MARINE VERTEBRATE FAUNA OF THE GLENROCK LIMESTONE AND BENNETT SHALE (COUNCIL GROVE GROUP) OF KANSAS

The contact between the Glenrock Limestone and Bennett Shale members of the Red Eagle Limestone at the Tuttle Creek Lake Spillway represents the boundary between the Carboniferous and Permian Periods in North America. While conodonts and invertebrates are reported from throughout the Red Eagle Limestone, vertebrate remains are primarily reported from the Bennett Shale. An exploration into the Bennett Shale has revealed a Permian vertebrate fauna that includes bransonelliform chondrichthyans (Bransonella sp.), ctenacanthiform chondrichthyans (Glikmanius sp.), Euselachians (Cooleyella sp.), eugeneodontiform chondrichthyans (Bobbodus sp.), and palaeonisciform osteichthyans (Palaeonisciformes indet.). Glikmanius sp. and Palaeonisciformes indet. are also found in the underlying Pennsylvanian Glenrock Limestone, along with evidence of symmoriiform chondrichthyans (Denaea sp.). Further examination of the Glenrock Limestone and Bennett Shale may reveal additional vertebrate fauna and indicate which other genera endured across the Carboniferous-Permian boundary.