutonic rocks of the Alisitos arc in this region (Busby et al., 2023) (Figure 1).

Magmatic zircons of the Jurassic Cordilleran Continental magmatic arc in the southern Mojave Desert that have negative εHf(t) and old Paleoproterozoic TDM model ages are not a probable source for the Jurassic zircon of the studied samples, which have Neoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic model ages. A more probable source for the Hf negative zircon grains in the studied samples might be the Jurassic granites of Sonora that have Neoproterozoic TDM model ages.

Probable sources for our Jurassic detrital zircon with positive Hf values are Jurassic igneous and metaigneous rocks of the PRB of California and Baja California (Shaw et al., 2014; Contreras-López et al., 2021), although data reported are scarce. Similarly, the Early Cretaceous igneous rocks of the PRB that have dominantly positive εHf(t) values represent a plausible source for the same age detrital zircon with positive Hf of Sonora, as both share the same Paleozoic and Neoproterozoic TDM model ages.

Jurassic and Early Cretaceous detrital zircon with mixed negative and positive Hf values, like those in the Arizpe area, are present in middle Cretaceous formations of the Mojave Desert in southern Nevada and are interpreted by Balgord et al. (2021) to be sourced in batholithic rocks of the Sierra Nevada (Lackey et al., 2012). The similar detrital zircon composition between both successions also suggests that detritus in the Altar-Cucurpe subbasin strata of Sonora have possible sources from the PRB-Sierra Nevada magmatic arc system.

 

CONCLUSIONS

A section of Lower Cretaceous Mural Limestone of the Bisbee Group in the Arizpe area of northern Sonora, Mexico provides new data that constrains the ages of the members and provenances of the siliciclastic units. The Mural crops out in the western block of Sierra Los Azulitos, which is thrust over the eastern Cerro La Ceja block. The latter exposes the upper part of the Morita Formation, the entire Mural Limestone, as well as the Cintura and lower part of the La Juana formations.

New biostratigraphic data from the Tuape Shale, Los Coyotes and Cerro La Puerta members and the lower part of Cerro La Espina Member support the upper Aptian to lower Albian age of the Mural Limestone (Lawton et al., 2004). This age range is supported by a shallow marine foraminiferal assemblage, sparse pelagic colomiellids and planktonic foraminífera and rare benthic megafossils.

Detrital zircon geochronology of five sandstones from the Morita, Mural and Cintura formations yield weighted-mean MDA values that constrain the ages of these units. The upper part of the Morita Formation is 115.8 ± 1.1 Ma, and the basal Tuape Shale is 113.9 ± 0.8 Ma, which approximates the age of the Morita and Mural boundary. The age of the Mural/Cintura boundary is bracketed by 111.6 ± 1.6 Ma in the uppermost Mesa Quemada Member and by 108.8 ± 1.1 Ma in the basal Cintura Formation. The overlying La Juana Formation contains upper Albian bivalves and echinoderms.

Sandstone petrography, detrital zircon ages, and Hf isotope composition of the Bisbee Group formations in northern Sonora support the origin of sediments from nearby juvenile to evolved magmatic arcs. Detrital zircon grains in the Morita and Cintura formations and the Mural Limestone are mainly Jurassic and Early Cretaceous in age and few are of Proterozoic, Paleozoic or Triassic age. Four age peaks are 166 Ma, 150 Ma, 118 Ma, and 111 Ma. Jurassic ages are related to the Continental Jurassic magmatic arc. The Cretaceous ages are similar to ages of magmatism in the Sierra Nevada-Peninsular Ranges batholiths, which were near the coast of Sonora at that time (Lawton et al., 2020). In Sonora, Early Cretaceous magmatism older than about 100 Ma is unknown (Mauel et al., 2011; Peryam et al., 2012; Lawton et al., 2020; González-León et al., 2020). Similar zircon ages are also found in the Alisitos intra-arc and Cretaceous deformed strata of Baja California or even in the La Posta magmatism (Alsleben et al., 2012).

