PALEONTOLOGY AND PRELIMINARY PALEOECOLOGY OF THE SHALE BEDS OF THE ORDOVICIAN LOWER DOLGEVILLE FORMATION

Fossils were collected and interpreted from the Ordovician lower Dolgeville Formation at two localities in Central New York. A comparison of the collected assemblage with outdated faunal lists and an examination of the assemblage in a paleo-environmental context was made. With few exceptions, most of the taxa collected have been verified as actually occurring in the Dolgeville Formation. The fauna included trilobites (Triarthrus beckii), graptolites (Orthograptus sp.), brachiopods, gastropods, pelecypods, cephalopods, ostracodes, and worm borings. Further studies and refinements, particularly structural and stratigraphic analyses, are needed regarding deposition and paleoecology of the shale beds.