Article: Ostracods, land plants, and Charales from the basal Purbeck Beds of Portesham Quarry, Dorset

A thin cherty layer near the base of the Purbeck Beds in Dorset has yielded a flora of land plants (including stems of Equisetum mobergii. isolated seeds referred to Carpolilhes rubeola, C. glans, C. rhabdotus, C. cocos, C.gibbus, C. acinus, and C. westi spp.nov.,and cones of Araucarites sizerae sp. nov.)and fresh water Charales (Clavator westi sp. nov.) as well as freshwater ostracods. The discovery of Clavator westi in Lower Purbeck deposits opens up the possibility of separating the Lower Purbeck from the Middle Purbeck using the Charales. Among the ostracods Cypridea dunkeri Jones is shown to have stratigraphical value. Correlation of these basal Purbeck Beds in Dorset with the Swindon Series further north indicates that at Swindon either Purbeck conditions were established earlier than in Dorset, or that Portland conditions recurred later.