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was supported by UNAM-PAPIIT Project No. IN101820. M. I. Sierra Rojas acknowledges to DGAPA-UNAM for the postdoctoral scholarship awarded between 2019 and 2021, facilitating the completion of the project "Tectonic and stratigraphic study of the Lower Cretaceous in Sonora, Arizpe-Cucurpe region" in Estación Regional del Noroeste, Instituto de Geología, UNAM. We appreciate helpful technical support for rock samples preparation provided by Aimé Orcí Romero and Elizard González Becuar at Estación Regional del Noroeste, Instituto de Geología, UNAM. We greatly appreciate to Consejo de Paleontología, INAH for permit granted for fossil collection and handling through Project No. 401.1S.3-2020/162, and to Sr. Ricardo Paz Pellat and Sr. Ignacio “Nacho” Medrano for allowing us to do field work into their ranch properties. The manuscript was greatly improved by important and constructive reviews received from Dr. Francisco Javier Cuen Romero and an anonymous reviewer.

 

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

Supplementary Tables S1 “U-Pb data of the analyzed sandstone sample from the Bisbee Group formations in the Arizpe area, northern Sonora, Mexico” and S2 “Hf isotope data” are available online at www.rmcg.unam.mx, in the preview of this paper.

 

APPENDIX A.

TAXONOMY AND SYSTEMATIC DESCRIPTIONS

Taxonomy and systematic descriptions of important fossils identified either in thin sections or as hand samples from the Mural Limestone in the section of Cordón de Enmedio, Arizpe area, northern Sonora, Mexico.

Systematic Micropaleontology

Higher-level systematic classification of bowl-shaped colomiellid microfossils with a calcite hyaline wall is uncertain.

Family Colomiellidae Bonet, 1956

Genus Colomiella Bonet, 1956

Colomiella tunisiana Colom and Sigal, 1959 in Bolze et al., 1959

Figure 3, 1

Remarks. The suture between the neck and the bowl is slanted and the base of the bowl is smoothly rounded to slightly angular. This species ranges from the latest Aptian to early Albian 114.20 Ma to 108.69 Ma (Scott, 2014). In other Sonoran localities, this species is in the Cerro La Puerta Shale and the Cerro La Espina members of the Mural Formation (Gonzalez-León et al., 2008) and in the basal Lampazos Formation (Saucedo-Samaniego et al., 2021). In northeastern Sonora and southwestern Arizona, it is in the Canova Member of the Mural Limestone at Sierra del Caloso (Scott and Warzeski, 1993). In the Arizpe section, this species is in the lower part of the Cerro La Espina Member. In the Texas subsurface, it is in the upper Aptian-lower Albian Tamaulipas Formation (Scott, 1990).

Systematic classification by Boudagher-Fadel (2018) and Schlagintweit (2020), in which full references to suprageneric categories are provided.

 

Phylum Foraminifera Pawlowski et al., 2013

Class Globothalamea Pawlowski et al., 2013

Subclass Textulariana Mikhalevich, 1980

Order Textulariidae Delage and Hérouard, 1896

Superfamily Nezzazatoidea Hamaoui and Saint- Marc, 1970

Family Nezzazatidae Hamaoui and Saint-Marc, 1970 [LT-p. 86]

Subfamily Nezzaztinae Hamaoui and Saint-Marc, 1970

Nezzazata Omara, 1956

Nezzazata isabellae Arnaud-Vanneau and Sliter, 1995

Figure 3, 2-3

Remarks. Five trochospiral specimens have 10–12 chambers per whorl with a mean diameter of 284 microns, which is slightly larger than the maximum diameter of 200 microns of the upper Aptian-lower Albian Pacific specimens (Arnaud-Vanneau and Sliter, 1995). Similar but larger specimens were described in the upper Albian Mal Paso Formation in southwest Mexico and identified as Nezzazata sp. cf. N. isabellae (Filkorn and Scott, 2011). In the Arizpe section, this species ranges from the Los Coyotes Member to the Cerro La Espina Member.

