DACRYOCONARIDS AND THE EIFELIAN-GIVETIAN BOUNDARY (MIDDLE DEVONIAN) IN THE MARCELLUS SHALE OF WESTERN NEW YORK STATE

The Eifelian-Givetian Boundary corresponds to a Middle Devonian anoxic event in Europe and North Africa that is contemporaneous with the end of the Kacák Event, and recognized by the first occurrence of the conodont Polygnathus hemiansatus, as well as the first occurrence of the dacryoconarid Nowakia otomari. At present, dacryoconarids in the Marcellus Shale do not allow the precise location of the Eifelian-Givetian Boundary, although other indicators suggest that the boundary lies at or below the David Elliot Bed in the East Berne Member of the lower Oatka Creek Formation. The dacryoconarids Viriatellina fortistriata? LUTKE 1985, Viriatellina sp. A, and Nowakia (Dmitriella) sulcata sulcata? ALBERTI 1993 = Nowakia halihanensis n. sp. (Lindemann, submitted) were recovered from drill core AKZO-9454, near Hampton Corners, New York. Viriatellina fortistriata? ranges from the Onondaga Limestone (Eifelian) into the Chittenango Member of the Oatka Creek Formation; Viriatellina sp. A was only found in the Onondaga; Nowakia (Dmitriella) sulcata sulcata? ALBERTI 1993 = Nowakia halihanensis n. sp. (Lindemann, submitted) was recovered from the Halihan Hill Bed of the Oatka Creek Formation and may prove to be an indicator of lowest Givetian strata.