Sciponoceras gracile Zone
This zone is only currently used in northern England (Whitham, 1991), and in some areas has in part been replaced by the standard ammonite zonal equivalents (= M. geslinianum & N. juddii zones) for this part of the Cenomanian (Gaunt et al., 1992).
Base: The base of the zone is the sub-Black Band (s.l.) erosion surface (Whitham, 1991).
Top: The top of the zone is placed at an un-named chalky marl, locally c. 0.5 m below the lowest acme of the inoceramid bivalve Mytiloides (Whitham, 1991).
Range of index species: The index was not recorded by Whitham (1991)
Key fauna:
Brachiopoda: | Monticlarella jefferiesi |
Orbirhynchia multicostata | |
O. wiesti | |
Bivalvia: | Inoceramus pictus |
Oxytoma seminudum | |
Belemnoidea: | Praeactinocamax plenus |
Vertebrata: | fish debris |
Faunal abundance & preservation: The zone is rather poorly fossiliferous, and the fauna of low diversity.
Bio-horizons: Praeactinocamax plenus occurs at two closely spaced horizons below the Black Band s.s., in the lower part of the zone (Wood & Mortimore, 1995).
Age: Late Cenomanian