 

Superfamily Textularioidea Ehrenberg, 1838

Family Chrysalidinidae Neagu, 1968

Praechrysalidina Luperto Sinni, 1979

Praechrysalidina sp.

Figure 3, 4-7

Remarks. These conical tests are biserial in cross-section; the arcuate overlapping septa define a terminal aperture and span one-half to two-thirds test diameter; the wall is microgranular calcite; mean test height is 482 microns, mean width is 268 microns, mean h/w ratio is 1.85. These specimens are about half the size of Praechrysaldina infracretacea Luperto Sinni (1979) and their septa are not refracted. Similar specimens are in the upper Albian Mal Paso Formation, Guerrero, Mexico (Filkorn and Scott, 2011. In the Arizpe section, this taxon ranges from the Los Coyotes to the Cerro La Espina members.

 

Superfamily Ataxophragmioidea Schwager, 1877

Family Ataxophragmiidae Schwager, 1877

Voloshinoides Barnard and Banner, 1980

Voloshinoides sonoraensis Schlagentweit and Scott, 2015

Figure 3, 8-10

Remarks. This species was first identified in the lower Albian Cerro La Espina Member of the Mural Formation at the Cerro la Ceja section about 20 km northwest of the Arizpe section. In the Arizpe section this species is in the Los Coyotes Member.

 

Family Cuneolinidae Saidova, 1981

Cuneolina d’Orbigny, 1839

Cuneolina parva Henson 1948

Figure 3, 11-12

Remarks. Filkorn and Scott (2011) reviewed the taxonomy of Albian-Cenomanian cuneolinids in North America and considered that C. parva has priority over Cuneolina walteri Cushman and Applin (1947) in Scott and Gonzalez-León (1991). In the Arizpe section C. parva ranges from the Los Coyotes to the Cerro La Espina members.

 

Order Loftusiida Kaminski & Mikhalevich in Kaminski (2004)

Suborder Orbitolinina Kaminski (2004)

Superfamily Orbitolinoidea Martin (1890)

Family Orbitolinidae Martin (1890)

Subfamily Dictyoconinae Moullade (1965)

Paracoskinolina Moullade, 1965

Paracoskinolina sunnilandensis (Maync, 1955)

Figure 3, 14-16

Remarks. The marginal zone in the basal section is subdivided by short, vertical radial partitions alternating with shorter partitions; in the longitudinal section the marginal zone is without transverse partitions; the central zone has vertical pillars that are aligned with pillars in adjacent chambers (Loeblich and Tappan, 1988, p. 162). In the Arizpe section P. sunnilandensis ranges from the Los Coyotes to the Cerro La Espina members. Range is Barremian-lower Albian, 125.08–109.36 Ma (Scott, 2014).

 

Subfamily Orbitolininae Martin, 1890

Mesorbitolina Schroeder, 1962

Mesorbitolina cf. texana (Roemer, 1849)

Remarks. Although none of the specimens in thin sections from the Arizpe section show the proloculus, M. texana is the most common species in the lower Albian strata in Mexico. In the Arizpe section, it is present in the Los Coyotes Member and in the Cerro La Espina Member. In the Gulf Coast, M. texana ranges from 113.70–108.11 Ma (Scott, 2014).

 

Superfamily Miliolacea Ehrenberg, 1839

Family Hauerinidae Schwager, 1876

Subfamily Hauerininae Schwager, 1876

Genus Pseudonummoloculina Calvez, 1986

Pseudonummoloculina heimi (Bonet, 1956), emended Conkin and Conkin, 1958

Remarks. In the Arizpe section, this species is in the Los Coyotes Member and in the Cerro La Espina Member. This species is widespread in Mexico, in the U.S. Gulf Coast, and in the Mediterranean area. It is in the El Abra Limestone on the Valles-San Luis Potosí Platform (Omaña et al., 2019). P. heimi ranges from lower Albian to upper Cenomanian, 110.56–92.03 Ma (Scott, 2014).

