NJGS - Bulletin 61-I. The Cretaceous Fossils of NJ - State of New ...

HISTORICAL REVIEW 7
(1943) first applied names to the sand members of the Raritan. In the
same year Richards described several new species of invertebrates from
the Raritan (Richards, 1943). He also discussed the subsurface geology
of the Atlantic Coastal Plain and he first reeorded the presence of
Lower Cretaceous nonmarine sediments (Potomac group) in New
Jersey in well samples from Salem, New Jersey. ' Shell fragments and
foraminifera from the Englishtomn also were reported. This was the
first record of fossils from this formation.
Spangler and Peterson (1950) discussed the geology of the Coastal
Plain of New Jersey and adjacent states southward through Virginia.
A large part of the article concerned New Jersey. These authors reach-
ed three main conclusions rgarding the Cretaceous of New Jersey: (I)
that the Matawan and bfonmouth groups should be reduced to the rank
of formations and the various formations within these groups should
be reduced to members; (2) that the Mount Laurel should be included
in the Matawan rather than in the Monmouth; and (3) that the Raritan
is both upper Lower Cretaceous (Albian) and basal Upper Cretaceous
,(Cenomanian). (See Table 2.)
Johnson and Richards (1952) critically reviewed the New Jersey
section of the above paper. These writers maintained the validity of
the Matawan and hfonmouth as groups and the Merchantville, Wood-
bury, etc. aa formations; believed that the Mount Laurel is the basal
portion of the Monmouth group ; and reaffirmed the Late Cretac