The age of the Middle Cambrian ‘Paradoxides forchhammeri Grit’ of the Wrekin district, Shropshire, England

Abstract

ABSTRACT The fossiliferous bed in the Upper Comley Sandstone, described by Cobbold & Pocock (in 1934) as the ‘Paradoxides forchhammeri Grit’ and correlated by them with the Andrarum Limestone of the late Middle Cambrian (P. forchhammeri Stage) in Scandinavia, is shown to be a shallow-water development of the older punctuosus Zone (medial Middle Cambrian, P. paradoxissimus Stage). It is here re-named the ‘Rushton Brook Bed’. The trilobite fauna, formerly considered comparable with that of the Andrarum Limestone, is reviewed and found taxonomically distinct, the supposed similarities being attributable to facial and preservational factors.