Systematic classification of planktic Foraminifera by Huber and Leckie (2011), in which full references to suprageneric classification are provided.

 

Supergroup Rhizaria Cavalier-Smith, 2002

Class Foraminifera d’Orbigny, 1826

Order Globigerinina Delage and Hérouard, 1896

Family Hedbergellidae Loeblich and Tappan, 1961

Subfamily Hedbergellinae Loeblich and Tappan, 1961

Genus Microhedbergella Huber and Leckie, 2011

Microhedbergella pseudodelrioensis Huber and Leckie, 2011

Figure 3, 13

Remarks. The genus Microhedbergella (Huber and Leckie, 2011) has a low trochospiral test with globular chambers and thin, microperforated walls, and smooth exterior walls or with few low pustules (Huber and Leckie, 2011). The specimens in the Cerro La Puerta Member (sample 2-19-20-8, 312-319 m) have a diameter of 230 microns and a thickness of 108 microns, a test thickness/diameter ratio of 0.47. This species ranges from the lower Albian Microhedbergella rischi Zone into the upper Albian Ticinella primula Zone in the North and South Atlantic (Huber and Leckie, 2011). This species has been reported in Lower Cretaceous strata in Mexico and Texas as Globigerina delrioensis (Longoria, 1984; Scott, 1990; Scott and Warzeski, 1993); considering revised systematics of Huber and Leckie (2011), these identifications need to be reevaluated. It is present in forereef and basin facies downslope of the Comanche Shelf margin in the Albian Salmon Peak Formation (Scott, 1990) and in the Aptian-lower Albian upper Tamaulipas Formation and equivalent units in eastern Mexico (Longoria, 1984).

 

Megafossils

Bivalve systematic classification by Carter et al. (2011), in which full references to suprageneric classification are provided.

 

Order Hippuritoida Newell, 1965

Superfamily Radiolitoidea d’Orbigny, 1847

Family Caprinidae d’Orbigny, 1847

Subfamily Caprinuloideinae Damestoy, 1971

Genus Coalcomana Coogan, 1973

Figure 3, 17

Remarks. Several wall fragments bear a single row of large oval to tear-drop-shaped pallial canals, and the septa divide forming small oval canals on the outer wall margin typical of this lower Albian genus. These specimens are in thin sections of the Cerro La Espina Member in the Arizpe section. This genus is common in the lower Albian Glen Rose Formation in Texas (Scott, 2002; Scott and Filkorn, 2007); it is present in the Alisitos Formation, Baja California (Madhavaraju et al., 2021) and in the Mural Limestone in Sonora (Gonzalez-León et al., 2008; Madhavaraju et al., 2018; Scott and Warzeski, 1993). Coalcomana ramosa (Boehm) in the Glen Rose Formation has a short range of 111.55–111.26 Ma (Scott, 2014).

Suprageneric classification of Echinoidea by Fischer (1966) modified by Kroh and Moori (2021).

 

Phylum Echinodermata Bruguière, 1791

Class Echinoidea Leske, 1778

Order Spatangoida Agassiz, 1840

Suborder Hemiasterina A.G. Fisher, 1966

Family Toxasteridae Lambert, 1920

Genus Pliotoxaster Pomel. 1883

Pliotoxaster comanchei (Clark in Clark and Twitchell, 1915)

Remarks. Clark (1915) and Cook (1946) placed this species in the genus Hemiaster; Smith and Rader (2009) ascribed this species to Pliotoxaster. P. comanchei is common in the lower member and basal upper member of the lower Albian Glen Rose Formation in central Texas. It is in the rudist bioherm interval and in the maximum flooding Salenia bed (Smith and Rader, 2009). Nieto-López et al. (2006) report other Lower and Upper Cretaceous species in Mexico.

 

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