LATE EOCENE CHRONOSTRATIGRAPHY, DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENT, AND PALEOSOL-TRACE FOSSIL ASSOCIATIONS, PIPESTONE SPRINGS, SOUTHWEST MONTANA

Sanidine ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of lapilli tuffs and the mammalian fauna of Pipestone Springs Main Pocket provide a high-resolution chronostratigraphy of late Eocene strata in the Pipestone Springs area of southwestern Montana. Two felsic lapilli tuffs, with weighted-mean ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar single crystal sanidine ages of 37.50 + 0.02 Ma and 36.00 + 0.20 Ma, occur within the basal to mid-section of the 55 m of exposed Pipestone Springs strata, whereas the upper 15 m yields a diverse and abundant assemblage of mostly small-bodied middle Chadronian mammals. The older lapilli tuff is an airfall tuff whereas the younger lapilli tuff exhibits some aeolian reworking. Loessites intercalated with paleosols dominate Pipestone Springs deposits. Andic paleosols are developed on the lapilli tuffs. Buried B cambic to weakly developed argillic horizons characterize the remaining paleosols that are also classified as andic because there is a significant component of volcanic grains mixed with identifiable non-volcanic grains in their parent material. All paleosols are extensively bioturbated, containing newly identified trace fossils likely constructed by dung beetles (Coleoptera) based on comparisons to modern and ancient traces attributed to this group. Close examination shows that the tracemakers built these structures in a helical pattern from the inside and outside by adding pelletized sediment from the base upward, such that the architectural elements resemble features of Rebuffoichnus, Feoichnus, Eatonichnus, and Coprinisphaera. The preserved forms likely reflect a continuum of state of completion by adults and usage by larvae and pupae, and final preservation in the paleosols. The new isotopic age constraints significantly increase the age range of the Pipestone Springs strata to include early Chadronian deposits in addition to its well-known middle Chadronian vertebrate assemblage. Recognition of loessites comprising these strata is also a new interpretation, making these deposits some of the oldest known aeolian Eocene strata in the Great Plains–Rocky Mountains region.