'I'HE FORAMINIFERA OF THE RIPLEY FORMATION ON 

 COON CREEK, TENNESSEE 



By WiLLARD Berry and Louis Kelley 



Of the Johns Hopkins University 



, This paper presents the results of a systematic study of the Foram- 

 inifera found in the Upper Cretaceous exposed on Coon Creek in 

 McNairy County, Tenn. The material is from the Coon Creek 

 tongue of the Ripley formation which is stratigraphically at the base 

 of the Ripley formation and in the Exogyra costata zone. 



The locality from which this material was collected is known as 

 Dave Weeks' place on Coon Creek. It is in the northeastern part of 

 McNairy County, 3i/^ miles south of Enville, 7^^ miles north of 

 Adamsville, and one-eighth of a mile east of the main Henderson- 

 Adamsville road. 



The sediments here are in general very like those of the Upper 

 Cretaceous exposed at Brightseat, Mel. The matrix was examined 

 petrographiealiy and the following minerals were found after the 

 carbonates had been removed : Light minerals about 97-98 per cent 

 made up of about half subangular grains of quartz and about the 

 same amount of glauconite. The heavy minerals constituted only 

 2-3 per cent of the material and they were in order of their frequency, 

 pyrite, blue kj^anite, rounded staurolite, muscovite, sillimanite, 

 brown hornblende, epidote, alkali and iron varieties of tourmaline, 

 garnet, rutile, and monazite or zircon (?). All these minerals 

 except the pyrite show well-rounded outlines. 



The Foraminifera are extremely well preserved, much better pre- 

 served in fact than any other Upper Cretaceous Foraminifera found 

 in this country with the possible exception of those at Brightseat, 

 Md. In general the fossils look at first glance like late Tertiary and 

 not Upper Cretaceous material. 



The Foraminifera described from this material comprise 19 genera 

 with a total of 37 species and varieties. Of these 37 species and 

 varieties 19 are new to science. The lack of micropaleontologic 

 work in the area and the extremely good condition of preservation 

 would account for this large proportion of new species and varieties. 



No. 2816.— Proceedings U. S. K'ational Museum, Vol. 76, Art. 19 



64437—29 1 1 



