Section 3, Part I, sample 130a (Silurian to of Canada)

Where: Nunavut, Canada (77.5° N, 85.0° W: paleocoordinates 4.7° N, 31.8° W)

• coordinate estimated from map

When: Pterospathodus celloni conodont zone, Cape Phillips Formation, Aeronian to Aeronian (440.8 - 433.4 Ma)

• member-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: lithified, black, calcareous shale

• The Cape Phillips Formation was introduced by Thorsteinsson (1958) for a sequence of dark grey to black shale, calcareous shale, and minor argillaceous limestone, representing a graptolitic basin facies, with its type section located at Cape Phillips, northeastern Cornwallis Island. It was estimated to be about 3000 m thick (Thorsteinsson and Kerr 1968) and was divided into three members (Thorsteinsson 1958). The lower, Member A, comprises mainly dolostone, argillaceous limestone, fetid shale, and cherty argillaceous limestone. The middle, Member B, conformably overlies Member A and is composed mainly of cherty argillaceous limestone, argillaceous limestone, cherty calcareous shale, and calcareous shale. The upper, Member C, consists of an extremely monotonous succession of alternating calcareous shale, argillaceous limestone, limestone, and shale. Member C accounts for roughly three-quarters of the formation’s total thickness. Based on graptolite biostratigraphy, the formation was assigned a Middle Ordovician to Late Silurian age (Thorsteinsson 1958), and later modified to Late Ordovician (Ashgill) to Early Devonian (Gedinnian) (Kerr 1976; Mayr et al. 1998). More precise correlations were made by Melchin (1989), in which Members A, B, and C ranged from Late Ordovician to middle Llandovery, early to latest Telychian, and latest Telychian to Ludlow, respectively.

Size class: microfossils

Primary reference: S. Zhang, K. Mirza, and C. R. Barnes. 2016. Upper Ordovician – Upper Silurian conodont biostratigraphy, Devon Island and southern Ellesmere Island, Canadian Arctic Islands, with implications for regional stratigraphy, eustasy, and thermal maturation. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 53(9):931-949 [E. Jarochowska/S. Haegele]more details

Purpose of describing collection: general faunal/floral analysis

PaleoDB collection 188150: authorized by Emilia Jarochowska, entered by Sarah Haegele on 24.08.2017

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Conodonta
 Panderodontida - Panderodontidae
"Panderodus recurvatus" = Panderodus panderi, Panderodus unicostatus
"Panderodus recurvatus" = Panderodus panderi Stauffer 1940 conodont
Panderodus unicostatus Branson and Mehl 1933 conodont
 Ozarkodinida -
Ozarkodina cf. crispa Walliser 1964 conodont
 Belodellida - Belodellidae
Walliserodus cf. sancticlairi Cooper 1976 conodont
  -
 Prioniodontida - Balognathidae
Pterospathodus celloni Walliser 1964 conodont
 Prioniodontida - Prioniodinidae
Aspelundia fluegeli Walliser 1964 conodont
 Prioniodontida - Distomodontidae
"? Dentacodina dubia" = Coryssognathus dubius Wang 1980 conodont
Distomodus staurognathoides Walliser 1964 conodont