First Fossil Record of the Pteropod Limacina from the Pacific Coast of North America

Abstract

Pteropods from upper Eocene to lower Miocene deep-marine rocks in <br /><br />western Washington represent the first fossil record of genus Limacina from the <br /><br />Pacific coast of North America and the northernmost fossil occurrence in North <br /><br />America for this genus. Two species were found. Both occur in concretions in <br /><br />siltstone, and one was also found in limestone formed by chemosynthetic pro- <br /><br />cesses. Both species closely resemble other late Eocene to early Miocene Lima- <br /><br />cina spp. from Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, but poor preservation of the <br /><br />Washington specimens prevents their identification to the species level.